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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my 8 year old yellow lab barley was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in his back leg last week. Had his surgery yesterday and took him home last night. It was so rough. He cried nonstop until the morning. He's receiving 3 pain meds plus a IV drug we give every 6 hours to numb the pain. He's been having leaking at the IV site of blood and fluid, appears to be getting better. I know he has anxiety issues so I don't know if he's crying because he can't lick the wound due to cone or because he's actually in pain. When we take the cone off, he goes crazy trying to get at the wound/IV site. We also have stairs to get outside and he's been struggling bad. I know it will get better but this has been so rough. Any advice would make me feel so much better
Welcome and best wishes for Barley's recovery. Coming home the same day is very difficult on dogs who are still experiencing withdrawal symptoms from coming down off the anesthesia. It sounds like Barley is well medicated. What medication is he on?
Many of the symptoms you describe could be side effects of the pain meds. Consider reviewing these posts and podcasts for more information about pain management :
Is Your Dog or Cat in Pain? Here’s How to Know the Signs.
Vet Expert Mike Petty Shares Tripawd Pain Management Tips
Seromas are quite common. Click any highlighted seroma link for information about what to look for in seromas gone bad. Any discharge should be white or milky, maybe pink. Not dark red, nor smell foul. Watch this video of common complications for more information.
Be sure to bookmark Jerry's Required Reading List for many more helpful links or consider downloading the Tripawds e-books for fast answers to common concerns. If you need help navigating this site, start here .
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Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hello Barley & his humans!
The first few days are SO nerve-wracking! Sometimes, just like in humans, anesthesia and pain meds can cause restlessness, nervousness and crying. IVs aren't too comfortable, so I'm not surprised to hear Barley is trying to get to it. Even with pain meds on board, those are annoying (I say this because I have logged plenty of time in the hospital with an IV & pain meds - still was anxious to get that thing out!).
You know your pup best, so if you feel like he is in pain, call the vet and talk to him or her about it. Not all dogs respond the same way to medicines and, while I don't know what they gave you, I feel like I was very fortunate to have gabapentin - which was NOT provided by the surgeon but instead, my regular vet.
My Izzy is 12 and is a front leg tripawd. I nearly had a heart attack every time I took her out to potty the first two weeks. She walked like a drunk for almost as long and did great coming up the stairs but I carried her down for a long time. Overprotective dog mom here. Fortunately, she is a 50 pound dog and I could carry her alone but you might try a sling to help. You can even use a towel - just anything to help support and stabilize Barley as he gets accustomed to life on three legs.
The good news is that most pups recover quite well - and probably "get over it" faster and easier than their humans. Even better news? You found this site! There are so many wonderful, helpful people here. I know this was my lifeline those first few weeks. I was so nervous and had so many questions and wanted to make sure I wasn't "doing it wrong" so take a deep breath, try not to stress and VENT ALL YOU WANT HERE! We are happy to listen and try to help!
Hugs to your new hopper!
Amy (& Izzy too 🙂 )
Momma to the world's most beautiful American Bulldog, Izzy!! Lost her front leg to OSA 9/18/15. Diagnosed w MCT in June 2016. Celebrated her 1 year ampuversary with knee surgery on 9/18/16! MCT recurrence in Dec 2016. Happy & hungry til nearly 14, earning her wings on 7/31/17.
Awe so sorry for your diagnosis brought you here. Having to bring them home the same day as surgery is tough. Like Jim said the surgery drugs wearing off and the effects of the pain management drugs kicking in make for hard days. I'm sure Sally (Benny) will be by shortly and share her story of her first few days and weeks with her Haapy Hannah and you'll surely be able to relate. I'll share our worst part of the journey and that was bringing Max home. We had our surgery done at a specialty clinic 90 miles away. They kept him overnight so we didn't have that first bad night you are experiencing but the next day when we went to get him he didn't happily hop out glad to see us as many here do. We all but had to carry with a sling this 110# dog to the car. On the hour and a half car ride home he screamed and cried the whole way home. I think it took him about 3 days before he figured out we hadn't taken both his back legs. Suddenly one day up he got up and all of a sudden there he was standing in the kitchen. And from that point on there was no stopping him and he was back to his regular speed which was full out fast. We all know we know how hard this journey is. It will get better very soon. Each day after the first few will bring new progress. We will be here every step of the way walking right with you. Try to just get through today and then the next. Go baby steps. And take care of yourself too. Those sleepless nights and the emotional part of this journey takes a toll on a person. Try to stay calm with Barley and project pawsitive vibes. Dogs will pick up on our emotions so if we are strong and act like this is ok they will too. I really think Barley is reacting to all the different pre and post drugs in his system right now and once some of those clear out things will get better for both of you. Keep us posted let us know how we can help you. Hugs coming your way & don't worry you are doing great!
Linda, Ollie, Riley & Spirit Mighty Max
Thank you everyone for the kind words! Today has been a better day already. Hasn't been crying as much, walking around, eating, drinking water, and finally his pee is clear!!! (it has been light brown since bringing him home) he's on tramadol, carprofen, gabapentin, and gets bupivicaine through his IV (which he absolutely fights us on) were hoping to get some kind of sleep tonight and hope he isn't as restless.
I also forgot to mention we also got a harness and it helped us a lot. It had a handle at the top which allowed us to grab it if we needed to but still allow Max once he got his sea legs to hop along on his own to do his business. He really fought us if we didn't let him go by himself and kept hold of him. We used the Ruff Wear Harness by webmaster. Also do you have non slip runners on any bare floors? It's very hard for new tripawds to be able to navigate slippery floors and runners are lifesavers. If you have any other question just ask we're here to help.
Linda, Ollie, Riley & Spirit Mighty Max
Great to hear he's doing better today. Yup we actually ended up calling the surgeon to ask about the brown pee. We were told that was normal.
Linda
We did get that exact harness but they told us not to use it right away because of the staples They gave us a guider but he does not like it. And yes we actually got cheap rugs to cover all the bare spots in our house. I was so worried about his pee, glad I'm not the only one!
Welcome to you and Barley.
So sorry about the OSA diagnosis, but as you have seen this is a very knowledgeable and supportive community.
No wonder the first night was so hard- bringing a pup home the same day as surgery is tough. Many stay at least one night, but in some cases coming home the same day is the best option. Part of what you were seeing is the surgery meds getting out of his system- most of us miss the biggest part of that. Dogs do a lot of vocalization under those meds and it can be very unnerving. You guys did great getting thought night one!
There can be ups and downs during the first couple of weeks so stay positive and remember you did this FOR Barley- giving him a chance for more quality time with your pack.
And don't worry about calling the vet when you have any questions, that's what they are there for. Even if it is something you think is simple, the peace of mind you get with a professional answer goes a long way.
We are always here to share our experience and offer support.
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
Geez, just catching up!!
You've gotten great advice from Amy, Linda, Karen and our Admin Guy.
Aooo glad roday has been better! Eating, drinking, peeing, all really good for day two! Really good! Now let us know when he poops (sometimes the meds delay that for a few days). We love doing a HOPPY POO DANCE around here!
And ditto Karen about calling the vet with any concerns! Is there still leaking at the IV site?
My Happy Hannah did spend one night at the Vets. When I brought her home she whined and cried and was restless for nineteen hours straight! I think the most sleep she and I got the first several days was about five total!
This is a very stressful time. Getting to this point is exhausting mentally and physically. But as you see Barley start to get his sparkle back...and you wii...all this will be worth it!
Barley is going to get on with living life to the fullest without any worries! He is going to get more loving a d spoiling than you, or he, ever dreamed possible! Savor the living in the now with Barley! He is!
Looking forward to more updates AND pictures of your handsome boy!
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!
You've gotten great advice and input so I can't add much. There are a few lucky dogs here who don't seem to even notice they've lost a leg but most have a roughly 2 week period post-amp which can be pretty rough for everyone. Sometimes during that time it will seem like things will never get better, but they almost always do, and sooner than you expect. So hang in there and appreciate every little bit of progress in the right direction. Before you know it, Barley will be back to his old self.
BTW, our Ellie also had anxiety issues. They didn't go away post-amp, but they did seem to get a tiny bit better. It was like she knew that it was better to conserve her energy for things that mattered.
Denise, Bill and Angel Ellie.
Active 10+ Pyr mix suddenly came up lame with ACL tear in left rear leg. Scheduled for a TPLO but final pre-op x-rays indicated a small suspicious area, possibly OSA, which could have caused the ACL tear. Surgeon opened the knee for TPLO but found soft bone. Biopsy came back positive for OSA. Became a Tripawd 9/18/14. Carbo6 with Cerenia and Fluids. Pain free and living in the moment. Crossed the Bridge on 7/12/15 after probable spread of cancer to her cervical spine. A whole lifetime of memories squeezed into 10 months. Here's her story: Eloise
For what it's worth, I brought Izzy home the day of surgery and it was over two hours away. I don't know what I would've done if my best friend hadn't gone with me to help carry Izzy up the stairs into the house - she yelped when I tried to pick her up so we had to lift her stretcher style on the blanket - and if I hadn't come home with a sedative for her.
Yes, I admit it. I am the mom who sedated my dog the night of surgery. haha
I'm so glad to hear the second day was better. Each gets a bit easier, I promise. I was so fortunate to get to work from home for the first week, but I was brave enough to leave her for a couple of hours on day 5 (I think) and she did great.
Keep posting, let us know how Barley is doing and you, as well!
Momma to the world's most beautiful American Bulldog, Izzy!! Lost her front leg to OSA 9/18/15. Diagnosed w MCT in June 2016. Celebrated her 1 year ampuversary with knee surgery on 9/18/16! MCT recurrence in Dec 2016. Happy & hungry til nearly 14, earning her wings on 7/31/17.
Tomorrow will be Cole's 2 week ampiversary so we are not too far ahead of you in this process. Cole's operation was in the afternoon so they kept him overnight and we picked him up about 24 hours after surgery. He cried all night like you describe and it was so terrible to watch. We had Bupivacaine too but it was in a catheter port just above the incision (his is a front leg amputation). Is the IV like that or is it in Barley's leg? Cole fought us when we did the injections a little at first too. Inject it really slowly with one person holding him still and one person holding the port/syringe if possible. Going slow helped for Cole. There was a little leaking at the spot where the catheter tube went into his skin. It was just a few drops and the blood tinged fluid stopped after a day or two.
The vet gave Cole an anti anxiety drug called Trazodone to keep him calm while he recovers. Maybe ask your doctor if this is something that would be good?
Hang in there! The first few days are really rough but you will be so surprised by how quickly he recovers.
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