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
Peaceful day today. Chance has been out a couple times to pee, still no pooping but I'm not worried yet. I read so many posts and comments about it so I figure he'll go when's he's ready.
I've read many of the serum posts, watched the videos but they all seem to talk about cold / heat therapy to the incision area. Chance's incision is covered by a large bandage. The discharge instructions said we'll do the heat therapy once the bandage is off. The seroma is just below (toward him hind legs) the bandaged area. Should I apply a cold compress on that area?
Finally figured out how to add a photo...had to create a blog. Still working on it, I couldn't add more than one photo to this comment. This is my great-nephew and Chance yesterday. He would've hugged on Chance longer if I would let him!
Sweet, sweet picture❤
Some Vets send dogs uome with bandage wraps, some don't. Seems to be just an individual preference one way or the other.
Others will have to chime in on the icing, etc. I think I mentioned before, you can ask the Vet if the "bandage wrap" needs to be loosened if you think it's "swelling" from that as opposed to the seroma .
Yeah, you can add additional photos on a single post, it's just that you jave tomgonba k and forth between the vlog photo storage, your gallery, then back to your post. You have to open your post back up with the little edit icon, then paste your picture, submit reply, then fo back ........never mind, a techie will come and explain!
What I do sometimes is simply sub ot one photo, hit submit reply, then just to open up another post and put another picture in that one, etc.
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!
Awww what a precious photo! That is SO sweet! I'm so glad you started a blog, let us know if you'd like any help with it.
It sounds to me like the bandage is squishing the fluid back into his body, which is what it's supposed to do. But if it's gathering up in one particular spot, it's my understanding that you can apply the heat therapy directly to the seroma lump for a few minutes (no more than 10, and very light heat), to help dissipate the fluid. If you're not comfortable with doing it, then just wait until you talk to your vet tomorrow as long as Chance seems fine.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Following along with your story. Glad to hear things seem to be going well at the start of recovery. I'm heading in to drop my 'monster-man' off at university hospital tomorrow morning for surgery Tuesday. Almost-10 Lab/German Shepherd mix, so I feel like we might end up echoing you. Hoping R handles things as well as it seems like Chance is.
Sorry it's been a couple days since my last update. Chance is doing well in recovery. Big news yesterday...he pooped! LOL. He's figuring out how to relieve himself although lifting his hind leg might be something he tackles down the road. He's always been more of a stretch-and-pee kinda boy anyway!
He's still being really picky on eating. I know I should just feed him whatever he'll eat, but I also need to watch his weight (he needs to lose about 10 lbs) and also reading about "tough love" and making him be a dog. That is making him eat from his bowl and not hand feeding him all the time. Am I expecting too much too early?
r3ard3nsm...how did R's surgery go yesterday? Sending good thoughts and prayers!
Sandra, Chance and Kenya
PS: Happy July everyone!
I understand pooping is a big accomplishment. Go Chance! Sorry to hear the food stuff is not going smoothly. Does he usually play you for a sucker when he's sick, or no? Like, R totally milks it for all it's worth when he's had even the smallest boo-boo. I had a vet tech once bring him out from the back crying and crawling into my lap and tell me, "Yeah. That's all for you. He was totally fine back there." If Chance is an actor, maybe trying a little less coddling, but if not... maybe a bit more babying? (Other people on here are way more knowledgable than me and probably have better advice.)
I just got my bug back home a couple hours ago. He was really anxious for maybe fifteen minutes when we first got back, hopping all over the place. He's been napping for about two hours now though. So at least the heavy duty pain meds portion of things seems to be going alright. They said he was eating at the hospital so we'll see how the first meal at home goes in another hour or so here. Probably gonna get up to ice for 15 here soon (they told me 3-4 times a day until Friday). Also, I am starving since I've been terrified to move a muscle since he finally calmed down and laid down on the mattress with me. Foooood.
Am I expecting too much too early?
I think you are right on track with where he's at in recovery. Yes, have him eat from his bowl if he isn't having any appetite issues. You want to normalize life and get him moving (gently, gradually). Hand feeding is fine when a dog simply will not eat because they feel bad, but it sounds like Chance simply wants a meal plan upgrade, which is understandable. We see that happen a lot around here, once a dog gets a taste of real food. Many will refuse kibble but eat the good stuff. To find out if that's Chance's issue, see if he will eat boiled chicken or scrambled egg as a topper in his kibble. If he won't do that, feed it without kibble. Play around with his menu to see what he likes. Gradually, most dogs will get back to their usual diet, it may just be that Chance isn't quite feeling good enough for the usual stuff...yet. And you can always stuff low cal treats into his bowl, like fruits and veggies, to help him feel satiated.
if the hand feeding is just because you feel bad for him and want to comfort him, then smooches on the forehead are equally effective 😉
YAY for POOP! 
If Chance is an actor, maybe trying a little less coddling, but if not… maybe a bit more babying?
I really like that advice! It's a fine line, you really do want to push them to do a little more each day, but within reason. The best place to start is at meal time. See how that goes and then if he's willing to get up for "real food" but not kibble, it's probably a matter of him telling you that it's time for a different meal plan.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
YAAAAAY. FOR ! We love to celebrate around here!!
Yes, sounds like Chance is having a "normal" recovery....if there is such a thing!
I like Jerry's idea about the kibvbe/chicken food test.
Okay, his is just me with another perspective on the food thing. In the FWIW column. Since he is veing picky and it's early in recovery, if hand feeding helps him to get some nutrition, you can still do that for awhile. Because of the pain meds, etc, dogs are often off food for a week or two. Yoi can do "tough love" after you feel like he is starting to eat more normally.
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!
One-week post amputation today...bandages get removed this afternoon! Yay! We start the ice/heat packs today for the next week.
On Chance's eating, yes he can be a bit of a drama-king to try to get the "good food". He's missed meals in the past because he won't eat the food I gave him so trying to make sure I'm not coddling him but when he does eat he chews so gingerly, like "ok, I'll eat this because it smells good but I really don't feel like it" so that's the main reason I'm still feeding him on his bed for the most part. Every meal we try at his normal elevated bowl (he drinks his water from his normal bowl), but so far he's not interested.
I thought maybe his tummy was still bothering him so tried some boiled chicken last night...no luck. Same thing this morning...but he did manage to eat some bacon! Hmmmm....picky little bugger! He's still taking 1 Gabapentin, 3 Tramadol 3X a day plus his Azodyl 2X day-- that's a lot of drugs (in my opinion) so going to ask the dr today how long he'll be on those meds. I assume for at least another week....staples/sutures come out next Thursday.
So glad to hear R is home and recovering. Chance slept a lot for the first couple of days after his surgery and even after the heavy drugs wore off, he sleeps more than normal but does spends lots of time just staring at me! You may have more luck with R eating since he ate at the hospital. Chance had no interest in food at the hospital.
I ordered the Ruffwear Urban Sprawl bed to help him along with recovery. It came in yesterday, but unfortunately only the mattress made it. I contacted the seller and they apologized and said the cover will be in the mail immediately. Yay...I can't wait for him to try it out! I've got other beds (orthopedic), but really looking forward to this one!
chance20 said
One-week post amputation today...bandages get removed this afternoon!
Congratulations! Please keep us posted
I ordered the Ruffwear Urban Sprawl bed...
Did you order directly from Ruffwear? They offer great customer service. We see you got your Web Master harness from the Tripawds Gear shop, but have no order from you for the Urban Sprawl ...
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Good morning! Recovery continuing to go well here with Chance. Did anyone find the week 2 post-surgery is harder than week 1? To clarify, week 1 was fairly easy to keep him calm, quiet...maybe the drugs? Week 2 and he thinks he's good to go! He's normally by me all day (thanks to teleworking), but boy does he get upset when I take Kenya out for a walk. I've twice had to catch him when someone rang the doorbell...he wanted to run to the door! 
Histology update -- bad news...confirmed osteosarcoma but I expected that; good news -- biopsy on lymph node(s) was negative! So now the decision is chemo or no chemo. With the chance of micrometastasis that don't show up on Xrays or tests, I realize the aggressive nature of this cancer makes it very likely that there will be metastasis later (4-6 months) so I'm leaning toward going ahead with the chemo (carboplatin? I think she called it). Dr said that if I feel it's impacting his quality of life (which she doesn't expect), then I can always stop treatments. I know there are people on this site that have gone through it, I've read a few threads but need to read more...just to be educated on what happens and what to expect.
So on the Ruffwear Urban Sprawl bed...not sure why I decided to order it through Amazon vs straight from the bed (I did order it through amazon smile to make sure Tripawds got a donation), but if I had to do it again, I'd go through this site directly. Still waiting on the bed! I contacted the seller (from Amazon) on Monday to find out what the status was of the cover, they hadn't sent me the tracking number...because they hadn't reordered it. They can't send just the cover so are sending a new cover and mattress. It's supposed to arrive today...really not happy. However, I did throw a blanket over the mattress I did receive and Chance loves it! It's big enough that Kenya can share...when Chance lets her!
Happy Hump Day!
Sandra, Chance & Kenya
How is R doing 1-week post surgery?!
Has anyone used essential oils on their dogs (either pre- or post-surgery)? While Chance is recovering well, he gets very antsy at night, can't seem to get comfortable. I've been putting lavender oil on my hands and just putting it around his head. I have Young Living oils and when I asked them they recommended a couple oils around the incision (lavender, Mendwell) or in his food/water (copaiba, purification)...just wondering if anyone has used them (not necessarily YL) before.
After talking to the doctor about his meds, I'm trying to cut back on the Gabapentin and Tramadol but wondering if his restlessness is actually pain and I cut back too much. Bumping the tramadol back up today to see how he does.
He get his staples out tomorrow...YAY! I'll have to ask about walks...he REALLY wants to get out. I've taken him for a couple car rides just to get him out of the house...he really perks up after that! I have a couple of the games to try to keep his mind occupied but he's never really been into those before so not surprised that he's not showing much interest. His favorite thing to do right now is just lay in the sun when I take him out to go potty...it's like 95 degrees + here and he's a black lab! I don't know how he stands it! He doesn't lay on his incision so I'm not worried (he wears a shirt) about the incision getting dirty...it seems to be healing well.
We're excited about tomorrow...and a little apprehensive since I need to make a decision on the chemo. I've got some reading to do today!
Glad to see Chance is doing well! As far as the essential oils are concerned, I would be reluctant to put anything directly on or near the incision or skin. I have a ton of essential oils and have used them for years. Many of them can have adverse reaction such as irritation if not diluted down enough (and then even sometimes). I have, however, gotten the little calming stuffies that you can put drops on and lay them near your pup. I used those for Mitchell when he stressed sometimes and they did seem to have good effect years ago. So maybe if you find a nice blend, rub on a facecloth or face towel? That might be a good option. I don't think any aromatherapy will work as a pain alternative though, and his restlessness may very well be breakthrough pain.
I think after staple removal you will see a huge difference in his comfort level. Those staples and sutures get really dry, itchy, and just generally uncomfortable.
Good luck with staple removal tomorrow!
Jackie and Huckleberry 
Hugs,
Jackie, Bo, Andy, Oscar, Phoebe, and the coolest feral tripawd kitty Huckleberry 
Glad to hear things are going so well with Chance. I know how it is to have a restless healer. Today among all our other brain games we tried the frozen kong IN a cardboard box with the open end folded shut so he had to pull it apart to get in. I was a little worried about him being unbalanced chewing it apart but he seemed to do alright. I thought he'd lie down to do it, but nope. Stubborn pup.
We're jealous of your ability to give him outside time; we've got dogs on either side in postage stamp yards; too exciting out there.
Understand the chemo debate, will be interested in your updates. We're probably going to give a couple rounds of carboplatin a try, at least see how he reacts to the first dose next week.
Thanks Jackie for feedback on essential oils. I've been using a diffuser at night (for me as much as for Chance). I can't say it definitely helps, but it doesn't hurt! I'm fairly new to essential oils but have heard that some topicals can be harmful if diluted so I'm definitely staying away from those. I hadn't thought about putting drops on either his bed or "stuffy"...I'll have to try that. Thanks!
Chemo...it's decision time. R's human...I'm thinking the same thing -- try a couple rounds, see how he does and go from there. Right now his lungs and lymph nodes are clear but I'd hate to not do the chemo and a few months down the road find that the cancer has metastasized! I think the first round will be scheduled for a week or so, depending on their schedule.
I'm going to have to explore more brain games...he's so stubborn! Of course, mom keeps giving in to him so gotta stop that. Poor Kenya just sits by watching me trying to get Chance to engage the brain games, but on the positive side she gets to play the games that Chance won't play!
1 Guest(s)
