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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hey
so axle is post op day 4 amputation and recovery is hard work. After a few mix arounds trying to find a pain killer that worked well for him ,his now on tramadol SR 100mg 2 x daily his also been prescribed some sedatives. (Acp 25mg) I forgot to ask the vet today when he changed painkiller if he can still have the sedatives with this particular tab.
is anyone knowledgeable with this?
Pleae and thank you. We all need sleep! X
P.s his eating like a Trojan but isn't keen on water, I've had to syringe him some. His got a bad bout of diarrhea so I'm concerned of him getting dehydrated. Is it normal behavior for them to not want to drink?
Is he only taking Tramadol? Murphy came home on Tramadol, Rimadyl & Gabapentin - this seems to be a good combination for most dogs. And I think Tramadol can be given as close together as every 8 hours if it's needed - but check with your vet. A lot of times, they have a crash around day 3 or so, so it's not uncommon - the anesthesia from the surgery has all left his system now, so he's feeling more than he was before. Gabapentin is a great medication for nerve pain. The nerves to the area have all been cut, so of course there's pain. You can also apply an ice pack, wrapped in a cloth, to the incision a couple times a day for about 10 or 15 minutes at a time.
Try giving some broth if he doesn't want as much water. Sometimes that works since it's flavored. Or do like Sally did and mix ice cream into the water lol, whatever works!
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
I found that I had to bring the water bowl (a small one) to Otis in bed. He would drink small amounts, I just had to keep offering it. And, if he is eating, try soft foods or foods with gravies. That will get some liquid in him. And white rice might help with the diarrhea.
I am not a fan of the sedative. My Tess was put on it (and was on Tramadol - I am not a vet, but we didn't have any issues) when she had cruciate repair. I found that it made her drunk, not sleep. I was really worried that she would hurt herself as she tried to stagger around the house.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
Good that Axle is eating!
Donna gave so a great advice! And I agree with Christine, the ACE is a very strong sedative and can be a bit scary.
My Happy Hannah never missed a meal. She would NOT drink water though for at least a week or more without me coaxing her!! And yes, I swirled ice cream into her water to get her to drink! I woukd jave her start licking a spoo ful, then slowly swirl it into the water as she was still licking the spoon.
Is it possible that the diarrhea could be completely unrelated to the meds or to the vet saying it was because he had different foods in the hospital. Could the vet check out a stool sample? Are you seeing any improvement het?
Give Axle a big smooch for us and hugs to you!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
PS. I did shred chicken up real fine and stirred that around in water too, but the ice cream worked the best.
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!
Hi there
Eurydice stopped drinking for almost one month after amputation so I got something called oralade from the vet and would mix it with regular water, apparently it tastes like chicken.
I also had to give her water with a big syringe when that stopped working and would keep a record of how many ml she had each day.
I hope you don't get as far as this point with Axel, sadly I only joined Tripawds weeks after surgery so never got to know about Sally's suggestion which, I'm sure, is much better for your doggies than chicken flavoured water
Good luck and hugs plus cuddles
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
Hi,
Milo quit drinking from his bowl, but would drink crazy amounts from the "puppy gulpy". That was his water bottle we took on outings and road trips. It made no sense. If he hadn't just had his leg lopped off, I would have tried to out-stubborn him, but instead I spoiled him and kept carrying the bottle to him. After about 4 weeks he started using his bowl again.
Somewhere along the line I started mixing chicken broth in the water. If it was 50-50 he would drink, then at 75-25. But that didn't last. Back to the handheld gulpy. Sigh.
Milo came home with a fentanyl patch and gabapentin. His liver struggled with NSAIDs. We took the patch off after a week and the surgeon thought Gabapentin would be sufficient. It wasn't. He quit moving due to pain. We added Tramadol, which he had pre-surgery. Milo was on some sort of pain meds for 32 days.
Milo was given trazadone, which is milder than ace, the day he came home. He was knocked for a loop. He literally fell over while peeing and peed on himself. So pathetic! (But hopefully a good lesson for the 5 college boys watching: this is why you don't do drugs!) Ace is a strong sedative.
Peace,
Jenifer & Milo
Hi:
Pofi had Gabapentin, Tramadol and Rimadyl and pain was very well controlled without leaving him terribly sedated. We have only ever used Acepromazine when he really needed to be sedated and very sparingly (not during his amputation recovery at all, but in other circumstances).
I did elevate a water bowl for him as that seemed to help him and also sometimes bring him water in a small bowl I could hold for him.
Lisa, Minneapolis
On October 27, 2016, nearly 6 months after amputation, and 18 months since his cancer likely started, we lost Pofi to a recurrence of Soft Tissue Sarcoma in his spine quite suddenly. His canine sister also succumbed to cancer on March 1, 2019 - we lavished her with our love in the interim, but life was never quite the same without her only real canine friend. Cliff kitty had to leave us, too, suddenly, in August 2019. Lucia kitty grieved all these losses, but helped us welcome two new Lurchers into our home and our lives, Shae and Barley.
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