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.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
So, for some reason, my post last night went into a black hole, so let's try this again. 🙂
I should first mention that Mika is doing AWESOME, I means really freaking AWESOME, and she's only about a week and a half post-amputation. Seriously, our girl is a tail-wagging, smiling, teeth chattering (it's her "happy" thing), fool-of-a-dog now and we couldn't be happier with our decision or her progress!
Now, onto Phase II of her care - her homeopathic treatment. We have opted out of chemo, and did not biopsy her mass (much to the chagrin of our vet who had a $5 bet with the radiologist that is wasn't osteosarcoma - lol, but I digress...). I'd like to give her supplements, of course, but am overwhelmed with all the information out there. As for food, Evo is a bit on the expensive side and I don't mind making her food if that would be more economical, but again, even after looking at all the helpful links on this site and sample "menus", I'm not sure where to begin. I think my 106 pound, ok now 96 pound, dobe mix could wolf down a whole lotta chicken necks, and I'm not crazy about all that raw meat around my toddler twins and preschooler.
Anyone have a food and supplement regime for a 90+ pound, senior pooch with an undiagnosed form of cancer that's an easy-to-make, budget-friendly diet which you'd like to share with me? Hey, a mom can dream can't she? 
Thanks in advance for your feedback (get it? FEEDback - dang, I crack myself up...),
Mari, mom of Mika the Wonder Dog
Hi Mari and Mika!
So happy to hear how well Mika is doing!!
I was feeding my Jake Blue Buffalo Holistic food… It's still pricier than some of the others out there, but was definitely cheaper that the prescription calorie control food he was on before his diagnosis. Maybe even cheaper than Evo… I'm not sure. I also cooked a chicken or turkey stew once a week… with lots of veggies and brown rice, and supplemented his dry kibble with that. He loved it!! I'd also buy beef liver and boil it in some chicken broth with a bit of garlic and parsley, then dice it and put in the oven on low heat until it was crunchy. Both my doggies loved that as a treat!
You could also look on the Angel Exchage and see if anyone has any of the Power Mushrooms or K9 Immunity Factor to give away. The power mushrooms are definitely not too expensive…
As for glucosamine supplements, I had done some comparison shopping and found Joint Max Triple Dose for around $41/120 chews (1800petmeds.com), came out to be around $21 for a daily dose of 2,000mg of glucosamine for a 90 pound dog. It also contained chontroitin, MSM, manganese, vitamin C + E, zinc, L-glutathione, creatinin, EPA and DHA. Jake loved the taste!
There are a whole bunch of other supplements that I'm sure the other Tripawd members will tell you about. Good luck!
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!
genkimari said:
...get it? FEEDback ...
Be sure to check out the Tripawds Nutrition Blog, especially the Supplements and Diet pages. We continually update these pages with links to more information about the most popular supplements discussed here in the forums.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Okay, I have to jump in and ask...
Isn't garlic bad for dogs since it has some of the same properties as onions?
According to the ASPCA:
Foods to Avoid Feeding Your Pet
- Alcoholic beverages
- Avocado
- Chocolate (all forms)
- Coffee (all forms)
- Fatty foods
- Macadamia nuts
- Moldy or spoiled foods
- Onions, onion powder
- Raisins and grapes
- Salt
- Yeast dough
- Garlic
- Products sweetened with xylitol Wapite
That's why I never given my dogs pizza, except for the crust end. But then again, I just found out that Sago Palms are really toxic for dogs and Rocket has been pruning the palm trees outside! (one being a sago)
Mari,
Something rather cheap that I used to do when I went through a phase of cooking for my dogs was chicken gizzards with rice and veggies. (Bird's eye sells a gigantic frozen bag at walmart) Since you are in CA, check out the Mexican supermarkets if you haven't already, they are great on prices for the non-traditional meats and produce.
The biggest problem I found when I cooked is I way overfed them. They both ballooned. And I got lazy, so I quit. But I still give a carrot a night.
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Thanks for the guidance! I think I'll start on the glucosamine supplements, K9 Immunity , and then go for a cooked diet of meat,veggies and rice, until I can figure out a more comprehensive regiment, if I ever get to that point. Thanks for the tip on going to the Mexican market for weird innards. GAWD, I hope that I can cook that stuff without fainting. LOL And no alcoholic beverages? I guess I'm going to have to tell her no more gin & tonics before bed! hee hee!
Compared to making baby food for twins, a toddler-friendly dish AND meals for two adults, this shouldn't be so bad....right? RIGHT?
Thanks again!
Mari
I bet Mika is peeved about having to discontinue those G & T's, eh? Poor thing.
Comet - I don't think everything on that list is equal. Chocolate is definitely toxic (although some of our bigger dogs can handle a fair bit before they would be poisoned - thank goodness, phew - whereas a pound of chocies would definitely send some of the tiny tots to emergency. French onion soup on a daily basis can be bad and result in trouble (but not sudden toxicity like can happen with chocolate), but I don't think the odd food containing onions should not do harm.
By all means, give Comet some pizza or curry! (Most of us with cancer dogs would think more about the carbs than the garlic in pizza, but I'm not suggesting to give her the whole pizza, although Tazzie would have wanted it that way.) Any other foods you want to eat Comet? Just let me know and I'll do my best to convince your mum.
My recollection of dogs and garlic is too blurry to comment on that, although certainly lots of people add garlic when cooking meat for the pups.
A common thing that results in toxicity is rhubarb plants, with dogs munching on the plants in the back yard.
I don't know much about making your own dogfood. We did feed EVO (mixed with Hill's n/d), but have switched to Blue Buffalo Wilderness (which can now be bought at Petco/PetSmart -- which is a huge plus for us). A little while ago there was a link posted for ratings of dog food ... dogfoodadvisor.com, if that helps.
Here is what they had to say about garlic, btw ...
Garlic is a controversial item. In rare cases, garlic has been linked to Heinz body anemia in dogs.
Most of the professional literature we surveyed did not provide any conclusive guidance regarding the use of garlic… especially in small amounts.
Although we see no reason to be overly concerned, we do feel it is a mistake to include such controversial ingredients in any dog food product.
Amputation on 11/10/09, due to Histiocytic Sarcoma in left elbow. Angel Harley earned his wings on 06/24/10.
Funny you mention rubarb as we went to a farm last Sunday and my preschooler almost ate a leaf, until another parent noticed and stopped her! I definitely won't be giving Mika French onion soup…knowing what it does to my husband! Pee Eww!
Mari,
So glad to hear your pup is doing soooo fantastic!!!
I feed my dog's what is called premixes...and then you add usually meat to them...be it raw or cooked...raw is better 😉
Here's what I feed my dogs...these are low carb diets as you want to keep the carbs down for cancer dogs:
Urban Wolf premix - made in Canada but I get it from http://www.doggiefood.com Urban Wolf's website is: http://www.urbanwolf.cc This is 5% carbs.
They also sell a Cancer diet premix which I have too that is around 2% carbs...that one requires a little more 'doing' than the regular diet premix.(adding more fresh foods to it).
Honest Kitchen Preference premix. This diet is roughly 11% carbs with mixing it 2 parts meat to 1 part mix.
Honest Kitchen Embark premix. This mix already has dehydrated meat in it and the carb content is ~ 18%. But I add 1:1 more meat to it which would drop the carbs down even more.
I choose premixes that won't have any more than 20% carbs.
Honest Kitchen can be bought in many places online. A bunch of us order it bulk, so get a good rate that way.
For meats, I use Bravo or Primal frozen ground meats.
For supplements I use:
Power Mushrooms - for cancer
Transfer Factors - for cancer
Berte's Immune Blend - for cancer
OmegaMaine oil - for cancer etc.
Glycoflex III - for joints
Animal Naturals K9 Fuel - for muscles
Teavigo - for cancer (green tea)
Artemisia - for cancer
For homeopathics I would suggest you do a phone consult with Dr. Charles Loops DVM. Here is his website: http://www.char.....psdvm.com/
Maggie is on Carcinonin, Semp and Lasis remedies(not sure on spelling!)...but those are specific to her case.....
Good luck in your choices!
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
Thanks for the info! I took a peek at Dr. Loop's website and would love a consult, but we are still reeling from the $2k in vet bills! LOL
I like the idea of feeding her pre-mixes. Seems much easier than scratch!
Hmmm...from the Urban Wolf website - "IMPORTANT: Do not feed raw meat or raw bones to your dog if you have young children or the elderly in your home. Always wash food and preparation dishes & utensils in hot soapy water after use and use a disinfectant cleaner on your preparation surface. Wash your hands well. You must handle raw meat in your home and fridge with care."
With twin two year olds, I'm not sure if raw meat is the best for our family (although even cooked would be a step up from her Neutro). Anyone else with young kids do the raw diet thing?
Thanks!
Mari17
And what do you do when you handle raw meat for your human family ? 😉
The same warning applies... 🙂
Maggie was amputated for soft tissue sarcoma 10-20-09
Maggie lost her battle with kidney disease on 8-24-13
but have switched to Blue Buffalo Wilderness
OMD that stuff smells awful! I couldn't wait until it was done. I do the senior Blue.
Oh no Taz! Comet is a carb-o-holic! (I wonder why?) Glazed donuts are her favorite! Second, is plain cake donuts.
I can't give her pizza, she'll be a piggy! Mind you, she gets a treat for pottying, before and after. A treat every time we leave and when we come back. A treat for bed and a treat for just about everything she does if it requires movement. She already thinks the kitchen is a buffet and it only closes after 10pm.
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
OMG!! I actually found a place (kinda) locally that is a PET RAW FOOD store! http://www.ther...../index.php
And I hear ya about the handling thing, but Mika like to carry her food around in her mouth and it would be pretty messy. Still, I can give it a try. Heck, NOT cooking it would be less work!!
cometdog said:
but have switched to Blue Buffalo Wilderness
OMD that stuff smells awful! I couldn't wait until it was done. I do the senior Blue.
Hmmm ... I hadn't noticed the smell. We do the Wilderness variety, because it is grain-free
. Just went and smelled it ... it smelled like dog food. lol I bought the chicken kind ... maybe it was the duck or salmon one that smelled worse??? Taste of the Wild ... now there is some seriously smelly dog food, IMHO. 
I freak out every time Michael throws pizza crust to Harley. "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! You are killing him! Just feed the cancer, why don't you." Oh, how I miss the days of being able to throw scraps of food to my dog without worrying about it spreading cancer. 
-Gwen & Harley
Amputation on 11/10/09, due to Histiocytic Sarcoma in left elbow. Angel Harley earned his wings on 06/24/10.
1 Guest(s)
