Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello Tripawds community. Our sweet 9 year old pit mix, Koda, is 8 days post-amp surgery of her front right leg due to osteosarcoma. She has already had her first chemo treatment. She seemed to be doing well until yesterday. She is now reluctant to eat and she just wants to lay outside. (We are on the east coast and it’s pretty cold now.) She also seems to be sad and has little interest in her favorite toys. We understand that she just went through major surgery and we are curious if this is just normal.
We are so grateful for the Tripawds community. Thank you for your support.
Hi Koda and furmily, welcome! We are here to help ease your worries.
Yes, this would be pretty typical of a dog who has had surgery and chemo. It's still really super early in recovery and her body has a lot of work to do to heal itself. Rest is medicinal and it heals. To many of us it looks like sadness, but we are just not used to seeing our dogs so tired. Also, keep in mind that her behavior is often a mirror of your own. If she senses you are sad, she will respond the same way.
Laying outside on cold ground probably feels good on her incision. Have you tried using an ice pack on her (with towel between pack and skin) applied every so often?
The way to tell if her behavior is normal for her is to watch her usual day-to-day behaviors like appetite and elimination.
Is she eating at all? Right now she probably won't want to eat much because of the double whopper of pain medication and chemo. What did your vet give you as far as pain management , and also any medication to control nausea that might happen? It sounds like side effects might be kicking in but don't panic. For most dogs it doesn't last long, a couple of days maybe, and you can get any nausea under control with medication.
Is she going potty normally? What are her stools like? If she has runny poo definitely let your pet know. She may also be constipated because of the pain meds, so if that's the case, some pumpkin pulp, steamed squash, or other fiberlicious foods added to her meals may help.
I hope this helps. Try not to get too discouraged. The next chemo round may be a lot easier on her because she won't be as close to amputation recovery as she is now. As always let your vet know what's going on just to cover your bases. And keep us posted!
Thanks so much for the encouraging words. Koda is on 600mg of Gabapentin every 8 hours and 75mg of Carprofen every 12 hours. She was on anti-nausea meds for 5 days after her chemo treatment. She finally pooped (yay!) 5 days post surgery. The consistency was normal for her. We did cold compresses for 3 days and then switched to warm compresses based on vet’s instructions. Based on your idea that she may want to be on the cold ground, I think we will switch back to cold compresses and see if it makes a difference. We don’t mind staying outside with her for a bit, but 🥶…
She is resting comfortably now. We will keep you posted.
You have build an awesome, supportive community and we are so grateful to have found you. I just started reading “Be More Dog ”. Wow! What an inspiration. Koda says “Thanks” !
Can only ditto everything Jerry said. This is very, very early in recovery after a MAJOR surgery
The meds sound like they are keeping Koda comfortable, all things considered. Pooping and peeing great news!
As Jerry mentioned, the surfery, the meds AND the chemo so soon after surgery can definitely mess with Koda's appetite. Give her any yummy food she will eat for mow. Warm rotisserie chicken, cheese pizza, bacon and eggs.....whatever it takes.
Ask the Onco about starting the anti nausea (Cerenia??) maybe a day ahead of the chemo.
Keep is posted, okay?
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!
Aww shucks, we are grateful for you being here and sharing Koda's experience. Everyone's story helps someone else, somewhere down the line.
It does sound like Koda is getting excellent pain control and chemo care. Her Gabapentin dose is a little higher than what is typical. Nothing to panic about, I'm sure your vet has a reason for that dosage. But it can make some dogs really sleepy, so let your vet know that she seems a bit out of it. Don't change a thing until you do. Most dogs do need their pain medication fine-tuned even a week or two after surgery.
You are so sweet for reading our book, thank you. I hope you enjoy it.
Let us know how it goes this week!
Hello to you and Koda! We are 3 weeks post amp (no chemo yet) and sounds like Koda's actually doing pretty well! Our dog has a terrible time with gabapentin making her very groggy, so that might be part of it. She is out with only 200mg! at 60 lbs that's a really low dose. So maybe you could back off the gaba a little and see what happens. Maybe even twice a day instead of 3. My girl also likes to just sit outside as well. I think it's ok though I worried about her incision when it was wet. I think it just must feel good! Good luck to you both!
Update on Koda: She had her first post amp appointment with the oncologist and she is doing as well as can be expected. She’s eating better and taking 300 mg of Gab instead of 600 mg which seems to be a good dose for her. She’s resting comfortably and is a bit happier than she was a few days ago. The good news is that her white count was really good and her incision is healing well. Next chemo treatment is in 10 days.
Elizabeth, it’s interesting that our girls like to be outside! We were also concerned about her incision getting wet, so we now bring a blanket or towel with us when we go out. It’s mighty cold here (we are on the east coast), but we persevere. We are 2 weeks post amp, and I see that you are 3 week post surgery, so we are likely experiencing the same things with our girls. It’s been crazy difficult, but my husband and I are being a “tag team” with her care. Please reach and and keep us posted on how your girl is doing. She and Koda likely have some common stories to exchange!
So glad to hear how much better Koda is doing, especially this early on. And it does fet better and better!! Hopefulky with the next chem being a little further out from surgery it won't be as hard. Wonderful that her blood count is good👍
Onward and upward sweet Koda!!
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!
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