Thanks for the advice on the February "Hoppy Hour" zoom the other day. (As a reminder, Trevor is a 3 year old Goldendoodle whose right front limb was removed on 2/14/24 for chondrosarcoma in the proximal humerus). On the zoom and elsewhere on this forum, I had brought up Trevor's concerning tendency to sleep a lot and to be difficult for me to move. Some of that lethargy of course is expected after surgery, and even our surgeon reassured me that gabapentin can really knock a dog sideways for awhile. I got advice on our zoom to talk to the vet about switching from tablets to capsules and potentially going down a bit on the dose that way, trying to find a balance of getting some alertness and mobility while also helping him rest and heal. There was also advice to try anti inflammatories like fish oil supplements (we're on those now!) and talk to our vet about another medication option, amantadine.

I've been keeping care careful notes on Trevor's activity level and alertness since we got home (today is Day 9 post op) and was noticing a sort of downward trajectory despite the incision area looking good and the seroma resolving. It was getting harder to rouse him for food or water or even a bathroom outing. Outside, he'd walk ten steps then flop down, then five, and yesterday, two or three steps at a time. The surgeon at our hospital advised stopping the gabapentin and bringing him to our local vet (or to them) to be evaluated. (The other medication he's on is carprofen, which I've been diligent about giving every 12 hours).

Our local vet did a thorough assessment and said the pain control around the incision site is well managed, he was able to touch and palpate the area. He checked range of motion on the other limbs and detected an issue with the right rear limb. Trevor is tentative on that limb and resisted having it stretched out. The vet thinks perhaps it's a strain or something caused by a sudden movement, a spill, or just getting used to using his muscles in a new way. He suggested keeping up the carprofen regimen, and adding back the gabapentin at every 8 hours - but on a lower dose in capsule form. He wasn't eager to suggest amantadine just yet - he said that's not typically their go-to medication, but could be an option to layer in - and he wants to give this NSAID + lower gabapentin dose a few days to see how it goes. But he's open to it. 

It's weird that he could have injured himself given that someone has had eyes on him nonstop since he came home, but he did do some leash pulling in the first few days, and the vet thought even that might have caused him to twist or strain his hind leg, maybe some strong movement he wasn't ready for. If it doesn't resolve, we may need to get X rays of the rear legs. Hopefully not a hip issue or arthritis, but he said there are other options we can explore if need be, including injectables. I'm really hoping it's a strain - the vet didn't hear bone creakiness or anything and thought likely a soft tissue thing. We were also advised to use a heating pad on the affected area. It's surreal to be essentially treating a whole different leg now and not so much the amputation site. Ugh.

Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions so far; I felt I was able to advocate for my dog more effectively having been on these forums and on that zoom. I'm also glad we're seeing a rehabilitation vet next week for our initial evaluation, and I can bring up the rear leg issue there too. Hoping it resolves soon. They'd like me to start working on getting him walking more, but between this new injury and the rain / mud going on outside, it's tricky. Maybe he'll do some hall walking later today!