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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benny55 said
-JD won't associate you doing anything at all to him but I bet he won't like the vet anymore!!
Naaahh, he'll be fine with the vet too... all he knows is that he went to sleep one day with a sore leg & when he woke up it was gone!
Yeah, the vet probably won't bother her either. My Brendol still loves going to see the vet. Four days after the surgery we had to go get her drain removed and it was the happiest I had seen her up to that point.
This was her at that first return visit.
Adelaide is a young tripawd Husky, from an injury. Her amp was on 10/1/12. She has 4 sisters, Aissa (a senior border collie/chow), Maggie May (a puppy Great Pyrenees), Mathilde and Morrigan and 1 baby brother, Bagheera. We are all watched over by our angel Brendol, who was dx with OSA 1/30/13, amp on 2/6/13, and left us on 8/20/13.
You can read their stories at http://adelaide.tripawds.com and http://brendol.tripawds.com
She looks so happy in that picture! JD never was in a lot of pain, I had noticed swelling to his leg less than a month ago he only had some pain when they manipulated his leg for x-rays and after the biopsy. He ended up getting a lump that was growing way to fast so that's why they wanted to amputate so quickly. I literally got the news on Monday while I was at work he had histiocytic sarcoma and they wanted us to come up on Wednesday to meet the surgeon and discuss option, he had surgery Thursday. He never had a chance to start limping, I now wonder if I should have left it for a bit longer but then again he has no mets any where at this point.
JD will always love going to the vet, he loves people. I've had a couple of people drop of items today including a bottle of wine for myself and dressing supplies for him, and he went and greeted everyone with a few tail wags in there as well.
He's doing good I'm trying to keep him calm but he's always wanting to look out the window and bark an issue I was working on prior to all of this. He did go out and sit in the snow for a bit as its a warmish day here but a bit icy. He's doing better than I think probably I'm just overly worried.
My determined boy managed to pee with a raised leg for a short while then had to put his leg down before he fell. Made me laugh prior to surgery he was always marking his territory and he's fixed! He also spent the afternoon sleeping, he's doing great for only two days post-op!
Im glad things seem to be settling down for you. The road to recovery can be tricky at times. The hardest part for me was getting Cadence to slow down. Cadence loved her long walks. I started off very slowly when taking her out. The first time I took her out it was just down the driveway. I did this for a few days and then gradually added a bit more distance. I know how hard it is. You want them to be themselves and get back to "normal", but sometimes you have to put your foot down. We wouldn't let anyone come over to visit for the first week. Cadence loved company and she would get to excited. I even went as far as putting a note on the door telling people not to knock. I knew that Cadence would run to the door if someone was there. Maybe I went a bit overboard, but I just wanted to make sure she had no setbacks. Its all a learning process for everyone. You will be fine and so will JD. Keep us posted.
“Dogs are our link to paradise. They don't know evil or jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing was not boring--it was peace.” ― Milan Kundera
JD is a very handsome boy!
Magnum was in hospital for 4 nights but that first week she was home she was super keen to go for a walk and mark her territory and had to be hustled inside. At walk time she would perk up and want to go out so it was hard to say "no". But at the same time we found her to be fairly mellow most of the time during those first few weeks. The Tramadol knocked her around a bit.
You might want to keep JD on a lead when he goes outside to do his business. That might be one way to stop him running after things.
Good luck. The first few weeks are pretty tough.
Karen and Spirit Magnum
Magnum: 30th May 2002 to 5th May 2012. Lost her back left leg to osteosarcoma on 5th Sep 2011. Lung mets found on 20th Mar 2012 but it was bone mets in the hip that ended her brave battle. Magnum's motto - "Dream as if you'll live for ever, live as if you'll die today" (James Dean). Loyal, loving, courageous and spirited to the end. My beloved heart dog, see her memoirs from Rainbow Bridge ...... http://princess.....pawds.com/
JD has slept a large portion of the day away (which is fine with me). I changed his bandages this morning and he's still leaking sero-sang fluid. I really hope that starts to slow down. I had to take him out three times until he would finally pee. Still no poop since surgery! He's eating fine but not drinking a whole lot, he's eating a raw diet until Chemo starts so there's some moisture in there at least, and then I made him drink some from a syringe as I'm paranoid he is going to get dehydrated and go into kidney failure (probably the nurse in me worrying too much). He got bacon as a reward! He's doing pretty good getting around and to be honest he looks more comfortable on the couch with only three legs since he doesn't have to worry about lying on the fourth one.
Its still tough and I'm still having regrets and hoping his recovery gets better.
It sounds like JD is on the path for a good recovery and you're doing a really good job. Happy Hannah, 12 days after amp. Is FINALLY getting to a point where she's showing her joy and regaining that sparkle in her eyes more often than not.I must have regretted my decision a dozen times during this time and when people here on the site told me it would get better all I could do was hope they were right---and, thankfully, they were!
And of course JD will do fine revisiting the vet--he sounds like a real friendly boy who enjoys people! I was just "trying" to be a little lighthearted and maybe it didn't come out right Oops! All JD knows is you are there by his side loving him and taking care f his every need and I hope that gives you comfort during this stressful time. I've been sleeping (actually NOT sleeping) on the floor every night next to Hannah on her bed and not getting any rest sure has added to my anxiety. I hope you are able to take time to get some good rest for yourself.
I still have to mix baby food or finely shredded chicken with water to get her to drink at all. Sounds like JD's raw diet will help with that though.
It will get better and you will be glad you made this decision for JD. You are really doing a good job as his ally.
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!
JD had a rough night last night, whining but not as if he was in pain so finally gave him Tramadol and took him outside, he peed and then settled after hours of cone on cone off and whining.
Its been four days since surgery and he has not had a poop I'm getting nervous with this. I understand they can be constipated after surgery but wow this seems like a long time. He's also on fish oil so that should be lubricated things. Any one else's dogs constipated post surgery?
You will find plenty of posts from members doing the first post-op poop party dance a few days after surgery. As Jerry's vet told us, when he needs to go, he'll go. You can try a small bit of olive oil in JD's food to help get things going. But please keep in mind we are not vets. Please consult with yours if you ever have any concerns.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
michele said
I even went as far as putting a note on the door telling people not to knock. I knew that Cadence would run to the door if someone was there.
LOL, I am SO glad to know that someone else did this! I'm sure our neighbors thought we were nuts!
Lisa
Zeus was a Husky mix diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at age 11. A visible lung met and suspicious spot on his liver meant a poor prognosis-six weeks was our vet's best guess. We decided to fight for our boy and his right front leg was amputated on 12/1/11. We did six rounds of chemo, changed his diet and spoiled him completely rotten. We were blessed with 10 great months after diagnosis. Against the odds, the lung met remained a single met and grew very little over those months. A wonderful furbaby with the most gentle spirit, he fought with a strength that we never imagined he possessed. We have no regrets...
http://zeuspod......pawds.com/
The whining is a common side effect of opioid drugs and may take a couple days to go away once you've stopped them. Kermit whines every time he have general anesthesia & he whined from his fentanyl patches as well. It went away about 36 hours after I took them off.
I've also found that Kermie is whining occasionally when he wants to go out- he always liked to tap on the door with a front paw to ask to be let out but he can't- I'm wondering if he's just laying there unsure of what to do! 
Also, I'm not a dog & I don't play one on tv, 
but when I had surgery & couldn't poop after 5 days, I felt AWFUL!! The doctor kept saying "drink prune juice", and make sure you get plenty of water... well by then I was indeed dehydrated, bloated up with prune juice gas and waiting to die...and couldn't even consider letting another substance cross my lips. I'd give your boy one more day, make sure he's getting some exercise & do the best you can to get some more water into him, but then ask your vet about other options. Even Tramadol can be constipating.
One last important tip: Kermit had a rather involuntary bowel movement his first night home but then he would NOT go again. Turns out he just didn't want me hovering over him on the other end of the leash watching him do his business. Once I let him loose in our (fenced) yard, he hopped away & pooped. And pooped. And pooped again. I was ELATED, but probably not as much as he was! Maybe JD wants a little privacy? Just a thought.
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