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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Corie is quickly coming up on her one month ampuversary! She is pain free except for her arthritis. She is getting around amazingly well and is even doing the stairs without a problem! We had an outing at the dog beach and she enjoyed that. She is her happy self again!
Now the bad news, she is loosing weight. I can hardly get her to eat. She is belching a lot and drinking an obscene amount of water. So much in fact she sometimes pees in her sleep! I took her to the vet last week and he weighed her at 38.9 pounds. She weighed 42 before the surgery and she was 44 earlier in the summer. I realize that her leg being gone changes her weight but I really don't know by how much. He send me home with a few different things for her stomach and they aren't really helping. Also I do have appetite stimulants, however I believe something is wrong and I want to find out what if I can first before I use them. I prefer to treat the cause not the symptom. I don't want to be lulled into a false since that things are ok because she's eating.
So she has another appointment for Tuesday for testing to find out what is wrong. We can't even begin to treat her cancer until her stomach thing gets under control! I'm so frustrated!
I'm so sorry you're having tummy troubles 
I am glad that she is getting around great and seems to be doing well otherwise. Hopefully your vet will be able to diagnose the tummy trouble.
Is she on any meds? They might be causing stomach upset.
Heather
Barret was diagnosed with Hemangiopericytoma May 16, 2013. Front left leg/scapula/pectoral muscle was amputated on June 11, 2013 and we've never looked back. Follow our story on http://barret.t.....pawds.com/ and read my column on That Pet Blog
hmm interesting....is she on any meds at all right now? No chemo yet, correct? My little Jill is a belcher as well and did lose some weight, but that was when she was on an oral chemo. Have they tested her blood to see if there's any thyroid and/or sugar problems? Glad to hear she is doing well otherwise, but I know sometimes these "mysterious" things can be frustrating!! keep us posted!
xoxo
Jill is a 9-year-old tuxedo kitty. She was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma in June 2012 on her toe in her right hind leg. Her leg was amputated on 12/12/12 and she completed four rounds of chemo (2 of Carbo, 2 of Doxy) in April 2013. "Like" Jill's facebook page: https://www.fac.....tty?ref=hl Proud member of the WINTER WARRIORS!!!! Her blog can be read at http://jillsjou.....ipawds.com. xoxo
My Franklin was 49 lbs when he had his amputation... after that leg was gone... he was down to 45 lbs. He then lost a few more pounds and it was starting to concern me as well.. after all.. 4 pounds on a 45 pound dog is noticable!!
They burn off more energy getting around with that Tripawd hop, so we put him onto a higher protein food. One with more calories to the cup as well.. That seems to maintain his weight.. he didn't lose anymore after that. Yes, it cost a little more.. but it was well worth it. And because it was higher protein, his amount per feeding was less but it was better for him, of course. Not sure where you are located but we put him on ALS (All Life Stages) Chicken.. it had calories of almost 600 per cup.
What kind of food is Corie on now? Check out the protein and calorie count on Corie's food and compare it with others... you should find one that should help her out.
I know you are dealing with some tummy issues as well.. but once they get settled... the higher protein will help her maintain weight..
Christine..... with Franklin in her heart♥
Franklin, he was the Happiest Dog on Three Legs! Diagnosed 09/26/2012 with Osteosarcoma, amputated 12/4/2012. Had a wonderful 5 1/2 months painfree until he ran for the Bridge on 5/15/2013. Always in my heart, and always a guardian angel of my pack... You can follow his Tripawd Adventures, before and after, in my blog, Frank'n'Farter!
FIRST OF ALL------CONGRATULATIONS CORA!! I've been wonderinf aboutyou kiddo! Other than the tummy issue, it sounds as though you are having an exceptionally good recovery...AND...it's still early n!
I uderstand you wanting to get to the cause and Tuesday should give you more answers. I'm sure they'll do blood work, check for urinary tract infections, temperature, etc. If she ks still on any meds, that could be causing tummy upset. And yeah, a the leg probably would take off two or three punds at least.
I'm sre you've tried all the goodies...chicken., anything with cheese in it, steak...yeah, steak, etc.
We'll watch for yourpost tomorrow, so don't leave us hangng, okah? Paws crossed over here!
Hugs to you and Cora!
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!
Thanks for all the replies! So to answer the few questions I got, no corie isn't on any medication right now, with the exception of tramidol which I give her when she needs it. She seems hungry but doesn't want to eat. If she eats something once she won't eat it again for days. And she skips meals or just picks at her food. I have tried dozens of can foods, dry foods, raw foods and cooked at home foods.
As a general rule I keep my dogs lean, so there isn't a lot for her to loose and I expected her weight to go down some after the amputation. But I also figured by now she would be wanting to eat. But it seems like something is wrong. She ate some ground beef once two weeks ago and has refused it ever since regardless of the cut or how it's prepared! Chicken is going the same way. She refused every variety of canned dog food I offered. The only protein she seems willing to eat right now is pork. But even then it's tricky because if she eats it for breakfast she won't want it for lunch or dinner. She sometimes will drink chicken stock that I make but usually not. I've even taken to giving her goats milk, she seems to like that but won't drink more than a half to one cup. I don't think it's good for her because of the sugar, but she needs the calories right now.
I'm so happy to hear that overall, Corie is holding her own. I know the eating thing is reallllly frustrating and I'm so sorry. Tuesday has got to seem like such a long way off.
Oh my gosh Goat's Milk is fabulous for dogs. Have you seen this post?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Be sure they check her kidney function. How old is Corie? My tri-pug Maggie had kidney issues and she got really weird about what, if anything, she would eat.
I hope it is something simple, I think you are smart for finding out what the real issue is before adding more chemicals to the mix.
Oh, and an early Happy Ampuversary!
Karen
You get an award for perseverance! And Cora gets an award for beingpicky!
I think the fact that she "acts" hungrynis kind of good. Another "toss it out there".....she was eating fi e up til the surgery, right? Maybe about a gazillion to one that she's having throat or tooth issues from the anesthesia tibe?? I kow.....that's a huge stretch.
Anyway, we'll kow something tomorrow. Sooooooo, to keep your mind off things, how 'bout figuring out how t showus some pictures of sweet Cora! I'm zero help...but there are li ks nere that showyou how!
And eat chocolate.....great way to keep your mind off things!
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!
Darn. To me, it sounds like her tummy is upset. What's causing it?! You're right to be worried and frustrated. Hmmmm. I don't know. It sounds like you're trying everything! Is your pup eating anything steadily, like kibble? There are food recalls on kibble and she may be eating a bad bag???
~Katy & Jackson
ACL tear in right hind leg 12/5/12 and scheduled ACL repair surgery 12/21/12. Pre-op xrays revealed osteosarcoma. Amputation 12/28/12. Chemo (carboplatin) started Jan 10, 2013 and ended on April 5, for a total of 5 doses. He handled carbo like a champ! No side effects. We started metronomic therapy at his third chemo and have been also doing some holistic treatments. He's a lively, playful 10 year old huskie-boarder collie and a very proud member of the Winter Warriors! Our love. Our funny little guy!
Tramadol can cause stomach upset. Not USUALLY, but it can. Have you tried a daily antacid? Or a scrip like carafate? ( or both, but that's a pain, as you have to space them just right)
Food and weight was our biggest issue, so I feel like we crammed a lot of experiments in six months 
"Let us think the unthinkable, let us do the undoable, let us prepare to grapple with the ineffable itself, and see if we may not eff it after all."
-Douglas Adams, Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency
"May I recommend serenity to you? A life that is burdened with expectations is a heavy life. Its fruit is sorrow and disappointment. Learn to be one with the joy of the moment."
-Douglas Adams, The Long Dark Tea-Time of the Soul
it does sound like an upset stomach. My stomach sank a little bit when karen mentioned kidney function. what you describe is very much how my cat acted when she had kidney disease. so, it's definitely worth getting some blood work done and trying to figure out what's going on. hopefully it's nothing too serious.
Ok for the update, we had our vet appointment today. We had a basic panel done to check her organs and the bloodwork came back normal. The next step is an ultrasound and I'll get a call tomorrow about the availability of the ultrasound technician. I'm hopeful I can get corie in this week. She lost more weight this week, she's down to 38 pounds. My vet and I think there is a strong possibility she has an ulcer. That's pretty much it. Other than that she is in good spirits. And if anyone has any ulcer/tummy friendly food ideas please pass them along! Thanks! I'll keep you guys posted!
Well an ulcer isn't great but it's better than a lot of things! I will keep my paws toes and tails crossed that it's something as "simple" as that. If you want to post your request about ulcer & diet ideas, try our "Eating Healthy" forum where more people will see it. Good luck, I hope you get in tomorrow.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Here's the latest! The ultrasound showed no cancer in the abdomen and no ulcers, small adrenal glands and thickening of the bowel walls. Based on those findings we did another test for Addison's disease. I'll have the results tomorrow. In the mean time we are continuing with the Omeprazole in the evening and Carafate twice a day, and we added Prednisolone twice a day.
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