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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Hello to everyone... My name is Jennifer and i am the owner of not one but TWO 3 legged fur babies. Tanner is our doxie that fell off a 4-wheeler and had to have his leg in a cast. My husbands feels the vet did not cast it correctly and long story short we had to amputate after it started to rot off in the cast. He has been our little 3 legged fur baby since Dec 2009. He is doing great and is turning 11 on Dec 4th. 
He came running out of the vets office to greet me afterwards.
Now we have Zeke who is our 11 year old lab. Such a fabulous gentle natured dog who "had" cancer but yesterday we chopped cancer out of his life. Sadly that meant removing his leg. He is doing ok but seems to be struggling more. Is this because he is so big? (80 lbs vs 20 lbs) Will this get better? I sure hope so because i feel very sad inside like maybe we made a bad choice. We only wanted to give him a good life until he decides to let go himself. He is healthy and i hope to be celebrating his bday next July again.
Any words of encouragement would be great. Any thoughts, any helpful tips just anything at all.
Hi Jennifer, welcome. Wow, a two tripawd household? You'll be a pro by the time this is over.
Is Zeke home after just one day? If that's the case, he's probably just so high from the pain drugs that he's feeling really loopy. What kind of pain meds is he on? And what kind of cancer did you chop off? 
It will be hard not to compare the two recoveries since you've been through it already. But I would venture to guess that a bigger dog will take longer to get acclimated on three legs than a smaller one, just because there's more mass to move around and such. YES, it will get better, but you'll need a lot of patience right now. Most dogs take two to four weeks to show signs of their old selves again.
Lots of folks feel regret during the first few days, but that is really normal. It's hard to be cheerful when you know that things are so different, but all you need to do is look at Zeke and see how he's handling it. If he's eating and drinking and pooping and peeing, heck that's great! Little steps lead to one big complete recovery. Be patient, be strong, and you'll both get there.
Have you checked our Required Reading List or ebook, "Three Legs & a Spare"? Those two things should give you all the encouragement and hope you need, but we're here to add to it so don't be shy OK?
Thanks for joining. Your future posts won't require moderation.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Jennifer, Magnum was 35kg after her leg was taken off. That's not too much lighter than Zeke. She wasn't herself until about 4 weeks after the surgery. The pain meds knocked her around. But after 4 weeks she was happily walking although not as far as before and after 8 weeks she was back to chasing her ball. She was so full of life.
Give Zeke time, it is still very early days.
Karen and Spirit Magnum
Magnum: 30th May 2002 to 5th May 2012. Lost her back left leg to osteosarcoma on 5th Sep 2011. Lung mets found on 20th Mar 2012 but it was bone mets in the hip that ended her brave battle. Magnum's motto - "Dream as if you'll live for ever, live as if you'll die today" (James Dean). Loyal, loving, courageous and spirited to the end. My beloved heart dog, see her memoirs from Rainbow Bridge ...... http://princess.....pawds.com/
Hi Jennifer,
My Tripawd was a little pug named Maggie, she lost a rear leg to cancer. She had no physical complications and was off meds by the end of two weeks. But she was not at all happy- she definitely did not bounce back. She could walk OK, she would eat and do her business, but other than that she was a slug for about 4 weeks. Then it took another couple of weeks of me trying daily to get her to play with me before she finally showed some interest. I was really regretting putting her through the surgery even though with the location of her mast cell tumor there was no other option.
But she had always been an obstinate pug who hated changes in her routine. She finally came around and was a happy girl again, but she sure took her time!
And now that I wrote all that it occurs to me to ask- is Zeke struggling physically or are you concerned about his personality coming back?
As far as tips- have you taken him to the park or other favorite places? Maggie couldn't walk to far at first but she did like to lay in the grass in the sun. How about having people visit? Mag really perked up around my Mom. You could also try food games if he is food motivated.
Keep us posted on how he is doing.
Karen and the pugapalooza
***UPDATE***
Well the day after i posted this my husband went home and took him outside (he was in the house but normally is an outside dog). He came alive again, he was happy and wagging his tail and WALKING all on his own. Yesterday i was in the house cooking dinner and my husband called me. He was up a hill on our property at the trampoline with our twins and said guess who is here. Of course i was not in the mood for company and said who? He said Zeke, i was like what? Yep you guess it he ran up the hill after the 4-wheeler to the trampoline. 
His favorite thing is to be there with the kids. We have decided that he is just happiest outside. We are bringing him in at night and letting him outside alot during the day and his spirit is back. He is eating well and he is so happy. For those that asked, he never came home on pain meds. They put him on antibiotics and that was it. Same for Tanner, no pain meds at all. 
Thank you for the warm welcome and i hope to have more updates that are so happy. I am new to the forum and so right now i am trying to just find my way around. 
Oh that's terrific news! For some dogs, the fresh air is all it takes to get that sparkle back.
No pain meds? Ouch. Well, pain management is a relatively new concept in veterinary medicine, most vets who were trained before the mid 1980s were taught that animals didn't feel pain on a level that humans did, and that feeling pain would actually help them heal. Today veterinary medicine has proven this theory incorrect so more and more vets are practicing pain management using medications to help both before, during and after surgery.
So glad to hear the family is all hoppy again. Let us know how we can help make your Tripawd journey easier.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
We gave him some coated aspirin hope that helped him a little. I think that i had some Tromidol (sp) because i have another doxie that had back surgery. I just dont know dosages and hate to play doctor too much. We live in a very small town and i am certain he was trained in the 80's (early at that). He is a wonderful vet though and i trust him so i guess we will ride this out.
Thanks again for all the kind words. Zeke seriously has amazed me with this journey. I am shocked he is where is is already in less than a week. We allow him to sleep in the house wonder how hard that will be to break. LOL
I hope more than anything that we simply have some healthy months if not years left with him. He is more than a special dog. He was born the day we got married and was a puppy to my best friend's dog. My best friend died very suddenly 2 years ago in August. So Zeke is very special and holds memories and meaning that will never be replaced and will forever be another hole when he is lost. I just hope he can have some pain free and happy days ahead. I kow my best friend is above helping him along in this journey.
Don't you worry, Zeke sounds like he is doing great. If you have a vet you trust and have confidence in, that makes a huge difference. He sounds like a special pup indeed. Stay focused on making the most of your time together now, and don't worry about the future; remember, Zeke doesn't either!
Your instincts are right, don't give Zeke any medication without talking to your vet first.
Keep us posted on his recovery!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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