Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I think she was hurting or anxious last night, and by the time we crated her and put her to bed, she was panting. She did not change positions like she could not get comfortable but she panted a lot. The smooshed faced dogs all do that, but she acted hot and stressed. We put the fan on her and that helped some, but no one slept much last night. She refused her kibble last night, but she did eat an egg, some pasta and cheese (I know, I kow, but I HAD to get her to eat something, it makes me crazy when they don't eat!).
I am going to call the vet as soon as they open, and ask for something. I do think the Metacam is doing a really good job, and I do think this is an anxiety/stress thing. Is there anything that they can give her for anxiety to relax her? She did eat a different kind of dog food this morning, walked better and pottied great. We are supposed to unbandaged her tonight, and I am scared. What will she look like? I know she will be shaved, but is the incision going to be really big? Is this normal to kind of do good then dip down for a bit? I really wonder if she is depressed.
Thanks, Alicia
the incision (at least for gayle) was pretty darn big, and with some bruising, swelling, etc...it was a bit un-nerving...i think don was a bit giddy when he first saw it. for us, alot of the reaction was, it seemed, due to the pain meds which kept gayle in a 'bad trip' kind of mood - it did keep the pain down, but the price for that was a loopy girl. i agree, you should always check with your vet, and don't ever hesitate to call them - you pay for their expertice. paws crossed that pixie finds her 'sea legs' and gets back to being her best very soon.
charon & gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
This is part of the "roller coaster" ride that we all talk about during this recovery time- you have your good days and not so good days. One thing you might want to check with your vet about is if Pixie may be in pain? Sometimes the panting and restlessness can indicate pain or the opposite - side effects from the pain meds. Not sure what pain meds Pixie's on but a lot of tripawds are put on tramadol and/or gabapatin following the surgery because the first few days can be pretty painful for them. Wish you well during this time - I remember oh so well, worrying about every little thing that didn't seem normal. But as it turned out, all these things are the normal course of recovery (but still can be stressful!)
Keeping our paws crossed for Pixie! 
Kami (Mackenzie's Mom)
My sweet golden Mackenzie. She became my angel on Dec 29, 2010 at the age of 8 1/2 although she was always my angel from the time we brought her home. She was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in Sept 2009 and officially became a tripawd (front leg) on Nov 5, 2009. She will be forever in my heart and now she's running free with all of our other tripawd heroes. I love you Mackenzie!
Trouble did lots of panting that first couple of weeks. It comes with the recovery - most all of them have it to some degree. The hard part is not knowing for sure if it is meds, stress, or pain. Trouble's incision looked like a plastic surgeon had done the surgery - all internal stitching and just a clean cut, but she is one of few. Most have staples and/or stitches.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
Hi Alicia,
Of course call the vet and ask your questions, that is what they are there for.
Is one of her pain meds tramadol? Mag never did well on that stuff- it really made her weird. Panting and a little panicky and she would not sleep. Actually all narcotic pain meds did that to her. Some pain meds are necessary of course at this point. It is hard to tell weather it is pain or a reaction to the meds.
And yes, a dip, and sometimes a plunge is normal. She probably fooled you a little with how well she did the first day. But remember she still had all those good drugs in her system from the surgery. Also I think new tripawds get sore the first couple of weeks from learning to balance and developing a new gait. The muscles have to re-learn what to do.
Don't worry about her diet either- feed her what she will eat for now. And don't worry too much if she doesn't eat some meals or even for a day or two. She has been through a HUGE surgery and is on lots of weird meds. If she won't drink water you can try flavoring it with something- our pal Caira Sue used to drink tuna water even when she didn't feel good. Just watch the salt content.
Mag came home without a bandage so I saw the incision the first day. Based on what you said about your son you have seen worse- Pixie's shouldn't look too bad.
It all sounds pretty normal for this stage of her recovery. It might be like this for a week or two, the ups and downs. Don't get discouraged you are doing fine. Rest when you can- maybe you and your son can take turn watching her and napping. It will really help you stay positive for Pixie if you can keep yourself rested.
Karen and the pug girls
She seems to be feeling better right now, she is very alert and when the other dogs brked, she jumped up and walked to them and barked, too. I have never been so happy to hear a bark. She is drinking now. She has been sleeping this morning on the floor, even on her incision, which seems painful to me, but it does not seem to bother her.
She is on Metacam now, and Clavimox. The vet said if the Metacam was not holding her, to let him know right away, he said that he sees more moaning and disorientation related to the meds than otherwise, but of course, she could have more if needed. I just love our vet. There are several in the practice, they take their own night calls and will come to the office on holidays, weekends and nights. And they are open 8-6 and Saturdays 7-12. Such god people, such good 'all around vets'. After 11 years with them, I have never felt ripped off or got bad medical care.
Alicia
Glad to hear she's better now. It's a really rocky road. So hang in there! You're gonna have ups and downs.
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.
The Clavimox was the worst part of Ruthie's recovery since it made her horribly sick and she couldn't keep anything down. I'm glad you like your vets. Hang in there.
Glad to hear Pixie's doing better! How is your son? (I know this is about Pixie, but...)
Roxy's incision came to a "V" in the front and was about 6-7 inches out either direction. She didn't have much bruising, but her skin sagged a lot at the bottom. It was very strange. She too only had internal stitches so it wasn't that bad to look at for me. But my son and husband have weak stomachs, they couldn't take it quite as well the first few days.
Keep us updated as you have time. Sounds like she's doing good for this stage!
Leslie, Roxy's Mom
So Pixie is only on metacam for pain relief? I remember that when Jake had his surgery... he had an antibiotic, anti-inflammatory and tramadol, plus for the first 3 days... some torbugesic (narcotic) in a vitamin liquid. Maybe that was overkill... but as a vet tech, I believe in total pain relief after a big surgery... but that's just my opinion. I do know that some dogs, like humans, have bad reactions to narcotic pain meds... Luckily for my Jake, that wasn't the case...
If Pixie is doing well by the time you read this... then she might be totally fine with metacam as her only pain med... Dogs are just like people, they all had different thresholds for pain...
Give that sweet little Pixie a big hug and kiss from me!!! 
Angel Jake and Wolfie'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!
Jakesmom, today I went to the office and got tramadol, which seems to have totally relieved her pain. Actually, maybe too much, because now she is trotting around the house and thinks that she can play with the other dogs outside. She is hard to keep down, that one. She did do a lot of sleeping today, I think just catching up from last night, we all dozed a lot today. No panting today, drinking and eating well.
Leslie, my son is doing well, he is 19 months out from illness/amputation. He had necrotizing fasciatis, the flesh eating bacteria, from a cut to his foot that just took over. No one is sure exactly what happened, as he was found in a coma after not being seen in a week, he lived on his own, and at the time was 21, so a week is not unusual to not be in touch with one of us. He was in ICU then rehab for 2 months, then home to us in January 2009 and has been here since. He has numerous other injuries and problems that went along with the illness and so he will be here another year of so, longer if he has his way! Thanks for asking.
I took the bandages off this afternoon and it is....well, ugly. Some oozing, not much, and it is obvious that Rich, our vet, is not a plastic surgeon, but that is ok. He had told me he had to do a strange cut to get something out that was not coming out like it should, and then digging for the lymph node and all that, but the hair will grow over it, I hope. Frenchie's are single coated dogs, so not all that much hair.
I just can not believe how she is moving around, it is amazing. I look at my son and all the pain and the PT and all, just to stand, assisted, then you see something like this and you are just awestruck at how amazing dogs really are.
Alicia
Welcome to the family, these guys are pretty amazing. Sprry I'm getting after the fact, sounds like a pretty good recovery so far. Gus had trouble with tramadol, we had him on gabapentin and rimidyl, he aslso had trouble with phantom pain for about 4 weeks, but by then it wasn't much more than a loud whimper. this is a great place to be, glad you found the site, it makes this journey so much easier, Paws up, Gus and Dan
My buddy Gus had a left front amputation on April 7, 2010 and lived a great life until July 26,2010
What a night and day difference tonight was! Pixie was comfortable after the tramadol yesterday, ate dinner, snack, panted a bit in the ex-pen then slept the entire night. She barked her normal "I want out NOW!" bark and we were out the door to the backyard. I turned around to find her and went back in the house, and could not find her. I went out back again to get the others and she was running and I mean running around the yard. I screamed and went to grab her and when she settled I put her down, she peed and pooped with no problem.
Ate breakfast. She is a picky kibble eater anyway, so she did not eat much of that so I backed it up with one of those nasty Cesar things. I think she is holding out for the liverwurst, which is what she gets her pills in. She trotted into the living room and plopped down and just rested. She looks so at ease and comfortable and she hsas not even had her pain meds yet. My god, how do they do this? I am just continually amazed with her.
I am hoping that maybe tomorrow we will hear about the path report on the node. Please please please let it be normal.
Oh, have any of you seen a little pocket of fluid around the incision site? Looks loke a small lipoma but only soft.
Alicia
alicia said:
so she did not eat much of that so I backed it up with one of those nasty Cesar things.
Oh, have any of you seen a little pocket of fluid around the incision site? Looks loke a small lipoma but only soft.
Hi Alicia,
It's so good to hear that she's on the road to recovery! I think its WONDERFUL. And I'm really sorry to read about what happened to your son, that has got to be ruff. As far as I know you are the first one here who has experience coping with amputation in both a human loved one and a furry one too, and your journey is unique. Thank you for being brave enough to write about both.
Meanwhile....yes, Cesar stuff is nasty indeed. How about scrambling up an egg instead? Yum! Heck, at least you know what's inside that! ;0
And the pocket of fluid is called a seroma . We'eve written about it here. Rest assured most times it will go away on its own but you may need to get it drained. Here's some info:
Dog Leg Amputation Seromas: What You Need to Know
Good luck today, hope the improvement continues!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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