Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi everybody,
We are 10 days post-op for our greyhound, Wilson (Wildebeest), who has had his right forelimb amputated. His recovery seems to be going really well, except for the phantom pain (which is very well covered in this forum). Thanks to the advice given in other posts on this forum and on the site in general we've prompted our vet to increase his dose of gabapentin to try and get on top of this. There's been some improvement, but it's definitely still happening regularly. To be expected to some extent I imagine.
We are finding that there seems to be quite a lot of crying/howling also, particularly at night. This is quite different to the scream (much like the greyhound scream of death) that comes with the phantom pain . Often we can stop the crying/howling with a pat but it will often start again when we leave him. Have others experienced this? If so, any tips for what might be causing it and how best to deal with it? From a human perspective, I imagine there could be a bit of a grieving process that might contribute, but as we know, our best mates don't think and react how we do to things like this. This, combined with a bit of phantom pain in the night is leading to not a lot of sleep for anyone in our house at present.
Any thoughts / advice welcomed and appreciated.
Daniel and Wilson (Waimakariri, New Zealand)
Hi Daniel and Wilson, welcome. Your future posts won't need to wait for approval so post away.
I'm sorry for the crying that's happening. Although Gabapentin can help lessen phantom leg pain , resolving pain is usually not a one-and-done thing. Sometimes multiple approaches are needed to break the pain cycle. We always recommend seeing a physiotherapist to help pinpoint the cause, and attack the pain from other angles like acupuncture, massage, etc.
Physio can make such a difference in a Tripawd's life, especially when it comes to resolving pain. The Tripawds Foundation feels so strongly about its benefits that it will pay for your first rehab visit too. Let us know if we can help find one, I know there are physios in NZ but I don't know how close to you they may be located. I'm happy to help do some research though.
It's interesting that he will stop crying when you comfort him, though. So it may be related to something else. Is there anything new going on other than the amputation? Is there another dog in the house, or a new baby? What is your vet's thinking about the behavior?
Love the avatar picture of Wilson. He's a very handsome boy.
Jerry , as always , gave great insight, especially on the phantom pain , meds, etc.
What are his current pain meds, dose, frequency and how much does Wilson weigh?
What's his activity level like at this point?
As far as the whining during the night, is he sleeping in his usual bed, usual place, he had before the amp? Does he seem restless as though he needs to change sleeping positions? Dogs, just like hoomans, are used to favoring one sleeping side or position over the other. Sometimes new Tripawds may have trouble reclaiming their favorite position. For example, they are used to laying on their amp side and now it's still a little bit too sore to do that.
Let us know how things are progressing. It's still early in recovery but it sounds like overall Wilson's doing well.
Higs
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!
Thank you both very much for your informative and considered responses.
Our vet is currently contemplating putting Wilson on a medication that is also used for firework phobias to assist with what he thinks may be some anxiety over the night. We last spoke to him today and he was planning to consult with some of the other team in the clinic - we'll hear more on that tomorrow. Wilson is currently on 900mg Gabapentin 3 x a day, 500mg paracetamol 2 x a day and 1 Carprieve tablet (100mg I think, but I'm away from home for work tonight) 2 x a day. He weighs 32kg (at least, he did weigh 32 kg, now he weighs one leg less).
Wilson's back to the vet for a check on Thursday. We're very lucky that the team from Animal Physio NZ is located on site at our vet clinic, so will definitely get him in there as soon as our vet is happy for him to start. We'll ask Thursday.
His movement is pretty good but his activity levels aren't huge. He gets himself out to the toilet or for a hop around the lawn now and then, but is mostly lounging (he's a greyhound after all, that's not too much different from pre-amputation).
We think that we've kept everything largely as it was before his amputation, there is another dog at home (another grey, Katie (Frosty Kate)), but she was there well before the amputation. He generally seems to be finding comfortable sleeping positions, and seems to even be relatively comfortable lying on the amputated side. He seems generally fine during the day, and the crying typically kicks in at night once the lights go out, or a little before.
Thanks again, I'll keep you posted.
I'm glad your vet is thinking about this issue and talking with others, that's terrific. Wilson's pain medication routine is pretty robust too. I really love your vet, especially because they are into the idea of getting Wilson into physio. That looks like a terrific practice!! It really doesn't get any better.
Hopefully the physio, combined with the anti-anxiety medication, will make a difference. I forgot to ask, how old is he? Is Wilson a senior dog? Some dogs join us when they are right at that line where cognitive impairment kicks in and a few have needed anti-anxiety medications later on.
Wilson is 7, so middle aged I guess.
Tonight is night 1 on Trazedone, so hopefully that’ll help calm/sedate him.
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