Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I have been working from home and going out working in the field whenever someone else is home.
Otis still gets stuck and needs help up or he will jump on the couch and knuckle under his front paw and I'll have to rescue him.
How long post amp did you resume your normal out of the house/work life? While allowing your pup to have full run of the house as before the amp?
If I could I'd quit and stay home with him forever 🙁
Otis - 121 lbs pre amp - 114 lbs post amp and now 118 lb Great Dane - English Mastiff X. Started limping on 12/24/16. Diagnosed with Osteosarcoma 12/28/16 - amputation of front left leg on 1/6/17. Stitches out and 1st round of Chemo on 1/19/17. 2nd round of Carboplatin on 2/10/17 - 3rd round on 3/2/2017. 4th round was scheduled for 3/22/17 - however due to low WBC postponed - 4th Chemo completed on 3/28/17. Had breathing difficulties, stayed in Tufts ICU overnight. Due for 2 more rounds of Chemo but we are opting to go with homeopathy with Dr. Loops instead.
I am lucky enough to be able to take Manni to work with me. However, even better, I can bring him to my mom's whenever I have important appointments. He also loves his car (used to be my car, but, you know) and I can leave him in there for a while to sleep so I take him along a lot.
I would probably, if possible, not leave him unattended until he's healed, meaning stitches are out and you feel fairly certain that he has good mobility. But that's just me and I know that Life sometimes doesn't work that way.
Guardian of Manni the Wonderdog. -Or was it the other way around?
Osteo and amputation in Dec 2015. Second, inoperable, primary osteosarcoma found in June 2017.
The end of our adventures came Dec 10, 2017. 2 years to the day.
We didn't leave Mosby at all until his sutures were out. After that we had to leave him so we could go back to work, but we have crated him (sometimes with a soft cone on, if he's been messing with something), with an hour long visit from a dog sitter halfway through the day. We can't really let him have free rein in the house, but that's because he is a rascal and gets into things. He's fairly happy about chilling in the crate and napping. Even if you don't care, is it possible for you to keep Otis to a smaller area in your house, away from the couch, where he can't get into so much trouble while you're gone? Assuming that his sutures are out and he's generally behaving himself.
I totally hear you on wishing you could quite and stay him with him every day. I work from home about once a week so that I can take him to appointments and just hang out with him.
I made it 12 days before I felt like Astro could be left alone for short intervals (less than 2 hrs). Still don't feel like he's ready for an all day unchaperoned pawty, mostly because I suspect his siblings would stir it up....
So far Luka seems to be doing fairly well unsupervised. He wears a soft E-collar all day and my neighbor drops in a couple of times to visit, give the mid-day gab,and take him out to pee. He has surprisingly not yet tried to bother his incision much at all, so I have been very lucky with that. Anyway, he is pretty independent after a week, and my vet told me from the outset that this would be the case. I do have chairs all over my furniture so he does not jump up, a blockade on the stairs, etc. Yeah, my house looks a little funky right now! I still worry about him all day, though.
Lisa
OOOTTTIIISSSSSSSSS!!! Otis, ppppssssst, you do whatever you want to do just to keep your mommy and daddy wrapped around your big handsome goofy paws!!! I mean, SOMEONE has to keep them in line! Why leave the house when there is OTISTime?!? Everypawdy knows that the antidote to that terribly pesky issue WORK is OTISTime! This is just silly to consider anything else....OTIS! You just do not need anyone more to give suggestions...where is the D Ę. Ł ēēē T ÊÊ B Ù TT ø Ń ? Love you Otis! Big hugs and PyrPaws all around!
LOL :-):-):-) Ditto DaBear!!! 🙂
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!
I've been wondering this, too. Boone's staples need to stay in 3 weeks and while I don't think he can reach them to lick, he's already attempted to scratch with a back leg (which resulted is a painful yelp). I know I need to get a t-shirt on him and possibly a soft bootie for the rear leg.
He's just 2 days post-amp so I don't go anywhere. Fortunately my business is out of my home so I really don't have to leave the house.
Jeanette & Boone
Thanks for the input everyone. I have the greatest boss ever and she wants me to work from home until I feel it's safe to leave him. He would never go for a crate and besides blocking the stairs, I want him to have his normal run of the house.
He is learning to get up better himself and I think in one or two weeks I may be able to leave him for short periods of time. I also have a camera in the house that I can pull up on my phone so I can check on him and hear him and even talk to him.
Otis - 121 lbs pre amp - 114 lbs post amp and now 118 lb Great Dane - English Mastiff X. Started limping on 12/24/16. Diagnosed with Osteosarcoma 12/28/16 - amputation of front left leg on 1/6/17. Stitches out and 1st round of Chemo on 1/19/17. 2nd round of Carboplatin on 2/10/17 - 3rd round on 3/2/2017. 4th round was scheduled for 3/22/17 - however due to low WBC postponed - 4th Chemo completed on 3/28/17. Had breathing difficulties, stayed in Tufts ICU overnight. Due for 2 more rounds of Chemo but we are opting to go with homeopathy with Dr. Loops instead.
My dog Rosie was doing well enough after the stitches came out to be left alone.
We have a dog door and she has figured out how to get in and out no problem.
I do work from home 2-3 days a week and the days I have to be gone, have a dog walker come to walk them and give lots of tummy rubs.
Until the incision healed she wore T-shirts. She never chewed at it.
Her front leg does buckle sometimes, but it happens whether I am home or not.
Best of luck! Praying for health and healing. 🐕❤️🐕
BTW....LOOOOOVE THE AVATAR PHOTO OF OTIS!!!
Looks like you have everything figured out nicely. Once you feel he can handle getting up on his own, he shoukd be just fine staying at home. Most dogs just snooze most of the day anyway.
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!
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