Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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My Cooper had surgery to remove his right leg due to Osteosarcoma 8 days ago. He perks up when people come by or he gets a treat, or gets breakfast or dinner but the rest of the time he just seems sad. I know he is still healing but I don’t know if this “sadness” I see is from the drugs he’s taking or what? He’s taking 3 pills of Gabapentin 3 times a day plus 1Piroxicam a day. His surgeon said we can reduce the Gabapentin by 1 if we want, but I’m afraid to take a chance that he will have pain. I’m not sure if it’s better to just use the drugs and keep him possibly a little drugged up but more comfortable. It is so hard, please give me some encouragement that this will get better. It only took one friend today to tell me they were “surprised” we made this choice, to put doubt back in my mind. At the same time this is going on my son just had surgery on his 3 year old sweetheart of a dog for a Mast cell tumor. It’s a double whammy for us. I hurt for him so much. Such a down time.
YES!!! PROMISE IT GETS BETTER! You are in the phase of "What have I done TO my dog?" It a phase I was very familiar with. But once Cooper's sparkel comes back, and we promise it will, you will be in the glorious phase of, "Thank goodness I did this FOR my dog!"
No, uh aren't seeing "sadness". You are seeing a dog recovering from MAJOR surgery while adjust to three legs and while on pain meds.
So you're giving Coooer 300 mg three times a ,day? Go ahead and do what the Vet said and reduce the Gaba by one for each of three doses a day. If you see signs of pain, you can go back to the original plan. Gaba can have sort of a sedation effect, so uoh may see him less lethargic.
Now, about that "friend"....and we all had friends like that on this journey. YOU have done your research, they haven't. YOU have talked to the professional Vets, they haven't. YOU know you are giving Cooper a pain free quaility life, they don't have enough knowledge to know that. So yeah, just remind them of all that to "help them understand" and be "better informed". Clearly if they knew how much you love Cooper they wouldn't be "surprised" at all! We aren't!! We know the love you have for Cooper!
I'm sorry your son's dog is going through mast cell. There is a lot of info on the site, so let us k ow ig we can help.
As hard as it is, stay strong and confident and very upbeat in front of Cooper. He will definitely feed off your energy. And go ahead and reduce the meds as the Vet suggested and, as long as his pain is still managed (and it probably will be), proceed that way. Exaggerated enthusiasm for every rail wag, every step, a ything snd everything, lots of praise!
Overall, it sounds like Cooper is doing very well. Eating, drinking, pooping, peeing, wagging. Hang on just a bit longer. Eight days is NOT a long time. It just seems like it. Most people see sparkle come back around the two week mark...a but, on her for larger dogs. It did take me three weeks before I could say I did this FOR my Happy Hannah!
Keep us updated....and get some rest!!!
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!
Hi!
Big disclaimer that I have no expertise as we are only on Day 9 post surgery!!
Our 9 year old golden retriever, Toffee had osteosarcoma too and left front leg amputation. We are finding a lot of the same things as you. He loves to go out and see his people downstairs (we live in an urban area) and when we come back upstairs he mostly sleeps. He is starting to follow me around the house and sleep wherever I am so I am taking that as a good sign. A friend who is a vet mentioned that the sleeping and laying low are pretty normal post surgery and another benefit of being a dog and not ‘thinking’ that he should be doing more right now. Toff is weaning off his pain meds and isn’t showing any signs of pain in particular so far. This is all so sudden and so scary! I am so glad the vet suggested this website 😁 Hopefully someone with more experience can give us feedback!
Michelle (Toffee’s mum to everyone else 😂)
Its so hard to see our pets in a healing state like this. But I’ll cut to the chase:
Yes, things do get better!
Try to put yourself in his paws: when the body goes through so much, it needs lots of time to heal. The downtime is temporary and soon he will get his sparkle back. Patience, grasshopper, he will get there.
Gabapentin can make some dogs sleepy so you can certainly try to cut back and see how he does. If he shows pain signals you can always restart it. Personally I think that sticking to the meds until stitches are out is most helpful but you know him best so do what you think is going to help without causing pain.
As for the naysayers: ignore them. You only need supportive people around right now. You did the best you could to help Cooper have a great quality of life and unless they have been through this, they should keep quiet.
You guys are doing great, hang in there!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Cooper's mom, we are 7 days post-amp and I can totally relate! Thank you for posting this as it was helpful for me to see the responses. It IS major surgery and my baby, Petra, is doing SO well with all the basics--getting around okay, eating and voiding well, and so enjoys being loved on and her little nub (docked tail) wags like crazy. BUT she also still sleeps a lot, seems uncomfortable at times, and is very lowkey. For me, part of my desire to see her recover quickly is to alleviate the guilt/misgivings I have about going down this road, but I now realize that is so unfair to her. I'm going to do my best to be patient and give Petra lots of support in taking it easy and healing. It is really hard, I know. Sending you and Cooper and you son and his baby lots of love and strength! Jill (Petra's mom)
Hi Coopers mom I totally can relate to your post. Oz is 9 days post op and although he seems to be doing well, apart from his wound healing although the vet says it's fine, I feel awful seeing him like this. I am being upbeat with him so he doesn't pick up on how I feel! I'm just worried that Oz is never going to heal properly. Sending my best wishes to Cooper for recovery and to you too.
wilcon said
I am being upbeat with him so he doesn't pick up on how I feel!
Smart! Way to Be More Dog . And that is not just some silly saying.
And Welcome! You future forum posts will not require moderation. Consider starting a new topic or free Tripawds Blog to share Oz' story and start here fur help finding the many other Tripawds resources.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Haters gonna hate. We had lots of naysayers before we amputated Grover’s forelimb ... we enjoy showing them photos and videos of him hiking the mountains, killing his stuffies and videos of him flying around the house.
the first 3 weeks were the worst. Especially week 2-3 for us. It will get better. Day by day. Pieces of the old normal will return and you will realize how good the new normal is.
Every night we look at Grover and are thankful for this site and that we made the decision to amputate.
Hi everyone,
Thank you for all the replies and for the encouragement. It’s especially meaningful to have the input from those of you that have already been through this and to hear that my panic is normal and that I will get through it. But also to hear from those of you who are at the same point in this journey as we are. Wilcon with Oz, Jill with Petra, and Michelle with Toffee (Cooper is a golden retriever too, 10 years old) we all seem to be just days apart in our journey. It might be beneficial to all off us to be able to compare our next steps. I’m not sure how or if that can be done on this site, I’m still trying to navigate this system but I can tell you it is definitely helping to have an outlet to go to with my questions and fears. Any ideas or interest?
Now for some good news. 10 days post surgery now and I am seeing some signs of my old Cooper returning. Today is a good day. I decided to take him out front to walk around a bit and he walked a couple houses away to our neighbors and got lots of love and attention. His tail didn’t stop wagging. He got to smell the grass and see old friends, and he was walking easily. Then later we took him out there again and he saw his buddy Tank ( a big black lab) and he RAN to Tank to say Hi. He was so fast I had to let go of his leash. It was only about 20 ft he ran, but he did it! Then another of his dog friends came by and it was wonderful to see them all there together just hanging out and being dogs...three legs or four. So thank you everyone. I think we both made great strides today.
Marlene - Cooper’s mom
Oh Marlene, I’m so happy to hear Cooper had a good day! Petra also had a very good day, going for a couple short walks and seeing many of her people and dog friends who have been missing her (and a few cats who probably were not missing her—she loves them but they don’t feel the same way in return!). I really had to force her to cut the walk short and not over do it. She also greeted me at the door today so I know she is gaining stamina getting back to her old self. I love the idea of checking in with the group who are at a similar point in the journey. We could probably just post here in the forum. Wishing all the Tripawds a peaceful night and a good day ahead!
Jill (Petra’s mom)
coopersmom27 said
Hi everyone,It might be beneficial to all off us to be able to compare our next steps. I’m not sure how or if that can be done on this site, I’m still trying to navigate this system but I can tell you it is definitely helping to have an outlet to go to with my questions and fears. Any ideas or interest?
You can follow the ones you just mentioned, and they can follow you. To the right of your profile picture there are several "blocks" across. One says member, one says SUBSCRIBE and so on.
Bt tapping that on each other's post, you can be alerted everytime a new post is made on their particular thread.
I know, I'm clear as mud. No worries, one of the techies will come along behind me and translate what I was trying to explain. 😎 Plus, I have a tavlet snd things arr laid out differently on a tavlet compared to computers.
The only caution I would offer is to ALWAYS remember, every dog is different and every recovery is different!! They recover at their own pace and in their own way. FWIW it's still good to keep your own individual threads going too, as well as joining in with other. It just sort of makes it easier to follow each individual journey so we can offer individualized specific support. Again, probably as clear as. mud!!!
Now, a great big YAY for Cooper!!!! A GREAT day!!! I know you were grinning ear to ear to see him be so happy to see his friends!! It sure made us grin to read this!😁 Thanks for making our day!!
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!
coopersmom27 said
It might be beneficial to all off us to be able to compare our next steps. I’m not sure how or if that can be done on this site...
this is exactly why we created these forums and the Tripawds Blogs . Everypawdy can start their own forum topics, post regularly to document progress, and subscribe to each others' topics. Or, create blogs and share the links here in the forums.
I’m still trying to navigate this system...
Start here if you ever need help finding the many Tripawds resources, and don't miss the Tripawds Network tutorial video.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi all,
Brownie had front leg amp due to OST. The first two weeks he slept a lot. But day by day he got better. By the third week he got his spark back. It has been 10 months and I am so happy we went thru this. I have read that the surgery pain is pale to the tumor pain.
I have had a couple friends tell me I should of put Brownie down. I had the same reply to all of them and that was "there's the door".
When we were going thru recovery the best advise I got was to be patient. On the 3rd week Brownie was back to his stubbrand vocal self.
They will come around, just give it some time.
My Beautiful Beloved Brownie was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma on February 26, 2019. With all odds against him he lived an additional one year and eight days with amputation, love, and prayer. I was honored to be his mom, and I have never been so proud! He will live forever in my Heart!
04/01/2007 - 03/05/2020
"March Saint"
Update on Cooper....and me
Tomorrow will be 2 weeks post surgery. He is improving every day. He is waking about 1/2 mile in the mornings and yesterday followed me up our staircase. He almost beat me up. It wasn’t planned, we had been carrying him up, but he had other ideas and sneaked up behind me. I was nervous about him attempting to come back down so we stayed right next to him, but again, he figured it out. I’m definitely more hopeful and not so depressed myself. I am nervous about Chemo. We meet with the oncologist next week. All in all though, we are all adjusting to our new normal and have chosen to forgive and try to educate friends that may be a bit negative.
Happy New Year.
Marlene
So thrilled to hear how well Cooper is doing.....and how well YOU are doing!! YAY FOR VOTH 0F YOU!!!
Cooper is showing you how grateful he is that you had the courage to proceed with surgery! And it still gets better and better!! And when friends and family see how well Cooper is doing, they will have a better understanding of why you did this FOR him!😎
Generally, most dogs have few side effects from chemo, if any . So sometimes they are. a little lethargic for a day or so, and may have a little nausea. Your Vet will give you Cerenia in case he needs that for nausea.
Great way to start the Nww Year with such a good update on Cooper😀
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!
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