Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Sadie is a 10.5 year old Golden. She had her right rear leg amputated on 12/14, due to synovial sarcoma in her hock. We first noticed her tumor in May. We took a while to decide to amputate because of her age and because she also has indolent lymphoma, which we have been monitoring for two years without treatment and which has remained stable. During that time, Sadie gradually stopped putting weight on her leg because of the pain and the leg became lame/atrophied. Before her surgery, she was navigating really well on three legs. We finally decided to amputate because we hoped it would relieve her of pain and she could have hopefully a few more years with us pain free.
It’s now 12 days post surgery and we’re worried. I’ve been reading a lot on this forum and know recovery is up and down, but we’re fearful we made the wrong choice. Sadie has been able to walk since the hospital since she was used to walking on three legs. Over the last couple days though she has become reluctant to walk. We can coax her with treats but she just stands or tries to sit otherwise.
I think she is in pain and I worry that she’s been under medicated this whole time. The vet prescribed her Tramadol (1.5 pills AM and PM) and NSAIDs (.5 pill AM and PM). Sadie was 60 pounds before her surgery. When she was sent home, he suggested we not give her Tramadol in the morning on Day 5 to see how she did. We did that and could tell she was in pain, so we put her back but in a lesser dose 1 pill AM and PM plus the NSAID. We’ve been weaning her off since then because it seemed that’s what the vet was suggesting, but I know this community will feel she has been under medicated and I’m worried. She is now off of Tramadol for two days and only on NSAID (.75 pill in AM and .5 pill in PM, which is what she was on pre-surgery). She has been more mentally alert and like herself since going off Tramadol, which has been a relief since she was kinda out of it for a while, but I think she’s still in pain. She’s also been stuck in the same room (carpeted, 1st floor) this whole time (so that she can have easy access to the outside without stairs, and so she doesn’t have to contend with our slippery floors), so I also wonder if she’s kind of bored and depressed. She’s been licking her front limbs so I think they hurt her. I don’t know if she should go back on the Tramadol or if it will get better each day. I’m worried we’ve made the wrong choice for an older dog. Help.
Hi Sadie's Mommy, welcome. Your future posts won't need to wait for approval so post away. Rest assured you have not made a mistake. Yes, there are ups and downs in recovery but you can get through this together. Lean on us! Let's try to figure this out so you can have a conversation with your veterinarian.
I'm sorry she is having these issues right now. You are correct: yes, we feel, in our non-vet opinion but based on what pain management vets tell us, that she has been under medicated. You might have seen our articles about how Tramadol is ineffective in managing major acute pain. This could be contributing to her lack of mobility right now, but being that it's two weeks out, there could be other issues happening. Her leg licking is one of several pain signals dogs give when they are telling us they hurt, as is sitting down and reluctance to do any activity. So your instincts are spot on.
Have you talked to your vet about her mobility issues? If not, call them tomorrow and let them know. And let us know what they say.
Meanwhile, take good notes on her behavior and pain signals so you can describe what is happening. Massage gently and see if she reacts by looking back at you. Note those sensitive areas. It's not uncommon for a new Tripawd to pull shoulder or lower back/hip muscles. Focus on those areas but use a light touch to see if she responds either positively or negatively.
If she feels separated from the family, this could also make her behave in unusual ways so if at all possible, get lots of traction for your floors and get her back to where she is comfortable. If that area is too far for her to go outside, you might want to try a sling or harness like the Ruffwear Webmaster or Flagline to assist her. Just make sure that she has lots of non-slip surfaces to get outside.
I hope this helps. Stay tuned for feedback from others and stay strong, she will get her mojo back!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you, Jerry! I will keep you posted. Is it typical in your experience moderating this forum and speaking with pain management experts that dogs remain on opioids at almost two weeks out?
I noticed today that she is kicking her front left leg, which seems like it would be the one she needs to use more with her rear right leg gone. She was licking it again this afternoon and I gave her a gentle massage and I could tell it was tender but also that she appreciated it. I’m sure she’s sore all over. We’ll keep the gentle massages up and pay attention to how she reacts.
My husband has been sleeping in the same room as her and we’ve barely left her alone since her surgery. But we’ve been keeping her away from her favorite spots up on the couch or wedged in tight spaces. Today we made one of her tight spaces between the couch and the ottoman a little roomier and just now she moved herself there. She looks happier.
Anyway thanks for responding. I’ll keep you all posted.
sadiesmommy said
Thank you, Jerry! I will keep you posted. Is it typical in your experience moderating this forum and speaking with pain management experts that dogs remain on opioids at almost two weeks out?
You are so welcome, that's why we are here.
When it comes to pain control, generally most dogs are on it for 10-14 days. Older dogs tend to need a bit more time, so no this would not be unusual.
You are doing everything right, don't doubt yourself. Keep doing what you're doing and stay in touch OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Can only ditto. every word said👍
We all try and follow Vet advice because they are the "expert's" and we are not. Unfortunately many Vets are still very "old school" or very behind the times when ot comes to,pain managment
We are sooooo glad you found this community. We have real hands on experience when it comes to recovery. Bets do a great job with the surgery, but they don't come ho e with is and see what recovery looks like!! They are u9gh on hospital meds and most times hop out.
As you have seen though, once those meds are out of her system they can have a crash that seems to continue.
We can pretty much assure you, once you get the RIGHT pain meds back on track, limit her activity (which sounds like you are), etc, you should see an improvement in her eecovery. Yes, "mature" pips take longer to recover often a yway. She's kind of behind the eight ball because all her energy has been spent fighting the pain and trying to heal from MAJOR SURGERY.
You will see from the links Jerry gave you, most dogs nowadays come home with Gabapentin, anti-inflammatory and an antibiotic. And they start these meds the next day after surgery. Tramadol is not used nearly as much anymore for how kind of surfery pain. And it can make them a little whacky.
Guessing the pain is catching up with uour sweet pup, as well as most likely tweaking some muscles.....soooo easy to do pearly on in recovery. That can cause a reluctance to move.
As Jerry said, tive her lots of ,massage. Go up and down her spine, around her shoulder and neck. Whe may show some signs of tension, somewhere, but hopefully it will be very relaxing?
So yes, call your Vet asap and advocate strongly for Gabapentin 300 mg for a dog her size. The dose varies, but she should be getting this bare minimum anywhere from every 8 - 12 hours..
And to state loudly and clearly!!! NOT A VET AND NOT GIVING VET ADVICE!!!!. Merely conveying our experience from being on this site and being informed on latest pain management through this site.
How is she doing otherwise? Eating, drinking, pottying okay. Just doing SHORT leashed potty breaks and back in for more rest??
FWIW, A lot of "us" during the first two weeks doubt our decision and wonder what we have done TO our dogs. Soon, you will be so glad you did this FOR your Sadie!!!
Hang in there! You'll get through this...just need a little better support from your Vet on pain management .
And be sure and so lots of massages (-over a warm towel is good) to keep her muscles from becoming too tight. It ""-generally" takes about two,0lis weeks to recover from the amputation surgery, and about a month to adjust to their new gait, balance, etc. Remember, every dog recovers at their own pace, so try not to compare recoveries.
Keep us in the loop and let us know how the follow up 2ith your Be5 goes
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!
And while it takes me a gazzillion years to typo, I see your response and Jerry's. So glad massage helps. Reclaiming her spot between otto,an and sofa HUGR sign of progress and HIGR sign of getting a routine back👏👏👏👏👏
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!
All her bio functions are great. She’s been pooping, peeing, and eating with gusto right since she came home. So that’s something to be grateful for!
I think we let her push herself too soon. She’d been taking only short potty breaks in the yard but after several days she started wanting to go beyond the fence, so she’s been out on a few longer walks. A few blocks and back. She’d go out with purpose, pulling on the leash, so we kind of let her lead. But then she’s need to pause a bit on the way back. So it’s very possible she pulled something during one of those outings.
I feel terrible now! Ack. Well we’ll talk to her vet and see if she can get some relief for a little bit so she can finish healing.
There is NOTHING...NOTHING...NOTHING ..you need to feel"tereible" about!!!
You have no way of knowing about pain management nor about steps to take during the first two weeks of rec regarding just potty breaks, etc. This is exactly why this community exists to help fill in the gaps after the surgery.
Based on your updates it is very likely that some of this is doing too much too soon. It's very hard NOT to let dogs do more when their mind tells them let's go Mom!! . Then, as you noted. the trips back caught up with her and she needed rest. It prob6 did her a lot of good mentally, so that kinda' good. But physically, maybe not so much!!!.
Make no mistake about it, you are doing an excellent job!! Sadie is very lucky to jave you as her Holman. She is clearly adored!
And good for you for recognizing the pawsitive and celebrating them! Good "fipu ctions", good eating, drinking, etc...SPECTACULAR! Still tickled over her reclaiming her space around the ottoman and being happy about it.
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!
Thank you for the support and acceptance! Very happy I found this place. It’s been a place of hope during this whole journey.
Sadie continues more or less in the same way. Alert and “with it” and in some moments moving fairly well and without pain signals
, but at other times shows great reluctance to move or moves gingerly and and shows some pain signals
. We are going to see if we can get her stitches out tomorrow (Day 13) and if not she has an appointment on Wednesday (Day 15). Still eating, relieving herself fine. She is still only on Rimadyl, which clearly alleviates her pain somewhat once it kicks in.
We are trying to decide if we should put her back in Tramadol or give her Gabapentin (we have filled prescriptions for both at home) or something else, but are confused about the options after doing extensive reading. I’ve read enough to believe that Tramadol is not particularly effective, though it seemed to work a bit for Sadie. But from what I’ve read, there is also not sufficient scientific evidence to show gabapentin is effective as an analgesic, though there is plenty of anecdotal evidence on this blog. Yet many of those stories seem to describe gabapentin sedating animals pretty heavily and I’m not clear if sedation is the same thing as pain relief. Though maybe it is? Because if you’re sedated you’re not conscious of feeling pain?
Anyway, I guess I’m wondering if there is anyone in these forums who found success with Tramadol? Or other modalities? Or who can explain why gabapentin is so preferred?
I hope these questions are received as genuinely as they are intended and based only in loving concern for my sweet Sadie.
hope these questions are received as genuinely as they are intended and based only in loving concern for my sweet Sadie.
Absolutely ten million percent is exactly how you preeent your questions and how they are received, and exactly how we "try" and present our feedback. We are all on the same page, so no worries! We love the bond uou and Sadie have...so sweet and so true♥️
Again, we are not Vets and NOT giving Vet advice and can only share the numerous experiences we see here and the pain protocol offered by the vast majority of Orthopedic Surgeons who do numerous amputations.
As mentioned earlier, Tramadol 'used" to be given in conjunction. with Gabapentin. The Tramadol seemed to compliment the Gabapentin. Most of the studies we see here and the research from pain specialist is that Tramadol is not effective for amputation pain, as you already noted.
Now, that said, every dog reacts to pain meds differently. If you feel ot od helpful to Sadie, that's all that matters. We just know based on uour feedback that the Tramadol and the anti inflammatory (Rimadyl) weren't doing the job.
From my non professional novice unerstanding Gab blocks nerve pain. It's used for hoomans who have had amputation. It is not intended as a "sedation drug" for amputees and doesn't normally have that severe of a side effect.It's a pain blocker. It doesn't knock you "unconscious " so to speak. There is a difference when a dog is finally relaxing comfortably without pain as opposed to be wobbly drunk sedated. While slight sedation CAN be a side effect, guess that depends on the dosage and frequency. Dr Google can be auch a scary place when they highlight all the "possible worse case scenario " side effects. Geez, try reading the warning labels on a bottle of aspirin!!
Holy moly! Sounds s like I found a soap box to stand on!!! I'll hop off now and kick it to the side. You can certainly try the Gaba for a couple of days on a consistent basis and see if you see any benefit. Or, you can do the same with Tramdol dose you did before irst and see if that works now.
Regardless, you are with Sadie and you know Sadie best!!! If Tramadol works for her, then that is the vest approach for her specific make up. And you may ve the one who jas a better experience with Tramadol. Yet again, every dog is different and every reaction to a drug is dog specific.
You can ask about amantadine as another ootion.
Regardless I know you wwnt to do something to address the pain. Hopefully you can come up with a plan to try a few days and see what works.
Keep the massages up and the anti inflammatory. Both good for sore muscles.😎 And when she gets the stitches out, that may help her feel vetter too.
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!
Hello - my dog had his left forelimb amputated on the 10th. We were sent home with Gabapentin and Codeine and we had Rimadyl/Carprofen at home. The first 2 days Harley moved around pretty easily with very few pain signals but on day 3, the long acting pain shots wore off and he was quite miserable with pain. The surgeon had prescribed 300mg of Gabapentin every 8 hours, 30mg of Codeine every 8 hours and Carprofen (75mg) twice a day. When Harley was in a lot of pain on day 3/4, we increased his Gabapentin to 600mg every 3 hours because that was what he was on before amputation. After 4 or 5 days, we were able to start tapering the Gabapentin to 300mg 3 times a day and 15mg of Codeine 3 times a day. Then down to twice a day around day 11 or 12. We JUST finished off the last of the Codeine yesterday (day 16). So now Harley is getting 300mg of Gabapentin and 75mg of Carprofen twice a day and I also give him CBD oil in the evening. He has continuously gotten better at movement each day but we haven't gone on any walks. Basically just outside to do his business and then we let him lay outside for a while. He kind of dictates what he wants to do and he really hasn't been keen to do any major walking. His recheck appointment is on Wednesday.
I was worried about the Gabapentin gorking Harley out and had expressed those concerns with the Surgeon at the consult but she said that it may take 3 or 4 days for the dog to adjust to the higher dosage of Gabapentin and the "gorkiness" would go away. And it did.
Oh my gosh of course your questions are received and welcomed! They are all valid and understandable.
Everything Sally mentioned is 100% legit, and what she has learned here is based on what Dr. Robin Downing, vet pain management founder, has taught veterinarians and us. Here she is explaining more, based on this article we published:
I have also talked to human amputees who reiterate what she tells us about how Gabapentin helps.
there is also not sufficient scientific evidence to show gabapentin is effective as an analgesic
That's correct as far as veterinary medicine, but it's new to this field and well documented for human pain control.
many of those stories seem to describe gabapentin sedating animals pretty heavily and I’m not clear if sedation is the same thing as pain relief.
Sedation isn't the same as pain relief. Gabapentin can cause sedation but if you start the animal with it at night, and build up the daytime dosage over a few days, their body can get better acclimated to it. This is according to Dr. Mike Petty, a colleague of Dr. Downing's and also well known for vet pain management medicine.
Remember that like people, all animals may respond a little differently to the same drug. I don't doubt that Tramadol can have some effect on your dog's pain. And there is also the risk of a pet parent placebo effect that can happen with any pain control modality. But as of now, the most recent Tramadol findings show that it just isn't as effective as once believed.
As Sally mentioned you can ask about Amantadine. And it's not too early to consider booking an appointment with a canine rehab specialist that can get Sadie onto the strengthening and conditioning path a lot sooner. Remember the Tripawds Foundation can pay for your first rehab visit !
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you for this additional information! I really wish the vet had sent us home with a different protocol. As it is, I’m happy to report Sadie is starting to show signs of being more comfortable and getting back to her old habits. Doorbell rings? Up she goes from her bed, ears perked, tail wagging. Mom sits down with a slice of pizza? Sadie’s up and hopping across the family room to sit at my feet and even “advocate for herself” with her nose nudging ever closer to my plate. She also made herself comfy near her ottoman, sitting with her back to me and looking over her shoulder to ask for pets and a massage. I can tell she’s still sore and we will need to go slow for a while longer, but these signs today are so encouraging. Thanks for all your support.
Thrilled to read this SPECTACULAR update! WONDERFUL!!! So many things to celebrate as sweet Sadie 's sparkle is coming back big time!!!! Love visualizing all the ways she's returning to her routines.....as well as embracing the new one of training you to give her massages! Too cute!! It is sooooo much fun apoiling a tripawd!!!
You know we mist jave pictures!!! Here's a link for adding images .
Extra pizza for everyone!!
Higs
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!
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