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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Today is Bailey's first night home (2nd night post op). He didn't move much all day and at first had very little appetite. He peed his bed this afternoon while laying down - definitely a result of the fentanyl patch and bupenephrine injection he got today. A bit later we hand fed him some lean ground beef and kibble and he ate the entire bowl. He also drained a bowl of water and then went out to pee. About an hour later he started whimpering constantly. The vet had only prescribed a fentanyl patch so I posted a question in the share your story forum asking for advice on using tramadol. We also called the emergency vet hospital and one of the vets told me Tramadol would not have an impact because it was a weaker opiate than Fentanyl. They advised me to administer Deramax and Amantadine instead of which I had plenty on hand. 30 minutes later his whimpering stopped and he is now sound asleep.
I've read a few posts about Amantadine and have to say that when coupled with an NSAID, it has worked wonders for Bailey. 3 months before his surgery he was completely lame. We took him to UPenn to see a specialist. They diagnosed the myxosarcoma of the connective tissue and added Amantadine to his daily Deramax regimen. The next day he was literraly running - not walking - on the leg. We were astonished.
I am inclined to ask the vet tomorrrow for gabapentin as well, another drug I have read quite a bit about. Supplents will be continued aslo. We have had him on glucosamine for years and I believe it is part of the reason that his hips are still in such great shape for a 12.5 yr old shepherd mix. I just buy the cheapest capsules I can find at walmart and crush them up in some peanut butter. We both take them together (although I take mine straight - no peanut butter!). My wife also srated giving him flax seed oil and phytoplankton. I look forward to learning about other good supplements and rehab techinques and continuing to hear about other's experiences.
It sounds like you have a good handle on the drug end of things. I'm glad to hear that Bailey is resting comfortably now.
There are quite a few people who have experience with Gabapentin - see djbrockman - Dan and his dog Gus. Gus had phantom pain , and Dan gave him gabapentin. You could PM him and ask.
Many people used Tramadol - with mixed results - it seems many dogs aren't able to function very well - my dog, Sophie, did not handle Tramadol very well. It made her so stoned she was not able to get up or move around - and she threw up anything she tried to eat. Once we got her off the pain meds, she did much better. She was also an older dog when she had her surgery - she was also 12.5 and was a golden retriever.
Good on you for taking your glucosomine straight up !! 
I'm sure your hips thank you, too! I also gave Sophie glucosomine and flax seed oil. Her hips were good, too.
Another thing I did for Sophie in the early days was to put a cold pack on her incision - 20 minutes at a time. It seemed to help her with the pain.
My advice - sounds like you've got a good handle on things - don't hesitate to call the vet. Your dog needs to be comfortable. It will be a difficult couple of weeks. Bailey's appetite will come and go - pain will change, he might experience phantom pain , and he will have bouts of incontinence - as you noted - sometimes they are drugged and just don't know they've gone to the bathroom - sometimes it is just too difficult to get up in time. Keep slippery floors covered with rugs - or put booties on Bailey for traction . A towel slung under him for support if needed when he's getting up and moving around. As soon as you can - when his incision is healed enough - get a Ruff Wear Harness - they are awesome.
Good luck. Keep checking in - and posting - there are many people here who can - and will - chime in with advice or experience.
Tana
Sophie (1998 – 2010)
"Going Dog" def: living every day in the moment
"It came to me that every time I lose a dog they take a piece of my heart with them. And every new dog who comes into my life gifts me with a piece of their heart. If I live long enough, all the components of my heart will be dog, and I will become as generous and loving as they are."
–Unknown
First off - Bailey is a handsome boy!
Second, that surgery business is scary stuff! Why can't our dogs to talk, darnit!??
Others will chime in to help you. I didnt have a cancer dog (well, I didn't think I did until her last day) nor an amputation - she had a deformed leg. I just want to let you know we are here and we'll try to help even if it's just support. We are good listeners!
Keep us posted!
Heaps of Healing Wishes for Bailey!
Angel Comet's mom
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
My favorite rahab technique is taking Chloe to the beach. I know not everyone has the luxury to do so, but it is great for Chloe since she is NOT a swimmer (she likes to "puddle hop" but any deeper than 3" is not interesting to her). Its less harsh on her joints than concrete and was a great strength training technique for that one back leg. Plus she likes tide pooling which requires dexterity and I just call that her "core training".
Many people do swimming therapy or core training with tools. I copied this from one of the admin's previous posts:
All tripawds will adjust their gait and stance. And we have found that rear-leggers often require more time to rbuild their strength. Be sure to review our video interview with California Animal Rehab for lots of exercises and stretching advice. It is important to focus on building core muscle strength – walking does not help build strength, only endurance. Here are a few more posts and videos that should help…
Core Exercise Balance Disc Demo Video with Maggie
Buja Board Exercise Help Build Core Muscles
Build Dog Muscle Mass with K-9 Super Fuel
You'll find many more recovery and care tips in Jerry's Required Reading List. For immediate answers to the most common questions consider downloading the new Tripawds e-book Three Legs and A Spare.
I'm sure others will chime in too!
-Chloe's mom
Chloe became a rear amp tripawd on 7-29-10. Another tumor was removed on front leg 2-20-14. Found 3rd tumor on neck 2-2015, but she's still kicking cancer's butt at age 14. Chloe's blog
Nicole, you rock! Thanks for passing along the info.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Bailey loves the b - e - a - c - h! I can't say it out loud because he gets too excited. He is not a swimmer either - its a rare occasion if he gets his belly wet. We can't wait to bring him back down after his incision heals. Thanks for the other tips too!
Thanks for posting about what worked for Bailey. Since every pup reacts differently it's good to know there are options.
I'm with you on the glucosamine too. Before Mag's amp she was limping (her other leg or hip) and we could not find a reason. We started her on glucosamine and within a couple of weeks the limp was gone we never had another mobility problem, even after almost 4 years as a tri-pug. It has also worked wonders form Mag's little sis Tani who is now 10.5 and has been dealing with arthritis in her back for more than 2 years. So far we have not had to give her any other meds to keep her happy and mobile.
I must admit I did not focus on specific exercises for Maggie's rehab. We just slowly increased her activity level, and the lengths of her walks. But we did spend a lot of time playing with toys and wrestling (easy to do with a small dog). This got her to do short bursts to chase toys, and worked on her agility while we wrestled. I learned some massage skills from my massage therapist and would often work on Maggie's back and remaining back leg. I was fortunate that Maggie liked that, not all dogs do.
I hope Bailey's recovery continues uneventfully.
Karen and the pugapalooza
One of my posts is "Queen of the beach". It shows the different "obstacles" and what Chloe loves to do at the beach. This was 2.5 months post amp.
We'd love to see Bailey at the beach when he is recovered enough to do so!
-Nicole
Chloe became a rear amp tripawd on 7-29-10. Another tumor was removed on front leg 2-20-14. Found 3rd tumor on neck 2-2015, but she's still kicking cancer's butt at age 14. Chloe's blog
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