Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi Jenn,
My Bentley is 10 weeks post amputation today and we also opted to not do chemo. At time of his surgery his lungs were also clear and bloodwork looked really good. So i always find myself watching for any sign that the cancer is progressing. I would really worry if he starts not eating, acting really tired, starts having trouble breathing or starts having a cough and also if he starts to vomit quite a bit. It really all depends on where the cancer decides to show it's ugly face!! Anything that is out of the "norm" is enough for a call to the vet so for now i just keep enjoying every moment with him and keep making memories! Right now he's happy and not in pain and that's what matters! Goodluck and many more continued happy days with Ella <3 Karen P
Bentley is our eight year old Doberman, diagnosed 7/13/16 with osteosarcoma tumor on right front leg, became a tripawd on 8/1/2016. His recovery was amazing, he was rockin it on 3! Bentley lost his fight to this nasty cancer when it metastisized into his spine, we had to let him go 11/13/16 exactly 4 months after first diagnosis. He was the perfect best friend, i'll miss him forever. :(
CONGRATULATIONS ON A HAPPY SIX MONTH AMPUVERSARY!!! And remebrr, in human hears that's over three years!!
As a more "mature" dog, it wouldn't be a surprise at all that she's slowing down some
I'll share my experience with my beloved Happy Hannah. Please keep in mind that every situation is different, just as every dog is different!
I opted out of xrays for her and just got on with making the .best out of every moment. Shouldshe start to show any noticeable "symptoms", then I would consider xrays for her as my Vet said there would be things we could do to extend her quality time.
My Happy Hannah NEVER missed a meal and NEVER coughed. What became .ore obvious with her though was......hmmm.....how to descrbie it....she got pretty exhausted fairly easily. It was more than tirir easily kf that makes sense. There was no noticeable pain, just didn't want to exert much energy. She enjoyed being a couch potato anyway!
Her breathing oattern became more "noticeable"...a bit more of an effort sometimes.
When I did finally do an xray on her and a big met was discovered, we still got some spectacular extended time full of a massive amount of spoiling and loving! Lots of junk food...anything she wanted anytime she wanted it! She even got five M&M's a day!! She liked the green ones!!
If she does start showing .ore symptoms, the Vet can prescribe some Prednisone and some small dose of Tramadol which will help alleviate any symptoms.
When her earth time was drawing near, although she still ate heartily, it was becoming a bit of an effort to try and get some restand the exhaustion was showing more and more. It would just be a matter of time before the scales would start tipping out kf her favor. When I realized she wasn't able to seem to get to sleep easily (laying down can make it harder to breathe in some cases), I knew she didn't need to hang around for more loving or spoiling at the risk of any impending suffering
I don't know if this helped or not.
For now it sou ds like your girl ks comfy and not in pain. Just continue to spoil and make every day even better than the day before!! Steak, ice cream,cheese pizza and a few M&Ms everyday!
Lots and lots of love and hugs!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
PS. Would love to see pics!!!
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!
Well, as a senior dog, she's slowing down some and as a Tripawd, she's using more muscles, so she gets tired faster - so double whammy. Murphy has a tendency to try to push his stubbornness. lol He'll be going along just fine, then he doesn't want to eat, so we change it up. Some of the things that we've found that have helped: gravy mixed in with his food; canned food mixed in; scrambled eggs (plus I throw in whatever meat and cheese that I might have in the fridge - it works every time!); or even just changing brands/flavors of food.
Hoppy Ampuversary Ella! 
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 so much for all your words of encouragement. So now in addition to not eating she has thrown up a few times today. She threw up a few days ago but we were not overly worried, but now it seems to be continuing. I was able to get her to eat some cheese and bread which she has always enjoyed but she won't touch the wet food or her normal dry food.
Is she on any meds?
Everything else omay as far as peeing, pooping, drinking,? How's her attitude?
She could just have some sort of GI upset. Is she showing any obvious signs of nausea?
Consult with your vet and see if she needs to come in maybe for some work up tests. Sometimes "mature" dogs develop kidney issues that show symptoms like not eating and throwing up.
Keep us updated.
In the meantime, spoil, love, spoil some more and take lots of pictures! We'd love to see some!!
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!
Hi,
I can share how Milo experienced mets and the end.
His eating was off and on the last 2-3 weeks. Some days it was normal, but some days he wasn't interested. But over the last year - long before his cancer diagnosis and amputation - he'd occasionally skip his morning meal. So we didn't freak over his not eating. But his last week, he definitely wasn't interested in food.
He never vomited. He always liked to go outside and eat grass and vomit for whatever gross dog reason, so vomiting would not have been a surprise. But no.
Milo always breathed heavy at times. He had a lung infection as a puppy. I've worried about his breathing for years. One night he seemed to be breathing heavier than normal and I worried about spread for the first time. It was a bit warm that night, so I hoped it was that. The next night was also rough breathing. He also had more eye boogies than usual and a drippy nose. I was worried, but then a couple good, high energy days and nights.
We finally did x-rays because we had business trips and a vacation coming up and we were leaving him with relatives. It didn't seem right to leave the sitters with the uncertainty. The x-rays showed 100s of little mets. Blech.
Over the next few days he had some ups and downs on energy, and a few nights where he breathed horribly all night. On the Monday and Tuesday, he was high energy and ran to the meadow barking at the night ghosts, declaring this was his yard. But Wed he was tired and wouldn't eat. He had a horrible night, so we said goodbye on Thursday.
He never coughed. He just breathed rough, but he sort of did that for years. Eating and energy were up and down. There were no clear cut signs for us. Just one day it all came together -no eating, rough breathing, and he was too tired. It was time.
Good luck with your guy. Hope this helps.
Peace,
Jenifer & Milo
I posted Otis' end of life under a forum topic something like Otis - heavy breathing, nausea. He had no real obvious symtoms until the very end, although mets had shown up on his X-rays about two weeks earlier. I also put up a forum topic called something like how do I know if my dog is breathing normally. I just lost my other dog without warning to a different cancer on Sunday, so emotionally cannot post too much detail now. Hope you can find these posts and they help.
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.
Hi Jenn and Ella,
These are the threads Christine mentions above:
Otis - heavy breathing, nausea?
How do I know if my dog is breathing normally?
Hope you find them helpful.
All best,
Meg and Clare (and Elsie Pie) xxx
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, 23 November 2023, adopted 12 January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
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