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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Was hopi g this was not the case. At least now you know the challenge and uou can plan the path forward!
Agree with Jerry that Marley has a lot of spunk! Love that she wants to keep her routine of sprinting after her potty😎 As much as she needs to take ot easy right now, it still shows you ahe's up for the challenge and is prepared to power through thos recent challenge!
And it certainly helps to have devoted hoomans who she has trained to treat her like the Royalty that she is!!! Love the sod you put by the door she could use with little effort for her Royal bathroom😎
A conservative approach IS doable! The Rehab Specialist I had for tripawd Frankie had done some conservative approaches that were overall success. IF...IF....I recall, she did seem to think that a brace was helpful. This was years ago. Frankie had the surgery, but only through the generosity of people getting together to fund it. Otherwise I was going to try the conservative approach.
I think you'll get a lot of info from the links Jerry gave you and, of course, Dr Google. It does sound like your Rehab Vet is on top of things though, so I think you are jn good hands.
And that picture......LOOOOOVE IT!!!! So cute!!!
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
PS...this is a brace link. custom canine stifle orthotics
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!
Yes, Marley is EXTREMELY spunky and high-energy. We always said she never realized she's actually a senior dog, because she has never, ever calmed down lol. We still have her in the basement so she can get outside easily and she is not happy about it at all - she wants to come upstairs and hang out in the main space. My hubby or I are still down there 24/7 with her, but it doesn't seem to bring her comfort. Lots and lots and lots of whining, constantly hopping around, etc. I have the baby monitor on and she's currently standing at the bottom of the stairs panting and whining to come up... it's like this non-stop. She actually ripped through our barricade (pillows lol - she's terrified of the baby gate so we try to not use it) the other day and we found her happily sleeping on the landing, about 8 stairs up. Scared the crap out of me! We actually have someone coming to redo the stairs outside our house today so they're longer, wider, and a shorter hop for her up to the front door. Once that is done, and I can outfit our hardwood with some non-slip rugs, I will feel comfortable letting her upstairs to hang out on this floor...I think. She's been trying to wedge herself into small spaces this past weekend and really hasn't been herself. This was after I reduced her gaba from 3x/day to 2x/day, so I assume that may be part of it and I am increasing back to 3x today. But she is really just a family girl and wants to be around us, I get it. Poor little sweetheart.
The ACL injury isn't ideal for sure. Fortunately, cost isn't a factor for us in deciding to not get the surgery - it's because she just had surgery, and as well, it's on the same damn side as the amputated leg. I have already found the recovery of the amputation to be extremely, extremely hard (we are almost 3 weeks in)... I can't and won't go through that again (and I think the recovery from ACL is even longer, like 12 weeks?! There is no way Marley would be easily contained for that long). If we aren't able to resolve this the conservative way, I will have to consider whether she is living her best life or not.
The vet did say we could try a brace, but because they're custom-fitted and need to be sent off to be made, she didn't think the wait would be super beneficial for us. We have our second laser appointment today so cross your paws for us!
Aww Marley! I'm sorry she can't be in her usual spots around the house right now. Yes, get the traction for the floors. Is there any way you can put an x-pen in a central area of your home where she can't get out, and can be with all the action?
Yes, a cruciate repair surgery recovery is tougher than amputation recovery, no doubt about that. I don't envy anyone who has to go through it with a Tripawd.
Sometimes braces are not helpful in a situation like this, sometimes they are. Either way I believe he braces can be made in about 10 days. I would contact our friends at OrthoPets or Go Hero to find out how long they might take for hers.
She is actually doing QUITE well with her legs, so we're going to continue to monitor, get the laser treatments, and see how she is in a couple of weeks. I might consider the brace then. The way she has been hopping around makes my heart so happy!
I'll start a new topic in Hopping Around since this one has "resolved"! Always have more questions ; )
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