Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I took Dakota to CSU today, originally for the second half of the gait analysis clinical trial he's enrolled in. I wasn't sure they could do the analysis since he's had recent trouble getting around. Recently I posted about his new reluctance to get up and move and how he seem to have pain in his remaining front leg. He also licks his leg and the carpet, throw rugs and his bedding. All. Day. Long.
So this is what happened at CSU: His pre-op orthopedic exam showed that both rear legs likely had either arthritis or slight older injuries to the cruciate ligaments. The right rear in particular behaved as if it had a partial tear that had a lot of painful scar tissue in it.
Today, he underwent another complete orthopedic exam by the same doctor who did his amputation and the previous ortho exam. She felt that the right knee was both more swollen and more painful than pre-op. She really believed that accounted for his reluctance to move easily and fluidly and for the increased licking. She said that his necessary compensation would make it look like it was actually his front leg that was painful when in fact it was the rear. And it's the opposite leg to the amputated one.
She gave me 2 choices: 2 weeks of Tramadol in addition to his daily dose of Deramaxx and re-exam in 2 weeks, or x-rays of the knee today. I opted for x-rays today.
Big surprise: The knee images show no arthitic changes, no indication of scar tissue buildup, no indication of any old ligament tears or injuries. No tumors. No nothing. A big zip.
So why does it hurt so? Why is it so swollen? Why is his gait worse than it was 3 weeks ago? Nobody knows.
Now Dakota is on Tramadol for 2 weeks anyway, and will be looked at again in 2 weeks. I wish I had more answers, but he isn't telling. And the fact that he doesn't want to move much doesn't really matter now, because he needs to rest that knee and get the inflammation down. So no dog parks for a multitude of reasons.
The good news: Dakota was so freaked out at being at CSU again that he totally forgot that he hurt and walked like a champ inside the building. They were able to do the gait analysis, though with difficulty. He needed frequent rests. But when it came time to actually leave the building, he ran like a greyhound! He drug his Boy through the parking lot like he was after a squirrel!
Any thoughts on any of this?
Shari
From abandoned puppy to Tripawd Warrior Dude, Dakota became one of the 2011 February Furballs due to STS. Our incredibly sweet friend lived with grace and dignity till he impulsively raced over the Bridge on 12-15-12.
Dakota's thoughtful and erudite blog is at http://shari.tr.....pawds.com/
Dakota Dawg said:
Any thoughts on any of this?
Did someone say SQUIRREL? 
But seriously, we hope with the pain meds and confinement for a couple weeks, Dakota will be back to his old self. Maybe he's just been overdoing it. Wish we had better advice to share. Please keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
We are on the same program..tramadol and rest.Bud and Dakota have too much in common these days!
Did they say anything about a knee brace option too?
Hope Dakota gets to feeling better and your two week appt goes better!
I don't think Dakota's been overdoing it because he really hasn't been doing that much. The biggest change over the last 2 or 3 weeks has been his reluctance to get up and walk anywhere, and his acting like it hurts. The only thing he has done that I didn't really approve of was that he has climbed our stairs twice since his surgery. But maybe he did that incorrectly, so maybe that does count as overdoing it. A lot of "maybes", huh?
I'd forgotten that Bud is getting a brace. That wasn't mentioned for Dakota, maybe because we're early in the game. That may be mentioned after his recheck. I'm sure he'd love that.
There was a pretty, dark gray husky there that was also a relatively new tripawd, a front leg amp. His fur has come back more than Dakota's, but it's not all the way back. He was wearing a red RuffWear harness, too. I was going to say hello to the attached human but they were called into an exam room before I could get a chance. If that human happens to be here, let me know. We're obviously fairly close, geographically.
Shari
From abandoned puppy to Tripawd Warrior Dude, Dakota became one of the 2011 February Furballs due to STS. Our incredibly sweet friend lived with grace and dignity till he impulsively raced over the Bridge on 12-15-12.
Dakota's thoughtful and erudite blog is at http://shari.tr.....pawds.com/
I am sorry to hear Dakota is not feeling so well these days. Hope it is a temporary thing and he gets back to playing with Evelyn soon...not licking the doormat would be good, too! 😉 Hang in there!
Good luck, Shari. I know that some people have had really negative experiences with Tramadol, but we've had more than a couple of dogs on it, and it's always been just fine.
At least you know he's not crazy, small consolation there, right?
We'll be thinking of you both.
Lincoln's Mom
Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall – Confucius
http://credocan.....pawds.com/
Oh how frustrating not to know the cause! Hoping rest will resolve the problem.
http://tate.tripawds.com/
August 16, 2006 to November 28, 2011
TATE ~ Forever in our hearts.
Dang, I was hoping you would get more answers.
And I wanted to second what Lincoln's mom said about tramadol. Maggie did not do well on it- but Obie was on the same dose as Mag for two weeks because of a serious eye injury. He did not have any of the side effects that Mag had, and he had no withdrawal symptoms either.
You never know what could cause a knee injury (I have lots of silly human experience!). Even though he has done the stairs as a quad his gait may have been off enough as a tripawd to cause a sprain or strain that could account for the soreness and swelling. Just a thought.
Karen and the pugapalooza
Awww Dakota! What's going on buddy? You poor thing.
I'm with Karen, a bad gait can cause some knee swelling and ache. My knee will hurt and that can just happen from tight muscles in the hip area, making a bad gait. (code for: out of shape!)
I'm super thankful it's not a torn ligament! That surgery on a 3-legged dog will put you in a rubber room! I was close to being commited after doing it twice!
I hate tramadol. I personally would use ice packs or a heating pad over tramadol. But if he needs rest and it konks him out, then all the better. Comet couldn't even walk while she was on it, it made her loopy and drug drunk! It doesn't do much for pain on humans. I've tried it!
Lots of healing thoughts coming your way!
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
I know a lot of folks here are not fans of Tramadol, and I understand why. Trouble never had a problem with it, and her one visit with the holistic vet I was amazed to find out he was ok with it. He hated Rimadyl, but was ok with Tramadol. I think it is one of those demon drugs. Some of them tolerate it well - some do not.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
Dakota did fine with 12 days of Tramadol after surgery so I will let him take it for the next 2 weeks. Getting it into him will be a challenge. It must be bitter as hell. Even hiding it in food doesn't work, as he knows it's there and removes it. Ramming it down his throat doesn't work, either. He refuses to swallow and it makes him salivate like a slobber machine. Then his gag reflex kicks in. So I'm not looking forward to that part. But he had no bad effects with it, once it was in his stomach.
I've taken it for pain before and found it very effective at doing what it's supposed to do. Too bad I can't convince him to take it with a glass of water like I've done.
Shari
From abandoned puppy to Tripawd Warrior Dude, Dakota became one of the 2011 February Furballs due to STS. Our incredibly sweet friend lived with grace and dignity till he impulsively raced over the Bridge on 12-15-12.
Dakota's thoughtful and erudite blog is at http://shari.tr.....pawds.com/
Have you tried putting the pill in a ball of soft bread? Just squish it in there. Or, my boy did take to the chicken "Pill Pockets" for a little while. He also will take a pill if I wrap it in cheese then coat it with ricotta cheese..
Good luck
Elizabeth and Sammy
Diagnosed with osteosarcoma in the right front leg 8/23/10,
leg fractured 8/27/10,
leg amputated 8/30/10
http://sammyand.....pawds.com/
I couldn't begin to say how special Sammy is to us. Living and laughing with and loving this wonderful boy is priceless.
Hey Dakota, I"m sorry you didn't have any real answers for you yesterday. Did they say anything about doing some acupuncture? I had a knee problem that went away with it. The vet thought I had a torn ACL but after getting stuck with some needles I felt sooo much better. I know your funds are limited but CSU has acupuncture students, right?
As for tramadol...yah, I didn't have issues with it either and did OK with it. But with Rimadyl I puked my guts. So you never know, every dawg is different in how they react to it.
Feel better my friend, you need to rest up so you can pawty with that mysterious Tripawd! I hope we get to find out who they were.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Elizabeth, I may try a bread ball tonight. This morning I caved and stuffed it into a wad of canned food. And I also got a small brick of Velveeta. I'm hoping that's the ticket.
My 12-year-old (the family engineer and inventor) was busy designing a blow gun that would be inserted into Dakota's mouth, after which we'd just blow the pills right down his gullet! What a guy! If anyone else wants copies of those plans, you have to wait for the patent to come through. The kid's pretty paranoid about stolen ideas.
Shari
From abandoned puppy to Tripawd Warrior Dude, Dakota became one of the 2011 February Furballs due to STS. Our incredibly sweet friend lived with grace and dignity till he impulsively raced over the Bridge on 12-15-12.
Dakota's thoughtful and erudite blog is at http://shari.tr.....pawds.com/
Hi Shari -
So sorry to hear about Dakota's problems. Ginger had an injury to her left rear leg a couple years before her amputation of her right rear leg. She over did it running around in the yard and strained/tore a ligament. That is why we had a lot of concerns before the amputation, wondering if the left rear leg could handle the weight since it was prevoiusly injured. Ginger has done great.
She still takes Deramaxx every day because of the arthritis and that has made a big difference. We can tell if we forget to give it to her.
Ginger tolerated Tramadol very well.
In regards to giving D-Dawg the pills, Ginger won't even go near anything with cheese, pill pockets, etc, as she now knows her pills are hidden in there. Bread is now the only thing that will work. But plain old regular bread won't work - it has to be "fancy" bread. She'll take her pills if they are in a small piece of cinnamon bread - don't know why but it works. We also will blow into her face after we give her the bread - she hates that and always does a little sneeze. But she has to swollen to sneeze and the pills go down 🙂
Paws crossed that Dakota just needs a little more rest for his knee and he will be back, as good as new in a week or two.
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