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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In the time that I have been on here I have not seen a dog give up. Some may have lower pain tolerance or drug tolerance as both can make a difference, but eventually they start to recover. We all understand the gamut of emotions you are going through and it's OK - really! You just love Corie so much you don't want her to hurt. Just remember that she went through major surgery and it takes time. It's actually very amazing how they adapt compared to people - we are a bunch of weenies! Also, I seem to remember Rene mentioning that out of all the members and posts on this site, only one regretted their decision to amputate.
If they have a compression bandage on Corie that may be making her very uncomfortable. Shooter was like Corie - wouldn't move, wouldn't eat - just laid there miserable. The moment they removed the bandage it was like a different dog came out of the package. That was about 5 days after surgery.
Keep coming here and to the chat room - we are here for support.
Hugs to both of you.
Luanne & Spirit Shooter
Spirit Shooter was a Miniature Australian Shepherd who was diagnosed with a MCT and had a LF amp 1/28/13 at 13-1/2 years old.
Shooter crossed the Bridge on 8/28/13, his 7 month ampuversary and two weeks from his 14th birthday.
Hi Coriesmom
Like I said in my earlier post, I am a fairly new member of this wonderful group.
I remember like feeling very overwhelmed one day when Tucker had been outside and he came in and was limping a bit on his rear leg. I was very stressed and quickly went in the chat room and spoke to a few of the great people here who reminded me that it was very early in the recovery process and that there would be a few ups and downs.
It really does get easier and Corie will gradually become more accustomed to her new reality. Even just a few weeks post-op, Tucker has adjusted well but he is still regaining strength.
In the early days, I sat with Tucker a lot and stroked his head and the area around his incision site and praised him for how well he was doing. Some days I felt like crying but I only had to look in his eyes to see that he was still the same wonderful family member that he always has been.
Take care of yourself,
Linda and Tucker
In a lot of way Cora sounds like your pup. She is very emotional and expressive. The first two days after her amputation were awful. And she complain a lot but now she is doing pretty dang well.I know your dog has some big challenges with age and arthritis but Cora does too. As well as having her from right leg amputated due to a deformity Cora is blind and has some other brain damaged. She's somewhat uncoordinated and a little weaker on her left side which is rotten since it's the right leg she lost. Cora didn't give up. She cried. She growled. She threw huge temper tantrums, but she didn't give up. It does get easier.
Topher
Vet Assistant (in school to be a licensed vet technician)
1.5 years Oncology department, moved to rehab & sportsmed December 2024
Tripawd Angel, Cora the Determined <3
Im late but welcome. You have come to a great place for advise, help and a good place to vent! We are a little over four months with Snoop. He is a right front amp. The first 2-3 weeks are the toughest. They are high on meds and your high on emotion. It's not easy we all know, but you will get through it the both of you. Rest when you can, and rember to take care of yourself also. It's major surgery so it takes time. we used a harness to support and help Snoop walk in the beginning, once he got his confidence back and his balance he no longer wanted us to use the harness. Take one day at a time, it will get easier for you both. Good thoughts.
Esther and her Snoop
Coriesmom, I'm late in welcoming you but want to give you my best. I know that what you are going through is so hard right now but things DO get better.
Do you ever watch Cesar Millan? Do you know how he says that we need to be strong pack leaders? Well it is SO true, especially in this situation. Because dogs look to their humans for leadership and confidence. If they don't find it in their leader, they really don't know what to do and that's when things get challenging. For your girl to be strong, you need to be strong. If you believe she can get through this, she will too. The minute you let negative thoughts enter your consciousness, she will pick up on it, so try harder than you ever have not to let that happen and things will get better.
Do you have anyone who can help you with things right now? Even just running errands to make your life a little easier? That would be a huge help with the situation. In the meantime, if you suspect anything isn't quite right, call your vet, that's why you pay them.
And of course we are here to help however we can too. Please keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Ok so I left the house for a while today to take a break for a few hours. I left my husband to baby sit and while she did pee on herself again, he showed her the leash and she jumped up and went right outside and peed in the yard with no problem! When he texted me that I cried with relief! And he said she ate some cheese flavored sun chips! I'm not thrilled about her eating potato chips, but I'm not going to complain as long as she eats! And when I got home I tried to feed her some beef stew meat I browned just a little, but she scarfed down my husbands hotdog instead! Oh well, at least she's starting to eat!
I'm feeling a lot better, thank you so much again to everyone who posts! It means so much to have people who have gone through this to turn to! I appreciate you all!
Hey that's great news! See things are getting better already. Take that happy mood and hold it close to your heart so it helps you through any future rough patches. We all have our paws crossed that there aren't any though.
We are in the chat right now if you want to join us. Just click on "Chat" from up above, scroll down and wait, you'll see the conversation in a sec. Hope to see you there.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
We humans may feel like that sometimes......but not your Corie...not now!! GOODNESS GRACIOUS I KNOW THIS IS JARD! I thought I would jist go off the deep end and stay there from fear of Hapy Hannah recovering! And I'm talking more than just a few days after surgery!! Same feeling...ne moment c fident, up beat, the next down inthe abyss!
You stay rightnhere withus,okay! AWe've gotcha'!
Now, when does the patch come off?
Is she still dri ki g?
Eatng? Probably not.
Is she n atibiotics.....actually, I think you said so in anearlier post.
Does the incision leak.....have any really foul odor?
Is she still whining non-stop?
When you are feeling upbeat ad cnfident, what's she doing to make you feel that way?
Have you been able to try any of the things mentioned earlier? Have someone knock on the door...or ring the door bell?
Is she really just laying n her bed non-stop or is she still cjaging positioms to get comfortable? You want to rule out any sprained muscles, ligaments, etc.....back, legs, neck
I fyu jave ANY cncerns at all, please call your vet just to get reassuring Corie's on a lot of drugs.....gaba., tram and fentynal...that's a lot! Maybe you could ask the vet if you could taper off ne of them a bit just to see if that gets her more alert.
I know you are exhausted and fearful out of your mind! All normal! Bet you javen't taken in any deep breaths today? Maybe NOW would be a good time!
We're right here, okay? Keep posting!!
#hugs!
Sally and Happy Hannah
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!
well I look like a ig DUH! I just "replied" to one of your "down" post ad didn't see the really good upbeat post above!
So............can we just say with love inour hearts and a smile onour faces..............told ya' so!
Me bad!
So please disregard bympost above and let us relishin the "told ya' so" post!
Cheering wildly over here! So hapy!
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!
Welcome to the group! I too am a few days late but am glad things are looking up. You've gotten such great support and advice in all these posts and I just wanted to touch on the "emotions" portion of what you said. One of the many things I learned here is that we tend to put our human emotions on our critters. When Libby does a face plant while hopping around, my instinct is to say, "Awwww, pooooor baaabby, are you ok???" when in reality, she doesn't think a thing of it. She just gets up, shakes it off and keeps going.
Libby doesn't know she's sick, she just knows she loves us and wants to be with us. It's been 8 months since her amp and we never looked back. It was the best decision we've ever had to make. Good luck and I look forward to reading your updates.
Liberty (Libby) was diagnosed with OSA on 1-22-13. Right front amputation on 1-31-13. No IV Chemo. Metronomic Therapy started 2-19-13 along with supplements and some home cooking. Lungs clear until 1-06-14. She's still her happy, hoppy, bossy self. Living the dog life to the fullest and a proud Winter Warrior. :) RIP my Libby 4-21-03 to 3-19-14
Ok guys I have more good news! She has been going outside to pee every time, no more accidents! She is doing the step she was afraid of with confidence! She ate almost a whole hotdog for breakfast, about 4 dehydrated chicken dog treats for lunch and another 4 this afternoon. I gave her more chopped up red meat but she just tries to burry it in her blanket every time. But whatever she's already eaten more today than she has in the last few days so it's progress. Her surgery site is healing up great. She's awake more and getting a little restless. We have a long way to go still but I feel like we have turned a corner and I want to thank you guys again for all your support. And last nights chat room was a much needed distraction, thanks for the laughs!
YAY!!!! Celebration time - so glad you have gotten some relief and that Corie is doing better. At this point , who cares about her diet - you can deal with all that later as her appetite increases.
Give her (and you) a big hug!
Luanne and Spirit Shooter
Spirit Shooter was a Miniature Australian Shepherd who was diagnosed with a MCT and had a LF amp 1/28/13 at 13-1/2 years old.
Shooter crossed the Bridge on 8/28/13, his 7 month ampuversary and two weeks from his 14th birthday.
CEL...E..BRATE...GOOD TIMES, COME ON!!! Or however the sng goes!Shooter's right.....just celebrate for now and worry aboutthe diet later!
Corie may even be a little ahead of the curve right now! Keep on peeing Corie and nide all the foo you want to in your blanket!! Beats having to go outside and digging a hole to put it in!!
Hugs to Corie! And yeah, a big one for YOY from tripawd land!!
Sally and Hapy Hannah
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!
Woooohhooooooo! I am so happy to hear this pawsitive update. Your excellent mood and your upbeat attitude are working the Tripawd magic, this is wonderful!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
So just wanted to send and update on my frankenwennie! Things are going pretty well so far. We got the fentanyl patch off on Tuesday. It could have come off on Saturday but I didn't feel like she was ready to be hauled all the way to the vets for that at the time so I waited. She finally started pooping yesterday! I've never been so happy about a dog pooing in my life:) I reintroduced her to the rest of the gang today and everything went really well, and my dopy Saint Bernard has been very careful around her which is a total releaf since she is such a bull in a china shop! The doctor says everything is healing well and were going in Tuesday to get her zipper taken off:) yay! She's getting around great, except for stairs. Going up is ok but going down is a total disaster! I'll be ordering a harness soon. Her spirits are up and she is much happier! The only problem I'm having is that she doesn't want to eat! She is on one tramidol twice a day and an anti nausea pill and an appetite stimulant! And I can hardly get her to eat! She picks and nibbles but doesn't eat! I've been trying everything! I've offered a variety of dry dog foods, canned dog foods, raw meats, cooked meats, even scrambled eggs and bacon, and hot dogs! The only thing I know she will eat is cheese. That's basically what she's living on:/ I'm starting to get worried!
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