Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi all so we got the diagnosis for bone cancer two weeks ago. Our 8 1/2 year old Swiss mt/hound mix had his back leg amputated last Tuesday he came home on Thursday he’s been drinking and peeing he’s taken a few pieces of food here and there. I’ve gotten some cheese with some of the pills he supposed to be taking and I’ve tried meatballs dipped in gravy. I’ve boiled chicken and rice for him but he still really not eating he literally will take maybe a piece of cheese a day and some bone treats maybe. He goes out for walks he’s pretty excited about it practically drag me down the street parking at my cat doing some normal stuff that he usually does the last few days it’s just the not eating is driving me insane I had spoken to the doctor on Saturday I got him some anti-nausea meds that didn’t work out at all! Anybody else have this issue doctor said not to worry about it but that was Saturday because he still drinking and peeing but I don’t know !! It’s so hard not to hover and worry.
Welcome! What's your pup's name?
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Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Adoravle avatar picture..
Wjat paun meds is your pup on? Tjey xan certainly diminish appetite. Also, of he associates food with bitter tasting pain meds, he may have an aversion to some of his favorite foods
Try stinky foods like liverwurst. Cooked liver also. Meg's livercakes Cheesburgers from a drive thru, cheese pizza, bacon and eggs. Nutrition can come later. Right now it's about getting him to eat anything.
Put the pills in something other than what you are try to get yhim to eat ise tweezers to insert the pills in the crea, cheese (or whatever). Don't get the scent on your hands. Tramadol i. a very bitter tasting pill.
You might also try Fresh Pet (in the refrigerator section of pet food. Found in Whole Foods, also Target. Dogs looooove it!!
You can also ask your Vet avout an appetite stimulant
Keep us posted. Hang on, others will chime jn too!
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!
His name is Goliath:). Thank you for the ideas. I will definitely try some “stinky” foods to get him to take his pills and the fresh pet. He will take small bites of food from my husband. I assume he associates me with the nasty food. He did eat a little wet food this am which was great to see. We see the oncologist on Friday. Xo
Awww I hope Goliath starts eating regularly soon. Sounds like you made good progress today!
Here are some tips that can help too:
https://nutriti.....g/appetite
Keep us posted and let us know how the appointment goes.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Liverwurst Was a winner. He wasn’t interested in the fresh pets food but maybe in a day or two he will be. He been taking food from my husband. Will not take anything from me. It’s comical. I’ll try and offer he turns his nose. I hand it to my husband not problem. Whatever works I guess. I’m probably hovering too much and need to back off. Thanks again!!
YAY FOR STINKY LIVERWIRST!!! Goliath cracks me up! Sou ds loke je definitely associates yoj woth teying yo sneak a pill jnto his food. Guess were got a "good cop, bad cop" scenario. Yeah, whatever works!!
Another thing you might try is putting the liverwurst, or chicken, or whatever, on your dinner plate that has a few scraps left on it. Put it in the floor and walk away.
Thanks for the Goliath update! Made me smile!😁
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!
Oh yay! Liverwurst was one of Jerry's faves too when he wouldn't eat.
And yep, Goliath is totally avoiding you because he's associating you with icky tasting meds. Wyatt Ray has done that to me in the past, only for other things like rounding him up for rehab therapy time.
It'll take work to get his trust back but take things slow and give him the BEST TREATS EVER and he will come around.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
HI Guys, This road to recovery is fricken HARD. So he got wise to the liverwurst, so that isn't working anymore. He hasn't really had a full meal since the night before the surgery. Which was May 27. Everyday he will eat a few slices of cheese, some small doggie biscuits and peanut butter from Kong. That's it. We saw the oncologist on Friday, he didn't seemed worried tho. He's gotten a little food aggressive also, pretty much just with me. If I try to pick up kong to fill it he comes "running" over to where it is and barks. He does that I'm gonna bite you face :(. He was never aggressive before. I am assuming its from the pain and hunger? The stairs are the worst tho. We have three stairs out our front that he does pretty well and four out that back door. Going up is painful for him and HE HATES the harness. (Thank god for my dad - he is building me a ramp) He will circle away from me when I try to help. This morning I insisted we use it - it when ok no crying. Tmw is staple removal and chemo for the poor guy. So guys? Is this normal?? I'm trying to not be so focused on that he's not eating well at all. I really hope tmw helps a little. He's on gabapentin 300mg, rimadyl 100mg and an antibiotic. He's had the rimadly and the antibiotic before and was eating no problem. Could the gabapentin because the not wanting to eat? He has been drinking lots of water. He was always good with water. Thank you for listening.. this site has been so helpful. I just assume I'm expecting too much from him :(.
Glad you've got the Ramp! That should help in his recovery a lot. If your Dad can put rails on it, that will even make him feel more secure. Dogs have trouble with depth perception when dealing with "heights"
Also, it's perfectly mokaynto delay rhe chemo anotjer week to give his appetite time to get stable. Of course, I'm not a Vet and not goving Ver advice. Hapoy Hannah 's was delayed an additional week as I didn't feel she was far enough along in her recovery.
I know you had Cerenia, but has he actually been given a STIMULANT? Just to cover all bases, maybe get bloodwork done, temperature taken, etc just to eliminate any chance of infection. Also Happy Hannah was on some form of pain meds fot three weeks. Is Goliath just getting rhe Gaba once a day? Maybe you can speak to the Bet about dividing the dose so it's twice a day and stays in his system more consistently.
It sounds like his attitude is engaged, alert?? Can anyone else pick up the Kong without a reaction from him? He needs to see you as a strong and confident pack leader. I know it's hard when you are worried and when your energy is maybe not the most spot on.
One more suggestion, maybe ask the Bet about a dose of fluids, even if he isn't dehydrated. It can often tweak the appetite up a notch and make dogs start eating.
But yeah, I would ask about delaying the chem until his appetite picks up.
And YAY for getting him to use the ramp!😀
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!
🙂 Oh I hope he doesn't have an infection. I know they said the will take blood and such tmw before they start any chemo. As for pain pills he is supposed to be getting Gaba every 8-12 hours and the Rymal every 12 hours. He just wont take food with the pills in them. He's fine with my husband and my stepson with the kong and his little bones we leave out hoping he willl eat.. Its REALLY just me.. hich of course makes me horribly sad.. hes "my" dog. I just pick the stuff up when i take him outside so its not an issue. I'm sure I probably just annoying the crap out of him. So I'm going to try harder this week to back off.
The did mention an appetite stim - but i was afraid it was more pills! Im gonna ask tmw. Going to have to work something out. Goliath is ( I have two dogs - Shelby) my EATER. He is under the table waiting for you to get up to eat ur scraps dog. Fridge opens he is front and center. I did tell the docs twice he wasn't really eating and they didn't seem concerned? Since he was drinking water and taking small amounts. Last pill he got was last night around 8 and it was the Gaba. Today he turned away at cheese and his kong - but he usually will take stuff later in the day.
I will let my dad know rails will be needed ! I want him to be as comfortable as possibly. I'll let you know how tmw goes!! Thank you:)
I'm in the Tripawds Chat right now if you want to talk. Back in a sec with some thoughts...
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Soooo....tomorrow if your vets aren't concerned about his lack of appetite it's time to advocate and insist they look into it. Yes, a stimulant would help (Entyce is getting good reviews). Meanwhile...
Gaba every 8-12 hours is a huge range. I would talk to your vet about 1) sticking closer to the 8 hour mark (remember, you want to stay ahead of pain) and 2) tweaking the eds and adding another one like Amantadine. Please don't be afraid of pills. This is a huge recovery and most dogs need at least a couple weeks of pain relief, sometimes longer. The meds are your friend right now. Work with your vets to get the right combo, insist on changing things up if the Gaba alone isn't working. pain management is a blend of strategies.
As far as how he takes food from your husband but not from you. Is this totally out of the ordinary from before amputation? Did he ever show aggression to you before? If not, what do you think your husband is doing that's different than what you are doing? Usually with men it's just more confidence in a situation like this. For instance, do you approach him talking baby talk (Goliath, not your husband lol!), hover over him and behave timidly? If yes, be more confident! Know that you are in charge and while it's OK to talk in calm, reassuring tones, don't shrink back and be afraid when it comes to the pilling.
Try braunschwager meat. That's always a hit. Or baby food. And if he loves it, only you are to give it to Goliath, nobody else. You have to find that one thing that makes him over the moon and let that be your magic trick that gets him to eat. If he takes it from your husband it may ruin the bond you are re-creating with Goliath.
I hope this helps. Let us know how today goes OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I'm sorry you are having such a hard time.
Be aware of your attitude around him when you are trying to get him to eat. I leaned the hard way how even when I thought I was being calm I was projecting my frustration.
My Pug Maggie was dealing with a medical issue that made her not want to eat all the time, she would sometimes but not others- it was soooooo frustrating! One morning I was making the Pug's breakfast and I was very anxious about weather or not she would eat. I will never forget this moment: she came hopping into the kitchen, took one look at me and without even slowing down went right through the dog door and out to the backyard! I didn't say anything and I hadn't even picked up her bowl yet, but she could tell I was aggravated and didn't want to have anything to do with me.
Antibiotics can have an affect on appetite. Even though he was on it before it could be catching up with him now.
Is there someone else who can try feeding him? Maggie would often take food from my dad when she wouldn't eat for me.
Can you give treats to the dogs side by side without issues? I find that getting meds into one of my dogs is easier when I'm giving them both 'treats', the perceived competition will make them swallow whatever I give them.
I hope the vet has some ideas for you.
I made a video earlier this year after my Tripawd Elly had an invasive dental surgery and she was on pain meds for awhile. Maybe something in the vid will give you some ideas.
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
OHHH soooo..Update on Mister Goliath!! Tuesday was chemo and staple removal day. He did well with both. As I was speaking to the doc about him not eating, he started taking biscuits from me
Of course. SO she was like he's just being picky... Well I guess she was right. When we got home he ate some chicken from me, some dog food. It was promising. Doc also said I could stop the giving the meds for now. Try and get him to eat more and then go back to them if he seems in pain. I haven't heard him cry since last week about anything. I am sure he is in some pain. He did ate a good amount of dog food last night which was very promising. I did have to hand fed it to him
I think my kitchen floor makes him uneasy so I am trying to remedy that situation with some no slip rugs for him. My father got the ramp built. That going to take some time for him to use I think.
Karen thank you so much for your suggestions - he was taking stuff from my husband and son - but I think the meds were really getting to his stomach. So I am happy he's eating now from me.
Unfortunately he has been aggressive with me at least three times now. When we got back from chemo I tired to take the bandage off and i got barked at and snarled at. I stepped away. Unfortunately I lost my temper and told him he was a bad dog.. very frustrating. My brother came over and he got the bandage off and kisses for his trouble. I also fed him last night no issues. Then I moved his water / food dish into the where he was thinking the kitchen was giving him issues and when i came back in again with the aggression bark and stuff. He hasn't tried to bite me.. I know it must be my energy I'm giving off. I am definitely trying to work on that. I also assume its pain/hunger too... It seems the aggression is over food items, when I moved his bed and bandage removal. IF there no food present we are good. Loves when i get the leash and i can pet him on his bed or the couch.. So I am just gonna take it slow with him and figure we can work this out too. Right?? lol
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