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, all!
I'm brand new to tripawds.com 🙂 I adopted a 6 month old pup from a rescue yesterday who recently underwent amputation surgery (September 6th, to be exact). She was hit by a car in her stray puppy days and her front right limb was shattered beyond repair and healed very poorly, so amputation was the only option. Anyway, she has been in my care for almost 24 hours and is doing great! She's hopping around, going to the bathroom regularly, comfortably sleeping, eating and drinking, etc.
However, I'm keeping a close eye on her amputation site and noticed today that there was a slight yellow discoloration around her stitches. It's in the spot that the vet said had the largest bundle of nerves and muscles, so my instinct is that it is bruising. It's not hot to the touch, she doesn't seem to mind when I run my finger over it, and the stitches that are nearest to it don't look irritated so I don't -think- it's infection. It's day 3 post op and I've read that tripawds can start to bruise around this stage. Regardless, I'm definitely worried and want to make sure she is okay!
Does anyone have any ideas about bruising post-op, or maybe can even point me to some pictures of bruising vs. infection?
Thank you so much.
-Steph and Delta (the tripawd)
Hello and welcome, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
Congrats on your new addition! What kind of pup is she?
It sounds like bruising to me, is your vet one of those that you can send a picture to? My first tripawd was a black pug with dark skin so I could never really see any bruising. My quad pug boy Obie has had two knee surgeries and the skin around the incision sites turned all kinds of colors!
You can also load a picture here and members can take a look. Here is how to add images to your forum posts.
You can look at photos in our gallery, scroll down to the surgery and treatment section.
Of course when you are concerned a call to the vet doesn't hurt. If it is nothing then you will have the peace of mind!
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
Thank you for giving this brave little pup a loving forever home! And everyone here will tell you, there is nothing more fun than loving and spoiling a tripawd!!
Puppy needs to really take it easy right now. Just potty breaks and rest. The hospital meds are probably out of her system now, so keeping the pain meds balanced can be tricky. Most dogs come home with Rimadyl and Tramadol as well as an a antibiotic. It's major surgery and it hurts!
Yeah, bruising is normal and can get wuite colorful sometimes as the days go on. You may even see athe pocket of fluid form calleda seroma . They are usually harmless.
Certainly, if you have any concerns, consult with her vet. Sending the vet a picture is a great idea.
Look forward to hearing more about your precious pup. What's her name? We'd love to see photos!!
Lots of love!
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!
Ohh...I just saw her name..oops!
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!
krun15 said
Hello and welcome, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.Congrats on your new addition! What kind of pup is she?
It sounds like bruising to me, is your vet one of those that you can send a picture to? My first tripawd was a black pug with dark skin so I could never really see any bruising. My quad pug boy Obie has had two knee surgeries and the skin around the incision sites turned all kinds of colors!
You can also load a picture here and members can take a look. Here is how to add images to your forum posts.
You can look at photos in our gallery, scroll down to the surgery and treatment section.
Of course when you are concerned a call to the vet doesn't hurt. If it is nothing then you will have the peace of mind!
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Thank you so much! We think she is a border collie/spaniel mix of some sort. Looking through those pictures, I definitely think it's probably bruising- her incision site looks very clean/tight compared to many of the pictures I was looking through. I'll try adding a picture later 🙂
Just to be safe, I did call the vet. They don't do photos, but the vet was kind enough to speak on the phone with me during one of the busiest times of the day and told me she thought it was bruising too. I'm taking pictures of it every couple hours for comparison, though, and if something changes I'll have to take her in.
I like your vet!
Taking pictures for comparison is an excellent idea. You might also try icing the incision site for 10 to 15 minutes a couple times a day. Don't get the incision wet of course and use a towel to protect the skin. Only do it if Delta is OK with it though, you don't need a wrestling match right now! I iced Obie's knee surgery incisions and I do think it helped with both pain and swelling.
As she continues to recover and gets more energy as puppies do you might read though this blog post on exercising young Tripawds. My current Tripawd is a small pug mix named Elly that lost her back leg at 7 months old after being hit by a car. I adopted her at 10 months old so she was fully healed from the surgery and raring to go but not very strong.
We work every day on core strength and balance through food games and puzzles, balance equipment and obedience training. Not only does it build strength and tire her out but it has really helped us bond.
I hope her recovery continues smoothly!
Karen
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
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