Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi all, hoping some folks out there recognise this scenario.... our chocolate lab Paddy had left rear leg removed on 30th Oct, following previous surgeries to remove infiltrative lipoma in rear leg the tumour returned and only option was to remove his leg. First couple of days he wasn't to bad, but in last 2-3 days he has gone very into himself and to some extent we think he is depressed... his personailty has gone...is this possible? ... he has gone from life and soul of the family to wanting to be on his own, reluctant to go out for a walk which is definitely not Paddy.. he seems to have lost confidence to get up and about.... we actually think that he is a very smart dog and is now fully aware of his lack of leg and now thinks he can't do anything he did before... he wasn't in pain that we know of prior to the op as far as we know so now think he is wondering what on earth we've done to him... getting the whole family frustrated and worried about getting him back to how he was.... any hints / tips greatly appreciated... cheers
Hi Paddy and Family, welcome. We're sorry you had to go through the amputation ordeal but we're here to help make things better hopefully!
My best advice to you is to be patient. Try to imagine if you were coping with the loss of a limb, and how you would be reacting to such dramatic change to your body. Remember, this is major surgery and even the strongest healthiest dogs need time to heal. Many will revert to their wolf-like instincts and want to be alone and hang out some place quiet where they can heal. Is he on pain medication? If so, what kind? Many pain medications also make many dogs slow down considerably and some will even see pink elephants from the drugs. Have you worked with your vet on managing any drugs he is taking?
At just a few days post amputation, Paddy shouldn't even be going for a walk. If he is trying to do too much too soon, he will show it by hiding his pain and not wanting to do much. That's usually pretty normal. Many dogs need at least a couple of weeks before they're feeling good enough to tackle any of their old favorite activities. Folks are often very surprised to see that yes, things DO get better after the healing is over.
Be sure to mention his behavior to your vet, but also be patient. He sounds like he just needs time to heal. Good luck and keep us posted OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Gosh your advise gave me such relief. My Louie just had his front leg amped on Thursday. He comes home today. He has trouble getting up and staying up but the aftercare hospital has him quite drugged up. I was worrying but hearing that I need patience and that it takes a couple weeks is a bit of relief.
belai123 said
My Louie just had his front leg amped on Thursday.
Welcome and best wishes for Louie's speedy recovery. Your future forum posts will not require moderation. Please consider starting a new topic to share details about his story.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Paddy and Paddy's Pack, sorry you had to find us here.
Our Abby was very depressed after her surgery. She normally would follow me everywhere but after her surgery she wanted to go out and lay in the yard all by herself. It was hard to watch, but eventually she came around and was her lively crazy self again. My vet said the same thing, that it is part of their wolf instincts to go off on their own when they aren't feeling great.
Hopefully with a bit more time and rest and recovery, he'll be back to his old self soon!
Jackie, angel Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
Thanks Jerry/Jackie, it has really helped us to know that you are out there and you've made us feel re-assured about Paddy's recovery. It really is an emotional rollercoaster on a daily basis but today we've woken up with new resolve that we will all be ok and to let things take their natural course. Paddy has shown a couple of glimmers of his old self today but more importantly we are far more chllled about watching him laze around and rest wherever he wants in the house.
The kids are very much dealing with it better than my wife and I... they are tellling everyone they now have their very own Tri-Pad !!!
Jerry, much appreciate your welcome... Paddy did have tramadol for a few days but we stopped it after discussion with our vet as we felt it was not agreeing with him... he is on Metacam and thats it for now. We have been discussing his behaviour with our vet and I think he has more or less been saying the same as you in a round about way.. patience is the key !!
As far as walks are concerned, unfortunately Paddy has never been one to do his needs in the back garden, fortunately we are 2 min walk from open space so thats where we've been going with him, in a controlled manner of course... interestingly the dark seems to put him off more than during the day just now, guess thats a confidence thing !
The only other thing bugging us a bit is that he is not drinking much in the way of water.... we are putting some in with his dinner so he is getting some, but usually he will go to his bowl 2 or 3 times a day which he is not doing... any thoughts?
Many thanks again to you all....
Now you've got it! Yes, patience is what will really help you cope with the ups and downs during recovery. Thankfully this doesn't last forever.
Sounds like his walks are probably OK but I wouldn't go any longer than that until he seems perkier.
The water thing....well, I'm thinking that since his activity level is down, his water intake is down accordingly. Is he eating and eliminating as usual? Is his appetite OK? if so, I wouldn't worry too much, but you can increase his thirst appetite by doing things like adding no-sodium chicken or beef broth to his water, or even a splash of gatorade.
We're here for you so chime in anytime. We hope things continue to get better!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Paddy and family. What you're dealing with right now is hard - watching every action (or inaction), every look, every bite of food, etc. Don't get me wrong - that's exactly what you need to be doing - but it also breeds worry! Every dog is different. Some take a little longer physically to recovery and some have that emotional or mental block that they need to overcome. It will happen with time and before you know it you will be beaming with pride at how well Paddy is getting along. Good luck with the rest of recovery!
Lisa
Zeus was a Husky mix diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at age 11. A visible lung met and suspicious spot on his liver meant a poor prognosis-six weeks was our vet's best guess. We decided to fight for our boy and his right front leg was amputated on 12/1/11. We did six rounds of chemo, changed his diet and spoiled him completely rotten. We were blessed with 10 great months after diagnosis. Against the odds, the lung met remained a single met and grew very little over those months. A wonderful furbaby with the most gentle spirit, he fought with a strength that we never imagined he possessed. We have no regrets...
http://zeuspod......pawds.com/
Welcome to Tripawds. Sorry I'm so late with the welcome, I was off line all weekend.
My little pug Maggie was a left rear amp due to mast cell cancer so like Paddy there was not much pain pre-amp. Mag was a slug and not herself for at least 4 weeks. She was easily discouraged when she would fall (for weeks) and I really had to encourage her. Now, she was a pug, very obstinate and not at all good with changes to her routine. She took longer than most I read about here, but she eventually got back to her old self. She was my tri-pug for almost 4 years.
Our emotions around our pups have a huge influence on them- I wish I had realized that with Maggie after her surgery (it was before Tripawds was here).
Patience is indeed the key, Paddy will be amazing you in no time!
Karen and the pugapalooza
Hi All, Apologies for the delay in giving an update, its all been a bit of a blur, but here we are 7 weeks post op today and I can say that Paddy is doing really well. We had some real ups and downs after my last update.
At the 2 week mark he was still not showing much signs of improvement from my last post but then had a day of being very sick. On advice from our vet we starved him and stopped his painkiller and lo and behold he started to perk up as if a veil had been lifted, it was great to see and turns out one of the side effects of the metacam is potential to cause sickness although we feel it was just his bodies way of saying enough is enough. So for a few days things were looking up until one morning we got up to find that his wound had abscessed and burst open ... very messy,smelly and distressing... basically a large hole in his side.. anyway, back to vet and onto antibiotics , swab away for test to confirm it was a common bacteria found in the skin. We'd to leave the wound open so spent the next 10 days following him everywhere to wipe up and catch the fluid continually leaking. After 2 weeks things had improved but still leakage so further swab found another underlying bacteria that didn't react to the medication, so change of antibiotic and another few days before things really started to recover... last week the wound had healed and the swelling had gone down, and yesterday finally we've been discharged from the vet with no more medication... and for the last week we've basically had the old Paddy back.. minus a leg which we don't even notice now to be honest. He is great out and about, walks fine, up/down stairs fine and is back playing with his toys and stealing slippers.... what a relief...
This community was definitely a catalyst to us getting through this.. with patience very much the key advice taken... even if it was for maybe longer than expected.. we are now looking forward to christmas and beyond, so many thanks for all your help and support and we wish you all the very best for 2013. Cheers
Poor guy (and poor you), sounds like he had a rocky few weeks. Glad to hear he has turned the corner and is doing so much better. It isn't an easy road at first for some, but most come out just fine with a little extra time.
It is always so wonderful to hear they are back to their 'former' selves. That means most of the stress is over for the human. I say most, because once you have a tripawd you never totally relax. There is always that small element of doubt that makes you super diligent tuning in to their every need.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
Whew! You guys have been through a LOT and we are so glad to hear things are all healed up, finally! What an ordeal, and what a relief you were able to cure that nasty infection.
Thanks so much for taking the time to post an update. Future pawrents will be helped so much by knowing what happened to Paddy. What a pawesome thing to know that he's loving life again.
Hoppy Howlidays to you and the pack! We look forward to hearing more about your Tripawd adventures.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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