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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Hi All!
I'm so happy to have found this site and community. My girl dog Bailey just had her front right leg amputated (on Thursday 1-19). She is a 90 lb shepherd / pit mix. She's naturally so full of energy and joy! She loves long hikes and really loves eating, although recently her appetite has gone away. She's generally very agreeable and doesn't like to cause a fuss, so she has been doing great during this entire process. The only downside is that, for that reason, she doesn't easily show signs of discomfort. So, it's difficult to tell if her pain meds are working for her or not. I'd love to know your experiences with medication! She is currently on Gabapentin every 12 hours. She was previously on a fentanyl patch but that was removed yesterday. She can't be on Rimadyl because it was causing liver issues. And Tramadol was making her throw up. So right now it's just the Gabapentin every 12 hours and CannaPet 2-3 times a day. In your experiences, how often did you need to medicate and how long were your pups on their medication.
Also, I would greatly appreciate any additional tips you might have for these post-surgery days!
Many thanks from Heather and Bailey 
Welcome Heather and Bailey, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
Are you dealing with cancer?
Here is an excellent post on pain signs in our pets. It is really hard to tell sometimes with the stoic ones. Has the lack of apatite been since the surgery? That may be a sign that she is in pain.
Not a vet here but gaba every 12 hours might be on the light side- how much does she get each dose? Can you see a difference in her when you get toward the end of a dose? My pug Maggie came home with a patch and tramadol which was given 2 or 3 times a day. She was on pain meds for 14 days, we were tapering down the last couple of days.
As far as other things to be aware of The Reading List is full of information on what to expect with amputation and recovery.
Be sure she has good traction everywhere she hops- use throw rugs or yoga mats on slippery floors. For the first two weeks she should only be moving for short, leashed potty breaks- that's what our surgeon told us.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
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