Hi Mouse and family 💗🐶

I am very sorry to find you here but you can be sure we are all here to guide and support you the best we can. 

Although Dallas sadly could not be helped you now have the chance to do so for Mouse and remove that horribly painful leg so these are already good news!

My girl Eurydice is a very large (77kg before surgery) 5 year old Dane who lost her right front leg to osteosarcoma a few days shy of 6 months ago. 

Just as Rosie's Mom said, you've got to take things slowly during the first stages of recovery and do not get discouraged to see your boy lying down most of the time, this is all normal. 

Terribly important to deal with traction as this is a major issue for Tripawds.

If you have slippery floors you should create large paths with carpet ideally over rubber underlay so he doesn't slip. 

The other crucial item for a large dog is to have a good harness to help him stand up and lead him to have his pee/poop.

As my girl is a front leg amputee I cannot give you specific advice concerning supporting his rear end.

Most pawrents here used some sort of sling to help with movements/balance and underpants with the tail going through the fly, to help protect the incision. 

As Danes are so big and heavy I am not sure which would be the best "sling" option but I'm sure others will come to the rescue and share their experience. 

I would avoid stairs as much as possible, in fact my girl cannot negotiate them even now but most smaller dogs do.

If Mouse stops eating and/or drinking like my girl did, be prepared to be creative in the kitchen, during recovery ANY food is better than NO food.

I gave my girl hot dogs, eggs, grilled and boiled chicken (with olive oil added to the water for extra taste) all hand fed.

As for water intake, I had to get her to drink using a big syringe and made notes of how many ml she had every day after the vet told me the quantity I should aim for. 

I kept a diary for the first 3 weeks and recorded food and water intake, pees and poops and medicine times plus how many walks she would do and how long for.

Poop can take a while so don't be worried, it can take a few days before it happens and that is normal.

Pee should be regular after surgery.

Expect a bit of a crash between days 3-5 as pain medicine from surgery gets out of his system, this is normal.

And do make sure he takes his medicine on time as this is major surgery and is painful!

The first couple of weeks may be challenging for him and you but bear in mind each day that goes by is a day closer to the end of recovery, things will improve a lot from the first landmark date which is when he will have his stitches out. 

Above all try to keep calm, if you are calm so will he be.

And keep your eyes on his and not on the incision when you collect him from hospital, they shave a vast amount of fur and it looks awful but once the hair grows back we don't notice it any more.

A lot of people who see my girl mention she is "limping" they don't even realise she has 3 legs until I point it out. 

We did 6 sessions of carboplatin every 3 weeks (1st session when stitches were removed) and she sailed through it with zero side effects and she is now doing metronomic therapy wich is a combined daily dose of chemo and antibiotics and anti inflammatories every other day.

No need to concentrate on chemo now though, just focus on his surgery and recovery!  

Remember you are NOT alone, we are all here for you!

If you want to contact me directly with any questions regarding your boy please send me a message and I will text my mobile number so we can be in contact during the first few weeks if you so wish, I am very happy to do so. 

We are all sending you a wave of pawsitive energy for tomorrow's surgery and lots of bear hugs to you, please do keep us updated !!!!! 🌬🌬🌬🌬🐾🐾💗😘