Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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We need help. Sorry on bad English. I need recovery advices. On Friday we have surgery, they will amputate left back leg on my dog (Doberman, 6 years, 45kg). We got diagnosis before two weeks. There is no metastases on organs or others bones. His organs are excellent, heath too. I need advices for what is waiting me and my family next period. Thanks in advance.
Welcome. Please do not be sorry. What is your native language?
Check our many Tripawds posts about what to expect, and search these forums or let us know of any specific questions you have.
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You just come to the right place for support and information we know this is a scary time filled with a lot of uncertainty and questions. We will help you navigate through recovery and answer all your questions.
Great news that his x-rays and bloodwork all turned out OK. It sounds like he’s a really good candidate And will do well.
The first two weeks you’ll want to make sure that your Doberman gets lots of rest and only goes outside for short leash potty breaks. Drinking and peeing are important but he may not feel like eating much the first couple of days and he may not poop for a couple of days either. No worries.
pain management is very important. Where do you live? What we usually see here in the states is gabapentin, an anti-inflammatory and probably antibiotics. Some dogs come home with a pain patch. Is he spending the first night or two at a fully staffed clinic? If you were bringing him home the same day of surgery it can be a little rough, but certainly doable.
if you have hardwood or vinyl floors, you’ll want to get nonslip scatter rugs or cheap yoga mats for traction .
you might have to help him and get up and walk at first with either a towel sling or a harness. Some dogs are a little bit more men mobile quicker than others. Don’t make any comparisons, just let him handle recovery at his own pace.
when you pick him up from the clinic you’ll want to be confident and upbeat. Don’t even draw any attention to his incision, just look into his eyes, give him a great big grin, tell him he’s a good boy and he’s going home!
Just wanted to pop in quickly and give
you a few tips and, most importantly, to let you know you are not alone.
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!
Benny55 and Admin, thanks for directions. I am from Serbia, and in my town there isn't any clinic where I can leave my dog whole night. There is, but 200km far away. I need to bring him home after that, and I was wondering what is best place for him to sleep....Also you gave me answer about ,,toilet,, ,and how to lift him. Is there any medicine or something natural that I can give him for faster recovery?
I will continue reading people's experiences here.
Thanks guys!
Yes, it's better to bring the home bring the dog home with you if there is not a fully staffed overnight clinic. Sometimes it can just be a little scary watching them fully shake off the anesthesia and maybe acting a little weird because of the hospital drugs. It's certainly doable though.
You'll want to have a quiet space for him to rest. Does he have a dog bed that he's used to, or a special corner of the house? The vet will probably give you a cone to wear around his head so he doesn't try to scratch at his stitches. As long as you are watching him closely and by his side you can take that off if it seems to bother him.
When he comes home he still should have some Hospital medicine him, but the vet should give you other medicines with the proper dose and proper frequency. I think I mentioned here in the states Gabapentin is used most often here. If you're like most of us you'll want to stay right by his side so you can watch over him.
I had to look you up on the map to see exactly where you lived. So a big welcome from all of us over here at the United states. We will be with you by your side to help you in any way we can. So make sure you stay connected through the internet, okay?
I'm not sure what drugs will be available but you definitely want to make sure his pain is managed. I don't think there any natural supplements or herbs Etc that can help with this type of major surgery as far as pain.
What's your dog's name? He's clearly very lucky to have you and to be loved by you. You're doing an excellent job! And your English is just fine.
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 Andrej! Welcome. I'm sorry you are having to join our club. But I'm very glad you are here. What is your dog's name?
The biggest thing you want to make sure is that he comes home with good pain management . The most essential medication he should come home with is:
- non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication to reduce inflammation, such as Carprophen.
- Gabapentin (also called pregabalin) which calms nerve pain. For a Doberman sized dog, generally 300 mg given 3x daily is helpful.
These medications are available in every country. Most pain control will need some adjustment. If you notice him being anxious and restless, that's a sign that he needs more or less medication. You can work with your vet to figure that out, which can be challenging.
Does your house have slippery floors? If so, you want to put down rugs with no-slip backing. The more traction he has the more confident he will be.
Most dogs figure out how to toilet on their own. You can try making a DIY sling to help, but he may not want assistance. It's good to have on hand just in case.
See our Tripawds Recovery Shopping List for some ideas of things you can make on your own if they aren't available where you are living. ALso, our Tripawds What to Expect articles are also helpful.
Please keep us posted on how things are going! We are here for you!
Again BIG THANKS! This informations means a lot to us.
Dog's name is Zivko (someone who loves life, on Serbian 😊) We are from Zrenjanin, Serbia if that can help somehow.
Yes, he have his own bed, his box where he likes to sleep during the night. But I think it would be best that I put few blankets on floor under air conditioner near my bed that I can see and hear him.
This won't be out first surgery, I have some experience, but this one is really serious, that's the reason why I am asking for help. Main thing is that we don't have good vets in Serbia, of course there is few serious clinics where we went to do tests and to ask for opinion, but in Belgrade (capital city) , others are playing with animals life and owners money, I call them butchers. Advices which I got are limited.
Today I spoke with our vet about medicines, that part will be okey, he will get everything what he needs and they will come to our house to check him and to give medication.
I will be online for sure, thanks!!!!
You are so welcome!
Your town is beautiful. I looked it up. It looks big enough to have good vets. I'm glad that you were able to talk to yours about pain control. How great that they will make a house call.
That is the biggest challenge, pain control during recovery. If you've already head experience with recovery, you guys should do just fine.
Keep us posted!
WELCOME HOME!!! GREAT NEWS!!
If Zivko shows interest in wanting to eat, I would give him some smaller portions st first just to make sure his tummy is "normal", especially food he is used to and he likes.
My Hapoy Hannah never. Isw3d a meal. For some reason tjough she didn't want to drink water.. I had to put some chicken broth and even a scoopmof ice cream kn tje water to entice her at first.
Hoping you all have a restful night. Gettting to this point can be exhausting mentally and physically. Of course. not so much for our dogs, more for us humans 😉
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 there.
Few hard nights....
From yesterday vets stoped giving Metadon and Trodon to him (I don't know other name for that medicines), reason is to do not damage liver and kidneys. Now he is just on Previcox 227mg and Stomorgyl (antibiotic).
His penis is very swollen, and again vets don't give nothing for that, because they can give only some corticosteroids which is not good for liver and kidneys of my dog. Do you maybe know for some medicine which I can find in Europe?
He eats like crazy, and drink a lot of water.
First few days when he was on hard drugs he was running for cats 😜, yesterday and today he isn't active soo much....
Most likely Zivko needs better pain,Ed’s. All the strong hospital meds have worn off by now.
The Previcox is basically an anti-inflammatory and does very little to help with the pain of the amputation major surgery. It sounds like the other pmed he had was either Trazadone (Trodon) or maybe Tramadol ???
The “trazadone’ is merely a sedative type drug and does nothing for pain The Tramadol was once used for surgery pain but has since been proven ineffective.
What works well here in the States and is given for amputation surgery pain is Gabapentin. I have no idea what comparable would be for you. Maybe you could ask about Codine?
Does Zivko have any signs showing he has preliminary kidney or liver issues? If not, there shouldn’t be any reason he can’t have a steroid for swelling IF IF that’s what the Vet thinks he needs for the swelling.
It’s not unusual to have some fluid gravitate to the tummy, penis area with rear leg amputation. Sometimes owthing called a seroma develops. It’s a pocket of fluid that eventually gets reabsorbed back into the system. If he’ll let you, you might try a warm compress on the area.
Make sure he rests, rest, rests and more rest. No chasing after cats or running around for now.
Not sure this has been much help, it would definitely try and get better pain meds. Amputation is major surgery and needs more than an anti inflammatory
Stay connected. We are here for you !
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!
He is showing pain signals , and it sounds like he needs a longer time on pain management . Please let your vet know. Most dogs are no pain medication for at least 10 days, sometimes up to 3 weeks. Ask your vet for Gabapentin (also called pregabalin), at a dose of 300 mg 3x daily.
The swelling may be due to a seroma , fluid build-up from where the leg used to be. A warm compress may help.
Try to keep him calm, no chasing cats for now. You want him to heal so his body can rest. You can do it!
Δείχνει σήματα πόνου και ακούγεται ότι χρειάζεται περισσότερο χρόνο στη διαχείριση του πόνου. Ενημερώστε τον κτηνίατρό σας. Τα περισσότερα σκυλιά δεν λαμβάνουν παυσίπονα για τουλάχιστον 10 ημέρες, μερικές φορές έως και 3 εβδομάδες. Ζητήστε από τον κτηνίατρό σας την Gabapentin (ονομάζεται επίσης pregabalin), σε δόση 300 mg 3 φορές την ημέρα.
Το πρήξιμο μπορεί να οφείλεται σε ορό, συσσώρευση υγρού από το σημείο που βρισκόταν το πόδι. Μια ζεστή κομπρέσα μπορεί να βοηθήσει.
Προσπαθήστε να τον κρατήσετε ήρεμο, χωρίς να κυνηγάτε γάτες προς το παρόν. Θέλετε να θεραπεύσει ώστε το σώμα του να ξεκουραστεί. Μπορείς να το κάνεις!
Thank you again guys. I showed to our vet what you guys said, I am waiting for answer. It's abiously that dog is in pain, but vet said Previcox is enough and that is good that dog feels pain, I don't understand why but ok. When I said bad things about vets here I wasn't wrong and this clinic is ,,best" in the town.
Dog had many problems because too much corticosteroids, plus they think that he have Kusing syndrom plus he have stone 3cm in bladder because our water here, we don't use tap water, but we are not in situation to buy water for dog.
Main thing is that I am not a veterinarian, they spent years in school to learn what to do, but still I am looking for help on internet.....sad
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