Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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This is 5 days postop (surgery was Monday).
Summer is depressed. If I’m being honest, so is her mom. We’re both having a hard morning. Summer has started to refuse her meds, regardless of what I put them in. I’ve tried peanut butter, hot dog, cheese, wet smelly dog food, fruit, pill pockets. She’s caught on to all of it and now just turns her head. She’s been lying in one spot all morning, refusing to do anything. When I take her out, she practically refuses to come back in, she just stands there and it takes forever to cajole her back into the house.
To make matters worse, one of the little dogs (my chi-corgi mix) jump up on her when I was trying to prep Summer’s morning meds. Summer got startled, yelped loudly, I dropped the piece of dog food that had 200 mg of Gabapentin in it, and the little dog gobbled it up before I could even react. Hubby brought him up to our vet. He’s okay, they forced some fluids, didn’t make him throw up, said it wasn’t critical to do so.
Then on the way home, someone hit my husband’s car and they are now waiting for the police to arrive. Hubby is fine, car is not. I’m not either.
Summer is basically refusing to do much of anything today: eat, walk, interact. She still has the original bandage on. I am having great difficulty removing it because of the adhesive tape...it’s like glue! She screamed and snapped at me when I tried to gently loosen it. I wish they had used vet wrap. Hubby was going to the store on his way home to pick up some bandage adhesive remover when he got hit (someone pulled into his lane right into the side of his car).
I’m in pieces. Trying to remain calm for Summer, but she’s definitely not a happy camper today. I’ve been questioning this decision to amputate for several days now. I’m not usually a ‘fall apart’ kind of person, but my coping skills seemed to have vanished. I feel like Summer is regressing instead of getting better. I read all these great stories about how well dogs are doing a few days postop, or at least improving. I feel like I’ve ruined the dog she was before. She hates all of this and I hate it for her. Sorry for the vent.
Robin & Summer
That is a really rough start to the day. Of course Summer isn't feeling well if she's refusing her meds. She had MAJOR surgery five days ago and has a lot of healing to do! Is the vet concerned that the bandage is still on? If not, I'd probably leave it alone for now.
I'm glad your chi-corgi is going to be OK after taking Summer's meds. I'm sorry about the car. Everyone has bad days. Try to be strong for Summer. It will get better. If you look around here, you will see lots of pet parents go through the "what did I do?" phase about now.
You are exhausted emotionally and physically just getting to this point....and now your husband has a car accident and your other pup decided to gulp down the pain med...Murphy's Law came visiting and now it's time for him to leave you alone!
Glad everyoneis okay and yes, Summer is okay too!
FWIW I joined this communityalmost a week after Happy Hannah's amputation. I think my first post title was something along the lines of "Help! Day six after amputation and I fear I have made a horrible decision!"¹
This community threw me a Lifeline of support and information and tips on how to navigate through the surgery. I think one of the most important things I learned was that everything she was experiencing was pretty much normal for this early. Through their suggestions, I was able to tweak the pain meds in a way that worked for her and that made a big difference. Patience was necessary and reminding myself humans would probably still be in the hospital after such a major surgery and on a morphine drip.
Summer is depressed. If I’m being honest, so is her mom
As you know , dogs are masters of picking up on our energy. We know it's hard, but try and stay as upbeat, confident as possible. Alao oftentimes what we might determine to be depression at this point is usually just not feeling great and maybe experiencing some pain. Just laying around and resting is really a good thing.
Try having a friend or family member come over that she really likes. Get all excited mand have them knock on the door and ener with gusto and a cheesevurger. Sometimes that change in energy will get some tail wags and smiles.
Now, as far as her not taking the pain meds, that is something that we have to figure out how to master. You can maybe make some balls of cream cheese and toss it to her....walk away toss her another one... walk away toss her another one... walk away tells her one with the pill in it and walk away you get the point. Mauve have your husband do this if she's used to you being the one to give her meds.
Alao, use tweezers when touching the pill and inserting it in a "glob" of food, she's, etc. Try to keep the scent off the "treat"and off your hands as best you can.
Remember, Willow will recover at her own pace and in her own way. Do not compare her recovery to anyone else's. Some need more time, some need less. Regardless, five days out is cery, very early!!
Hang in there! You've got this!!!
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!
Awww geez I'm sorry for the lousy day for all of you! YIKES! Sounds like your hubby is OK?
It's OK to question your decision, everyone does. Recoveries are not always picture perfect, but us silly humans, we tend to only see those perfect recoveries when we are researching before surgery looking for signs our dogs will do the same.
Plenty of folks have been in this same hopeless feeling situation. You've had that car crash thrown into it too, which makes things feel way worse! I wrote an article about it once, here are a couple that should help you feel a little better (I hope!).
Two Tripawds’ Tough Amputation Recovery Stories (and Comebacks!)
Tripawd Tuesday: Bocce is Greyt After Tough Recovery
Tripawd Tuesday: Tuxedo’s Tough Tripawd Cat Recovery
As for her not taking her meds. Here are some tips that may help:
How to Hide Pet Medication (and Get Your Tripawd Eating)
Easy Fish and Meatballs Recipes for Cats and Dogs
A Cheesy Trick to Pill Your Dog
Give Pills to Dogs and Cats the Easy Way
Dogs have an incredible sense of smell as you know. You're not fooling her by trying to hid the pills, so what you want to do is make that food SO irresistible that she wants to eat the treat and doesn't care there's a pill somewhere in there. Check out some of those tricks (especially the cheese one), and keep your hands VERY clean when you give her pills, try to handle them as little as possible so the meds smell doesn't get mixed into the foods. Use tweezers to get the meds in the food.
Hope this helps. Please let us know how it's going.
I'm sorry about...everything! I'm glad at least that everyone is OK.
First off- we often see here a bit of a back slide day 3 to 5 after amputation. The new hop has caught up with our pups, their bodies are tired and sore from the new gait, and things are different. My Pug Maggie was so stubborn and set in her ways- I've heard Greys can be that way too.
My Pug Maggie had her amp before Tripawds was in existence. The vets all told me that dogs do great on 3 legs- not one of them said anything about the recovery period. Mag was OK physically, she could hop the day of surgery, but she was not OK mentally. Back then we didn't think dogs got depressed so when Mag wasn't herself I was sure I had the only dog that wasn't going to cope. She spent most of 6 weeks in bed- she would eat but wouldn't play with me, she wasn't the Pug I knew. I remember one evening sitting on the back deck with her and she looked so miserable, I was sure I had made a terrible mistake that I couldn't fix.
In hindsight it fit her personality perfectly. She was stubborn and didn't like any changes to her routine. Once we got to about 6 weeks she started to play again and came back to be the Pug I always knew...just a bit more stubborn!
It would have been great back then to have a resource like Tripawds.com to help me get through, but to be honest I would have felt the same way you do...all those stories about dogs bouncing right back- and everyone always saying that small dogs (Mag was 17 pounds) do great.
But what is important to know is that we are all here to support you and your family as you navigate these tough times. Know that Summer will heal and deal with her new normal on her own timeline. Most pups here get back to themselves in 2 or 3 weeks but some like my Maggie take their time. Hang in there and look for the positive glimmers from Summer.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Karen, you make an interesting point about vets not mentioning the recovery period. I wonder how many vets have seen it firsthand? I bet not many. They see the surgery and the recovered dog, but not the recovery unless their own pet has been through it.
Hello all, and thank you for your patient and kind responses to my vent yesterday. It was the toughest day yet since diagnosis and I was exhausted. Between stubborn lil’ Ms Summer and the car accident, I allowed myself a pity party. Party over.
Today is better.
Karen, your description of your stubborn little one hit the spot. Summer is the same way. Doesn’t like changes to her routine, prefers consistency, and can be very stubborn when she doesn’t want to do something (like take her meds). I had tried just about everything I could think of, including the melted cheese, but nope, she wasn’t having it. The struggle was real. I finally ended up putting the meds directly into her mouth last night and holding on until she swallowed. As you’ve probably guessed, she took her own sweet time doing so. I hated doing it that way, but was desperate because she was in obvious discomfort, panting and restless. She doesn’t, of course, understand that the meds will help that.
This morning I wrapped her meds in a real bacon strip after making hubby breakfast. Summer normally loves bacon, so it was worth a try. And she took the first one. So I tried the 2nd med, then with hope in my heart, the 3rd. She took all 3. Success! Thank goodness we are down to only 3 medications twice a day now, rather than 6 different meds at multiple times. That helps.
She’s been resting a lot today, but comfortably so far. I have no qualms about giving her an extra gabapentin in-between dosages now when she has pain. I just keep little Buddy (my chi-corgi mix who helped himself to the dropped gabapentin pills yesterday) out of the way. 
Oh, and Summer had a huge 
last night before bedtime. It was her second one since her surgery, but much bigger. 
She’s probably embarrassed that I’m sharing such things, but I think it’s worth mentioning.
I also got some much-needed sleep last night. I decided a different approach was needed, as I was making myself a wreck and allowing my fatigue and worry and angst to take over my responses. Jerry, thank you for all the links to recoveries that took a little longer. Summer had such a great day one, I guess I wasn’t prepared for the day 3-5 drop. And, Sally, your positiveness is contagious. Thank you all for being here.
Robin & Summer
mischief said
Karen, you make an interesting point about vets not mentioning the recovery period. I wonder how many vets have seen it firsthand? I bet not many. They see the surgery and the recovered dog, but not the recovery unless their own pet has been through it.
This is SO true. I love our surgeon, but he was so enthusiastic about how well tripawds do, that he actually didn’t really cover the recovery period itself. He said in a week or so I would have a happy, tail-waving dog again. I didn’t realize the time in-between surgery and 'happy tail wagging' could be so difficult. And Jerry was right also - I spent a lot of time reading great recoveries, not so much on the things I didn’t want to hear.
Lesson learned. Somewhere in here is a happy medium of expectations.
Robin & Summer
So glad to hear today is a better day! I probably would have force fed my dog pills on a day like yesterday, too. Sometimes it sucks being the one who has to make decisions in the best interests of others.
Summer clearly has good taste wanting her meds in bacon!
Hi Robin!
I am sorry you had a rough patch. As a few people on here told me and it is sooooo true, this whole journey is a Roller Coaster! I thought I was going to fall apart on about day 4-5 plus we had a hurricane coming at us!
I am glad to hear things are better. I have a greyhound too so let me know if you ever want to talk.
If you start having trouble with the pills try some Braunschweiger. Its so gross to me but the dogs love it!
Love Pam and Vaughn!
Sounds like great improvements!
It is very important to take care of yourself so you can be your best for Summer. Much easier to say than to do - from my own experience 
I had to regularly resort to what I called 'pill stuffing' with Maggie. I tried all different methods and foods but she was a tough one.
As a contrast: my second Pug Tani took phenobarb twice a day for seizures. She was so easy that I probably could have just given her the pill and she would have swallowed it. On the rare occasions that she spit it out she would watch me re-wrap it in some food and take it again. If Mag found a pill she would sometimes leave the room!
Hopefully things continue on the upswing!
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Day 6 since surgery: Good morning all. Summer had a bit of a rough night (that ol’ roller coaster again). She woke in the middle of the night in obvious discomfort (pacing, unable to settle down, panting). We ended up giving her a codeine which eventually worked. This morning she yelped loudly getting up, is refusing her breakfast thus far, uncomfortable, and restless again. We’re back to pill stuffing again, as she is refusing to eat or take her meds, bacon or no bacon. Ahh, well.
Karen, I had to laugh at your description of how opposite Maggie and Tani were. We have to stand on our heads to get Summer to take a pill, then we have Buddy, our chi-corgi mix, who gobbled up the dropped med the other day without blinking an eye. He’s the easiest dog I’ve ever had when it comes to taking heartworm meds, any meds. No treat needed. Then there’s our pug, Sophie, who couldn’t care less about any of it, as long as she doesn’t miss a meal or a nap.
Pam, yes, ‘fall apart’ is a good description of this end of the week. It’s been tough, I won’t lie. I know it’s early days yet, but I’m not sure I would make the same decision if I had to do it over. Hopefully it will change at some point, but watching my girl go through this is beyond my abilities. If I’m totally honest, I’m a little angry at this point that the surgeon made it sound so simple.
Would love to chat one of these days; perhaps when things calm down a bit. Greyhounds are such a special breed. It’s a shame that this disease is so prevalent in them. Glad your Vaughn is doing better.
Robin & Summer
Robin I'm so glad that overall she is doing better!! An off day isn't unusual as you know (especially when they do a little more physical activity and their body protests later on), and now that you've got almost a week behind you you are learning that you can manage those days.
Keep those novel foods around and just keep her taste buds interested. You can always manually pill her which I know sucks but it gets the meds in and the pain control consistent.
jerry said
Robin I'm so glad that overall she is doing better!! An off day isn't unusual as you know (especially when they do a little more physical activity and their body protests later on), and now that you've got almost a week behind you you are learning that you can manage those days.Keep those novel foods around and just keep her taste buds interested. You can always manually pill her which I know sucks but it gets the meds in and the pain control consistent.
Thanks, Jerry. We’ve been manually pilling her at least once a day for the past couple of days. She only wants to eat once a day now (rather than her usual twice daily), so I can give her a pill in some sort of ‘treat’ when she’s hungry enough to eat, but nighttime is a chore and we usually have to just get it into her mouth. Whatever it takes.
After this morning’s off kilter episode, she got her gabapentin and I dosed her again in-between. She had a more restful day and is relaxing in the tv room with us. I think the key with her is giving her the gabapentin every 6 hours, instead of 8. That’s when it seems to start wearing off. Once it wears off, she’s nearly impossible to calm.
Robin & Summer
Oh good I'm glad you're willing to do the hand pilling, a lot of people get really nervous about it. Great job!
It makes sense that the gaba is wearing off sooner than 8 hours, since Greyhounds probably have a pretty fast metabolism anyways right? I'm not a Grey expert but I think I read that somewhere?
I hope today is even better. Keep us posted.
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