Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Jersey girl has been panting, chewing her remaining front paw and licking the rear leg and paw on the side of her amputation. She's been doing this for awhile but it seems worse tonight. Any thoughts?
Hmmmm....... I've forgotten if she's on any pain meds right now. Let's start there. Could be a little pain sneaking back in.
As far as the leg lickng...yeah, Happy Hannah never bothered with lickng her inciskon, bjt she chewed a lot on her front legs (rear leg amp.) I prerty much figured it was the result of all the needles, shavng. IV insertion, etc. Does she have any shaved parts on the legs she's licking?
Also, I nderstand so etimes they lick the "remaining" leg in a misguided feeling tha their "misskng" leg is itching. I know...kinda' whacky...but so is this whole journey!
Also, if she's exposed to a lot of dry neat right now, it could be that too.
Hope that helps.
Hugs to all the Bear Clan!!
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!
Thanks Sally and Happy Hannah. She mostly chews her toes so not any incision, IV or shaved parts. Glad to hear Hannah did that too! She's not supposed to be on any Rx anymore but I still have Metacam I can use if needed. Her original dose was 70# so I gave her half that this afternoon when she was panting, about 35#. And then about 1.5 hours ago she started panting again and I gave her another 35#. This time it hasn't done didilly-doo-doo though.
Thanks my friend,
Claudia
Hmmm...okay...do you think she pulled or sprained anything? Papa Bear! Have you been sneakng her out for too many swims??
It is still so early inr recovery...sou ds like she's hurting a little from maybe a residual from the surgery? zor again, I keep going back to overdoing it.
Hw 'bout "massafing" her all over and see if she tenses up at any
oint.
If I recall, I put Hapoy Hannah back on some low dose pain med...either Tramadol or Gabapentin durinf the tnird week as she was showing signs of disco fort off and on.
I'll stay here a bit a d see if tne massage gives you any clje...
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!
Boy that could be anything. The panting could be from a lack of pain control but the chewing could be from allergies. You're in Southern CA right? Isn't it kinda warm there right now? Just a guess. I would want to keep that cone of shame on and perhaps try a Benadryl (ask your vet first please, for dose & approval to take with her current meds) to see if that helps.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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Jerry -
Thank you for the reminder about allergies. With all the hoopla around JG's cancer and amputation, I completely FORGOT about allergies and it is something we always have to deal with. In fact, I've been an allergy disaster myself lately! Benadryl and Zyrtec both work for JG. I will make sure it's ok with her other meds though. Thanks again.
Claudia
Sally -
You were right about the pain. About 30 minutes after we all went to bed last night, JG let out a little yelp to go along with her panting. I jumped out of bed because yelps and any sort of whining or crying is highly unusual for her. I don't know if she has a high tolerance for pain or if she's just really good at hiding it, but in her 9 years she's only cried ONCE and it was after her tail amputation. (Hitch, on the other hand, is uber dramatic and yelps, cries and whines at EVERYTHING!) Sooo, back to JG. I gave her a full 70# of Metacam, laid down next to her and rubbed her neck and body until she fell asleep. Didn't take long and we were all back in Zzzzz land.
Thanks again!
Claudia
Good, Sounds like you've got some solutions that will bring results! Craaaaaazy journey, huh?
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!
Keep us posted! I remember Jackson was tender for about 2-3 months post-amp. When he'd bump his stump, he'd whine. So maybe that's all she did, rather than really injure herself or strain something.
I hope those allergies get under control - and were the culprit!
How about a nice little doggie bath with soothing oatmeal to ease her toes and feet?
~ Katy & Jackson
ACL tear in right hind leg 12/5/12 and scheduled ACL repair surgery 12/21/12. Pre-op xrays revealed osteosarcoma. Amputation 12/28/12. Chemo (carboplatin) started Jan 10, 2013 and ended on April 5, for a total of 5 doses. He handled carbo like a champ! No side effects. We started metronomic therapy at his third chemo and have been also doing some holistic treatments. He's a lively, playful 10 year old huskie-boarder collie and a very proud member of the Winter Warriors! Our love. Our funny little guy!
Katy and Jackson
Oooh, that's a good idea for the bath.
I was wondering about tenderness at the incision area. Somewhere on this site I read that someone cupped their dog's incision area (with hands) to stop the nerves from firing. I tried that last night and was surprised she didn't seem to mind it. I can't tell if it worked or the metacam but one of the two. Lol.
Thank you.
Claudia
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