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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So my big girl Harley had her front leg amputated on Monday. She came home Tuesday and I was impressed with how well she was doing. Hopped in the SUV herself, managed moving around at home with no help in fact it was work to get her to rest. Second day her lone front leg was swollen and I figured just overuse but at our check up on Thursday the vet and I realized the compression shirt was too tight and so I took some scissors to it and fixed it. She finally had a poop that day too. But come Friday morning I found her trembling and shaking pretty bad. Only thing I could think to do was a pain pill even tho we were trying to cut back. This trembling kept happening on and off all day and into today as well and she barley gets up at all now. Its a struggle to get her to go in and outside or get up at all. Vet said just monitor and watch for other signs. This is the kind of stuff I expected to see in the first 3 days not 4&5 days later. Anyone else find things getting worse so many days later?
WHOA....DEEP BREATHS....B R E A T HE ......B R E A T H E.............
So many things are jumping out so fast........
FIVE DAYS is so early in recovery if MAJOR surgery!!!!! Humans would still be in hospital in a morphine drip! She probably overdid it those first few days too and has lots of sore muscles. Being a tripawd is pretty exhausting at first.
PAIN! I'm not a vet, but do not cut back in pain meds! (Check with vet if course). Hospital meds stay in their system about three days. It is imperative that pain meds stay in their system CONSISTENTLY for at least ten days...at least!
Most dogs a r e in Tramadol, Gabapentin a d Rimadyl. How much does Harley weigh? What does is she in now?
I can tell you that my first post here was so ethi g like...."Help! Six days post amp and I fear I've made a horrible decision"! In fact, it took about three weeks before I could say I did this FOR my Happy Hannah and not TO
her!
Again, this is very, very early in recovery. And yes, pain meds can make them loopy and lethargic, but it's better than being in pain.
Ha g in there! This "crash" is not unusual!lots of ups a d downs for the next two weeks. Once Harley's sparkle comes back though, she will amaze you!
Her avatar picture is gorgeous! Tell is more about her when you can. Why did she have the amp?
We are here for you, okay?
Hugs and love!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle too!
Right now Harley needs to just rest, eat, drink, poop and lee. And YAY FOR POOP! Good job Harley!
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!
Hello ! welcome to Tripawds. Your report sounds very familiar. Usually they are over-excited to be back home, but then there is a normal crash. My personal experience with Johnnie was that he took a turn to the worse on days 5 and 6 post-op, to the point that my husband went on a two-day business trip and thought he wouldn't find Johnnie when he got back. He stopped eating and had a lot of seroma . From day 6 to 7 he started eating again and began to recover. Three weeks after surgery he was swimming in the pool. Be patient. These first ten days are very tense, with ups and downs. As Sally well remembered, this is MAJOR SURGERY, and there is a healing period that has to be dealt with.
Keep her drinking and eating light foods, but also follow your instincts. When we were in panic because he wasn't eating my helper made me buy cow hoofs (sort of like an ossobucco), cooked them in the pressure cooker and we fed him the broth with corn meal. That perked him up! He began eating again. Just so you guys have an idea what it looks like - in the city we buy it frozen and cut - am sending a link. I personally don't appreciate it (traditionally slow-cooked with white beans) but for Johnnie it's a heavenly dish:
http://www.zona.....do__--1892
Keep calm.
hugs from Daniela & Johnnie
Our awesome Golden Boy was diagnosed for OSA in April 2014 in the proximal humerus, front-leg amp on 05/20/2014. Finished chemo (Carbo6) on 07/10/2014. Ongoing treatment: acupuncture + K-9 Immunity Plus ( 3chews) and home-cooked no-grain diet. Stopped Apocaps because of liver issues. Liver issues: controlling altered enzymes with SAM-e and Milk Thistle. October 17: started having seizures. Taking fenobarbital for seizures. April 18: started prednisone.
Yup, that all sounds normal. We had the 'honeymoon' when we first got home and about 5 days later ... all went to chaos and he!! in a handbasket... restless, anxious, nothing soothed Shelby. I was so anxious and that probably didn't help either.
It is really important to limit most activity ... so no hopping, jumping ... just potty breaks. And to stay on top of the pain meds. It's hard to see them druggy but it's really important.
Hang in there ... it does get better!
Shelby Lynne; Jack Russell/Shiba Inu mix. Proud member of the April Angels of 2014.
October 15, 2000 to April 8, 2014
Our story: Broke rear leg in June 2013 - non-conclusive results for cancer so leg was plated and pinned. Enlarged spleen in September 2013 and had it removed and was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma and started chemotherapy. Became a Tripawd January 8th, 2014 and definitive Hemangiosarcoma diagnosis. Three major surgeries in 7 months and Shelby took them all like a champ only to lose her battle to cancer in her brain. We had 8 amazing extra months together and no regrets. #shelbystrong #loveofmylife
Try not to worry. As you can see, it's pretty normal for a post-op crash like this. As long as you're in contact with your vet and letting them know her symptoms, and they're not worried, all is good.
In my non-vet opinion though I do think it's way too soon to cut back on pain meds. Try to put yourself in her paws, how long would you want to be medicated after having a leg removed? Talk to your vet about adjusting the medication, and remember that's its easier to control pain by staying ahead of it than trying to catch up and get rid of it (which takes 2x as long than trying to just control it on a regular basis for a couple of weeks).
Hang in there and keep us posted OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
And by the way, don't forget to celebrate that she's eating, drinking and pooping. That's HUGE, many dogs don't get there as quickly.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
As everyone here has mentioned, it does seem way too soon to take away the pain meds. I remember the first 2 weeks. On about day 6, my hubby finally took a turn sleeping on the floor with TY. Then again around day 9. As things begin to heal and bruising and swelling go down, they start to feel a bit more like themselves. Hang in there, give it some time and I bet you will start to see signs of the old Harley showing up. Lori, Ty & Gang
TY GUY, Best Black Lab ever! Diagnosed and had amp in January, 2014. Kicked MRSA's butt. Earned his angel wings on April 16, 2014. Run Free my boy and don't forget a shoe. Ty is a proud member of the " April Angels". Ty sent us Daryl, a Tripawd rescue in Sept. of 2016. Daryl is 5 +or -. We are also Pawrents to Chandler, a Border Collie mix who is 15 and 1/2, Lucy, a Corgi who is 7, 2 minis, 2 horses, and a feisty cat named Zoe. Zoe had a non skeletal Osteosarcoma removed in July 2015. No Chemo, she was at least 16. She is going strong although she is now completely blind. She is now close to 20 and her hobbies are eating and sleeping in front of her personal heater.
Welcome to you and Harley! Yup, its time for making her as comfortable as possible (yay! pain meds!) and being patient. She'll come out of it given a little time. More pix please! Harley looks like a beauty 
xoxo,
Codie Rae and the Oaktown Pack
Woohoo! Tripawds Rule!
Regulator of the Oaktown Pack, Sheriff of the Oaktown Pawsse, Founding member and President of the Tripawd Girldogs With 2 Names ROCK Club, and ... Tripawd Girldog Extraordinaire!
It seems too early to me, too, to be cutting back...I was told the 2nd week to start cutting back, and that at about the end of the 2nd week Murphy should be just about finished with pain meds. The trembling to me sounds like Harley is probably in pain. Murphy was sent home on 3 medications - Gabapentin, Rimadyl & Tramadol. Sometimes the Tramadol is rough on them. The roller-coaster ride is absolutely what we went through! You can try ice packs to the incision a couple times a day, too, and massage around the area to try to help the body re-absorb the extra fluids. Murphy didn't have a compression shirt, but we just used an old t-shirt to keep the incision covered so he wouldn't lick it.
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
Thanks everyone, really needed to hear the encouragement from others who've been through this. Harley is my 6.5 year old south African mastiffxrottixshepard best friend. We found out she had bone cancer June 10/15, did tests and spoke to vets etc. And finally did the amputation July 6/15. It was a hard choice since she is 116 pounds and tho not super tall she has a huge chest and is a very long dog. We didn't do the biopsy before since all the choices would be the same and I didn't want to cause fractures and pain for no guarantee. So we are awaiting the report now. We start chemo July 21/15. She's still very lethargic and claimed a spot in front of the door for the whole day yesterday buy has moved around to different ones today. Still eating,drinking,peeing and some pooping which I am thankful she is able to be doing. The vet had told me to try and ween down the trammadol but keep up the meloxyn but since I have kept up with the trammadol the trembling has stopped so I will continue on with it. My decision. Thanks again and when I figure out how to post pics I will. Of course I'm biased but she's the prettiest girl I know.
harleythegirl said
...when I figure out how to post pics I will.
FYI: Here are detailed steps for adding photos to forum posts . If you don't already share pics online somewhere, you can start a free Tripawds blog and upload them to your Media Library.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I went through exactly the same thing with Tegan when she came home - scared the crap out of me. Even down to the front leg swelling and finally came to the same conclusion as you. Once the sutures were removed and the shirt was off, the swelling was gone.
It took her the two weeks to finally see my old girl come back again. I think sometimes it is a bigger adjustment for the large breeds to try to cope
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