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.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
One more update: The vet visit revealed that we have lost weight--we're down to about 64 lbs. We were 95 lbs in our prime, dropped to 78-80 in our dotage, then down to 75 as we got ill, and down to 70 post-amp. But a six lb loss in 6 weeks isn't awesome. Part of it is due to muscle loss in the chestr/shoulder area (muscles are there...they just don't connect anymore), but...
Anyway, a full panel revealed that all Sam's levels are normal/same as they were pre-surgery. BUT his sodium is low. Which is odd, since all he's been eating (when he eats) is basically hot dogs, lunch meats, etc...IOW, very high sodium foods for a person, let alone a dog.
So we are stopping the piroxicam for now, and will start a week long course of steroids to see if it helps. Piroxicam is the better anti-cancer choice, but...eating is paramount. There is a mild concern about Addison's disease at this point. It would be unusual--but again, Sam's presentation with EVERYTHING has been unusual. And he DOES already have an autoimmune disorder, so...???
At anyr rate, we will see what the steroids do.
On the eating front: A friend gave me a can of Tripett Green Tripe, saying her dogs lovelovelovelove it. Sam took a couple bites, then wandered away. I tried hand feeding, and he ate a couple MORE bites. And wandered away. Yet, when I threw a slice of Buddig lunch meat on it, he ate that. So, being the try anything sort that I am, I made a giant pile of sushi rolls--green tripe rolled in buddig-and hand fed them. He at the whole can.
(Of course, one of my cats ate the droppings, and just vomited on my shoes. AWESOME)
"Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all."
-Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
"May I recommend serenity to you? A life that is burdened with expectations is a heavy life. Its fruit is sorrow and disappointment. Learn to be one with the joy of the moment."
-Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
Online
Sam! Sam! Sam! You really have trained our Mom well when it comes to satisfying your palette! Being feed handmade sushi tripe (excuse me while I gag---it's a human thing) , wow, what a lucky fella,!!
Glad to hear you're going on steroids because I think it really will step up your appetite and you can cow down some nutritional stuff for a change! Your stomach should start growling for food in a few days and maybe your mom will send us a photo of drooling as you wait for food:-)
Glad our test came back pretty normal...so much for hot dogs being loaded with sodium, huh. Time to put on a few more pounds now!
Applause to you Megan for staying the course and doing everything possible for your Sam. You are, indeed, his sheep and the epitome of dedication to his wellbeing! Take care of yourself too!
Sally and Happy Hannah
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!
Mmm....tripe sushi! Yum!
Did the vet give you a rundown on pred side effects? If you haven't already had experience with it, be sure to prepare yourself for them. I won't go into them if you already know but if not just let us know, lots of folks here have had experience with 'em. I hope they help. I so want Sam to get stronger and healthier. My paws are crossed so keep us posted oK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
When Kerm was on pred I knew he was going to drink a lot but I was totally unprepared for the elephantine quantities he consumed... and produced!
OMG that tripe sushi sounds gross! What strange tastes he has in food these days! Maybe he's pregnant! 
Hope the pred makes him eat better; I'm betting you'll see a huge turnaround in his appetite. 
Update #356:
Started Sam on the Prednisone on Thursday AM. He came to work with me and hung out all day in my office. We had a nice walk at lunch (about 10-12 minutes), and I worried all the excitement (er, relatively speaking) and the walk would be a lot since we had PT that afternoon...but he was great.
FWIW, here is a link a video of Sam using the underwater treadmill at PT! (In case it doesn't show up: https://www.dro......24.57.mp4)
I left him in the capable hands of Jacqie (our housesitter, and also our vet tech) while we were gone over the weekend. In the note she left us, she said he ate "like a champ." I saw that first hand--last night and today, he ate and ate some more. We had 1/3 cup brown rice, a 1/2 to 3/4 cup of kibble (mix of Taste of the Wild, Chef Michaels, and crappy cat kibble), a hot dog, and some PerkiLac. Then he looked like he wanted MORE...so I gave him cottage cheese and kibble, which he also ate. This AM, after finishing that concoction, he also put down 1/4 cup more kibble and an egg.
He's also been quite perky (again with the relatively speaking)--and walks up to 15-20 minutes (well, there is a lot of sniffing and peeing there, too. He likes to greet each blade of grass individually). He walks faster than I do, for sure, and has been engaging his rear legs separately a bit more (as opposed to a bunny hop, which has been his standard gait).
There are up days and down days, but the last two have been up (well, the last 4, I guess, if you count the two we were gone)...so here's to keeping on keeping on 
We finish the pred. on Wednesday, not sure what we will do then. We'll see what the vet thinks. Also: I was waiting for him to turn into a firehose, but our pee output has been normal. Well, he does have a lot of it, but our frequency and urgency (or lack there of) are the same.
"Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all."
-Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
"May I recommend serenity to you? A life that is burdened with expectations is a heavy life. Its fruit is sorrow and disappointment. Learn to be one with the joy of the moment."
-Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
WAT TO GO SAM:-) So glad you are feeling better and woofing down some food:-) Maybe you'll even enjoy some good chicken breasts now.....and of course steak can always be a great desert!
I know our human family is relieved as are we. Maybe staying on a low dose of pred. is what the vet might suggest for awhile....right now the pluses outweigh the minuses and as you eat better, you'll feel better:-)
Yes indeed, you are a handsome boy who is mastering the swim/walk in the water! Humans can come up with the silliest ideas, huh Sam??
You keep on keeping on and we have all paws crossed for you!!
Surrounding you with continued best wishes, Sally and Happy Hannah
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!
That's such a fantastic update, I'm happy to hear things are so much better. He looked great in the treadmill!
Here's to keepin' on indeed. Let us know how the next vet visit goes and what the next plan is.
Hot dogs for everypawdy in Sam's honor!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Most recent update:
Still losing weight...but bloodwork appears normal and appetite is out-standing. So much so, I've even been able to start sneaking the K9 Immunity + back into his food. Don't tell him.
We reduced the pred to 10 mg/daily. Still on tramadol.
Vet thinks that despite relatively normalish bloodwork, he may have Addison's Disease. He's not what you'd call a typical case (if you can have one of those), but the symptoms line up, and he's already got one autoimmune disorder (SA), and akitas and other pacific rim type dogs tend to test wonky in some things, so...
Not a huge deal, in the scheme of things, b/c the treatment for Addisons is...prednisone. The only real thing it would change would be we couldn't go back to the piroxicam
We are going to try and titer down gradually on the pred. and find the magic dose for him.
"Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all."
-Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
"May I recommend serenity to you? A life that is burdened with expectations is a heavy life. Its fruit is sorrow and disappointment. Learn to be one with the joy of the moment."
-Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
Hey Samdog I hope they find the magic dose of the pred for you. Even though you're losing weight I still think you're kickin' butt. Here's to being a one of a kind dawg Mister. You rock! xoxo
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I found your thread tonight and want to thank you all for making me smile just a little today. Daisy has virtually eaten nothing today and just picked the last couple. I feel like a would give a finger right now just to get her to eat anything. I made her chicken liver, ground lamb (which she ate yesterday but no go today), hill's a/d, picked up roasted chicken from Coscto (broke down into sobs when she wouldn't even try it) and lastly cheeseburger and soft serve from Dairy Queen. She did eat a few freeze dried liver treats but not enough to sustain her. I'm thanking my lucky stars that she is drinking water (although hand-served in a plastic Solo cup!). Have an appointment on Monday with oncologist and will push her on the issue of Prednisone. Thank you mmrocker and others for being honest about the challenges - I feel like I'm not alone
You're definitely not alone Alicia, lots of us have been through the appetite challenges.
I know this suggestion may not help too much, but try to remember that when it comes dogs being sick, we are instinctively smarter and know how to save our energy for more important matters than digestion, like healing. So many times, even though we aren't hungry that's not necessarily a really bad thing as long as it doesn't last too long (and your vet is aware of it of course). Humans have a hard time with that, you are like Italian grandmothers going "eat! eat !" when all we want to do is rest so we can heal 
I hope today is a better day for you. Have you tried goat's milk? Lots of people have had great success with it. This article tells more: http://nutritio.....appetites/
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
AliciaA said
I found your thread tonight and want to thank you all for making me smile just a little today. Daisy has virtually eaten nothing today and just picked the last couple. I feel like a would give a finger right now just to get her to eat anything. I made her chicken liver, ground lamb (which she ate yesterday but no go today), hill's a/d, picked up roasted chicken from Coscto (broke down into sobs when she wouldn't even try it) and lastly cheeseburger and soft serve from Dairy Queen. She did eat a few freeze dried liver treats but not enough to sustain her. I'm thanking my lucky stars that she is drinking water (although hand-served in a plastic Solo cup!). Have an appointment on Monday with oncologist and will push her on the issue of Prednisone. Thank you mmrocker and others for being honest about the challenges - I feel like I'm not alone
Hi Alicia:
I am sorry Daisy won't eat! It is probably the single most frustrating thing we've dealt with. Prednisone IS an option--but not always for everyone, esp. depending on what meds your dog is on.
Have you tried hot dogs? That's what worked for us. Well, the tripe worked, too...if I wrapped it in Buddig lunch meat (or meat?). And I had to hand feed. Also peanut butter on milk bones. Fancy feast classic is also pet-crack.
Talk with your vet, start small, and keep trying things (and don't buy 15 of one thing b/c she ate it...word to the wise, you could end up with 15 lbs of knackwurst when she refuses it the next time 
).
Oh, on some other post (I think it's our two-month one), I also describe the Meat Slurry extravaganza I made, which, while quite possibly the most heinous thing I've come up with yet, worked. (And, oddly, is made up entirely of other things that have ended up on the Do Not Want list)
"Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all."
-Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
"May I recommend serenity to you? A life that is burdened with expectations is a heavy life. Its fruit is sorrow and disappointment. Learn to be one with the joy of the moment."
-Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
Kermit's rehab vet gave him a shot of B12 this morning to try to stimulate his appetite... he eats snacks & treats & pill pockets & celery & bananas & whatever I'M eating as though he hasn't eaten in a week but he's not wild about mom's cooking all of a sudden & only eats a little dinner.
We shall see what happens in the next couple days with the B12!
Wow, I'm late to this thread. What a tale! Your humor is outstanding! Makes me crack up, every time! Good attitude.
The video of him on that treadmill is pretty cool, but you're right in that he's a skinny minny. You're trying everything and that's awesome! But also "trying". Sorry. How's he doing these days? Find the magic Pred dose? Could he be having too much tramadol? I forget what that's for, but with his weight loss, is now 100mg PM and AM too much?
~ Katy
ACL tear in right hind leg 12/5/12 and scheduled ACL repair surgery 12/21/12. Pre-op xrays revealed osteosarcoma. Amputation 12/28/12. Chemo (carboplatin) started Jan 10, 2013 and ended on April 5, for a total of 5 doses. He handled carbo like a champ! No side effects. We started metronomic therapy at his third chemo and have been also doing some holistic treatments. He's a lively, playful 10 year old huskie-boarder collie and a very proud member of the Winter Warriors! Our love. Our funny little guy!
We are definitely eating better...we've cut back the pred, and will (possibly) go down to 5 mg next week. The tramadol is by and large for the arthritis and dysplasia (hips and spine). We tried cutting that back, and he wouldn't move so... it stays, I guess.
He has some really painful trigger points in his back, and is having difficulty walking much right now. We are doing heat therapy to loosen them up, and are going to try acupuncture--that might help with his pain AND his appetite, and mean we can cut back on some of the meds, as well.
Up days and down days, always...but right now, he's eating okay, and as the PT says "Despite the pain in his back/hips, he is the happiest and most upbeat I've seen him in six weeks." So we're doing a'ight, as the saying goes.
"Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all."
-Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
"May I recommend serenity to you? A life that is burdened with expectations is a heavy life. Its fruit is sorrow and disappointment. Learn to be one with the joy of the moment."
-Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
1 Guest(s)
