Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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hello,
After reading everyone’s posts that have helped us feel a little better, it made me want to ask my own questions. Our love ruby who is only 6 was recently diagnosed with an osteosarcoma of her right front leg. Her leg was amputated 11 days ago. We still haven’t heard the official results of the biopsy even though they told us 3-5 days, is that normal ? Ruby spiked a fever 2 days post op and had a lg seroma even though she was only getting up to go to the bathroom. She was re-admitted to the icu and once she came home from that she seems even less herself. She’s been fighting us to drink, I made homemade bone broth that she enjoys and we’ve been giving her watermelon and putting peanut butter in the bottom of water bowl which tricks her to drink. My biggest concern has been her breathing pattern. She’s resting/sleeping and her rate is fast, not panting but through her nose and chest wall rise/fall..Is this normal ? Is it a side effect of the meds? Is she in pain? She’s now on gabapnetin 200 twice a day, rimadyl twice a day and codeine 15mg before bed an mid day. They said after amputation she would be in WAY less pain and she was only on gabapentin 300mg twice a day at that point. Any advice will help, thank you.
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Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi stephani and ruby,
Im sorry that Ruby's recovery has been bumpy. I know its probably hard to believe at the moment but it does get easier.
How much does ruby weigh? It sounds like she was sent home with good pain managment but sometimes it takes a little tweeking to find the best mix and dose. Sometimes heavy breathing can be a sign of pain.
As for drinking you sound like your pulling out all the stops. Roane use to like gatorade or pidia light (double check any people drinks to make sure theres no xylitol in them) how are her potty breaks and eating?
If you havent already done so i might give your vet a jingle to see what they think. They might have some suggestions on the heavy breathing or adjusting her pain meds.
I know its difficult to watch Ruby struggle with recovery but she will brighten up and feel better. In the meantime we're here for you both and sending lots of good vibes your way.
❤ Bev, Moe cat, autumn angel Roane & angel dog Gypsy
Hugs ❤ Bev, nurse Moe cat, Autumn's Angel Roane & Angel dog Gypsy 🐾
My sweet soulmate Roane was diagnosed with osteo in June of 2019. Had a rear leg amp on July 2nd & crossed the rainbow bridge to be with her sister Gypsy on the first day of Autumn Sept 23 2019.
Sorry you find yourself here, but glad you found us.
To piggyback on Roane's post, the breathing pattern may be a sign of pain.
And yes, how much does Ruby weigh? Not knowing her weight, but it does seem like if she was on 300 Gabapentin twice a day before surgery, she would at least be on that amount after this MAJOR surgery. Yes, sometimes the pain is so bad before surgery, the surgery itself doesn't hurt as much as before. HOWEVER, more often than not, that's not the case with most dogs the first two weeks, more or less.
What did the clinic say was the cause of the fever and what did they do to treat it?? What follow up plan do they have for Ruby ti make sure the issue has been resolved?
Is her temperature normal now?
Does her incision look okay and no leakage, sign of infection, etc.? Has the seroma cleared up?
Did they send you home with an antibiotic right after the surgery, or did they just start her on one now?
Dis they give her fluids?
Is she eating, pooping, peeing normally? Does she seem engaged, alert?
Sorry for all the questions, but we may be able to give you better feedback based on our experience. Of course, we are not Vets and not giving Vet advice.
As far as drinking, my Happy Hannah also seemed to not want to drink water for a week or two. She ate just fine. Good idea about the peanut butter. I put a spoon of ice cream in Happy Hannah's water and swirled it around so she would drink.
We'll be watching for your update. Good for you for staying on top of thi gs. And always keep your Vet in the loop, okay?
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!
My dog had a similar thing with the really fast breathing at times. His amputation was the 17th December and the fast breathing thing didn't start until Christmas Eve. It was really concerning at the time but only seemed to happen when he was fast asleep. It lasted four maybe five days and then stopped as quickly as it started. As it only happened when he was in a deep sleep, he showed no other signs of pain, and it was Christmas we decided to wait it out. However, he also had no other complications and recovered very quickly from his operation (rear leg amputation at the hip) so we felt we had the option of waiting.
The only other thing I'd say is while he was recovering he seemed to stop dreaming. If that even makes sense. He's always been one to chase the rabbits and bark at them when asleep and that stopped during his initial two weeks of recovery. So I did wonder if it was him dreaming and it wasn't all good at the time. His normal dreaming pattern returned around the same time or just after the breathing issue stopped, and it was brilliant to hear him huffing at those rabbits in his sleep again 
I hope Ruby is back to her best soon.
Hi! My dog Bärli has a similar breathing thing going on. It is quite weird. His amputation was 27th of Jan. How is Ruby now?
Ruby is much better now. We are 3 wks post surgery today. We had to adjust her meds multiple times to figure out what worked for her best. We ended up stopping the codeine completely and her respiratory rate went back to normal. Also monitoring her fluid intake down the oz let us know what she needed to drink for the day, always doing a minimum of 1liter. Shes currently on just gabapentin 200mg twice daily and 1/2 tab rimadyl twice daily. I have done a TON of research on antioxidants and things to help slow down the progression of the CA. We have a nutrionalist consult on Monday because I truly believe that inflammation from food can also contribute to what is going on. She is HAPPY right now, she is getting around well on 3 legs. She tolerated her first round of Chemo with only a little bit of nausea. Does anyone have any suggestions with other things we could be doing?
steph
stephani rossner said
Ruby is much better now...
Thanks for the update Stphani. If you register, your forum posts will publish immediately, and you can subscribe to get notified of replies, participate in the Live Chat, and much more.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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