Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Sassy had her right rear leg amputation. The surgery went well. She came home last night. Before we picked her up the vet said they took her outside and she hopped right up and walked out the door. She did not want to go back in she wanted to go home. We got there and took her home by the time we got home and with the ride in the car she was pretty out of it and we had to carry her in.
She is on fentonal & rimydl. The vet said we could add the tramadol if she is uncomfortable but we would need to call to let them know so they could figure the correct amount with the fentonal (and I am sorry if that is spelled incorrect). She has been out in the middle of the night & pottied. But then just wanted to lay on the cool ground this morning. The vet said the fentonal patches would come off on Sunday the 18th.
Is it normal for them to whimper some even on pain killers. She is doing really well walking and hold her balance. The only problem she has had is trying to get on my bed even though it is on the floor. The adjustment to 3 legs there hasn't happened yet but I am sure it will. It hasn't even been 24 hours. So any pointers would be helpful. I was trying to get to her to help her on the bed but she put her front feet up before I could get the sheet around her to help her.
I am really surprised at how well she is doing.
Sassy is a proud member of the Winter Warriors. Live long, & strong Winter Warriors.
sassysugarbear.tripawds.com
07/26/2006 - Sassy earned her wings 08/20/2013
05/04/2006 - Bosch, Sassy's pal, earned his wings 03/29/19 fought cancer for 4 months.
"You aren't doing it TO her, you are doing it FOR her. Give her a chance at life."
Glad she's home and doing well. Zeus also whimpered a lot the night of his biopsy and again the first night we had him home after surgery (which was the day after the amp b/c they kept him overnight for that surgery). Our vet told us that the anesthesia can cause that. We were lucky that Zeus didn't have any bad reactions from the pain meds, but many members on here have commented that the meds caused panting/whimpering/etc. so that could be it as well. Of course, if it seems as if she is in a lot of pain or the whimpering becomes concerning, don't hesitate to call your vet to be on the safe side.
She will have the balance thing down and be hopping on the bed before you know it. She's probably a little dizzy from all the meds. It's good to hear that she is doing well, but keep in mind that she is still doped up and probably running on adrenaline, so don't be surprised if she crashes in a day or two. Kinda like when you go to the gym and it takes a couple of days before the real soreness hits! Good luck!!
Lisa
Zeus was a Husky mix diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at age 11. A visible lung met and suspicious spot on his liver meant a poor prognosis-six weeks was our vet's best guess. We decided to fight for our boy and his right front leg was amputated on 12/1/11. We did six rounds of chemo, changed his diet and spoiled him completely rotten. We were blessed with 10 great months after diagnosis. Against the odds, the lung met remained a single met and grew very little over those months. A wonderful furbaby with the most gentle spirit, he fought with a strength that we never imagined he possessed. We have no regrets...
http://zeuspod......pawds.com/
Thanks Lisa. I did put a call in to the vet but she is finally sleeping again. I think its the fentonal pain meds. She didn't do that with the Tramadol when she was on it from her biopsy. She is pretty much confined to my room. Not letting her do too much. I might even join her for a nap as I maybe only had 2 hours sleep trying to keep an eye on her.
Sassy is a proud member of the Winter Warriors. Live long, & strong Winter Warriors.
sassysugarbear.tripawds.com
07/26/2006 - Sassy earned her wings 08/20/2013
05/04/2006 - Bosch, Sassy's pal, earned his wings 03/29/19 fought cancer for 4 months.
"You aren't doing it TO her, you are doing it FOR her. Give her a chance at life."
I agree with Lisa, the meds can cause issues. Our Max panted a lot and sometimes would whimper. I would suggest you get sleep when Sassy does. Some dogs breeze through recovery, but others don't. Max wasn't really back to "normal" until about 4 weeks after the amp. Our bed is pretty high, so to stop Max from even trying to get up there, my husband and other dog slept in the bed; I slept on the floor with Max on an air mattress. He did pretty well on that. Afterwards, my husband built a ramp leading up to our bed. Max used it like a champ! In fact, even though Max has been gone almost three years, we still have the ramp by our bed. Our other dogs use it!
Hi Michelle,
First off, congratulations on a successful surgery! That's terrific news that she's home and recovering.
Yep, sure sounds like typical pain meds reaction. Fentanyl is strong stuff, kind of like morphine, and it makes many dogs see pink elephants. You should notice a considerable difference in her behavior (it will get better!) a day or so after the Fentanyl patch comes off, when the meds are out of her system.
In the meantime she probably thinks she's invincible because she's on the meds, so make sure she takes it easy and doesn't do too much. Many dogs will crash hard after the meds wear off and sleep a lot, and not be hungry, so don't be surprised if you see her lose a bit of energy in a day or so.
And yep, the balance thing will happen once she gets her bearings and doesn't feel so woozy.
Remember, use your instincts. If you feel her behavior is worrisome, call your vet. Remember that's why you pay them. We're here to help keep you calm but remember that we aren't vets and we can't see what's going on, so if you're worried at all, give the vet a call. And keep us posted!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thanks everyone. I did call the vet they thought that because she is such a big dog that the fentonal patch hadn't started in her system as soon as it should. They told me to give her one tramadol also. Now at 7:38 pm central time she hasn't really whimpered at all except when she needed out.
She is resting now but will need to go out because when i had her out at 4:00 pm all she wanted to do is lay on the ground. I know she will let me know when she needs to go out.
I don't plan on giving another tramadol unless she needs it is what the vet told me.
Sassy is a proud member of the Winter Warriors. Live long, & strong Winter Warriors.
sassysugarbear.tripawds.com
07/26/2006 - Sassy earned her wings 08/20/2013
05/04/2006 - Bosch, Sassy's pal, earned his wings 03/29/19 fought cancer for 4 months.
"You aren't doing it TO her, you are doing it FOR her. Give her a chance at life."
I'm glad Sassy came through the surgery well. Sounds the extra Tramadol has done the trick. Good luck with the recovery.
Karen and Spirit Magnum
Magnum: 30th May 2002 to 5th May 2012. Lost her back left leg to osteosarcoma on 5th Sep 2011. Lung mets found on 20th Mar 2012 but it was bone mets in the hip that ended her brave battle. Magnum's motto - "Dream as if you'll live for ever, live as if you'll die today" (James Dean). Loyal, loving, courageous and spirited to the end. My beloved heart dog, see her memoirs from Rainbow Bridge ...... http://princess.....pawds.com/
Loa whimpered, too, while she was on painkillers. I think she was not happy at feeling loopy. All our best to you and Sassy for a quick recovery--hang in there!
Glad to hear Sassy's surgery went well. The recovery part can be hard. It's so hard to know what is pain and what is reaction to the pain meds. I always opted to err on the side of assuming it's pain and give Abby the max doses the vet said were okay. But the meds do really mess with their personalities!
We didn't use Fentanyl w/ Abby but we did w/ our previous dog and she acted very strange on it. Hopefully you'll see her being a little more like herself once the patch is off.
Hope you both get some good rest this weekend!
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!
Day two went well too. I really think its the pain meds messing with her. Don't get me wrong I think some of it was pain too but we use baby gates to stop our other dog from getting too close to her the last day or two and when we move the gates she gets will skittish which she never does.
I am really surprised that she is getting along as well as she is. But I know that could slow down a little when she comes off pain meds.
OH do have a question. How long did it take everyone's dogs to poop after surgery she hasn't gone yet?
Sassy is a proud member of the Winter Warriors. Live long, & strong Winter Warriors.
sassysugarbear.tripawds.com
07/26/2006 - Sassy earned her wings 08/20/2013
05/04/2006 - Bosch, Sassy's pal, earned his wings 03/29/19 fought cancer for 4 months.
"You aren't doing it TO her, you are doing it FOR her. Give her a chance at life."
I'm glad things went really good! I bet she will masterise her tripawds pretty quick.
Dogs: Friends for life, faithful and true.
Courage is being scared to death... but saddling up anyways.- John Wayne
bikeintime.wordpress.com (will soon have Hank story)
Maggie didn't poop until day five or six. Pain meds can be constipating. If she seems uncomfortable from that (like you can tell, right?) there are some things you can try. Consult with your vet, but plain pumpkin can move things along, I know others have use other things.
Karen and the pugapalooza
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