Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi, everyone,
As you know, Seven is not a Tripawd or cancer patient, but I know how creative and resourceful this community is, so I immediately came here for help. If this isn't the correct forum, I'm sorry.
Seven had some minor surgery on Friday, which I will explain below. He came through the anesthesia and the surgery amazingly well. He has a few stitches at the base of his "boy part" and I need to keep him from licking and biting the area. I've tried everything I can think of...the E collars, regular and soft, and the blow-up donut kind cause him to have a panic attack and wildly paw at it and roll around (he's completely deaf and lack of peripheral vision is a problem for him and his neurological issues cause occasional poor balance). I've tried boxers and a female dog washable diaper...his body is so long that they are bikinis on him and slip off as soon as he moves. I even tried a t-shirt put on upside down but he slipped out of that, too. I am completely willing to be with him constantly for the next two weeks until he get his stictches out, but I do have to sleep! Does anyone have any suggestions? Seven is a big boy...he weighs just over 90 lbs and but his body is very long and narrow.
So, now for the details. I adopted Seven a year ago. He was 11 yrs old and in poor health, with a neurological disorder of unknown cause, possible seizure disorder with a liver disorder thought to be brought on by the seizure meds, and he was significantly underweight. He had never been neutered, and the vets advised against it because of his health. Now, a year later, he is so much healthier, but was unfortunately having issues with severe prostatitis and felt so ill from it that he wasn't eating well and his weight was declining. All other problems were ruled out with blood tests and ultrasound...this was the only obvious problem. So, at the advanced age of 12 years old, my sweet boy lost his "crown jewels" on Friday. And for those of you who have never had the privilege of seeing an older male dog who just had this surgery, his "jewelry bag" is saggy and obviously empty. 
Thank you,
Carol
Oh, he has such a sweet face.......Carol, I don't know if I can help much, but I know I can be somewhat creative for this sort of dilemma. What you may need is a type of suspenders type situation to keep his boxers or other "panty-type" items from falling off. Does he have any kind of a harness that you use on him? I would attach thin elastic from the boxers to his harness kind of on the sides of his back, and use large size safety pins ( inch and a half to 2 inches long) to secure the elastic at the boxers. If you have a long enough length of elastic, just pin it to one side of the boxers, up through the harness, one side to the other, and down the other side back to the boxers. Sounds a bit weird, I know, but that may work. Depends on how Seven my respond to it, but I think he would be okay with it. I've had to come up with all kinds of contraptions for my pups over the years.......
Best wishes to resolve this,
Love,
Bonnie & Angel Polly
P.S. Hope your sweet boy heals quickly......he tugs at my heart strings.....
Bonnie,
Thank you so much!! Suspenders are a great idea! I'm not very handy, so I may try to buy a pair, but I think it might work. He didn't bother with any of the "pants" I put on him, it's just that they slipped off.
And he's healing well, thank you. He asked to go for a walk this morning. He's on heavy duty antibiotics to control the prostatitis until his prostate starts to shrink, and that's helping, too. And he is such a sweet old man...so gentle and loving. Thank you for seeing that in his face!
xoxo
Carol
What a sweet face!!!
Ditto what Bonnie said ... I am not crafty or creative but that sounds like a great suggestion. Or have you considered getting him a pair of boxer briefs that are a little bit more snug? I know that was the suggestion for Shelby when she had her rear leg amputate but Shelby also didn't mind the soft cone of shame . But she could get at the amp site if she was super creative so I did get her a pair. She had a really long tongue. 🙂
Good luck and hope Seven is feeling better soon!
XO
Alison & her Shelby
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
i was thinking one of those urinary bands but that wont help that. 🙁 I know when I just had Bosch neutered this year for the same reason and he is 8. He ended up with a seroma (if that happens fill a sock with rice and heat it and hold it back there) Bosch let me but i did it when i was cleaning him up for his fistuala meds.
The suspenders sound like a good idea too.
hugs
Michelle & Angel Sassy
Sassy is a proud member of the Winter Warriors. Live long, & strong Winter Warriors.
sassysugarbear.tripawds.com
07/26/2006 - Sassy earned her wings 08/20/2013
05/04/2006 - Bosch, Sassy's pal, earned his wings 03/29/19 fought cancer for 4 months.
"You aren't doing it TO her, you are doing it FOR her. Give her a chance at life."
That is such an adorable pic! Oh what a face. Glad he's recuperating well, 3-paws up to you for being such a great pawrent.
Maybe you could make a cone like the one we used with Wyatt when he had rear-end surgery? It was just a hard foam and it worked really well, even with his big snout he couldn't get to his stitches.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you for all the well wishes for Seven and for the support!
Alison, the boxer briefs are a great idea to keep him from going in through the leg area, but will probably still be too low to stay on. I'm going to try them with the suspenders to see how it works.
Michelle, where exactly was Bosch's seroma
? Was it his scrotum that filled? Because I noticed this morning that Seven's was looking a bit full, but then it deflated again. And, by the way, I had no idea that dogs could have such severe prostate issues.
Rene, great suggestion but I think Seven just doesn't like anything around his head/neck area. But for future reference for me or anyone else, do you have a tutorial for the one you made?
Hugs,
Carol
Hey Carol, check out this No Bite Collar I just found. I wonder if this would work?
As for the donut around Wyatt's head, it's just a flat piece of circular foam covered by some soft vinyl fabric with a draw string in the middle to secure it around his neck.
I hope Seven is feeling better soon!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Good morning,
If the suspenders don't work (though I think that is the best plan)...how about a loose belt or sash just to keep the shorts on.
I am so thankful that Tuck has never reacted to the e-collar....he has worn it several times in the last few years 
Seven is a very handsome boy and very lucky to have you as his pawrent.
Hugs
Linda and Tucker
omy gosh..
of first.. you need to plant a big huge long lasting kiss.. right betwen those beautiful eyes on that kissable brow from me!!!!!!
and.. I'm talking about on Seven.. not any other member of the family!!! lol
He has an old soul... and he reminds me of our shepherd Bud that we had, who I called a kind gentleman!!
I was just thinking if he wore a big tshirt that you could wrap around and come up between his backlegs and attach at the top with some velcro? almost like a "onesie" for babies??
I have the design in my head.. and with a few runs on a sewing machine, it could be modified not to be too baggy....
Christine... with Franklin in her heart♥
Franklin, he was the Happiest Dog on Three Legs! Diagnosed 09/26/2012 with Osteosarcoma, amputated 12/4/2012. Had a wonderful 5 1/2 months painfree until he ran for the Bridge on 5/15/2013. Always in my heart, and always a guardian angel of my pack... You can follow his Tripawd Adventures, before and after, in my blog, Frank'n'Farter!
Christine, this is a really awesome idea, too !! Should be fairly easy to complete the design, with very few modifications........
heyyyyyy.. Carol!!!!! check this out!!!!
http://www.sylm.....tdoors.htm
They have pants!!!! Mavericks Momma posted this site for his chest protector...
Christine... with Franklin in her heart♥
Franklin, he was the Happiest Dog on Three Legs! Diagnosed 09/26/2012 with Osteosarcoma, amputated 12/4/2012. Had a wonderful 5 1/2 months painfree until he ran for the Bridge on 5/15/2013. Always in my heart, and always a guardian angel of my pack... You can follow his Tripawd Adventures, before and after, in my blog, Frank'n'Farter!
We had a similar issue with a dog at the sanctuary who had a wound on his bum. Cones and collars weren't working, so they took an old pair of small scrub pants, made them into 1980's style cut-offs which translated into nicely "hemmed" pants for a cattle dog. The drawstring kept them snug enough to stay on him until he recovered. Plus, he loved the attention he got when he wore his pants - they were something of a show stopper. 
Thank you to all of you for your great ideas!
Sad but true fact...I do not, cannot, sew. With the help of a friend, we have a few things, based on your ideas, in the works. Seven really is super long in his body length (I'm 5'7" with a long torso and his body is longer than mine) so buying suspenders didn't work because they weren't long enough. Bonnie, you were right...elastic and tacking them onto boxers like suspenders will be the way to go. And Christine, I'm going to try your idea using a nightshirt so it's long enough. Linda and Allison, it's where the pants sit that are the problem, but a belt or scrub pants would be fantastic for a smaller dog. Rene, The No Bite Collar looks like it might work but I'm hesitant to spend the money in case it doesn't. The same goes for the pants from Sylmar Dogwear.
And Christine, I kiss that brow more times a day than I can count! But I gave him an extra one from you! And Linda, I'm the lucky one...he's a special guy!
Thank you again!
xoxo
Carol
Whatever you come up with, do take pics.
And don't feel badly about not being able to sew. That's what fabric glue is for!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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