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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Thank the heavens for this site!
My greyhound, Blue, a 12.5 year old will be one week post amputation tomorrow. I am wondering if there are any greyhound owners here that have gone through this? My grey, and I think most greys, tend to be a nervous bunch. Before surgery, Blue would shake when nervous and also do the shake/teeth chitter when happy (think of it as a dog's version of a cat purring). But now, she seems to do this shaking a lot. Is it the pain meds? She is on Gabepentin, just finished Aminocaproic Acid last night, Carprofen, and Cephalaxin.
My next question is about the Tramadol, she was given Tramadol "as needed" - Heck, if it were me in this situatoin, "as needed" would be all the time! I've only given to her at night (11 p.m.) a couple of times, when I felt she was stressing out (heavy panting), BUT I am thinking now the evening struggles are due to the food going through so slowly/with gas build up, and the gas is what is painful. Last two nights (I am with her in the same room) I am averaging 4 interrupted hours of sleep, trying to find ways of comforting her (pets and warm compress in stomach area). Her last two stools were around 7 a.m. today and yesterday. I am nervous entering her dinner time now - are the rough nights food related or Tramadol?
If it is food related, anyone with experience just doing chicken and rice for a couple of days (L.I.D). Or does she need more nutrition? On the Tramadol side of things, do I just give it to her regardless, on a schedule with the Gabepentin?
Thanks for your insights!
Aww we are glad you and Blue found us! Your future posts won't need to wait for approval so post away.
Why did Blue have the amputation? Osteosarcoma?
We have had many Greyhound parents go through this, you are definitely not alone.
Shaking could be pain related. What is her dosage of the Gabapentin? How often are you giving it?
Don't feel badly about Tramadol. While it can sometimes help when given with Gabapentin, it's been shown to not have the pain reducing properties that vets once thought it had.
I would talk to your vet about adjusting the Gabapentin dosage to see if that helps. Some people will stagger pain medications to ensure consistent relief throughout the day. You also want to be sure you are staying ahead of the pain and giving medication on time. Any delays of more than an hour tend to create "wind-up" pain that is much harder to control once it gets to that point.
Usually fine-tuning the pain management for a new Tripawd does the trick.
Also, try not to panic too much. Senior dogs need more time than younger ones to recover. Blue is on his own timeline and will get there!
As for eating, it's a GREYT sign that he is already pooping! My guess is the shaking is not from the food. You can of course give chicken and rice per your vet's suggestion if you're worried. But usually a conversation to get the pain more managed should do the trick. Call them tomorrow and let them know what's going on, then update us when you can.
Hello Jerry,
Yeah, they think it is osteosarcoma, definitive results not back yet (was told 7-10 days). Slim chance it is a fungus???? Tried to get into vet asap due to a lump, but everyone is so backed up with an overload of pets from the pandemic, first xray was inconclusive - 2 weeks later Blue was scheduled for a biopsy, vet didn't like the looks of it and instead took another xray and found it had fractured and didn't biopsy, got us in two days later at the U for consult and amputation.
It was a "bad" leg to start with (we adopted her with a crooked front limb, assumption was since female at the track, female kennels are kept above the male kennels (2 high), because females are smaller (?) and when jumping down broke the leg, fast forward about 7 years and she messed it up again real bad-mostly tendon stuff (but vet put her back together very well).
300 mg Gabepentin every 8 hours and 100 mg Carprofen every 12 hours. Tramadol is 50 mg. Definitely keeping ahead of the pain and administering on time 🙂
Thanks for your help! Will reach out to the U.
Hey there. I'm sorry that you are dealing with the pandemic pets effects. It's like that everywhere right now and especially frustrating at a time like this. It's good that she was able to get in soon after the fracture was discovered.
What university are you working with? That's some great care!
Her pain management sounds routine and you are doing a great job sticking to it. All dogs are different so some adjustment may still be needed it sounds like. You might want to ask for Amantadine just in case she needs additional pain relief. Keep us posted OK?
Hello Jerry,
University of MN (St. Paul) Lewis Small Animal Hospital I am so fortunate it all went the way it did there. I will ask about the Amantadine, and will keep you posted. Honestly, it never occurred to me to reach out to them about this (duh)-I am still fuzzy about it all as it literally happened so fast and I was given so much information and meds to administer. Thanks for the advice!
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