Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Okay, this feels like a silly question... The doc suggested we put a t-shirt on him. Great, I thought, until I tried to figure out how to do it. He is a front right amp - and heavy. I am not sure how to get it over his arm without hurting his incision.
Andybody out there with a bit of advice for getting a t-shirt on and off a heavy front amp two days after surgery?
Samdog was a 10 yr old Golden and retired SAR dog. We found a bone mass on 8/17/12, needle biopsy showed sarcoma 8/22/12, amputation on 8/23/12, post-amp biopsy confirmed osteosarcoma on 8/28/12. Sadly, we found lung mets on 11/27/12 and my Spirit Sam earned his wings on 12/2/12.
We didn't know where we were headed and we don't regret a single step along our path. It all happened too fast, but he left a legacy of love that we will always cherish. Good bye my heart.
You can find our story at http://samdog.t.....ipawds.com
Yaaay Samdog! That's pawesome you're home.
Not a silly question at all. I think the best way is to first slide the tee shirt over his head, and then have him sit. Next, slide the left arm through the armhole. After that, you can knot the shirt up at open end so it's fitted around his torso. Does that make sense?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
It's been so long for us since we did this with Max, I can't quite remember what we did. So, I called my husband, and this is what he remembers. We had Max standing (Max was a front left amp). We bunched up the t-shirt as much as possible. Then we lifted his right front leg up just enough (while supporting him in the chest/stomach area) to get the bunched up sleeve over his right foot. Then we slid it all the way up his arm, and put his head through the other hole. I'm sure other members will chime in with a better suggestion, but maybe you could try this one and see if it works for you guys and Sam.
Hooray for Sam being home!
We did pretty much the same method Maximutt said. At first we mainly put Abby in some small size tank tops I had, so it was a very quick move to hold her up just long enough to get the armhole under her paw. Then I would bunch it up in the back and safetypin it so it wasn't hanging loose.
Does he have a drain in? That's the other nice thing about keeping a tshirt on - it helps catch the drippiness so you don't have to have towels all over absolutely everything!
Hope he has an easy recovery!
Jackie, Angel Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
Tank top! brilliant.
He gets tired pretty fast when he is up, but next time he goes out to pee (has been out once already), I will try to get a tank top on him. That is a great idea.
Thanks for the tip.
Samdog was a 10 yr old Golden and retired SAR dog. We found a bone mass on 8/17/12, needle biopsy showed sarcoma 8/22/12, amputation on 8/23/12, post-amp biopsy confirmed osteosarcoma on 8/28/12. Sadly, we found lung mets on 11/27/12 and my Spirit Sam earned his wings on 12/2/12.
We didn't know where we were headed and we don't regret a single step along our path. It all happened too fast, but he left a legacy of love that we will always cherish. Good bye my heart.
You can find our story at http://samdog.t.....ipawds.com
When Jack first came home, he would take off his t-shirts (with regularity) with his teeth...every day we had to have a new t-shirt. (All it took was me not being around for 5 minutes.)
The easiest way I found was to put it on him while he was laying down. That made it easy to slip over his head and put his remaining front limb in a sleeve. I didn't have any shirts that could tie up easily around his waist, so I used a rubber band to wrap around the extra stuff and keep it snug around his belly.
Good luck! Show us some pics? I love tripawds in t-shirts. 
Jack's fixing to have a whole mess of UT Longhorn shirts when football season starts up. He'll be our tailgating mascot.
Jack - adopted with a crooked leg at 4 months old, managed for six years, and now much-happier Tripawd as of 5/24/2012!
Dakota is also a front amputee. His surgery was in winter so it was cold and I could do this. Depending on which hemisphere you're in, maybe you can, too: I used a zip-up fleece vest. That took care of the issue of getting a shirt over his head. (He did have a nifty stripey shirt that we used but the vest came first.) I could unzip the vest and get the remaining front leg in with no concern about hurting him. I zipped it as much as needed and then used a couple of safety pins to tighten it at the waist so it wouldn't flop around (basically so he wouldn't pee on it). A benefit to the fleece was that that huge shaved spot didn't make D cold.
Shari
From abandoned puppy to Tripawd Warrior Dude, Dakota became one of the 2011 February Furballs due to STS. Our incredibly sweet friend lived with grace and dignity till he impulsively raced over the Bridge on 12-15-12.
Dakota's thoughtful and erudite blog is at http://shari.tr.....pawds.com/
Hi. Odin is a large dog, 154 lb Leo front left amp, who wore a t shirt for two weeks.
First is to put the t-shirt on reversed. Meaning the front should be on samdogs back. Doing this way the shirts doesn't sag. I put his arm through first lifting his elbow and moving it to his under arm. Then over his head. Then he would lay down and I would slide it over his torso. Some shirts I cut the sleeves or the neck depending on size.
Hope that helps.
I Love your vest idea Shari!
That reminded me that we do have a lot of comfy sweaters in our Gear Blog (except for the Fido Fleece, which we don't carry any more). that are perfect for post-op care because they also unzip. The Ruff Wear Climate Changer is our fave. With cold weather just around the corner, a sweater could come in handy real soon.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
We used a t-shirt - Sam was 118 pounds and a front leg amp. We would scrunch up the shirt at the arm hole and while he was laying down, slip his leg through. Then I would ease it under his elbow and over his head - then I would have him sit up and pull it down his back. It gets easier the more you do it! Good luck! Xo s
Thanks all - we used a kindof hybrid of most of your responses. While he was laying down, I scrunched the sleeve up over his elbow and then had him stand up - I cut the neck wide (too wide on this first one) and slipped it over his head and down his body. It worked! I'm gonna tailor the next one to be a little less baggy, last night it kept bunching up and making him uncomfortable.
As far as the fleece idea... we live in Tucson, AZ. Sooooo.... won't need that fleece idea for a while. 
In other news, he slept well and only had to wake me once. He managed to roll off his pillow and wedged himself between the pillow and our bedframe and was stuck. He's getting the hang of the big moves, subtle adjustments of body position have been harder. Once I scooted his booty out from under the bed, he went back to sleep until almost 9am. Good for the whole family.
Oh, and he poo-ed this morning!!! hooray!
Samdog was a 10 yr old Golden and retired SAR dog. We found a bone mass on 8/17/12, needle biopsy showed sarcoma 8/22/12, amputation on 8/23/12, post-amp biopsy confirmed osteosarcoma on 8/28/12. Sadly, we found lung mets on 11/27/12 and my Spirit Sam earned his wings on 12/2/12.
We didn't know where we were headed and we don't regret a single step along our path. It all happened too fast, but he left a legacy of love that we will always cherish. Good bye my heart.
You can find our story at http://samdog.t.....ipawds.com
Hooray for the first post-op poop! We celebrate that sorta thing around here!
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
Hahah, oh yeah, Arizona and fleece only work about once or twice a year! Glad you figured out a t-shirt idea. You'll have to post a pic when you can.
Well YAY for the poopy boy! Do the potty dance!!!! That's a big step.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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