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
My Rita had her amputation on October 15th, though she can do everything she used to already and is adjusted and very happy, she is sooo sleepy all the time and gets sleepy after little activity still. I know it is still early after the surgery and I know how it is being so sleepy after having to get a surgery done. I also realize she isn't the youngest pup in the world. I'm not worried about it, it is just that I am so proud of her and so excited that she can now move around better than before with the huge lipoma that was consuming her leg before, that I want to take her to go do everything and anything!!!! So, to anyone who has or had an older dog who had an amputation, how long till they got their "pep" back?
P.S. she did not have cancer so she is not and having any chemo or anything. So, that is not a factor, it was a fatty lipoma that went wild basically. So, just an amputation, then antibiotics and pain meds for a week or so, now glucosamine for her joints, that all. I know most of the dogs here are cancer survivors but, hopefully someone has an idea of a "sleepy" time frame anyways.
Hold on to that pride for your pup, and give Rita lots of rest if she needs it. Is she still on any medications?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I am not too sure what you would consider an "older dog". My first, Chrissy, was a Miniature Poodle - Cocker (probably) mix from the shelter and I was privileged to have her for over 17½ years. My next two, Cassy and Sandy, were Standard Poodle litermates that left me at the age of 8 years. Cherry is also a Standard Poodle and turned 11 the day before her amputation. Even before the diagnosis, I have considered myself on "borrowed time" with Cherry. Thus, I would consider her a very senior dog.
For Cherry, the chemotherapy was worse than the amputation. She did not have any nausea, vomiting or drop in blood count, but she did totaly loose all appetite. I had to stuff nearly every morsel of food into her during the two month long chemotherapy. Point here is that her energy level did not reappear for some time. Even now, she does not have the stamina that she did before the diagnosis but I am sure that we could build that back up if we worked at it. However, she displays just as much "clown" as before, the sparkle in the eye has totaly returned, and she is as willing as ever to get into mischief. I have the essence of my little girl back. As we approach the one year ampuversary, I would have to say that she has never been better since the diagnosis.
Your pride in Rita is well earned for she has worked very hard to return to "normal". I know that for Cherry the 8 to 10 mile walks are a thing of the past - partially due to the fact that she has aged and partially because of the fact that it is a little harder not to "hop" along. Gone too are the 3ft high-jumps and 6ft broad jumps. Life with her is different, and just because some of the things different does not mean that they are not just as wonderful. She still loves her rides in the truck, shorter walks around the RV Park, and getting into Mommie's purse to make sure everything is there.
Give Rita time and let her dictate how much of the past is still possible. She will still love to be with you and do as much as possible with you.
Bob & Cherry
Tika (4 1/2 years at the time of amp) was pretty much Rip Van Winkle for about a month after her amputation. She wasn't affected by the chemo, she was affected by pain meds.
We had taken her off pain meds early because of her reaction to them, and we figure the sleeping was her natural way of pain relief.
Looking back, we know that we babied Tika too much, we were so worried about her adapting to the amputation, we probably held her back. Not to mention that she was so dialed into us, that we probably projected our fears onto her.
I would suggest, give it time, don't try too hard, if there's anything that sparks Rita's interest, encourage that. I didn't notice if it's a front or rear leg amp, but we used a scarf on Tika (rear leg) and we would make sure we were positioned so that we were on the side of Tika's amputation so that if she got off balance or tired she could lean against us. She learned it faster than we did. She got used to it, we forgot and then she'd look at us like: Hellooo???!!!! Are you filling in for the leg or not? SHEESH!
Follow Rita's lead, let her amaze you!
--Kim and Tika
Kim and Spirit Tika http://www.tika.....ogspot.com
Rita sure is a pretty girl; maybe she's catching up on some beauty sleep. No seriously, I am just guessing, but maybe some supplements and a fresh diet would increase her energy level. We saw a holistic vet/acupuncturist with our Abbey that adjusted her diet according to how she presented. We also did accupuncture weekly for pain control before we moved forward and decided on amputating. I definitely believe it improved the quality of her life. You might consider contacting a holistic vet for a consultation. The fact that she didn't have cancer is wonderful! I hope you get your energetic Lovely Rita back and have many wonderful years together.
love, joy, peace,
diane and spirit abbey
heavenlygarcia said:
So, to anyone who has or had an older dog who had an amputation, how long till they got their "pep" back?
Oh what a lucky girl Rita is to have a great pawrent like you! And that she doesn't have cancer, that's awesome!
What we've found is that oftentimes age doesn't have a lot to do with how a dog handles amputation recovery, even young dogs can have a harder time than older ones. It's hard to say what an average recuperation/sleepy time is, because all of them are so different.
We know you're excited to get back to doing the things Rita loves, but try to be patient and like Bob said, let her dictate how long it takes her to return to normal. And of course, keep in mind that without that leg, some things that she used to love to do may be more of a challenge for her now. But that doesn't mean you can't continue to have fun, and find new ways of enjoying your time together.
If you are at all worried about her behavior though, don't hesitate to ask your vet about it OK?
Thanks for joining us here, we look forward to hearing more about you both!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Rita!! What a pretty pup you are. My 6 yr old male had his amputation on Oct 6th and I will say just in the past two weeks he has shown TONS of energy. Last night I had some friends over and Jack and his younger sister Rhodesian, Maya, were playing and showing off like puppies. If Rita is still on meds that may be a factor. These pups also need to build up strenth with the weight shift. Jack was 100 lbs at the time of amputation so he had a tough time at first. He would get out of breath really easily. He is now RUNNING up the stairs like nothing. Hang in there. Keep us posted
Erin and Jack
1 Guest(s)
