Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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So sweet patchy is having a tough time. A few days ago his good leg a started collapsing on him, he has been pretty sad 🙁 last night he threw up his dinner and today won't eat or drink anything. Not sure what is happening he had been doing so well. Any thoughts our encouragement would be appReciated. I am worried about my boy!
Boy I'm so sorry, I know this is really hard. That could be a ton of different things all of which I'll bet are totally not serious and temporary. Have you talked to the vet yet? What are their thoughts? Are you taking him in? When?
We'll keep sending lots of pawsitivity your way. Try not to worry and don't let your mind run away with you OK? We are thinking of you both. xoxo
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Yel, get the vet to check him out in the morning....more for your reassurance than anything else! It's sooo hard not to think crazy stuff on this journey! Dogs get upset tummies every now and then a dwe usually don't give it a second though...unless you're in the "tripawd journey!"
Is Patchy on any meds? Any Rimadyl or Metacam?
Is his weak leg any better? Update when you get back from the vet.
((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
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!
Hope your vet is able to get this resolved - must be so hard for you to watch your guy not feeling well. Hopefully, it is just some random dog thing, or a med or something easily correctable. Will be thinking of you and Patchy and sending positive thoughts your way.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
I so appreciate everyone's encouragement, his leg seems a bit better. Upset tummy is main concern, we just started him on tumeric and the k9 omega wondering if these could be upsetting his tummy? Haven't talked to Kevin this morning to see how he is but will keep everyone posted ate I talk to him.
So sorry Patchy has an upset tummy! I'm wondering if he is showing any signs of nausea? For our Ellie, she would turn her head away if presented w/ food and start drooling heavily and smacking her lips. You could really tell that the smell of food just made her feel like she was going to throw up.
We originally thought it would get better once she was weaned off all the drugs, but she didn't start eating consistently until we gave her a round of Cerenia (anti-nausea), 1 pill for 4 days. I know it has been 5 weeks already but if it is nausea then perhaps you could ask your vet about Cerenia.
And for the collapsing leg, our Ellie was exactly like that. She'd hop around and then her back leg would just start giving out and she'd squat lower and lower. We didn't appreciate how many new/different muscles she was using as a tripawd. I think some strengthening exercises and massage would have really helped our Ellie. We didn't start them soon enough, which is the one regret that I have.
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
I'm not a big fan of turmeric for pets unless there is clear evidence showing the benefits and potential side effects. I read some research on turmeric for cats and they found that the quantity turmeric required to be of benefit was so high that it would be impossible to administer. It may be different for dogs.
If you haven't done so, I suggest talking to a holistic vet when giving any supplement or a supplement/medication.
I hope Patchy feels better soon.
Kerren and Tripawd Kitty Mona
I would agree with the gentle massage... I was remiss in doing that w/Shelby on her remaining rear leg and she definitely had issues there too. keep us posted!!!
Shelby Lynne; Jack Russell/Shiba Inu mix. Proud member of the April Angels of 2014.
October 15, 2000 to April 8, 2014
Our story: Broke rear leg in June 2013 - non-conclusive results for cancer so leg was plated and pinned. Enlarged spleen in September 2013 and had it removed and was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma and started chemotherapy. Became a Tripawd January 8th, 2014 and definitive Hemangiosarcoma diagnosis. Three major surgeries in 7 months and Shelby took them all like a champ only to lose her battle to cancer in her brain. We had 8 amazing extra months together and no regrets. #shelbystrong #loveofmylife
If it is the K9 immunity plus, that may be the culprit. I tried Otis on that about 2 weeks ago, for about 5 days, and it seemed to increase his nausea. I stopped, and am going to try again once all of the chemo is out of his system. For what it is worth, his oncologist sais that it is a safe supplement, many of her patients use it, and she has no problem with us giving it to him, although there is no real science in terms of benefits for osteo dogs. I would stop that for a few days, and see if there is any improvement.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
I'm sorry Patchy isn't feeling well.
My quad-pug Tani had IBD and one of the things I learned dealing with her tummy issues was never to introduce more than one diet change at a time, that included food, supplements and even meds. That way if I gave her something new and she had a reaction I could be fairly certain it was the new food/supplement/med. When I started her on new supplements I usually started with a lower than recommended dose for her and if she did well then I upped the dosage.
Maybe try removing any food or supplement that you have introduced recently and hopefully Patchy will feel better. Then once he is stable try introducing a low dose of one supplement at a time and see how he does.
Karen
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
That is a great idea! I will try that when I re-introduce the K9 Immunity .
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
My Susie has a temperamental tummy, too, and she wouldn't eat for the longest time after surgery. What finally worked was giving her canned Canine i/D (Hill's Science Diet). It has to be bought at the vet's and is specifically for upset tummies. Also, I started giving her one Pepcid tablet (10 mg) a day. The oncologist said it would be fine to give it to her.
If Patchy is taking Omega fish oil, that could definitely upset his tummy. Turmeric could do the same thing. (I take both myself, and was told to take them with food to minimize stomach upset.)
Also, as far as the leg collapsing--that still happens with my Susie, and she is three months post-op! It's not uncommon at all, as they're trying to figure out how to move around with one less leg. And sometimes she just seems to forget that amputated leg is not there anymore!
Hope Patchy feels better soon.
Love and ((((hugs)))xxx
Nancy & Susie
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