Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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My wife and I dropped Charlotte (GSD) off this morning for her right rear amputation this morning (I gave her some gabapetin and trazodone to try reduce the fear)... Just got the call that it's done and she's drunk in recovery. We'll get a call tomorrow about pickup scheduling (depending on how she's doing).
Puppies:
We have a four month old Doodle (Oliver) who absolutely adores her and who she's loved to play with (GSD playing which means it looks like she's trying to eat him). She's in the habit of going outside when ever he does/waking up with him/etc.
Our vet recommend we keep them apart then slowly re-introduce after two weeks. Have any of you dealt with similar situations, any tips to help avoid incidents? Vet offered to give the pup trazodone to help reduce the crazy. We normally have him in a little "dog" pen in my wife's office during the day; Charlotte typically has free access but we were planning on allowing her only access between my wife's office and an adjoining room until we figure things out.
Weather:
There's a lot of snow on the ground where I'm at right now; which I'm sure is soon to turn to mud/rain. Any recommendations on keeping the incision site clean during bathroom breaks? I'm worried about falls in the mud and/or her being too exposed to the cold (given the shaved area). Have you had any luck with various coverings?
Thanks!
CONGRATU SURGERY OS DONE! I'm sure Charlotte is highly drugged right now and seeing pink elephants. So try and get some rest yourselves too, okay?
Yeah, keeping a young feisty puppy away from Charlotte right now is a good idea, especially early days of recovery. Is there a way you can take the puppy outside on her own and exercise the heck out of her? Soundss like she spends a good part of her day being confined so I'm sure she has a lot of pent up energy.you dont want to expose Charlotte. Maybe you could play some puzzles with your puppy to keep her mind stimulated. Just would hate to have to see a puppy sedated if you cant find ways to keep them separated that gives them both a win/win.
Maybe when the Puppy goes out to pee, you could keep her on a leash as well as Charlotte. . You could use one of those 20' training leashes that would give her freedom, yet control from you .
A harness for Charlotte may help you navigate the snow. You could use a towel as a sling jn the meantime.
As far as the incision you coild get Charlotte a waterproof coat/sweater to help keep it dry. In general the incision is stitched so well a quick trip out to pee (leashed) should keep it mid free.
Others will chime in with other input. Just wanted to congratulate Charlotte on completing surgery and headed into recovery. Let us know when she's hone.
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!
WOOHOO! Charlotte's over her first big hurdle! 
Your vet's advice is spot on, I'm so glad they mentioned keeping them separate. It's not so much an issue for older dogs, just young ones without an off-switch. This is a vintage post about siblings, but the same info still applies.
I'm with Sally, interactive brain games for the puppy will be especially helpful to keep things dialed down.
As for the weather, since she won't be spending too much time outside, a t-shirt over the incision should be enough to keep dirt away. And dirt really isn't all that risky for the incision. The biggest risk of infection lays underneath those stitches (as in picked up a bug at the clinic, or suture irritation), or from her being able to lick the area. So just focus on keeping her away from the sutures/staples and she should be fine. Yes, she may be cold. If you have a dog sweater for her that's ideal, though a little tricky to get on her when she's wonky from the pain meds. Just keep the breaks short, she will be OK. She IS a GSD after all! 
You guys are on your way to recovery. Rest up and let us know how tomorrow goes.
quick status,charlie is back home!
she's doing quite well. she's eatting her food, drinking water (lots of it) and was able to pee (lots of it) as soon as she got home. she can really get moving but has challenges whit her inclination for sudden turns. i'm using a sling ( to try and catch her from a sudden fall) and an ezdog covert trail harness.
ill post more later, just ditting next to her while she naps after her dinner
Awww give your sweet girl a big giant smooch from us!
In no time at all she will get that balance right, turns are hard work at first. Eventually you can show her some exercises to help her steady even more. She will be a pro in no time!
Super glad she's back with you. Ask any questions and keep us posted.
It's been a few rough days with ups and downs.
First day Was ok. She was able to move fairly well and peed once she got home after a bit of wandering around and dragging me into the woods. Bathroom times are hard; She doesn't quite make it clear that she needs to pee and it can be upwards of 12 hours or more between each time she goes.. She takes a long while to go and always has to move more that I'd like for her to get there... She's maybe peed five times total. Sometimes she can only take a few hops then just stands there or sits for a few minutes and I carry her back in after a while.
I think she does better without being on the trazodone, but I had to give her some this afternoon because a solicitor kept knocking on the door wanting to sell me gutters (I had disabled the door bell, but wasn't expecting them to keep knocking and not leave). I was so pissed when I finally opened the door and saw their clipboard. It took her a long while to settle down after.
She was able to finally poop tonight after a fast paced hop around the yard and in the woods, though a few hours ago I found some flat poop as she was trying to get comfortable in a bed.. I cleaned it and her up but it definitely makes me worry that the LS may be taking its toll.. I hope not.
Yesterday was the hardest; she fell on her side in the night and was scared and crying.. I felt awful. I've been sleeping next to her and trying to keep her as comfortable as possible, but maybe that's the wrong approach. She got up just a few minutes ago and I woke up took her out (she hasn't peed since around 2:00pm) but had to carry her back in. I'm exhausted and don't want her to fall and put her in her crate tonight, but feel bad about it. Need to give her meds in about an hour.
I'm taking her to medvet tomorrow for her first round of chemo; they'll re-evaluate her before giving her anything. I mentioned the fall and the lack of peeing.
I'm so glad you posted. You've entered the rough part of the recovery phase, so please know this isn't unusual. I'm glad you called your vet and are going to discuss her recovery in detail like this.
The Traz could really be doing a number on her. It does to a lot of dogs. They just get so relaxed they don't want to do their business outside, and have some balance problems too. Ask about eliminating it from her plan.
If it's any comfort, we've had Great Danes with Wobblers who did good on three legs. So try not to jump to worst case about the LS. Remember our Wyatt Ray also had it, and he did fine for a very long time in his life. Granted he didn't have it when he recovered from amputation. So yes, Charlie might have that extra challenge right now. But I'm going to bet it's more of the medication / Traz than anything that's giving her some issues.
Also, I know it's hard, but try to normalize things as much as possible. A little tough love goes a long way in recovery. So the less you do for her, like hand feeding, sleeping next to her, etc., the harder she is going to try to get back to routines, and the quicker she will heal. You don't want to push her too hard, it's a fine line for sure. You will get there.
Let us know what the vet says!
Can only ditto Jerry's post!
This is soooo early in recovery and the Traz definitely will make her wobbly and wonky.
What pain meds is she on...dose and frequency? How much does she weigh? It may be she needs those tweaked a bit.
You do have something to celebrate....she pooped! It takes some dogs a lot longer to have their first
We know it's hard to stay upbeat and confident right now, but that type of pawsitive energy is so important to help Charlotte feel reassured
You are exhausted mentally and physically getting to this point. So be sure and sleep when you can, take naps....whatever you can do to take care of yourself.
Of course talk to her Onco, but if you want to wait a few more days plus before doing to chemo until she's further along, that would certainly be okay.
Is she drinking plenty? How about her appetite?
Sloooow and easy right now. It takes a lot of energy at first, even taking a few hops can be very tiring.
Stay connected. We are right by your side, okay?
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
PS. I probably should know, but what is LS?
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 both!
ls = lumbosacral disease. Basically a compression of the spinal cord. She has it fairly bad on her left side which is compressing the nerves on that leg which affects her sense of space. The other side has a herninated disc. She's a GSD so she's good at hiding her pain but the tail drag, genital licking (before the surgery), trouble with stairs, etc. are all symptoms. Our surgeon had a look at her today and noticed the back pain.. but I know she's had it for a while so I'm hopeful we're not making it worse (thank you for the encouragement and knowledge that this may be typical for some pups as they learn to adapt. _ I did sign her up for some acupuncture (I'm not really a believer but neither was her surgeon and he recommended it based on what he's seen with working dogs)... it's on Tuesday, but I need to double check with the vet to see if it's ok to do before the stitches come out.
I plan on putting her in her crate more, though will probably buy a new one. She' unlatched it this morning as I was sleeping near her and came out crying/excited over to me proud/scared/hurt..( not sure). We could keep it closed with clips, but then it's partially open and could cause some pinching... I've got a kong mat in there, but was thinking of getting something else as well to line it to help ease any falls/make it more comfortable.
For pain she is on gapapentin at 300 mg 3x a day, Amantandine at 100 mg twice a day and carprofen at 75mg 2x a day (though she's been on this for a number of months even prior to the diagnosis... we use chewables so it's one less pill to ask her to swallow)
She weighted around 63lbs before the surgery, her normal weight would typically be around 70 but we've been keeping her on the thiner side due to the leg issues she's had. Both the surgeon and others recommend we keep her skinny.
The side benefit is that she is more than happy to eat, so she has yet to loose her appetite or thirst.
We went ahead with the chemo today based on the evaluation (and as much as I hate to admit it, it was a relief that I could have her watched by someone for a few hours.. first time I've been back to work since monday).
She was really happy to see us on pickup; stopped for a potty break but wasn't up for it (she did pee around 6 am, so I'll probably wait a little longer before taking her out again). She's laying on a tattmi mat in my wife's office just chilling right now (her standard routine) so I think I'm going to take a nap.
How is Charlotte doing today?
That is a pretty funny story about her breaking out of the crate! Smart girl!
Her pain control sounds reasonable. Giving that dosage of Amantadine twice a day could be causing some wobbliness though. Our Wyatt was 85 pounds, and really immune to a lot of the sedative effects of pain meds, but he could only handle 100 mg of Amantadine daily (at night) because he'd turn into a zombie on 200 mg. Maybe that might be affecting her?
I'm so glad your vet recommended acupuncture. We have seen it do a LOT of good in our own Wyatt Ray when his hind end was really bothering him, and it's helped many members too. Here's a blog post about it if you want to learn more.
You are doing a great job with her, managing weight is not an easy thing to do. And yes, Tripawds should always be thinner than other dogs, or then they previously weighed.
I hope you guys are having an uneventful weekend!
She's getting stronger a little bit each day, which is good and bad... Though I'm definitely messing up. I caught her licking her incision site when I went to get her more water (had her cone off for dinner) but the worst was when I went upstairs to check on the puppy I had forget to close the door to her room, I heard something downstairs ran out and sure enough she was sitting on the second or third step (I haven't put in a gate downstairs yet). I didn't hear a fall and she seems fine but I think she knows I was upset (with myself) and went into her crate... she seemed calm, wasn't doing any whimpering and can move with out issue.
I just took her outside a few minutes ago to see if she needed to use the bathroom, she mainly just stood around and panted for 5-10 minutes. I carried her back in but it was obvious she wanted to go back out; She's laying down in her crate now and seems pretty relaxed, but I'll see how she does for the next 30 minutes and see if she really needs to go (she's peed twice today, but no poop)
She was mainly fine after chemo and was able the pee and poop (a lot) yesterday afternoon/evening.
She threw up in the morning after eating a few salmon treats (I wanted to see how she would handle the food before I gave her breakfast) so I gave her a cerenia and she ate everything about an hour after that. She ate most of her food tonight (didn't want anything covered in yogurt or pumpkin though).
I'm wondering if I should hold off on the acupuncture until after her stitches come out and/or we get a CBC on Friday. I don't want to over stress her with yet another vet trip and don't know if there are complications with chemo effects and acupuncture.
Hey thanks for the check-in. Glad she's improving. And yep, with all that new energy it will get more challenging to manager her activity. You can do it!
Poop will happen! Now that she's handling food better (yay!) you can try adding things like pumpkin pulp, steamed squash, fiber, anything to get her system moving. Eventually she will let you know!
I would ask the vet about acupuncture timing. I haven't heard about any side effects by combining it with chemo. A lot of human cancer patients get acupuncture so imagine not, but definitely ask. If it's stressful for her to go to the vet, she could hopefully see a mobile vet. Many do acupuncture! I can try to help find one for you if you'd like.
So cheers to more progress! Stay on your toes, and keep doing the great job you're doing!
Yeah, I've been giving her a little bit of pumpkin and yogurt (vet recommend it while she's on the antibiotics) since her surgery. She's been like this for a while (needing to take a bit of a walk before going to the bathroom). I took her out one last time about 30 minutes ago and she ran me about half a mile in the rain until she pooped (peed once along the way). Had to call my wife to pick us up because i wasn't going to let her walk back.
It's really hard to find that balance of how far to allow her to move to go potty before cutting her off and letting her try again later.
She 9s doing remarkably well! Obviously a strong willed and determined gal who will do what she wants when uou aren't looking!!
Had a little chuckle avout her trying to gom up the steps.
YAAAAY for poop, but not liking she pulled you on a half mile walk just get to her favorite potty spot. 😱 Really glad you had your wife pick you up. Charlotte doesn't understand the sloooow and easy pace for SHORT leashed potty breaks. 😉 Wonder if you could dtive her halfway to her potty spot and then drive her back.
Yes, tripawds fo need to walk/run at a faster pace to keep balance and have good momentum.
We are extra cautious this early in recovery just because tiniest bit of overdoing it can tweak a muscle, cause joint strain, etc.
You're doing such a great job....both of uou!!!
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!
For Charlie, at least when it comes to potty, it's more about the "journey" and less about the "destination".
Unfortunately the destination tends to be the most inconvenient place she can find.
She's starting her heat treatment tonight and tomorrow she's being restricted to just one potty area.
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