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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Hello everyone! This site has been a real lifesaver for me! Thank you all! Lily was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in her right rear ankle last week. Lily is an 8 year-old, very healthy and petite Great Dane. At the time of diagnosis, she was still weight-bearing on the leg (would just hold it up while standing stationary) although she progressivly limped more over the last week. She was walking on it as she left me for amputation yesterday. The plus side is I think we caught it early....the downside is she didn't learn to function on three legs prior to surgery. My question is for any "elderly" large breed owners out there - or anyone else who can relate: what is the learning curve like as far as adapting to three wheels? Right now, she is hardly using her back leg and relying almost completely on the sling. She hasn't figured it out yet. I know it's only day two and if it were me I'd probably still be laying in the hospital feeling sorry for myself....meanwhile, she's napping and barking at the dogs on TV! It is way too early to get concerned but it's hard not to worry. My brain knows that she just needs some time to adjust but it would be a great comfort to hear from those who have been there! This has all happened so fast...last Thursday I was praying she hadn't broken her leg or torn an ACL. Today either one would have been a blessing.
Lily the Great Dane (she was actually a lot more than just "Great") joined our family as an ornery puppy on December 20, 2005 and changed our lives forever. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in early May of 2014 and her right rear leg was amputated on May 8, 2014. She sailed through 5 rounds of Carboplatin and 15 weeks of Pallladia. She hopped on 3 legs like she was born to it and continued to fight cancer with grace, valor and an abundant sense of humor...and always a *giant* smile on her face. Lily had two small nodules on her lungs but was brought short by a brain tumor in late December, 2014. Lily earned her wings on December 28, 2014 and we miss her terribly every day. http://lilyt.tripawds.com
Awww, so sorry you are javing to go through this! The whole process is so scarey and the recoveryis certainly no picnic!!
Still figuring things out at day twomis absolutey not inusual at all.....especialy for larger dogs! Plus she's still very druggy from hospital meds too!
As far as having time "practicing" on three legs, dogs who have sudden accidents and lose a leg due to some catastrophic accident don't have time to "practice" before an emergemcy amputation.
Domyoujave scatter rugs down for traction over hardwood floors? A raised food bowl is helpful too.
And the fact that she's napping and not whining and restless....that's good. She definitely needs her rest!
What pain medsis she on? They'll make a dog bark at a TV!!!
Has she been pooping, eating, drinking, eating?
I now it's easy to say ot to worry...but this sounds all very normal. You may also try massaging gentlly her legs and hips before getting her up. Also, some dogs act whacky with a sling. As you see her strentghimprove and if she's not to over medicated, you maybe able to eventualy not use the sling ad see if she builds her convfidence that way... ifyour vet agrees.
Hang in there! You're doing great! Liliy....whomis beautiful...will get her sparkle back soon and she will be pain free!! It was almost three weeks after my Hapy Hannah's amputation that I finally felt like I had done this FOR her and not TO her!
Take so e deep breaths, eat lots of chocolate and hang ntous! You are not alone!
HUGS and LOVE!
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!
Hi !
I'm sorry you have to go thru this too, it's the pits. Sally pretty much covered everything so I'll mostly say "ditto". I did want to chime in on a couple personal experiences though, so you have points of comparison. My 9 y.o. girl (Labrador) was a front leg amp and she fell on her face a lot in the beginning. It was heartbreaking to watch but she moved beyond that after about 1.5 -2 weeks or so. I'd have to check my previous posts to be sure but that's the time frame I recall. Lily shouldn't have that problem with a rear amp so you're already ahead there. As Sally said, some pups - including mine - dislike the sling or any other form of help and stop moving when you try to use it. And some pups take several days just to take it all in before the try moving on their own. It sounds like Lily is the latter. She'll get there, have faith. Mine was slow to recover but was back to chasing balls at about 3 weeks.
Best of luck!
Claudia and Angel Jersey Girl
Online
Well, my pug wasn't elderly and certainly wasn't anywhere near the size of a petite Great Dane. She was a rear amp who lost her leg to mast cell cancer so there wasn't pre-surgery pain. Maggie also was very stubborn and not at all open to changes in her routine. She could hop on her own the day of surgery, but couldn't get very far. She spent most of her time sitting or laying down, glaring at me for changing things! Mag took a while to get used to her new normal, but she did and she hopped happily through life for almost 4 years.
Check out this blog: http://nova.tripawds.com/. Queen Nova beat OSA and was blind. She has crossed the Bridge, but she remains a beacon of hope.
It's hard not to worry, I know. And the next couple of weeks might be full of ups and downs while Lily heals and gets used to things. Be a strong, positive pack leader and soon Lily will be amazing you!
Karen and Spirit Maggie
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Hello and welcome to you and Lily. We are so glad you're here but so sorry to hear about the diagnosis. You found it pretty quickly, and even though she didn't have much of a chance to learn how to adapt to three legs, chances are really really good that in about two weeks from now you'll be wondering why you were ever so worried. Even older dogs can adapt and do well after amputation, just take a look at our Size and Age Matters forum for some examples of large, older dogs who became Tripawds.
In addition to Nova, here are just a few who will inspire you:
Moose, (for whom without his inspawration Tripawds wouldn't exist)
Be patient, be strong and know that she will do great on three legs. I know your instinct is telling this is true but like all of us, it's easy to think the worst this early on. Just stay strong and remember if you believe Lily will do great on three legs, she will believe it too!
We're here to help, thanks again for joining.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Oh my, are those TWO blue eyes I see?! I'm in love with your Lilly (there is just something special about blue eyed dogs
). My Jake was 11 and was slightly limping on his leg when it was removed (left front). There was a learning curve when it came to using the bathroom, eating etc...but they are very quick to figure out how to balance themselves. We got him raised bowls (which helped with meal times since he could stand to eat) and he even figured out to pee on trees. He would lift his rear leg and balance it on the tree. I figured this helped with his pride as well, since he had been having to pee "like a girl" for quite a while 
. There are quite a few great danes represented on here. Hang in there!
Mom to Tripawd Angels Jake (2001-2014) and Rosco (2012-2015) and Tripawd Tanner. “Whatever happens tomorrow, we had today; and I'll always remember it”
Hello everyone and sorry for the delay in my response....I submitted my initial post from my tablet and it died after submission so I didn't think it went through! The last week and a half has been a whirlwind. But you guys were all right on target: we woke up the next morning and little Lily was getting around like she had always been on three legs! She has been doing great and we just had staples removed today. She has been having a rough couple of days starting yesterday (low appetite, wants to be left alone, lots of muscle spasms) but I am guessing that is normal in the course of recovery. Thank you all so much for your support....I don't know how I would have gotten through all of this without the support of all of you Tripawd parents!!!
She has been on Tramadol and Rimdayl but we are weaning her off the Tramadol now. A little nervous about that!
Lily the Great Dane (she was actually a lot more than just "Great") joined our family as an ornery puppy on December 20, 2005 and changed our lives forever. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in early May of 2014 and her right rear leg was amputated on May 8, 2014. She sailed through 5 rounds of Carboplatin and 15 weeks of Pallladia. She hopped on 3 legs like she was born to it and continued to fight cancer with grace, valor and an abundant sense of humor...and always a *giant* smile on her face. Lily had two small nodules on her lungs but was brought short by a brain tumor in late December, 2014. Lily earned her wings on December 28, 2014 and we miss her terribly every day. http://lilyt.tripawds.com
Nice to hear from you, no apologies necessary, your pack has been busy!
Glad to hear things are going well and relatively normal, the way recovery should go. Most dogs are weaned off the pain meds around the time the stitches come out so you're right on target with that. Keep an eye on those muscle spasms, massage therapy often helps.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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