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.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
Hello! We are 5 days post front leg amputation with our dog Applejack. The vet recommended putting a t-shirt on her to prevent her from licking/chewing on the stitches. I was wondering how long can I leave a shirt on her? Do I need to leave it off of her for a little while through out the day so the wound can “air out”?
I do change the shirt if there is any drainage and I wouldn’t leave her alone with no shirt on. She’s a “licky” dog lol.
Love the name Applejack and can't wait to hear more about her.
I was lucky jn that my Happy Hannah never bothered her stitches , thus had no need for cone or shirt.
Knowing that she's a "lucky dog, I would do exactly as you are for now until the stitches are removed. Take it off for awhile, as long as she is under your watchful eye.
Let us know how things are going.
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!
Hey there, welcome.
Well, I almost always agree with Sally on things but for this one, I think that if you know she's a licky dog, I wouldn't take any chances and not only keep a shirt on her, but also a cone of shame on her until stitches are out. Did your vet not give you a cone?
We have seen many dogs undo stitches in the blink of an eye, even when their humans thought they were watching them like a hawk. Ripped out stitches often lead to infection and other problems that end up costing more money and prolong the recovery.
To answer your question about leaving the shirt on. I would think that as long as the shirt is dry and not soiled with seroma fluid you can leave it on as long as she's comfortable with it.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you for your reply! She is doing well and seems to be adjusting. She has had some drainage and a little bit of swelling which I’m assuming is seroma . The vet assured us that it was normal and to gently dab it to keep the area dry.
I was really hoping she would leave her stitches alone but I guess that was just wishful thinking lol.
She leaves the area alone if the shirt stays dry. She’s just following her instincts to keep the fluid off her wound. Not a bad instinct just not a safe one for this kind of wound.
We weren’t sent home with a “cone of shame ” which I thought was weird. They just suggested putting a shirt on her to keep her from licking it.
She seems to only want to lick it when there is drainage but I would think that even licking it through the shirt could cause problems so i change the shirt as soon as there is any fluid on it.
I might go to the pet store and get a cone for her. I do worry that she’ll get under the shirt while we’re gone or at night.
Hi and welcome!
I am thrilled to see you found the forums 
I agree with changing the shirt when theres any leakage. It probably gets itchy and it can make the shirt stick to her incision. They make other collars also, and they carry them at petsmart usually. I got an inflatable one for our pup, kinda like a donut.
Licky dogs can do a lot of damage in no time flat, so you will need to keep a close eye on that. When you change the shirt, if it seems damp and icky you can take an old face cloth, towel, something soft and absorbant.. and get some good warm water onto it. Wring it out well and place it gently on the incision, holding it there gently. That should feel good, get the goop off, and help keep it clean. Don't make it too hot, just good and warm. Remember, their body temp is several degrees higher than ours so if it is tepid to you it will probably feel cool to her.
I am so glad you found us!
I am adding the link here to your blog so that everypawdy can read how lucky Applejack is to be alive! https://appleja.....mputation/
Hugs,
Jackie and Huckleberry 
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry 
I’m not sure if I’m doing this wrong but I can seem to figure out how to reply to one person instead of the whole thread...maybe it’s because I’m on my phone 🤷♀️.
Anyway, thanks for the advice! I had been dabbing the area with a warm washcloth evenever I saw drainage but tonight I laid a wet, very warm hand towel over the whole incision site and she really enjoyed it! She laid back and relaxed. I was able to get the little bit of crusty stuff to come off by just barely dabbing it.
Thank you for for the reminder that their body temp is higher than ours. I think having the towel hotter helped made a difference.
klpoole said
I’m not sure if I’m doing this wrong but I can seem to figure out how to reply to one person instead of the whole thread...maybe it’s because I’m on my phone 🤷♀️.Anyway, thanks for the advice! I had been dabbing the area with a warm washcloth evenever I saw drainage but tonight I laid a wet, very warm hand towel over the whole incision site and she really enjoyed it! She laid back and relaxed. I was able to get the little bit of crusty stuff to come off by just barely dabbing it.
Thank you for for the reminder that their body temp is higher than ours. I think having the towel hotter helped made a difference.
You're right - you can't do a quote reply on a phone. It's fine 🙂
We dealt with drainage too - it helps a lot to place towels on their bedding just in case anything drips or leaks. We had a rear leg amputated, so we were unable to use a shirt to cover it and boxers would have been a HUGE fight so we just used towels 🙂
Look into using a warm compress too! It really helped our girl with the drainage and discomfort.
Glad to hear Applejack is doing well! Can't wait to hear more!
Omd , Ziva just recovered from it, totally!! The warmth of the compress helps extra fluid to release, and the body will absorb what it can.
Dabbing it is good but don't over do it or you will irritate it.
I don't know how often you're changing shirts but i wouldn't do it more than, say, two or three times a day.
Puppy pads or incontinence pads over her bedding will help you with laundry detail. It will probably save your dog beds too. Coming from somebody that's wasted a lot of dog beds lol.
I hope this helps!
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
These forums are meant to reply to all. If you want to speak to one person only, you can reply through pm (personal message) then just that one person will get it.
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
I don’t mind replying to everyone. I just didn’t want to confuse anyone lol.
I dont dab it very often. I just dab the spots that need it whenever I change her shirt, by dab I mean touch just enough to get the fluid off that spot. I only needed to change her shirt once today. There was more drainage yesterday than today.
I put our old crib matress in our mastiff’s kennel (the only kennel we have that a crib matress will fit in lol). It’s very broken in so it’s firm but not stiff. I put a sheet with puppy pads under it so it would be easier to clean up without disturbing her much (I think I found that tip on here before I brought her home). Plus, it’s a water proof matress so if some drainage does get through, I can just wipe it off.
I’ll look into warm compresses. There was a little fluid built up on the bottom half yesterday that is almost completely gone today. Now the top looks like there’s a little building up there. Nothing that looks concerning but I’ll obviously be keeping an eye on it.
So far her body seems to be doing what it’s supposed to and absorbing or draining the fluid that builds up. I’m hoping it continues until she’s completely healed.
That is awesome news!! With a seroma , you will see the drainage subside and that's a good thing as long as it's able to drain. The compresses should help it to drain as long as it needs them the healing process starts
Please don't take me wrong on the responses. You're new here so i was just trying to make it easier. This site is a bit different and sometimes the process is confusing. You're all over it 😉
Check with your vet on the compresses and see if they have anything else to offer.
Sounds like your furbaby is doing well, for that i am so happy for you!!😊❤️
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
I definitely didn’t take you the wrong way! I’m very grateful for all the help you’ve given me.
No problem, glad i could help some! Hope today was a good day ❤️
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry
Today could have been better. She pushed her way out of her kennel while we were gone. My husband had to take her back to the emergency vet because there was some bleeding. I thought she tore some stitches out but she’s just swollen from squeezing herself through the bottom of the door. The vet said most of the fluid was seroma . He wrapped it and wants to see her again tomorrow night just to make sure everything’s still good. She’s hanging out with an e-collar now. And here I thought licking was going to be the biggest problem with her....
We should have named her Houdini...she always finds a way out of everything. That’s why she is where she is now.
1 Guest(s)
