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.
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My dog Jinky is post front leg amputation 6 days. She is on Meloxidyl one time a day and Gabapentin twice a day. The Tramadol seems to make her more anxious. I have about 4 days left of Gabapentin which they tell me is enough pain meds. Seems like it would be too early to end Gabapentin and have her just on Meloxidyl. She is 7 y/o Sheltie. Worry she will still be in pain
Hi Jinky and family, welcome. Sorry you had to join our club. Was cancer the reason for the amputation?
It sounds like she got the standard pain medication and yep, Tramadol (in addition to being pretty worthless), it also makes many dogs anxious. What is the dosage and frequency of the Gabapentin she is taking, and what does she weigh? We are not vets but we can tell you about our own experiences with members' dogs of the same weight range.
Most dogs are on pain management until stitches come out, some more, some less days. All dogs are a little different. But it's your right to let your vet know that your dog is still showing pain signals , and receive more pain control for at least a few more days. If you see she is showing signs that she's hurting, give them a call I'd say tomorrow or at latest the day after (don't let the meds run out).
How is her eating and drinking? Is she eliminating? Sleeping through the night? These are all things to document so you can have a productive conversation with your vet. Keep in mind that many vet clinics are very cautious about dispensing pain medication because of humans' abusing it (yep, happens all the time), so the more you can show them that you are being diligent about monitoring her pain signals , the better your conversation will be.
Keep us posted OK? And be sure to check out our What to Expect articles , Jerry's Required Reading List and the Tripawds e-books library for lots of tips about recovery.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Jinky is around 18 pounds. The Gabapentin in 50 mg twice a day. She’s eating and drinking fine. Except for panting at times and will yelp if she tries to bark doesn’t show much pain. She has woken up a couple of times screaming in pain at night but settles quickly. Walking ok but tired easily which I guess is expected. Figure it’s too soon to start any rehab or can you do anything before the stitches are out? She had sarcoma but they say not osteo. Initial biopsy said fibro or the histo. Waiting on biopsy from amputation. Tumor wasn’t that large yet when we discovered it after she was limping for several weeks. We thought it was arthritis since she hurt that leg years ago
Jinky's avatar picture is adorable. She's a very pretty gal.
Yeah, panting can certainly be a pain signal.
Also check out this link to phantom pain phantom limb pain. When a dog jumps up suddenly and yelps and tries to move away from the pain, it's usually phantom pain. It starts quickly and ends fairly quickly. It's basically when the brain is still firing off signal to the nerves of a limb that is no longer there.
Gabapentin is the best med for that. It may be that the Gaba dose can be spread out over three times a day. Talk to your Vet about that.
So yes, slow and easy for now. Short leashed potty breaks and back to be for rest, rest, and more rest. Shouldn't be doing anymore than that at this point.
For now, just give her .lots pf gentle massages all over her neck, shoulder back, etc. Muscles get very tight when first adjusting to three.
Hang in there and be patient. Recovery does last furever.
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!
What you are describing sounds like phantom pain .
Figure it’s too soon to start any rehab or can you do anything before the stitches are out?
Generally practitioners like to see new amputees about 10 days after surgery. If untreated pain is an issue, it would help to connect with one sooner. I would make an appointment now.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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