Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hey! Our eight year old sheppard/lab mix had her hind leg amputated at the end of January, a couple months after we were back to our normal walks. In the last week or so she hasn't been wanting to go further than the lawn, and sits or lays down every time she stops. Sometimes I noticed her legs shaking a bit, eventually it stops. Wondering if anyone else has experienced this? Thanks!
Hey to you! 😉
Yes others have gone through this but it's a sign that she's doing too much. A few questions:
So, what's a 'normal' walk for her? How long and how far? She is definitely giving you pain signals that she's going too far for her capabilities. For now, rest rest rest is in order, and a visit to your vet to discuss pain management for her. Sounds like she can use some relief. Is she on any medication like Rimadyl or other pain reliever?
What is her overall fitness level like? Is she carrying any extra pounds? And how much play does she get at home? Also, is she only walking on concrete?
All dogs are different in their exercise abilities. One of the best ways to gauge her new normal is to take us up on the Tripawds Foundation Vet Rehab Reimbursement program. It will pay for your first rehab visit with her, so that you can have her evaluated, find out why she is hurting, and how to prevent it from happening again. Please let us know if you'd like help finding a therapist.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Wow thanks for the speedy response 🙂 We normally do about a 30-40 walk on the beach, which she was doing until a couple of weeks ago. Now we just try to walk her on the trail through the woods behind our house (20 min). She hasn't been on medication since her amputation. I give her CBD everyday though. She's not overweight, and she just mostly likes to lay on her bed when we are inside.
Is the Vet Rehab Reimbursement available in Canada? That sounds awesome!
Thanks!
You are sooo welcome! That's why we are here.
Yes the program is available in Canada! The link has info.
Sounds like you guys have a very active, fun lifestyle! That's awesome she is otherwise a strong, healthy dog. I'm sure it's a lovely area where you live. Beach and woods too? COOL!
Ok, so I'm not a vet, take it for what it's worth, but that beach walk is lonnnnnnnnnng. And walking in sand is really, really hard until you get to hard-packed sand. For now, I hate to say it, but skip that until you can get her rested up and hopefully evaluated by a therapist. They can also direct you to an effective pain management plan to help her feel better sooner. You really want to have her take it easy. We see a lot of post-op injuries happen just because parents don't know what they don't know. I was in the same boat too, we didn't know anything when Jerry lost his leg. He almost needed a cruciate repair surgery because we were working him too hard. See:
https://tripawd.....-tripawds/
https://tripawd.....id-injury/
Therapists tell us that a fit, healthy Tripawd should normally do shorter, more frequent walks of no more than 20 minutes at a time. A new Tripawd needs time to build up to that. And it's all breed-dependent too. We talk about this a lot in our e-book, Loving Life On Three Legs .
Keep her rested up. Play interactive brain games with her to prevent boredom. Look for a therapist and let us know if you'd like help finding one OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Can only ditto Jerry's spot on observations and advice.
Definitely resting up, a Rehab visit and an anti-inflammatory like Rimadyl should help. When a dog sits down like he does at the end of your lawn she's telling you she's not up for going further.
Once she recovers, as Jerry said, moderation is the key. Beach walks much shorter and with lots of rest stops inbetween. I'm quite impressed that she was able to do such long beach walks in the sand without having issues way before this. She's a Tripawd Warrior!!
Looking forward to more updates...and we would love pictures! Here's a link to help adding images
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!
I appreciate the time and info!! Yes looking back at our beach walks i'm now realizing it was a tad much....oops! I just didn't know and my vet didn't really give much info. Do I need to see the vet before booking an appointment for a therapist? I've found one in Fredericton, New Brunswick, that's a two hour drive away (which i would do) but i'm in the Saint John area and am having trouble finding one. I would appreciate if you could help me out 🙂
I'll check out the link to add a photo of Winnie, she really is the sweetest dog 🙂
Hey that's why we are here! No worries, I've done things like that too, you don't know what you don't know. Now you do! Yay!
You're not alone, many people leave the vet clinic without any instructions. For decades the thinking among vets was that 3-legged dogs get along fine and don't need any extra TLC, but now we know that long term damage and osteoarthritis happens much sooner in their life if we aren't careful. So that's why we started the program.
I'm happy to help with finding a centre for you. Please PM me your address so that I can research, I'm not familiar with the area but I'm confident I can help!
This is how adding images to the Forums works.
- Upload pics to a photo sharing site like imgur.com or your own Tripawds blog (https://tripawd...../supporter). Pictures and video have to be hosted (live) somewhere other than in the forums.
- Once the photo is uploaded somewhere, right click and copy the Image URL or just copy the image if you’re on a phone
- Return to your Tripawds Forum post and paste the image URL (or the image itself) in your post. It should automatically appear.
If you’d like help figuring out the process let me know.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I can't seem to figure out how to post a picture, i'm not that computer savvy! Here's a link to it i think haha!
Kim
haha... 
Beautiful!
That's one way to do it...Here are detailed instructions for adding photos to forum posts . If you don't already share photos online somewhere, you can start a free Tripawds blog any time and upload them there. Need further help? Post in the Tech Support forum and we'll be happy to help!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
She's so adorable! Very lovely photo of her very lovely self at her very lovely beach!!!
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!
UPDATE:
So we took Winnie to the after hours clinic ($$$
)on sunday because she really wouldn't get up, yelped when i tried to lift her and was shaking. So they did an X-ray of her lungs, ALL CLEAR!! 🙂 did blood tests, her platelets he said were a little low but not alarming so going back in for another test on Monday. On Gabapentin and Meloxicam for the next week to see how that works. She's more her "new" self now that she has some pain relief. Went to our regular vet this morning for a check over to be referred to another vet that offers rehab and maybe some acupuncture, we'll see what they suggest. Other than that we're pretty happy and relieved 🙂
Oh my dog I hear you about the $$$. Well at least all systems checked out that's awesome. AND she's medicated with pain control so that's good. Let us know what the rehab vet practice says OK? It sounds like all things are pointing to some post-op pain that can be treated. It's great to know you are happy and relieved! YAY!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
UPDATE:
So we got the pain meds on Sunday and she was improving in the couple days after that, now today she went for a VERY short walk and came back to the house laid down and was shaking like before, after maybe 10-15 minutes she relaxed but MAN I felt helpless. She's been going in and out to go pee and lay in the yard but she just looks not herself, her ears are back and she seems tense. She's eating and drinking and all that good stuff. Going to the vet monday already for blood tests so i'll see what she says then. I just want my Winnie back to her happy self!
Anyone else have this happen? Her X-rays and blood work were clear so I don't know...
Darn, I'm sorry! Yes this can certainly happen depending on what's going on. Pain medication can be helpful but it also takes a multi-modal approach, so not just meds but therapy too. It's GREAT that the is eating and drinking. About how long was the walk, and what kind of surface was she on? Did she do any hills?
Were you able to get in touch with the rehab therapist?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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