Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hey all. Domino is now 8 days post amputation and doing great! He's getting around well, eating, he's comfy and calm. But I've noticed he yelps out in pain once a day or once every other day. It's very seldom, and seems to be when he moves his neck. Could this be related to the muscles in the shoulder or phantom limb pain? I texted his vet and he recommended adding tramadol onto his metacam every day, plus laser therapy 3 times a week. I'd like to stay away from the tramadol, like I said it's only occasional and otherwise he seems fine. Should I do what the vet says or follow my gut? The laser therapy, although easy and not very time consuming, means I would have to take him to work with me 3 times a week, which seems to stress him out. So any advice is welcome! Just not sure if I should just continue the metacam daily and keep him calm and relaxed, or increase his pain meds. Thanks so much!
Cassie and Domino
“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.”
Domino had his left front leg amputate on May 13th 2014 after being hit by a car. He's now living a happy healthy life on three legs :)
Shelby did that periodically. She was a rear amp and she would yelp and run away from wherever she was sitting. She was on metacam and her vet didn't think it was phantom pain so we never did the phanton pain drugs (gaba-something). We never did figure it out and it was intermittent. She would literally bolt from a sound sleep to the other side of the room. She would then 'shake it off'. I tried massing her amp site and that did help.
It might be phantom pain for Domino. Perhaps massage would help.
Shelby HATED tramadol and I wouldn't think you would want that for maintenance use for life. But I'm not a vet. We were on Metacam for life though ...
Good luck!
Alison & her Shelby fur-ever in her heart
Shelby Lynne; Jack Russell/Shiba Inu mix. Proud member of the April Angels of 2014.
October 15, 2000 to April 8, 2014
Our story: Broke rear leg in June 2013 - non-conclusive results for cancer so leg was plated and pinned. Enlarged spleen in September 2013 and had it removed and was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma and started chemotherapy. Became a Tripawd January 8th, 2014 and definitive Hemangiosarcoma diagnosis. Three major surgeries in 7 months and Shelby took them all like a champ only to lose her battle to cancer in her brain. We had 8 amazing extra months together and no regrets. #shelbystrong #loveofmylife
I just LOVE seeing Domino's avatar pictire!!
And he really does seem to be havng a "smoother" recovery than many dogs here! The downside of that is they can tend tl overdo. But you already k ow that stuff and I'm sure you're keeping him quiet.
Okay...the "I'm no vet disclaimer" and the "I can't believe ne's only been on metacam other than just a few days of tramadol post amp." mantra!
Phanto pain is real. It ususually shows itself with quick loud yelps out of the blue..-...very sporadic. The dog will get up a d try and move awah from the pain....it's usually short bursts but can last longer. A .lot of times you'll see the muscles twitching as the nerves co ti ue to fire off impulses to a leg that's not there. That's when the dogs feel sharp erve pain.
Gabapentin is what's al ost always prescribed as it blocks the brain from sending nerve impulses...or so ething like that. Anyway, search on tne site for phantom limb treatment.--tons of info.
If it seems to be directly coming from his neck....you massage it and his neck is tense, etc....thst could defi itely be a sgrained muscle, or even a back issue.....jist throwing that ojt there.
No insight into the cold laser therapy other than I thought that was fr arthritis....again, I'm not a vet.
If it is phantom pain , I would definitely ask yojr vet about Gabapentin. nerve ending pain is a horrible, horrible hurt!
Keep us posted, okay? So glad Domino is doing well otherwise! Such a cutie pie! And yo're doing great rol!!
Hugs to all!
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!
Hmmm. It could be a simple muscle pull that could be eased with gentle massage. I'm not a laser therapy expert but I have been told by vets that it's great for wound care but the findings for how it works as an anti-pain therapy are inconclusive. Have you tried massage?
Don't be afraid of pain medication, it's there for a reason just as it is for humans. If he needs more of it, I would ask about Gabapentin. Read about Spree, a young Tripawd like Domino; you'll see that she needed a good combo of pain meds, laser therapy and PT before she was back on track. A combination of things is often the trick to smoother healing.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I know Domino is new to your pack, but how stoic is he? With stoic dogs if they could be in pain all the time and only yelp if the pain is intense or like a sudden spasm. If only they would tell us!
If Domino tolerated tram I wouldn't be afraid to use it for awhile more. Maggie was on tram for two weeks after her amp surgery. She tended to be agitated on it later in life, but after her amp she seemed OK on it. And both my other pugs have been on tram without any issue, except Tani liked to spit it out. I guess Obie was sedated a little while he was taking it, but you would only see it if you knew him.
I like the idea of massage and maybe some icing. If you can trace the yelping to his neck it makes sense that he is sore. Most cases of phantom limb pain I've heard of are really sudden like Alison described. Gabapentin is usually used for phantom pain around here. My older pug with really bad arthritis takes it twice a day and it seems to work for her. A word of caution on gaba- you have to taper off of it, can't just stop. I like to taper all pain meds, but gaba could cause seizures if stopped suddenly.
Karen
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Thanks everyone!!
Domino is not stoic... at all lol. The tramadol seemed to help him right after surgery, but made him very anxious and he panted constantly, I'd use it if I had to, but I'd rather stay away from it if I can. I asked another one of our vets about Gabapentin today and he recommended it for Domino and wrote me a Rx for it, but when I texted Domino's surgeon about it and he didn't want to put him on it right away :/ So different opinions from different vets.
Again, Domino is definitely not in any constant pain, he's happy and wanting to move and run around. I'm keeping him quiet, he's crated most of the day, and supervised the rest of it.
Our laser at work isn't a cold laser. Its a more powerful k-laser. It has higher wavelengths and seems to penetrate better. And we've had mixed results on pain management as well. Its wonderful for incisions and wounds, and seems to do ok on arthritis. But I don't know how well it would work on muscle pain.
I'm gonna think a bit and see how he does for the next 48hrs and record any pain responses. We are planning on doing physical therapy and rehab with him. I am currently doing leg extensions and some light massage for now.
Thanks again for all of your help and advice!
Cassie and Domino
“A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than he loves himself.”
Domino had his left front leg amputate on May 13th 2014 after being hit by a car. He's now living a happy healthy life on three legs :)
Good to hear that over all Domino is doing well 
it certainly could be any one or combination of issues mentioned above. Laser therapy works wonderfully to stimulate healing and aid in pain relief so if able I would try but if he's that upset about being at work then it may not be an option just now. Don't be afraid of tramadol, it's a wonderful pain aid that genuinely helps many pets recover more comfortably. I kept Mav on Rimadyl and tramadol for almost 3 weeks after his amp at a low dose to help him feel better. Many people are afraid of pain medication because they feel it is an indicator of overall health and they do not want to mask an issue but new studies show that treating pain helps the pet heal quicker because stress hormones are lower in pets that are not overstimulated with pain signals
. Gabapentin is also a useful drug but as Karen said, you have to be careful when stopping it. For this reason I like tramadol because I can adjust the dose based on level of pain and amount of drowsiness easily since it's one of the safest drugs to use and has fewer potential side effects. Gentle massage and cool packs are great to use twice a day and won't hurt him regardless of the cause of the whimpering. While I didn't use it on Mav, I have heard good things about the fabraloc so that be an option to look into as well.
Keep improving Domino!
Mandy and Mav
Maverick is a wonderful miniature australian shepard born with a malformation of the front right radius/ulna, amputation performed on 11/4/13 at 6 months old. Follow his story at mavericksjourney.tripawds.com.
Cassie said
Our laser at work isn't a cold laser. Its a more powerful k-laser. It has higher wavelengths and seems to penetrate better. And we've had mixed results on pain management as well. Its wonderful for incisions and wounds, and seems to do ok on arthritis. But I don't know how well it would work on muscle pain.
Cassie and Domino
Thanks for clarifying. When we talked to the vets about laser therapy they were specifically talking about cold laser. Can you put me in touch with the practitioner in charge of the treatments at your clinic? I would LOVE to learn more! PM me and let's talk, this would make a great topic.
I think your plan is perfect, see how it goes, take notes, stay in contact with your vet. Awesome.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Domino is doing so great! I've been enjoying the pics of him on Facebook.
As he is learning to use everything differently he could be sore and experiencing muscle spasms. Shooter definitely had them and when I would massage you could feel them under my fingers. I would just keep rubbing until the spasms quit and then go to another spot and do the same and then he would suddenly relax and sleep hard. Mostly they would occur in the shoulder and neck area on the side of his remaining leg.
Looking forward to seeing more of Domino.
Take care-
Luanne and Spirit Shooter
Spirit Shooter was a Miniature Australian Shepherd who was diagnosed with a MCT and had a LF amp 1/28/13 at 13-1/2 years old.
Shooter crossed the Bridge on 8/28/13, his 7 month ampuversary and two weeks from his 14th birthday.
Cassie, just catching up. So glad that other than the occasional issue, he is healing well. I don't really have any advice on this pain, but wanted to send you and your new boy well wishes.
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
Lexie has been having similar episodes to Domino, Cassie, and what Alison had with Shelby. However, she is on Gabapentin already as well as Tramadol, so we think it may be a muscle pull and some spasming.
If you're able to take Domino to a PT I definitely would, especially because he's such a young guy and you want to learn about which muscles he is using to compensate as a Tripawd, and what can be done to stretch and keep him limber. I just posted about PT in my latest update.
Massaging has helped Lexie a lot, along with some other PT we've tried, including cold laser. I'm going to do some video at our next PT appointment, including the stretches, and will share.
Good luck, and keep us posted!
Deb and Angel Lexie* Diagnosed at age 13. Tried radiation first; wish we had amputated upon diagnosis (even with lung mets). Joined Club Tripawd April 2014 & Lexie loved life on 3 legs! Advice: Start physical therapy as soon as your vet clears it, especially hydrotherapy if available :-) See Lexie pics here.
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