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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Hi! I'm in the Tripawds Chat Room right now if you want to talk.
If there's no seepage I wouldn't worry about it. Some vets bandage, some don't. They can help prevent seromas for front leg Tripawds. If there's a reason to remove it, like she rolls in the mud or jumps in a pond, then I would, but otherwise as long as things look and smell normal she's probably alright. I love that she's drinking and eating right now, that's GREAT!
And yes, poops come later. You can help move things along with a bit of metamucil in her food, or steamed pumpkin.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi all- update from last night. Ella rested all day wonderfully, then around 9pm she became very restless, whining etc. Her Fentanyl patch was due to run out this morning at 8am. I called the vet thinking she may be in pain and they suggested giving her a dose of Tramadol. It did not help her restlessness at all. But then it occurred to my husband and I that it may have been all the noise. We live within a few blocks of Villanova's campus and there were helicopters overhead starting at 9pm. It clearly got a lot louder after they won. The helicopters were overhead until around 3am, which is around the time Ella settled down. Could it really have been the noise, or do you think she was in pain? I felt so bad for her that we could not figure out how to get her to calm down.
It could have been the noise but it also could be the pain meds. It is not uncommon for fentanly or tramadol to cause whining. It could also be she was in pain as the patch wore off and then the tramadol caused restlessness.
Balancing the pain and the pain meds can be very tough. Be sure you are talking to your vet about how she is acting.
How is she doing now?
I've had two pugs take tramadol without issues, but Tri-Pug Maggie would get agitated and not sleep when she took it. Has Ella been on tram before so you can compare how she is doing? Sometimes the dosage needs to be tweaked up or down, and there are some other meds that can be tried if tram really doesn't agree with her.
You might want to keep a log of when she gets meds and how she acts. It might help you determine if she is in pain or reacting to the pain meds.
This part is tough, hang in there!
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
Hi Karen - Ella was on Tramadol last week after her fracture and she was fine. She also started the whining etc before we gave it to her last night. She has been fine today.
Thanks for the encouragement.
Good evening. So we got the pathology results back from Ella's amputation surgery which confirmed osteosarcoma. Her lymph nodes were clear, as well as her chest and lung X-rays but there was a tumor in her leg. We are not surprised but now what to do next? I am really torn. I made the consult appointment with the oncologist to discuss the options. My husband and I already feel terrible seeing our poor girl go through the recovery from this surgery that we just don't know if we want to put her through anymore. In the past day or so, she is starting to seem like herself that we are looking forward to getting her back to our new "normal" soon. What have others experiences been with the side effects of chemo?
We just finished round 3 (of 4) of carboplatin. Side effects haven't been bad. Otis sleeps the day of chemo. Chemo #1 he had one episode of diarrhea, treated with the metronidazole and no other problems. Chemo #2 one squishy poo and used the metronidazole. Some nausea symptoms too, and used Cerenia for that. No actual vomiting, and he kept eating well. Vet thinks some of the nausea symptoms were excess acid production and put him on Pepcid AC, the human stuff - seems to be helping so far. At the end of the day, I will be glad when he is done with chemo, but nothing so severe that I wouldn't do it again, or that interferes with his quality of life in a major way. The meds work great, and I have gotten more aware in terms of feeding him (for example, this time started on rice and boiled chicken right away and didn't wait for a nausea problem). It differs for each dog, but I think a lot have not had major side effects.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
I'm sorry about the diagnosis- even though you know it is coming it's hard to hear.
Here are some Links to Posts about chemo, and here are some links from the Nutrition Blog that talk about holistic protocols.
The next step is what is right for your family and Ella. With my first two pugs we had 3 cancer journeys, including when Maggie lost her leg to mast cell when I chose to do chemo. But for Maggie's second cancer and little sis Tani's mast cell cancer I chose not to do chemo although it was recommended in both cases. Maggie's protocol was very different from carboplatin so it is hard to compare, but she did very well with limited side effects.
There are no absolute right or wrong decisions on chemo. You choose what works best for your family and Ella, but don't rule out chemo because there might be side effects. If you choose to try chemo and Ella doesn't do well you can always stop.
Do your research and definitely talk with an oncologist so you understand all your options. Once armed with all the information you can make the right decision for you and Ella.
As with choosing amputation, this community will support you and Ella no matter what path you choose.
BTW- how is Ella doing now?
Karen
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Ella is doing better. We had to switch her pain meds around a few days into recovery from surgery. She was taking tramadol and was very restless. We have her on gabapentin now and she is much more comfortable
Hi. I'm just catching up on Ella's story. Some don't do as well on Tramadol, some do ok. Gabapentin seems to be a great med for pain, especially phantom pain - sometimes you may notice her jump or yelp suddenly, or act confused, the gabapentin seems to help with that. The first 2 weeks are the hardest, but I think you're almost through those. And it seems like your children accepted Ella's surgery just fine, which was probably a huge relief. My grandchildren did well with Murphy's surgery, too. They knew that he had a boo boo and they needed to be gentle with him for a couple of months before we knew what was going on.
As far as chemo goes, that tends to be a pretty individual choice. It probably wouldn't hurt to meet with the oncologist and get all of the information so that you can make an informed decision. Many people here have chosen not to do chemo and their pets have still lived great lives. Most dogs don't have the same side effects to chemo that people have. Some might have some nausea, and their labs have to be followed to watch for infection and their hemoglobin. Murphy also had to be on denamarin every day to protect his liver. He had histiocytic sarcoma and had 6 doses of CCNU, which is an oral chemo. They were 3 weeks apart. He would have lab work done the day of his treatment, and then again the following week at our regular vet (the hospital where he was treated is a 1 1/2 hour drive). You know Ella best - it might be stressful for her; or it might just might not be financially feasible, which is ok, too. Money does have to come into this at some point. None of this journey is easy.
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
Hi there. I have a quick question I wanted to see if I can get others experiences with.
Ella had her stitches out yesterday. Everything looks great. We got her the Web Master harness and she has the green light to move around as normal. Our surgeon said we could keep giving her the Rimadyl for a few more days and start weening her off the Gapapentin. How long did most keep their dogs on pain meds after surgery. I cannot imagine she is not still in some sort of pain, but then again I don't want to keep Ella on meds for no reason.
Glad to hear she's doing great!
Great question. Most dogs are on pain medication about 10-14 days after surgery. If she starts showing pain indicators when you cut back on the Gaba, you can always restart with your vet's approval.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
When the staples came out, we started decreasing Otis' Tramadol, first by eliminating the mid-day dose, and then by reducing the amount of the other dosages. It took about another week or so, but eventually we got down to one (from three before) Tramadol before bed, and then none. It was pretty obvious to us when he no longer needed the Tramadol. He had been on Gabapentin before the surgery due to the fracture, but did not continue after, so cannot speak to that particular medication.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
We stopped Tramadol after 1 week (less than desirable side effects and he didn't need it), Gabapentin after 2 weeks (day staples came out) and on vets direction just finished out the Rx for Rimadyl (that ended sometime the 3rd week). Quincy definitely didn't need any pain once the staples came out - he was much more comfortable after that appt.
As yiu can see from the varied responses, every dog is different!!
My Happy Hannah stayed on pain meds well into her third week. The dosages were reduced during that third week but, in her case, she needed the meds as she still jad surgery pain.
Glad to hear Ella is having an "uneventful" recovery. They're the best kind!!
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!
Hello all,
It has been awhile since I have visited this site, primarily because our Ella has been doing great. October 1st was 6 months since her surgery. We opted not to pursue chemo for a number of reasons, but mostly due to her age (she will be 12 November 2nd).
I am not sure where the right place to post is but I was really wondering if there are any tell tale signs (aside from xrays of course) that she could have developed lung mets.
Our vet did tell us when it was nearing the end she would likely stop eating. Why I found myself here today is that in the past week she has been eating less. Are there any other obvious signs I should be looking for? She still seems like herself, just a more tired version. But she was never an overly active dog.
Thanks in advance for any help!
Jenn
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