Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Roosevelt is a 150lb (pre amputation weight) Cane Corso just celebrating his 6th birthday and working through his 7th day after a rear right leg amputation.
About 4 weeks ago, a limp after playing alerted us to his right back leg, a trip to the vets office and prescription of anti inflamitories. Roosevelts leg improoved after a week but the limped soon returned the week after. Our regular vet at this point recommended x rays and referral to a specialist. Waiting for call backs, appointments and information was a challenge, but we were lucky to find a cooperative emergency vet clinic with in house oncology and surgical teams. Results of diagnostics confirmed a sarcoma but no spread beyond the leg hawk. 
Roosevelts amputation was completed about a week ago. The first 5 days of recovery were encouraging but In the last few days he has hit a rough patch and we are working to adjust his medication.
Thank you very much to Sally whom was wonderful to chat with at the support line and provide valuable reassurance, experience and support.
Lara, Matt and Roosevelt
Hi Guys, welcome to our community! I'm so glad Sally could help you, because she really knows about the subject of big dog recoveries!
We are sorry you had to join us but are glad you joined and posted. We are here to help however we can, so ask any questions and keep us posted on Roosevelt. Sounds like his recovery is typical, those post-op crashes are common. It's like a dog's body catches up with the brain that keeps trying to tell the pup that they can still do everything as before. And while that's possible, it just takes time.
Big dog recoveries aren't the easiest as you've discovered, but once you get his pain management under control things should get better in a few days.
We look forward to following along with your journey.
Lara, Matt and the Magnificent Rooosevelt! Enjoyed speaking with you yesterday and so glad you came here to share Roosevelt's story. He's clearly adored and loved♥️
When you can, let is know how adding the Gabapentin back in has worked for you. Hopefully it's settled him some and taken away some of the pain signals . May still take some tweaking of the dose isn't enough (or too much).
Hang in there. I know, hard to be patient but recover doesn't last furever....just seems like it!!
Oh, and we would love to see pictures. Here's a link for adding images . In the meantime I'll send you my email thru PM (private messenger) and you can send me some pics and I'll be glad to post them👍
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!
Okay, get ready to meet the sweetest, most handsome Cane Corso you may ever encounter.
Introducing Mr. Roosevelt!
He who owns the remote rules the house
This face!!!! It wants to be smooches through the screen! Aich a sweetheart of a dog🥰
Here he's is overseeing the construction of the deck with stairs made just for him.
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!
Roosevelt you are soooooo gorgeous! You can rule my house any day.
Thanks for posting these Sally!
Roosevelt's Update
We added Gabapentin back in over a 24 hour period but continued to see adverse reactions: Panting, restlessness, gas. It is hard to tell what is pain related vs reaction to medication. We were able to visit the vets office yesterday. Although we struggled to get him out of bed the past two days he was ready to jump in the car. At the vets office he was in the best spirits and energy we had seen for some days, maybe an act? The vet confirmed no signs of infection, normal vitals etc. Acetaminophen was dusscussed as an option. Given the challenges with the side effects we have stopped the Gabapentin and Amantadine medications to observe any changes and paying close attention to signs of pain. The night was tough with continued restlessness, thought to be coming down from the medications. At about 4am we decided to try the Tylenol as he was whimpering, 325mg with food, seemed to help after about 20 minutes. Sleeping today but still not wanting to get up, we will see what he does when mom gets home as this normally gets him outa bed. We are thinking of trying to continue on Tylenol only. The other medications make him worse even if to relieve some pain. Any thoughts or advice is welcome. We hope for a restful night tonight.
Oh poor guy! The panting and restlessness are very common when pain is not under control. We usually don't see those types of reactions to Gabapentin. The gas could be post-op related. What is the dosage he was getting for the Gaba? How much and how often? For a dog his size it would need to be a pretty good sized dose to bring him some comfort.
Glad that the Tylenol is at least helping a little, but generally it's not enough by itself to help a dog feel better after amputation surgery. Is he on any anti-inflammatory medication like Meloxicam?
Nerve block at vets post surgery
Matacam 1.5mg/ml 65kg/ 24 hous
Amanatadine 100mg / 1 every 12 hours
Gabapentin 400 mg / 1 every 8 hours
We noticed a reaction with Gabapentin when given prior to / awaiting amp and therefore avoided it first 6 days post surgery just on meta/amant, pain seemed managed until day 6, we tried the 2 doses gabapentin with the other meds but no improvements. Off the mess today less panting, no whimpering but won't get up yet.
Just to clarify, he's only had two doses of Gaba (400 mg X2). That's a very, very, very small amount for a big dog and it does need to be given consistently to have a positive effect.
I know we sound like a broken record, but he's definitely giving pain signals . Generally if he he was having too much Gaba (which he is DEFINATELY not), at the most he might sleep a whole lot but not have pain signs. But the pain signs, panting, restless, etc should decrease or stop. Jist trying to say the pain sogns before the surgery and now were not related to the Gaba....but not having enough Gaba consistently.
And yeah, Acetaminophen does nothing for pain but would definitely sedate the heck out of him.
Suggestion, talk to the Vet about an adequate a count of Gaba for a dog his size, (ie 600 mg × 3 per day). Or at least some codeine ....something for pain.
We know it's hard to be patient, but rest is exactly what Roosevelt needs right now.....resting "comfortably ". He is a BOPIG dog and he just had MAJOR surgery and he just doesn't feel like moving around much right now.
Be confident and strong and upbeat around him. A pawsit energy on your part is crucial. The fact that he perked up when he went to the Vet. That's a victory!! Celebrate that!!!
If you have any friend or family member he really likes have them stop by. Have them bring him a cheeseburger and come in all upbeat and excited, etc.
Also, wait to get him up to potty once he shows signs of "urgency " wanting to go out. A hooman would delay fetti g put of bed as long as possible too just seven days after MAJOR surgery😉
Give him lots of ,massage after every potty trip and inbetween.
Again, not a Vet and not giving Vet advice👍
Smooch that mug for us🥰
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!
Poor guy! He's so cute and big...
Just thought this might be of interest. Our Newf who had just turned 8 and pre amputation weighed 144 pounds (very strong and healthy)
Gabapentin: two 400mg pills, given every 8 hours making 2400 mg a day.
Rimadyl 150 mg every 12 hours, 300 mg a day
Amantadine 150 mg every 12 hours, 300 mg a day
We kept this up preamputation and after the operation for about 4 weeks, dropping rimadyl soonest, then tapered Gabapentin and Amantadine for about 10 days. Now he is in his sixth week and not taking any meds. The vet said to expect disorientation at first and I did see that the first few days, then no particular side effects. I thought I saw more alertness as the meds were lowered but that could just have been increased mobility and the passage of time.
This is just what my vet and Oregon State University Vet oncology prescribed. I don't know anything about pain medication, but it seems that if he is taking Gabapentin perhaps he should have a higher dosage or perhaps there is a different and better solution.
I hope he feels better soon. He's just a dear!
Thank you for the advice and support. Mom got home and "activated" Rosey to get up and outside for a good pee (mother's delight). No yelping and lessening paintings, he was happy enough to go on a short car ride (favorite thing for a big smushy face) and even a second pee! Both are napping now in apparent comfort.
I know there is pain as a factor however there are also big problems with side effects. When on the stronger medication he is not present and can be grumpy (growls and snaps), appears on edge. As a larger dog he is not easy to handle unless cooperative. This is emotionally chalanging for both us and the dog and I thinking setting us farther back then ahead. I know these are also pain signs, but now 24 hours off the medication he seems to level out. We are going to continue to monitor hour to hour. Even if we begin more medication it is known that it takes days to provide full relief, and by this time we again will need to step it back. He does not react to us touching the site, and there is no licking even with no cone which seems positive.
I believe the situation is emotional as much as physical. The bread has some unique qualities which work both for and against us. Although we have worked hard at training and socialization, he still has some feral nature (we love you buddy)
A speacial lamb dinner may help 😋 l, turkey meat balls are getting boring.
We will keep you posted and thanks for all your suggestions. Roosevelt send a big wet slobber kiss
He is such a majestic dog! Giant dogs are my weakness. I just wish they weren’t disproportionately affected by this cancer. 🙁
I totally understand the issues with losing a dog’s cooperation with medical procedures. Honor used to get allergy shots on a regular basis and one night he let my husband know he was done…in no uncertain terms. 😐
Peeing and being "activated" by Momxoming home....spectacular! Celebrate that! It is a step further towards a full eecovery.
You know your Roosecelt best. So our "suggestions" on pain meds are based on knowledge gained and shared on the site. Every dog is different and not all have the same make up when it comes to processing the pain meds. You are doing a good job of monitoring things and you know Rosey's behavior, reactions, etc far better than anyone else. So please know we fully support the path thst works best for you and Roosevelt as he moves through healing. So o e. Ore time......know Roosevelt best and all the intricacies of hos very special breed. He is sooooo lucky to have you and Lara's understanding and love.
So you know you have to give that big smushy face akoss for is, right???? And I would love posting more pics of Mr Roosechint👍
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!
We are now day 10 after surgery. Last night was better and we have continued acetaminophen/ 8 hours with no adverse reaction and appearance of some positive effects. There were some pain signs through the night, but lessening from past 24 hours. He got up again a few times on his own will which is also good. I gave him a good rub this morning and he loosened up a bit. Mom's at home today. Many thanks for your advice, insights and supports. More pics coming.
OMD!!! Look at this adorable puppy Roosevelt and let your heart melt!! And then look how he grew into this truly majestic Soul....long legged Soul!!!.. And he makes the perfect back seat driver 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!
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