Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Our Bella is a 12 year old Rottweiller. Bella was diagnosed with osteosarcoma about one week ago after she started limping. Xrays showed a bone fracture and bone cancer. Options given were euthenasia or limb amputation.
On the day of the surgery, she had some bloody diarrhoea but the vet said that her chest xrays were clear and blood tests only showed some mild anemia , so he felt confided to proceed with the amputation. Foreleg amputation was done on 21 March, 2023. We were told the operation took 3 to 4 hours. She was kept overnight
Bella was sent home with a Fentanyl patch 100, Gabapentin 600mg 2 to 3 times daily , Probitor and Carafate twice a day and an antibiotic. Second day -She was able to stand with some very limited walking and help. Ate and drank.
We were only able to get the Gabapentin into her twice. She refused any other medication. I think she could smell it.
Third day and Fourth day - no more standing . Just laid there all day, not drinking and very little eating. r
Fourth day- Returned to vet. Removed patch. Blood tests showed she had become more anemic. Vet told us she must be losing blood somewhere. Said that the surgery had gone well and that she had lost not much blood at all during the surgery. Examined her and said she had sore back.
Only option was to euthenase her and told us to go home and decide when to have it done. Our normal vet was not there. Gave us some liquid codeine to give to her in a syringe. Bella will not take it . She just keeps on moving her nose away.
I do know that the Fentanyl patch lasts 3 days. Dont know what is going on. Is what she is going through normal.
We cannot get any pain meds into her .
Day 5 today, she ate a chocolate chip cookie and beef jerkey. I know we should not give it to her but we are desperate for her to eat and drink. So, started to eat but not drink.
Would appreciate if others share their experiences.
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Bella & Family, I'm really sorry about what is going on. Please find an ER vet as soon as possible. It just seems odd that the only option your vet gave you is euthanasia. Other than the blood tests did she have any other diagnostics done? A CT scan? An ultrasound? Xrays? Anything?
Whatever pain she is in, and she is it sounds like, she is probably not getting enough. The Fentanyl patch is spent, it only lasts 72 hours.
If you would like help finding an ER vet please register as a member so you can private message us your location. You can post your location here if you're comfortable. Or call the Tripawds Helpline . But please do it right away.
You can try getting her some liquid by spiking her water with Pedialyte, Gatorade, no salt chicken broth, anything to entice her into drinking.
Please take action right away, this may not be as hopeless as you've been led to believe, but the only way to know is to get another opinion at a different clinic.
I'm so sorry. Keep us posted.
So sorry to read about Bella's challenges! I know this is scary.
What stood out most is her pain is not being managed at all. This is MAJOR surgery most of what you are seeing is because she is so uncomfortable and in pain and it hurts too mich to move! It's not pleassnt but you can force the pill down her throat. There are tons of tips on how to that on google.
And absolutely agree ten million percent, you need a second opinion asap. To be told the only optiion is euthanasia without checking further into the cause AND SOLUTION makes no sense.....no sense!!!
Curious what the quote I pasted below means. means! How bout her gums, are they pink, pal, white? Anyway, not sure what "normal blood loss" looks like. Kinda thinking there shouldn't be any measure blood loss at all, but obviously I'm not a Vet. Also curious about the bloody diarrhea. The cause needs to be determined. . Did the Vet suggest a transfusion. That certainly is necessary sometimes if for some unforseen there is massive blood loss during surgery.
that she had lost not much blood at all
So yes, please get a second opinion asap and get some IV fluids in her and pain meds in her. We are a very solution oriented group and sometimes it means finding another Vet who is also solution oriented, and again, maybe a transfusion if this is surgery related.
Update us as you can, Try and stay positive, okay? We're cheering for Bella!
(((((((((((((((((Hugs))))))))))))))
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
PS. Ise tweezers to pick the pills up and keep your scent off of them. Make a ball of cheese, or peanut butter, hot dog, whatever. insert the pill in the food, again with out touching the pill with your hands. Toss a couple of the yummies her way and then toos the o e with the pill
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!
Thank you to all.
Update, I called the Vet clinic and was lucky enough to speak to another vet. She was also present when Bella was examined yesterday.
We talked through all the issues. Main problem that she believes is that because Bella started walking on the second day, it may have been a bit early and she has strained her back. Apparently, her back was sensitive to touch.
Since Bella is not eating or drinking, they seemed to have given up on pain management . This is when I asked for the Fentanyl patch again. She told me that the patch could be part of the problem as well.
In the end, it was decided to give her small codeine tablets 30mg, garbapentin and paracetamol, what ever we can get into her. And to give her whatever food she wants. A couple of hours ago, we gave her a chicken sausage with the codeine and garbapentin. She ate it all. Hooray!!!! Still no drinking till about 10 minutes ago. She is not able to stand to drink. I had to use a large syringe to spray water into her mouth . She did not resist but gulped it all.
Slowly, we are making some progress.
Bella has been inside these past 5 days to help in her ricuperation. She is normally an outside dog. Today, we thought it best she spent some time outside on a day bed. I think she has also liked this.
Will keep you posted.
PS. I am in Australia
I will try not to touch pills.
I actually found that the vet was more responsive the more assertive and demanding I was. We need to be our pets mouths. It was my desperation. I want to do everything possible to help Bella .
Not a good idea to just leave it to them. Ask questions and challenge their responses.
Good job helping Bella! Yes, we are their only advocates, it is our responsibility as pet parents. Sometimes we learn how to do that the hard way, like in a situation like this.
I'm glad things seem to be improving. I agree with the vet that Fentanyl can cause a dog not to eat or drink, we see that all the time. Once the dog is done with the medication they improve.
What Gabapentin dosage is she getting? How often? And what does she weigh?
Please be careful when giving her water, you do not want her to aspirate (get liquid in her lungs). Syringe feeding is tricky, you want to do it on the side of their mouth, along the back teeth. Don't do it directly down her mouth. If she becomes too dehydrated she may need IV fluids. Please entice her into drinking by spiking her water with something tasty like water from a tuna can, a hydration drink (Pedialyte for infants), anything safe and without artificial sweeteners to encourage her.
Has she urinated at all?
Thanks Jerry for the tips.
Since yesterday, Bella has been on Codein 30mg 3 times a day, Gabapentin 600mg once a day and Panadol( Tylenol) 500mg twice a day.
She weighs 30 Kg.
On the first day and second day, she urinated but has not since. Has not really drunk by herself since second day. Day 3, I tried syringing water into her mouth. She steadfastly refused but Day 4 she licked it up .
The problem now is that she is not standing, so cannot drink on her own.
Will let you know how she goes today.
You bet.
So she's a pretty small Rottie, just 66 pounds (silly American here with no grasp of metric measurements!).
Spacing her medication out like that is always helpful. You might want to ask your vet about spacing the Gabapentin out to 200 mg, 3x daily (I'm pretty sure you can get it in 100 mg capsules in Australia, like here in the states). A big dose of Gabapentin could sedate her pretty heavily. Did she become really sedate like an hour or so after the Gabapentin dosage?
OK she's got to urinate, it's not good to hold it so long. Try taking her outside to a place where another dog has urinated. Here are some other tips:
https://tripawd.....mputation/
If she can't stand right now that's OK. Just bring her water dish to her and see if that encourages her to drink up.
Keep us posted. We are sending lots of love your way. Also please consider registering as a member so your forum posts won't need approval each time.
jerry said
You bet.So she's a pretty small Rottie, just 66 pounds (silly American here with no grasp of metric measurements!).
Spacing her medication out like that is always helpful. You might want to ask your vet about spacing the Gabapentin out to 200 mg, 3x daily (I'm pretty sure you can get it in 100 mg capsules in Australia, like here in the states). A big dose of Gabapentin could sedate her pretty heavily. Did she become really sedate like an hour or so after the Gabapentin dosage?
OK she's got to urinate, it's not good to hold it so long. Try taking her outside to a place where another dog has urinated. Here are some other tips:
https://tripawd.....mputation/
If she can't stand right now that's OK. Just bring her water dish to her and see if that encourages her to drink up.
Keep us posted. We are sending lots of love your way. Also please consider registering as a member so your forum posts won't need approval each time.
Bella has been gradually lifting her head. She is now able to lift her neck and with some help she just drank 2 bowls of water. No more syringe.
I figured that the gabapentin was making her drowsy so today I cut the tablet in half and gave her 300mg. Will see if I can get 200mg capsules.
Our vet had initially prescribed 600mg gabapentin three times daily. It has been a trial and error to work out what has been causing the problem. I think she figured it out herself by going on a hunger strike for a couple of days. Could not get any food into her and therefore no gabapentin. After a couple of days, she became more alert. That is when I thought to just give her one 600mg a day, but your suggestion is better, give smaller dose three times a day.
Now, we have to wait for her to urinate.
One major change was to move her outside and move her in different positions so that she is stimulated.
Will a dog urinate lying down? She is not standing. Is this why she is not urinating? Admittedly, she has not been drinking much at all until 10 minutes ago.
Thank you so much . This site has been so helpful.
Wow this sounds like you are onto something! I'm not a vet but 600mg 3x daily is a lot for a dog her size. Sounds like you are finding that sweet spot for pain control!
She may pee laying down but it's best to encourage her if you can. Any way you can get another dog to come over?
Popping in for just a quick question. Has the anemia, loss of blood been addressed any further?
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!
Bella was slightly anemia before the surgery and more so after . The vet said it was not at a level to be concerned. When asked why , I was told that perhaps she may be losing blood somewhere. I suspect she lost some blood during the surgery.
Bella is alert but not standing. How have others coped with this.
She is not urinating or opened her bowels for 6 days. She is constipated, but has not really eaten much and not moved around .
Have others experienced constipation and what did you give your dog.
Should I be trying to get her to walk ?
I have registered but my posts are still awaiting moderation?
Hi, I approved your posts and sent a message to Jerry so they can figure out why you are not showing as a member- I can't do that.
I'm sorry you are having so many issues with your girl. I don't have any insight for you except to ask if your vet knows she has not urinated for 6 days! Have you talked to your vet about that? She may need her bladder manually expressed.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Please talk to your vet about her not urinating. Six days without at least peeing is too long. She needs to go to the clinic. I know it's tough to get her there, so at least call them and let them know. Don't worry so much about 
right now, it's the not urinating that is concerning.
I checked our member list for your address and I don't see it, so your registration didn't go through for some reason. Please try again. Sorry for the frustration.
Let us know what your vet says OK?
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