Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Day 12 Tuesday June 27. Nicholas mostly rested. He almost shut himself in his "cave" half bath, but we caught it and covered the door plate so it won't shut on him! I forget how big he is until things like this happen! but he greeted friends all day and even went down to the gate with them and explored around. He gets really tired in the evenings, so that he's just standing and wondering what he wanted to do, but I think that is partly the Gaba. We'll be reducing it gradually soon. I read here on tripawds, that it takes about a month for them to move more fluidly and that's good news. He just expends so much effort when he hops. We'll be going to Seattle for the Yale vaccine in two weeks and I hope the 5 hour car ride works for him. He has really mastered the steps to our bedroom though. He got a big cheer tonight! He needs to have space to approach the jump, like a horse.
"..... like a horse" 😂🤣 He is a big pupper!
Thanks for the update and so glad he's doing so well. And to do the stairs already is quite remarkable.
Yes, it does take more effort to walk on three at first. And even after he has gotten further out from recovery, he will still tire more easily than he did before. However, he will gain stamina and core strength as his muscles adjust.
Can't remember if you have plans for a visit with a rehabilitation specialist or not. A consultation will give you great tips on keeping him strong and fit. The Tripawds foundation will pay for the first visit.
Give that little baby horse a big smooch for us. He's doing so well and you were taking such good care of him.
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Thank you so much for the nudge to the next steps. Your comments have always helped me plan what's best for Nick even when I was so disoriented by all this.
I found a good vet rehabilitation clinic for Nicholas and also a place for him to swim weekly (you'd think that would be unnecessary in Oregon, but the blue green algae situation is bad in the summer). I hope insurance will cover the swimming because he could swim with other dogs, partially replacing the dog park. Nicholas was kind of the activity director, peace officer, at our dog park and I'm not sure he will still have the authority he expects! One glance or WOOF would do it and everyone would calm down. He taught puppies how to play gently by batting them with his paw. I'm kind of sad about all that but we just have to find an alternate.
Also time to order the gear so he can go up and down the steps to the main level of the house and help me cook! I'm going to order friction tape with a glow in the dark strip for the wider front porch steps and a very sturdy Pet Loader 18" 5 or 6 step stair for more gradual rise and run between kitchen and family room, a staircase he uses a lot. (a present for Nicky from my daughter)
I also realize Nicky needs and wants a predictable schedule now that he's feeling better. This is the dog who told me to start dinner every day at 5:28. Much more organized than we are! So we will do pills, breakfast, pee walk, more pills, a little walk around the farm, massage, a nap etc. and I'll have to stick to it!
Day 13 Wednesday, June 28 Not much happening, Nicky just rested. He puts so much love and energy out for visitors that he's always tired and groggy by evening and sleeps the next day. We have musician friends coming through the state on Friday, so I'll just know to expect that.
Day 14 Thursday, June 29, NO MORE TEE SHIRT!! The vet says the stitches are probably absorbed and Nick has shown no interest in scratching them. He looks so good! Now I can give him a really good grooming. I'll post a picture. We'll also begin cutting down on the meds, ordering the next batch of Gabapentin in smaller pill dosages as suggested here. I just want to keep a little in his system going in case the drive to Seattle for the Yale vaccine on July 12 is stressful and I need to increase the Gaba temporarily.
Well, Mr Activity- Director- Peace -Maker sure does take ADORAVLE pictures!!! And that first photo especially......quite artsy with the way nature frames him with light and Shadow. Gave us all a smile today so thanks for posting these.
Lofe how he has his demand for supper down to the minute. He has you trained so well!
BTW great idea with the glow strips for the steps👍 And glad he jas a place to swim mow without algae. And he may find plenty of pals there he can show off his "leadership" skills😎
Have a good time with your musician friends tonight. I'm sure Nicholas will be the center of attention, as it should be!
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Day 15 Friday June 30 Nicholas was on a roll all day long minus a few naps. This boy just loves company! The only time I've heard him whimper is when he can't come up in the kitchen to be with everyone. He has a good view of us, but that's not enough. I gave him a good brush out. He's rubbed the bottom corner of his incision when he lies down and there's a little red place. When I put Neosporin on it, he notices it and starts to lick, so sadly the tee shirt has to come back on and I'll call the vet Monday if the raw spot doesn't get better.
Day 16 Saturday Resting all day, but I know to expect that now after he's had a day of being a grand host. He's all set with his vaccine on July 12, his rehabilitation appointment on July 18, and swimming beginnng the next week. I asked my vet to give us some ideas about chemo before we return to OSU since he understands this boy so well and seems as up to date as they are, (he assures me that he is not) So that's all the scheduling, not my favourite part of this.. Looks like we'll have some pretty intensive weeks driving around in the car, but I hope that will help strengthen and readjust Nicky's muscles and balance so everything is not such an effort. And Nicky likes car trips with us.We'll try the dog park just a bit at a time to see how it goes. He's got lots of good friends there, people and dogs. They are in for a surprise!
Nicholas is such a big smoochable social butterfly. I know everyone enjoys being in his presence as much as he enjoys being in their presence. Even though we are in his "presence"through cyberspace, we all enjoy it too!
Yeah, you have a lot pf logistics, Bet visits, etc coming up. Of course Nicky is blissfully unaware of all the effort it's taking to coordinate everything. All he knows is he gets lots of carrides and extra fun time with his hoomans.
Oh, good idea about putting the tee back on. No locking the apot Nicholas!!
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Every day just gets better and better for Nicky the Activity Director! You two are well on your way to the new normal and even with all that driving around, I have a feeling you'll both be able to handle the appointments. When it comes to dog parks, here's a post about setting out on that adventure. I agree, everyone will be amazed by his recovery!
Thanks for the encouragement about all the appointments! I'll try to concentrate on Nicky's experience and not grumble! And the fascinating videos of dogs playing together! I can better visualize what it will be like at our dog park now. It should work out fine once the incision is totally healed and he gets more undercoat on the shaved parts.
Day 17 Sunday July 2 A red letter day! Nicky and I took a walk in the morning halfway down the orchard road and about 20 feet into the rough ground (since he has to learn how to navigate it safely) Then he lay down and looked around for a while.
His friend the guitar player who hadn't seen him in a week was amazed at how he's getting around, and he got lots of hugs. Then in the evening he got to come up the front porch steps into the kitchen and we all had dinner together! He lay on his old bed! Had a good meal plus human "dessert" (our ritual table food, which he loves: tonight a tblsp of beans and salad) First time he's been on this level of the house for almost a month. We were all so happy! Then he went around in the house by himself and found his way down to our bath tile floor. He seems to understand that he has to take stairs carefully.
Day 18 Monday July 3. A sleepy day. He's able to go and sleep wherever he wants now and seems very relaxed. I expect extra rest after a very social day, but also have to remember typical Newfie behavior in 90 degree weather! Walks in the early morning then resting in the shade or the tile until everning, so he's acting like his old self! His sore spot is healed.
Day 19 Tuesday July 4. Still terribly hot and Nicky is sleeping it off as he as always done. Didn't want to go for a walk. Didn't want to go up the front steps for dinner. I helped with a fair booth for two hours today, the longest we've been apart in a month! He had a short trial run in the car to practice for tomorrow's rehab appointment and stepped in and out easily with his foam block.
Hi Suzanne! I just saw your update. Strange how the forum timestamp says you posted this on 7/1 but your updates go to Tuesday 7/4. I'll have to get Admin Guy to find out what's happening.
I love all the little milestones that you are sharing. Maybe his guitar playing friend can write a song about him? 🙂
That heat is a real beast for any dogs but especially larger three-legged ones. Yeah, he'll probably be pretty tired from this summer weather but that is really normal this time of year.
Were you worried when you two were apart? Bet you were more concerned than he was!
Hope your rehab visit went well. I'll look for a pupdate.
Day 20 Wednesday July 5 The rehabilitation doctor's visit went so well. I like her very much and Nicholas is in love! His expression while he was lolling around being massaged was a real treat The therapist had a big mat on the floor ready for him and moved around him massaging and assessing him all over.
"He was very calm, cooperative and sweet today" "bright, alert, responsive" incision well healed, everything else normal. Pain 0 to 0.5 on a scale of 5. He needs to lose weight. She said he's not bad for a four legged Newf, but as a tripawd he needs to be as thin as possible. When this all started, we stopped treats from all household members and he had lost a couple of pounds in the two weeks before amputation, so I'll have to see if eating only his regular meals will do the job. Poor Nicky, no more cream cheese pill wraps, just dog food wraps which are a mess but better for him. Both his vet and the therapist kindly included a flat statement in their reports that says three legged dogs cannot have treats.
He's "well muscled". The therapist spent a lot of time on his good leg and says it's very strong (take that bobcat!) and he's adjusting well and moves well in both directions. All in all he's heading for new normal as you said. What the cancer decides to do is something else, so we'll just enjoy our days.
So glad you and Nicky had a good Rehab visit. To confirm how well he's doing from a "professional " who understands Tripawds is such a compliment to who Nicholas is and to his great care you are giving👍
It's so much fun reading about his progress. The way you are ,measuring it with each time he "reclaims" his pre-op routines and then to celebrate them all....excellent observations!!!
Thanks so much for taking the time to chronicle his recovery and onward and upward journey!!!
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Thursday July 6 Day 21
Hi thanks so much for all your help on this journey, a slurp from Nick too!
No problems here. I have been using the edit function to go to a previous post and add daily notes when not much was happening... but that therapy visit was so exciting that I had to create a separate post. It was so reassuring to see his progress written down on a report. The therapist is great about going step by step from where we are. When we get to the exercises on a schedule I will not be such an ideal client, but I'll try!
When I've caught up on the rest of my life a little bit, I want to make blog that shows what happened day by day. I'll just delete the other two blogs and start over. That is the reason for the daily notes, but I don't want to take time from people that need more of an emergency response. I learn a lot by reading your responses to other dogs too. We have quite a few giants right now!
Today is three weeks since his amputation.
WHOA!!! You are NOT taking time from others in any way, shape, or form!! We ALL learn from each individuals journey AND we LOVE being able to celebrate milestones. This is so necessary to give others hope and help them stay inspired by the accomplishments of a dog like Nicholas....especially a bit dog!
And please convey to Nick his "slirp" was greatly appreciated. Having been owned by several Bull Mastiffs I understand the slime involved in a slurp! Mu current Bull Mastiff is blind, so her kisses are hit and miss and I never know where the slurp/slime/drool will land😉
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
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