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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Just a caution on the peanut butter. Trouble is extremely allergic, we gave her allergy meds with PB for a long while and just recently switched to cream cheese. Within a week I thought she was not itching as much, in two weeks I had stopped giving her Benedryl every day. She hasn't had Benedryl in weeks now.
If you have a dog with allergies, just be cautious.
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.
Tazzie said:
She has been using broth in water to entice me to drink (yumm), but I wonder – is broth too salty to use often?
There are low-sodium bouillon cubes you can get, which are much better.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I've used baby food, not during the cancer, but another time when Trouble had a severe sore throat and couldn't eat. Stick to the well pureed meats & vegetables.
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.
Kadie, her Mom, and all who have posted here,
Not sure how I missed the start of this discussion, but thank goodness for the depth of the support here. While I know that you have had great worries about the start of Kadie's recovery, actually Kadie's recovery has not sounded too bad. Each responds differently and while many have had a much easier time than Cherry, many have had a much more difficult time. Cherry started to have significant blood in her urine slightly more than a week post amputation. The main thing is that you stayed on top of the situation and got the necessary care. It is great to hear of another great pawrent.
I made extensive use of chicken broth to help sooth the tummy during Cherry's chemotherapy. I had to literally stuff nearly every morsil of food during this two month period. Even to this day, we have a broad spectrum of foods hoping that something within that pantry will satify an appetite that seems to turn on a regular basis. When Cherry would not willingly take fluids, I used a test tube wash bottle to introduce the broth or water in the corner of her mouth, by the back teeth at the gum line.
Back to Kadie's progress, it was great to hear that things are improving. I am sure that you will have both ups and downs, but that you both will return to a quality of life. We celebrated eight months of recovery last week and I believe Trouble is not too far behind and Nova is just slightly longer. We look forward to hearing of Kadie's progress and her ampuversarys.
Bob & Cherry
Hello - we are finally successfully registered. The avatar is Kadie post-surgery. It's been 17 days since her surgery and she is practically back to her level of energy pre-surgery. Thanks again for all the tips - it's so helpful to hear what has worked for all of you and what to watch out for.
Going through this with Kadie seemed to be one of the hardest things imaginable to me, but I am thankful that we are making progress with her. Our hearts go out to those of you still struggling now and have been through quite a bit more than we have. A couple weeks ago I was in a state of panic and very scared as I know you all can relate. Thanks again for the reassurance and support.
The past couple of days Kadie has been shedding enormously and with a lot of skin attached at the base of the follicle . I first thought this was just chafing from a t-shirt I put on her to protect her wound if she fell. But the skin flaking and the hair loss if nothing I've seen before from her. Any of you experience this post-surgery? Kadie is a yellow Lab/Rott or Chow mix with an undercoat.
Tazzie's Mom - hope you are hanging in there ok. I found it was helpful for Kadie's psychy to let her on our bed at the foot with a lot of training pads underneath her, since she still has some drainage...(ew) and let her look out the window to get her mind off of herself. I let her bark without scolding etc. Also, we tried heating up and mashing her dry dog food up along with her boiled chicken to sneak in some nutrients. The t-shirt also worked well with a training pad tucked inside to soak up any drainage and keep it off the carpet. In case she fell, the t-shirt helped to protect her incision. We just knotted the t-shirt back behind her to keep it snug.
The cream cheese suggestion is a good one.. The reason we stopped giving Kadie canned food was because she was completely sick from it the next day. She was not used to the treat of canned dog food so she ate too fast and consequently couldn't keep it down. Then she refused to eat anything afterwards for at least two days and would throw up bile. I think for a dog who has never had canned food, or people food either, the canned food was too much for her. However, the boiled chicken, a little at a time, was a definite winner though. One more thing I thought of - keeping her medicated was keeping her from having the energy to lift herself up and get out to the potty. When we eased up on the tramadol, she was significantly brighter eyed and stronger.
Hope this helps - and hope that you and yours are doing well...
~Kadie's Mom
kadiesmom said:
Any of you experience this post-surgery? Kadie is a yellow Lab/Rott or Chow mix with an undercoat.
Oh poor Kadie. No, I'm sorry, that didn't happen to me. Maybe some labwork can determine if she has a deficiency of some sort?
Thanks for registering and sharing your fears, your hopes and your advice. This site would be nothing without good pawrents like you taking the time to be here supporting one another.
So glad to hear she's on the mend. Keep us posted OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Kadie's mom
It is fantastic that Kadie had such a slow and scary start and is doing so well now. We need to make more people aware of our late-bloomers. Tazzie seems far perkier the last three days, well, until today when he is doing his best rock impersonation again (no doubt related to this week's chemo and a tummy ache - not too worried about this). The only thing I could get him to take, for his anti-nausea pill, was Safeway chevre cheese. Cream cheese, peanut butter, and baby food (the list goes on) were not good enough. And Tazzie has never been a picky eater.
Kadie - as for your hair loss, I assume you are not on chemo or specifically adriamycin - is that right? That could explain hair loss, although mostly for breeds that have continously growing coats (terriers, poodles, sheep dogs).
Once a couple of years ago, I cut Tazzie's matts out and they did not grow back for several months, which was accompanied by loss of lots of other hair. So perhaps there is something unrelated to the cancer going on. In Tazzie's case, it seemed the root of the problem might have been worms. We gave him worm medicine and the fur grew back. Sometimes problems with hair are noticeable after hair is shaved and fails to grow back. I vowed to never cut his hair again, but this summer we have had no choice!
Susan
When we eased up on the tramadol, she was significantly brighter eyed and stronger.
There are no two ways about it. For many, tramadol just knocks them for a loop. We had to take Cherry off the tramadol because she would have uncontrolled mini convulsions. Shortly after removing the tramadol, they stopped. When all the chemicals, including the chemotherapy and all the chemicals associated with the chemotherapy treatments, the my little girl returned as bright and mischievous as ever. Things will continue to improve and while there may still be ups and downs, the overall progress will be up.
Best of luck and keep us all posted.
Bob & Cherry
Being able to get them off all the meds does make a significant improvement in their quality of life. The trick is to find the minimal amount that will give you the balance you need. Trouble has arthritis and keeping her on a minimal dose of Rimadyl keeps her mobile without the tripping, stumbling and falling she was doing without it. She takes 1/2 a pill a day and is doing so much better.
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.
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