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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25/02/2010 08:19:26 ‹boismom› ever since the amputation my dog doesnt want to eat or he just takes a couple bites. he is getting so skinny please help
Have you tried different foods? Have you contacted your vet? My dog went off her food 5 days post - op due to slight fever. I had to hand feed her things she typically didn't eat. She would eat dry kibble one piece at a time hand fed...often I'd have to force in one piece and then she'd take others on her own - one painstakingly piece at a time. Fried eggs worked pretty well. Canned food for a little bit and then she turned her nose up at that. I noticed with her, if fever went down a bit, she would eat better. Switching antibiotics didn't work however for my dog. Homeopathic remedy Belladonna did to bring down fever.
As hard as it is, you gotta stay positive for your dog. I made a huge happy deal out of her eating!!! It was a huge struggle and I was scared shitless...but we got thru the 2 weeks post op of HELL. You will too.
Tracy, Maggie's Mom
Maggie was amputated for soft tissue sarcoma 10-20-09
Maggie lost her battle with kidney disease on 8-24-13
When was the amputation? If it was within the last two weeks I would trly not to freak out too much. Amoutation is still major surgery and most dogs are still on some pretty strong drugs. Have you tried chicken and rice or hamburger and rice? Or take a bite of something and then offer some to your dog.
If has been more than two weeks I would call the vet just so you can stop the cycle of weight loss.
What kind of dog do you have? Boy or girl? Front or back amputation?
It seems like from Tracy's post maybe I should know these questions so if you posted under a different screen name please forgive me for not recognizing you. I will be praying for your baby.
Debra & Angel Emily
Debra & Emily, a five year old doberman mix, who was diagnosed with an osteosaecoma. She had a right rear leg amputation on May 19, 2009. On November 10, 2009 she earned her wings and regained her fourth leg.
Hi Boismom
We need more information on your puppy to have any ideas. When was the amputation? Is he on chemo or did he only have amputation? Is he drinking - that is more important for now. Has he been getting up to move around since the amputation? Does he seem okay other than his not eating? How old is your pup?
Dogs seem to be willing to try different foods when they are picky, but that might also depend on whether it is due to chemo food aversion or something else. Lots of people find their dogs will be more likely to take food from their hand, or frozen food (think fish stick type things, but you can freeze just about anything in an ice cube tray). After chemo, my dog went off all kibble and canned food and would only eat plain meat.
Good morning boismom,
All good advice above, if he is getting skinny that is not good, because our dogs need nutrition to heal. You need to call your vet, most important. I would try anything and everything, what are his favorites.....chicken & rice is good, eggs, canned carrots, green beans & pumpkin and canned fish like tuna & mackerel. We never had this issue with Paris, in fact the night before she went to heaven she had smoked turkey, rice, cucumbers, & tomatos!!
Hang in there, call the vet and do whatever you need to. Please let us know how he is doing.
Ginny & Angel Paris
Grateful for every moment we had with Paris…..no regrets!
Honoring her life by opening our hearts & home to Addy!
Hi boismom,
Thanks for joining us here, we're so glad you found us. As you can see this is a great community and they've all had great advice so far so I can't really think of anything to add. Just be sure to talk to your vet about this and see what s/he thinks. Not knowing all of the circumstances around your dog's situation, that's the best advice I can give.
P.S. We wanted to let you know that your Private Message email about your pup went out to over 1000 people. I know you're very worried and I can't blame you, but please please please post your questions here in the Forums, not by sending private messages to the whole list. We don't want our members to feel like they're getting spammed OK? Thanks for understanding.
Keep us posted, we're all thinking of your pup.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
One of my favorite Satin Ball recipes for anorexic dogs: http://www.hous.....t-eat.html
darn, it didn't link completely.... http://www.hous.....t-eat.html
If this doesn't work, just do a google search for house of wags satin balls. I like this mixture best out of all of them out there but if this doesn't work, there are others to try.
Holly stopped eating about a week after amputation. We think it was the combination of meds she was on. You should ask your vet about it - our vet took her off the antibiotic since her incision was healing well and she was 8 days post op. But that didn't really help - she still wouldn't eat. We did what everyone else has already suggested - hand fed her, especially ground beef or chicken and rice. I also gave her plain chicken broth - she needed the liquids and the broth gave her some nutrition too. It also seemed to help to give her small portions every few hours instead of her regular 2 meals a day. I was happy if she ate a spoon of canned food for one feeding, then 1/4 cup of beef at an hour or two later, etc. Eggs or cheese also worked with Holly. I knew it was not good since she wouldn't take her regular treats. A friend made some salmon ice cubes which she loved - she froze some canned salmon and water in a sandwich bag. When we removed it from the plastic bag she ate it like a kid eating a popsicle! She totally turned her head if kibble was anywhere near her. Once she was off all meds her appetite returned to normal and she was fine. We'll keep fingers and paws crossed that your pup starts eating again soon!
Hugs,
Holly and Holly's mom
Holly joined the world of tripawds on 12/29/2009. She has a big little sister, Zuzu, who idolizes Holly and tries to make all of her toys into tripawds in Holly's honor. And she's enjoying life one hop at a time!
http://anyemery.....ipawds.com
Jake was back to eating the day after his surgery... so he was pretty lucky with that. Dogs loose their appetite for so many different reasons. It's so important to get them to eat... anything... and to drink after surgery... can't let them become dehydrated. They need all the nutrients they can to help them heal properly.
If your dog has not been able to eat anything for so many days, I would definitely call the vet ASAP. It could be due to fever, infection... so many things. Let us know more details about your dog... like when was the amputation done, is there any chemo involved, etc...
Angel Jake's Mom
Jake, 10yr old golden retriever (fractured his front right leg on 9/1, bone biopsy revealed osteosarcoma on 9/10, amputation on 9/17) and his family Marguerite, Jacques and Wolfie, 5yr old german shepherd and the newest addition to the family, Nala, a 7mth old Bengal mix kittie. Jake lost his battle on 11/9/2009, almost 8 weeks after his surgery. We will never forget our sweet golden angel… http://jakesjou.....ipawds.com ….. CANCER SUCKS!
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