Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi everyone,
My 7 year-old German Shepherd-Rottweiler mix, Caly, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her right hind leg on June 18th. We made the decision to have her leg amputated on July 10th. Since then, her recovery’s been pretty rocky. I’m hoping someone might have some insight, advice, or recommendations as to what to do or how to help her/us with the current recovery challenge we’re enduring. For the past week, Caly has been unable to settle down or sleep much at night. She’ll find her spot in the bedroom or living room to lie down, lay quietly for about 20 to 30 minutes, and then get up and move to lay down somewhere else. This goes on all night in multiple locations around the house, which has left me concerned in addition to being very sleep deprived (her moving around can be loud and wakes me up almost every time).
I’m thinking the issue is related to phantom limb pain sensations, but it’s odd that it becomes much more bothersome to her particularly at night (between 9:30pm and 6:00am). Caly is currently on Gabapentin and Rimadyl, which she's taken since receiving her osteosarcoma diagnosis back in June. Our vet mentioned that Gabapentin is one of the best medications for phantom limb pain, but her current dosage of it doesn’t seem to be helping or making a difference. She’s taking 600mg in the morning, 300mg in the afternoon, and 600mg at night before bed. Her Rimadyl dosage is 75mg twice a day. We’ve also been giving her 200mg trazodone at night the past 4 nights to see if that would help to calm her anxiety, but that doesn’t seem to get her to calm down or settle either.
Has anyone else’s pup experienced this kind of restlessness and inability to settle at night post-amputation? We’re desperate to get some sleep, and we really don’t want Caly to be going through any more difficulties/discomfort than she already has. No one told us this kind of nerve pain reaction might happen post-amputation.
*As a side note: I know acupuncture can be something that helps with phantom limb pain, but we unfortunately don’t have the financial resources to have her receive acupuncture treatments. She can also be somewhat reactive around new people due to fear of strangers/new people, so seeing another unfamiliar medical professional would likely stress her out more.
Hi Lyndsie, welcome! Your future posts won't need to wait for approval so post away.
I'm so sorry that this is happening, and if it's any consolation it is not unusual for restlessness to show up at night. It's like all the activity of the day suddenly catches up with the new Tripawd, and they are very painful from moving around in all new ways.
So a couple of thoughts:
Her gabapentin dosage sounds high enough, but sometimes this medication doesn't work as well as we hope. Ask your vet to prescribe Pregabalin. It's a much more effective and predictable in how it's supposed to work (but unfortunately more expensive) medication, and usually hits the pain just right and helps it resolve faster.
Also, ask for Amantadine to be given at night. This is often a game changer for many dogs. But it can cause sleepiness so you want to introduce it at night only. If the vet agrees to prescribe it, ask about slightly cutting back the Gabapentin if you stick to that med, as at that dosage, both can cause even more drowsiness.
You may also want to not give the Trazadone. I know that with many dogs who are already somewhat high strung as you describe Caly to be (a lot like our Wyatt Ray was), introducing a sedative makes them even more nervous, basically does the opposite of what it's supposed to do. Many dogs just don't like feeling so out of it and they get freaked out.
Finally, don't change anything at all until you talk to your vet OK? And keep in mind that pain relief can take many paths, not just with medication. Yes, acupuncture helps but there are other things you can do. Her nerves may be misfiring and causing all sorts of anxiety. so check this post about desensitizing the amputation area after surgery. It may help, along with very gentle massage around her shoulders and lower back. See:
Understanding and Treating Nerve Pain After Amputation for Dogs: Tripawd Talk Radio #124
P.S. I'm sorry nobody informed you about the possibility of nerve pain. That is not uncommon either, unfortunately. It's just not something that's well studied in animals, just humans, and treating it is still pretty new in the veterinary community. Luckily there are folks learning more, and we are interviewing as many as we can find.
Good luck and please keep us posted OK?
Hello
Jerry’s answer is very detailed and all information I was completely unaware of so if anything I say is in conflict please believe Jerry’s advice.
I don’t have the technical information that Jerry provided, but I have my own personal experience with my dog Roger. It’s possible my experience is different because perhaps Roger doesn’t have nerve pain…or maybe just not yet. Roger’s leg was amputated on 7/1/24. I experienced the nighttime restlessness for about 3-4 weeks and I know how stressful it is. Roger moved around all night and would not sleep in my room with me which he always did for the last three years in the same spot. He is back now sleeping all night next to my bed but not in his usual bed. I had to make up a different sleeping area. A blanket on the floor and pushed his bed upright against the nightstand so he can curl up against it a little bit. This is his favorite night time place right now. This is not any sleeping set up we have ever had pre amputation. He has an extremely large crate that he has had for three years when I did have to keep him in when I left due to separation anxiety and the damage he would do and possibly hurt himself. He doesn’t get locked in it anymore. It has a nice bed in it and a bolster that goes around the inside of the crate. He has always hung out in there a lot, but since the amputation it is his absolute favorite place now. I think it makes him feel safe. He would probably sleep in there at night but with his cone on he can’t get in and out easily so I close the crate door at night. This is a long way of saying also maybe change up the sleeping places and see what you dog likes now? However maybe I experienced a different type of restlessness than you are experiencing.
Amy thank you for sharing! Every recovery is slightly different and we all learn from one another. I love your suggestion to change things up!
Hi Lyndsie and Caly. BTW...love the avatar picture of you and Caly....cute as can be😎
Amy and Jerry have given you invaluable input.
Just a couple of thoughts and, of course a question or two. My phantom pain is when you see your dog jump up out of the blue and frantically tries to run away from the pain. Often times they will yelp for a few seconds and then shiver and shake once the initial nerve shock pain is gone. The whole episode last less than a minute or two, but it's quite violent to observe. So is this what you are seeing and hearing every 20 minutes or so or isit....hmmmm.....less violent for lack of a better word?
Also, just curious where his normal sleeping place has been prior to amputation and then shortly after before all this restlessness occurred? What kind of bedding or support was underneath him at that place?
One thing you might try is to give him several gentle massages every day and right before he goes to bed all up and down his spine his neck shoulder area Etc do you feel any signs of tenseness in any of these areas?
One more thought and then I'll be quiet! Just like people, dogs are used to sleeping for the most part and one particular position. Depending on which leg was amputated, the pattern is often disrupted simply because they can't turn and stamp down their "nest" in one direction as much as they used to, or they aren't able to lay on one side as much as they used to, etc
We know it's hard figuring out exactly what needs to be done in cases like this, the rightness, etc. It'll get figured out though... it always does!
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
PS.
While I'm throwing out some wild suggestions, might just mention one more thing. Did this Behavior happen shortly after her sutures were removed? Is it possible, just the least bit possible that there is a staple or two remaining and laying down causes a poke? Okay, think that's the last of things I can think of in my head!😎🤔
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 Jerry!
Thank you so much for your response — all of what you’ve shared is so very helpful and made me feel much better. I will definitely keep folks posted as we navigate the phases of her recovery journey as a new Tripawd. I really appreciate your recommendation to ask our vet for Pregabalin. Funny enough, I was prescribed the same medication when I herniated one of my discs earlier this year! I’ll also ask about Amantadine.
Trazodone had been helpful pre-amputation for getting Caly to feel less stressed before/during vet visits. I totally understand where you’re coming from in terms of it potentially making her feel more nervous, which may be the case for her now post-amputation. I’ll check in with the vet about that too. Thank you also for sharing the webpage for Wyatt Ray
. I was reading all about him last night and definitely shed a few tears learning about his experience and the impact he’s had.
I’ll absolutely listen to the Talk Radio episode about Nerve Pain! So helpful! Starting a nightly massage regimen for Caly also sounds like a great idea, and would definitely give us an opportunity to spend even more quality time together. She is my everything, and I want to cherish every moment I have with her and do what I can to make her as comfortable as possible.
Hello Amy!
Thank you bunches for sharing. Reading about your experience with Roger helped a lot. Caly had also slept on either side of our bed (next to me or my partner, David) her whole life prior to amputation. She loved the tempurpedic dog bed we had for her on my side of the bed, but she doesn’t seem too interested in laying on it anymore. For the past few days, David and I have been thinking it might be better for Caly to have more space to sleep than what she has in the bedroom, since she’s been spending almost all her time in our living room and David’s office for the past 2 weeks. The spaciousness may make her feel more comfortable emotionally, too. She has our cushy couch to lay on in the living room (it’s also the only place she feels comfortable laying down on her amputation side — otherwise she always lays on her remaining hind leg) as well as a second memory foam dog bed. We’ll see if keeping her exclusively in the living room area tonight helps. Thanks again for sharing!
Hi Sally!
Thank you so much for your reply! The way Caly has shown her pain/discomfort has evolved in different ways since coming home from surgery. Up until about a week and a half ago, Caly would showed pain by panting heavily and having full-body quivers. She would eventually settle, but it took her about an hour and a half to do so and then she’d fall asleep (for about 3 hours intervals, waking up needing to go potty inbetween). The past week and a half, the muscle that still remains from the hind leg that was amputated will twitch and she will wriggle her other leg as if she’s trying to get comfortable and figure out what's going on with the back end of her body. This will happen quite a few times a day and will take her by surprise. They only last a few minutes as well.
Prior to amputation, she always slept on either side of our bed each night. That’s been her norm since she was a puppy. She has a large tempurpedic dog bed that she’d sleep on when she would lay next to my side of the bed. I moved this same dog bed to the foot of our bed for her to rest and sleep on post-surgery (since there’s more room for her to move around at the foot of our bed). This was mostly where she preferred to sleep shortly before this started happening a week and a half ago. She hasn’t opted to sleep on it more than 3-4 times at night, and for no more than 20-30 minutes at a time. She’ll go find one of a handful of other places to try and sleep she wants to move somewhere else, but none of those places seem to be satisfactory for long, consistent periods of time.
I haven’t had the chance to evaluate tension in her spine, neck, and shoulders yet. I’ll definitely be feeling for that once I get into a massage routine with her.
I do feel bad that she doesn’t feel very comfortable sleeping on her amputation side on various surfaces yet (only when laying on the couch). I hope this might change for her over time!
As far as when this behavior started relative to her external sutures — it began before they were taken out. The only thing I can think of that might be suture-related is the fact that she still has dissolvable stitches remaining in her muscle that will take about 100 days to be absorbed by the body.
Thanks again for all your insight!
Everyone has given great suggestions. For Roger and I in my non medical opinion he just needed time to get back to himself. He has been getting back in the couch in the last couple of days. He has been sleeping through the night next to the bed for about a week now which was good. Today I got him into one of his beds for about 10 minutes with treats just to see and show him he could do it. So for me and my experience with Roger I think he is just trying to get back to his usual routine. I think maybe hopefully that is just what Caly is doing too.
For me personally it was hard with him not sleeping in the room with me but he just didn’t want to. I felt like he wanted to be closer to the front door maybe to be a guard dog and knowing he was a little disabled at the time. Who knows.
But he is really getting back to his normal stuff. We still have a ways to go and I am hoping you have the same experience with Caly just everyday going back to her usual routines. Every time Roger does one of his old habits it makes me so happy.
It took longer than I expected and really broke my heart more than I expected that he wasn’t doing all his usual things. But he is really almost back. He had his amputation about 9 days before Caly.
Good luck and I look forward to hearing good progress.
Hi everyone,
Just wanted to share an update that Caly has been on the up-and-up since I last posted and we are so grateful that things are improving more and more each day!
Jerry -- we took your advice re: asking for Amantadine, and it seems like it's really been helping with Caly's pain/discomfort! Her oncologist prescribed it last Monday and I can safely say that after just 7 days, it's made a huge difference in her night time restlessness. She does still move around to different places throughout the house a little bit, but only around 4:00am or 5:00am as opposed to every 20-30 minutes after turning off the lights to go to bed. We're so thrilled!
Her new resting/lounging places throughout the day are definitely different than they were pre-amputation, but as long as she's content and comfortable, that's all I care about. Her personality and sparkle has returned almost completely. She's gaining more and more endurance on her walks and is as curious/engaged in the outside world as ever. The only things she still has a hard time with are playing fetch (it seems like she's unsure of how to pivot well on one back leg) and running (doing zoomies) like she used to. Do you think interest in those activities might eventually return over time when she becomes more confident in her body's new style of movement as a Tripawd?
On a separate note - I also had some questions about fundraising advice and where to potentially find resources for help with expenses related to canine cancer treatment. Which forum would be best to ask these types of questions on?
Sending love and many thanks to all!
Hi Lyndsie,
I'm soooooo glad the Amantadine is working! Pawesome! Glad that you are all getting better sleep.
You're taking great notes on her behavior and how she's adapting. It all sounds really normal as far as her recovery pace, and how her movement is getting better. Yes, her mental fitness and stamina will return before her physical abilities do. And many times a dog's brain will think that their body can do so much more than they actually can.
Allow me to get on my soapbox for a minute ... I know it's really tough to keep things dialed back, but please take it really easy on the physical challenges and the games like fetch. All that pivoting and movement on the one remaining leg can put a dog at risk of a cruciate ligament tear (very common in the Tripawds community, unfortunately).
Not that Caly can't ever enjoy her previous activities, it's just important to learn how to keep her injury free. You can help her get stronger and move better when you have her evaluated by a rehab therapist. The Tripawds Foundation can help by paying for her first rehab visit / evaluation so please take advantage of that program. You'll learn so much about her capabilities and how to help her get strong and not get hurt.
As for asking others about ways to raise fund for cancer therapy, you can post questions in Anything Goes. We don't allow personal fundraising but we do encourage discussion about ways to cover the costs of care. Meanwhile do check out our Financial Resources worksheet for some ideas. Thanks for checking!
Hi Lyndsie,
I'm glad to hear that Caly is doing so much better now!
I've had two rear amps, Maggie the Tri-Pug lost her leg to cancer and my current Pug Mutt Elly lost her leg after being hit by a car when she was 7 months old. Elly just passed 9 years on three and is now 9.5 years old.
Maggie was never able to figure out how to pivot to her left- she lost her left rear leg. Way back then I had no idea what I was doing with her, in fact Mag had her amp before Tripawds was founded. There wasn't doggie rehab back then either, or at least I had never heard of it (and between my two Pug Girls we were at the vet A LOT!). I was just happy that she could get around on her own and was happy.
I adopted Elly after her surgery when she was 10 months old. I had been with Tripawds ever since the last year of Maggie's journey so I had read and seen lots about rehab and exercises. I would highly recommend you that Caly to a rehab vet if you can manage- it's a great way to get her evaluated and get an exercise program to do at home to keep Caly as fit and strong as possible.
Because of Elly's fear and anxiety issues I did not take her to a rehab vet until she had an injury at about 7.5 years old. We always do exercises at home as well as play lots of food games and puzzles, all of which help her strength and balance. We also do trick and obedience training and a sport called Nose Work.
I taught her to spin (clockwise pivot) and turn (counter-clockwise pivot) as part of our trick training. I was able to do this in a controlled situation so it wasn't stressful on her body but it does help with her overall fitness and balance. She also knows how to do a 'figure 8' around my legs. I used the treat search game to work on her fitness as well as help her overcome some of her fears. For example Elly would not walk under a chair when I first got her!
All of this work (games to Elly) help her overall strength, fitness and balance. Since I knew she would spend nearly all her life on three I did limit the 'burst' type of activities. I chose Nose Work instead of Agility for her sport as an example. That's not to say she doesn't run around- she has been known to chase the occasional bunny, after all she is still a dog! She had no trouble doing zoomies in the house although she doesn't very often anymore.
BTW- my Callie is quad Pug Mutt! I like how you spell Caly- I keep putting three 'L's' when I type her name 
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Onward and upward! Way to make progress Miss Caly!
Yeah, glad Rene addressed the "fetch issues/bursts of sctivity" and also glad Karen mentioned alternatives to keep dogs engaged (nosework, games, food puzzles, etc).
FWIW and if I recall correctly,I think it took my Happy Hanah about five weeks before she lay on her amp side. Some dogs do it sooner, some later. She'll do whatever is most comfortable for her, no worries.
Sending love right back to you and Caly💖
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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