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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Hi, I'm new here. Our dog, Clyde, is a 75-lb black lab mix who joined our family just over five years ago. We adopted Clyde from a shelter, and we estimate he is about 7 years old. Clyde was diagnosed with osteosarcoma a week and a half ago. He is scheduled to have his front left leg amputated tomorrow.
We are nervous about his surgery for many reasons, as I see many people here are prior to surgery. One of my top concerns is the amount of attention and support Clyde will need post-surgery. We have two very young children (11 months old and 2.5 years old), and we have our hands full! We parents both work full time. The timing of this is good in that we plan to be home for a couple of weeks for the holidays. However, I'm just not sure how long Clyde will need our support. And will his recovery basically require full-time attention from one of us (leaving the other to be single parent)? If so, we are certainly prepared to do that, but we want to make sure we have the right expectations and get support if needed. Here are a few questions I have:
1) If there are others here who went through this with young children at home, do you have any tips about juggling young kids and dog during recovery?
2) I imagine that every case is different, but what is the general guidance about how long our dog will need full-time care after his surgery? For the holidays, we've made some plans that would have us away from the house for short periods of time (several hours) within one week of surgery. Is leaving Clyde alone in the first week realistic?
Thanks for your guidance and support!
Hello and welcome, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
I'm sorry you are dealing with cancer in your handsome boy Clyde.
No young kids here so I can't help you with that. As far as recovery time- as you said each dog is different but the general rule of thumb is that most pups are through the worst of the recovery in two or three weeks. Most pups are hopping on their own or maybe with a bit of support within a day or two of surgery. For the first two weeks after surgery Clyde should only be going on short, leashed potty breaks, the rest of the time he should be resting. If you can block off a small room or space for him without access to stairs or furniture (no jumping!) he should be fine for a few hours on his own.
The recovery period can be full of ups and downs- so don't get discouraged. Many here say it's like bringing home an infant- you can relate to that!
You might look through the Required Reading list for links to information on what to expect with amputation and recovery.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Another Clyde dog! No kids here either, but I have other dogs and worried about them trying to play or accidentally bumping him while they played. So, I used an x-pen for Clyde. I would have crated him (he's crate trained) but with his cone of shame , he didn't fit. If there is an area where you can set up the pen which is out of the way but he can still see what's going on, I think that would be good. That's what I did - moved furniture around so I could set up the pen with his dog bed in the living room. He was still part of the pack, but protected from rambunctious other pets. I kept him in there when I wasn't home and at night as well, until his stitches came out.
I was able to be home with him for the first couple of weeks, but did leave him occasionally for a few hours a day after the first few days for different reasons. He stayed in the pen with his cone on and he was fine. If your guy is used to a crate or any type of confinement for periods of time, I think he should adjust well. And for the first few days, he's probably not going to feel like doing much anyway. Good luck from me and my Clyde dog!
Otis had his surgery on a Tuesday, and home on Wednesday. I stayed with him full time for a week. I think I ventured out for an hour on the next Thursday for my daughter's violin lessons - he was fine. I then went back to work, with a friend checking on him thoughout the day. The first two weeks are really hard, but most dogs perk up once the staples are removed, about day 10. He will sleep a lot at first - perhaps bring your kid stuff into the room he will be recovering in so you do not have to move about much? The incision (actually the shaving) will be pretty bad - take a look at some pictures on the site so you know what to expect and can give your oldest a simple explanation. A dog named Chloe had surgery the same time as my Otis (February-ish). She had young kids who did great. She doesn't post here much, but you might want to look for her blog. You also might want to keep a log book. There are a lot of meds at first. It will help you and your husband keep track of who gives what when, as well as when he poops, pees, drinks water, etc.
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 little boy was 18mnths when Zuki went through his amputation. I had to just play it by ear. Zuki had always been wonderfully patient and gentle with my son but you have to be conscious that this is major surgery, they have a lot of drugs in their system and they may be feeling vulnerable, so don't assume they will behave in their normal manner. I was very fortunate that my son seemed to understand (to some degree) that Zuki was poorly and we needed to be extremely quiet and gentle around him and so never had any bother. I was always in close proximity to them both though so nothing was dropped or pushed into Zuki while he slept (he was always under my feet!) and as Kaydn was still a little wobbly with his walking I just had to ensure he didn't fall on him. It was quite intense for 2 weeks but I do think the kids pick up quite quickly that they need to be careful. I didn't cage Zuki as he never had been previously but he was able to go in the kitchen and I would shut the door to give him peace and quiet for periods during the day to rest.
I think Lawcats idea about having a pen is fantastic if you can facilitate that.
As others have said I was comfortable leaving Zuki for periods of time after 3 or 4 days, once I had worked out a med schedule that worked for us and kept him comfortable for long periods so he could sleep - you want them to do a lot of that in the first 2 or 3 weeks.
Feel free to take a look at my blog if should have some useful info to help you prepare http://zuki.tripawds.com/ scroll to the bottom and work your way up. Please don't be put off with how my story ends, Zuki's case is unusual with how it ends. Don't be scared by the out come, I don't regret anything even though we didn't get as long as we should have. Many others go on to get years of happy times together
Good luck for today, my thoughts are with you and Clyde. Make sure you have all the supplies you may need and talk through with your vet exactly what meds you are taking and what flexibility you have with their dosage, so you can ensure Clyde gets full coverage as that will help you all, especially with getting sleep. Be prepared for a few sleepless nights in days 2-5 or so as the meds take effect and Clyde gets more comfortable. Get lots of yummy food in to tempt Clydes appetite and make sure you cover slippy floors.
xx
Zuki Wuggafer 30/09/06 - 11/11/16. Right hind tripawd due to Osteosarcoma. He had a strong 5 and half months as a tripawd but unfortunately a secondary issue with his spine ended our battle. He loved life, loved our family and was the best dog I could ever ask for. Truly my first love, forever in my thoughts and heart.
Read our story: http://zuki.tripawds.com/
Sorry on my blog, scroll to the bottom of the first page and click 'previous entries' and then go to the bottom of that page to start at the beginning
xxx
Zuki Wuggafer 30/09/06 - 11/11/16. Right hind tripawd due to Osteosarcoma. He had a strong 5 and half months as a tripawd but unfortunately a secondary issue with his spine ended our battle. He loved life, loved our family and was the best dog I could ever ask for. Truly my first love, forever in my thoughts and heart.
Read our story: http://zuki.tripawds.com/
My dog Toby slept a lot the first few days. The meds schedule is what keeps you up a lot. Toby got restless after day 3 and we tried a sedative which put him out for about 30 hours he got up to pee only a couple times that was more scary for me than him. The vet said he needed his rest so she was not concerned that he slept that much. If you do get Gabapentin that can help some dogs sleep.
Right now he is keeping me up since he is being restless again. We are on day 20 I do have a 19 year old son that is able to stay with him during the day. He says he sleeps all day. I wish he was restless during the day and slept all night.
The hardest part is not knowing what they need and if they are in pain. Pain can make them grouchy if that happens keep an eye on the kids with him. Make sure you have a number for a 24 hr vet clinic.
Toby was hit by a car and his leg was damaged beyond repair so the first night he was at an emergency vet in Kirkland the next day he went to another vet for surgery and back to Kirkland overnight. It was nice to have both vet clinics know him and what he went through so I could call someone any time and I did call a few times to each clinic those first few days home.
Between the vet clinics and this site I was able to get through that first week. I found this site before the leg was amputated while we were waiting overnight to make sure he didn't have any internal injuries that would prevent surgery or have other complications to deal with also. Knowing everyone here is willing to give tips and encouragement with what you are going through makes it easier.
So Toby is now sleeping again. I gave him more meds about an hr ago. So he must have been in some pain to make him restless. We are trying to wean him off them but it seams he is going to be on them longer.
Sorry for the long post. But to sum it up you should be able to be away for short periods of time between meds. And keep him confined if you can.
And yes keep a note book where you write down when and what meds were given.
Take care
Gail and Toby
if you are in Seattle we are just across the bridge in Redmond.
Honestly, it is like having a newborn in the house in terms of lack of sleep, worry, unpredictability, and gosh awful thankfulness. If the vets are able to keep him a few extra days, that may be an option. My vets offered that to me due to my circumstances and, honestly, the first few days/week most are pretty doped up. As for the little ones, an X-pen is an excellent idea ( or any barrier really). Best wishes and keep us updated!
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