Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
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Go Sage go!! She’s looking so good!
Her gait will get smoother and faster the better she feels. I now have to wear running shoes to keep up with Lucy on our walks.
Good to know! I was wondering myself about that and hoping she eventually wouldn't have to pull so hard with the momentum from her head. Either way, she is clearly so happy to be out and about again, even if it's a little-by-little process!
Quick pupdate after Sage's check up today post-chemo. Her white blood cell count and everything else is looking great! We were told to try to now stop the gabapentin after a slow taper this week and she how she does without it, but to keep up with the anti-inflammatory for the time being. Also...perhaps our favorite news...she is down to 122lbs! We KNEW she was looking leaner! Her heaviest weight, pre-surgery and pre-diet was 148! She still eats two great meals a day but with a more balanced diet. I'll share this on the diet blog now that we've finally figured out the balance and have seen the results 🙂 So proud of her. She could still lose about 10ish more pounds probably. 122 would have been a pretty decent weight on four legs, but she still has a little way to go to be a lean tripawd, but she is clearly well on her way! Thanks, as always, to all the encouragement and innovative ideas from this community! We couldn't be doing this without all of you!
WOW Sage! You and your humans make us so proud, what a great example of weight loss teamwork!! Congratulations!!!!
You are so welcome, and thank YOU for allowing us to be part of this journey with Sage. It's an honor.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Gorgeous Svelte Sage! We must see a photo!!
And congrats on the good check up. You should have two low-cal cookies to celebrate!
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!
Hi all, I’m new to this forum because our 5 1/2 yo Stella is scheduled for front amp December 7th. I’ll admit we go back and forth as to whether we are doing the right thing for her. She’s a solid girl at 154lbs, and I know the bigger they are the harder recovery can be. We also have challenges similar to Sage - only have an SUV, and have 4-5 steps to get in/ out of the house. Additionally, her surgeon and chemo docs are two hours away. So I am thankful to read about Sage’s progress as well as the suggestions for ramps and harnesses. And yes, the diet tips! Our Stella should probably be about 145 given her frame - I guess COVID blues have impacted her as well. Our girl lives for food, so the suggestions for including more fruits and veg should help.
prayers for continued positive progress for sage!
Hello and welcome stacyp, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
I'm sorry you are facing amputation with Stella- is it OSA?
I'm glad Sage's journey so far has brought you some comfort and confidence. Please be sure and start your own thread so we can follow along once Stella has her surgery.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Hi stacyp! I'm so glad that this story has helped you! And I'm sorry you're facing this situation with Stella, but glad she has family like you who takes care with these decisions and her healthy and safety
Stella looks beautiful in that photo!! Please do ask me any questions that you need. And everyone else on this amazing forum!
Sage is older and a rescue. In her previous life, she was likely kept in a small cage her entire life. So when she came to us about a year ago, she was not really the most mobile dog in the world. That being said, she still learned the front 5-6 steps by day 7 - it was truly incredible. Even if Stella needs a little more time, don't worry, she will get there. We purchased outdoor treads for her to put on the stairs as traction . We chose these because they don't get slippery in the rain: https://afm.wat.....e-pattern/ We bought the sticky tape too.
She still needs our help getting into the SUV but she could barely do that on 4 legs. Even so, she does better each time she tries!
As for diet, we took her overall portion down a bit and replaced about a quarter or so with veggies. After some trial and error, her favorites seem to be boiled broccoli and green beans! In fact, she seems to like them better than her kibble now which we didn't expect lol. Treats are minimal these days, she likes blueberries so those can be treats sometimes. (Just not too many because of the sugar.) If you need to use treats to encourage things like getting up on her own or helping with steps, try breaking treats into quarters or halves.
For Sage's two week check-up post-chemo this week, her white blood cell count was low. This happens, it's a reaction to chemo. We're hoping that when she goes in for her second dose on Tuesday, the count is back to normal. Other than that, she is doing amazing and seems super happy
Aww thanks for sharing your tips and experience with Sage! She's such a rock star and you have the best attitude!
@stacyp I'm looking forward to following Stella's journey, we'll be looking for the new topic so keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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