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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We are new to the website...our 10 yr old yellow Lab, Vinnie, had his right hind leg amputated March 11. He had had 2 knee surgeries when he was 5 yrs old and the last few years he would intermittently limp. We just assumed it was that he had arthritis or just tweaked his "bad" leg wrong when getting up or down off the sofa...Then 2 weeks ago, he came home from the groomers really limping and the leg looked very swollen. We took him to the vet and the xray showed a large tumor pretty much covering his whole femur. Some xrays looked worse than others - we first had it biopsied - only 1 core showed cancer. We decided to amputate for fear the leg would spontaneously fracture. The final path came back Chondroblastic osteosarcoma. He has done pretty well from the surgery - he hops faster than he ever limped on 4 legs! His main issues are at night when he becomes very restless and agitated. He will put his head down for a few seconds then sit up and pant like he's just run a mile. He has not whimpered or yelped (thank God - that would do me in!) but he is agitated. We try giving him pain meds, taking him out, nothing seems to work. We have not slept well in 4 days! During the day he seems to rest very comfortably. His appetite is as voracious as ever despite getting some nausea and vomiting from the Deramaxx. He is now on Pepcid and chicken and rice (ground up well in a blender til it looks like baby food). That has stopped the vomiting. We are supposed to talk to the oncologist about Chemo on Tuesday. It is so hard to know...he is 10 yrs old...he does not tolerate medication well. I don't think we would do well if he had lots of vomiting or distress. We had to send our other dog on vacation to San Diego for a couple of weeks while Vinnie is recovering - I'd like to bring him home soon. I'd really like Vinnie to be up for some playtime when his brother comes home. Thanks for having this website - before we found it, we were thinking of just putting him down. I'm glad we didn't. I look forward to as many good days as we can get.
Hi Vinnie & Family,
Welcome. We know you're having a ruff time with all this, and rest assured, it sounds pretty "normal." Hang in there!
Hope you don't mind we moved your post, we just didn't want it to get lost in the other topic. Vinnie is a special dawg who deserves his own Forum discussion!
So, four days post-amptuation is not very long. Usually panting is related to the pain meds, and it usually goes away after a week or two. Some dogs take longer to recuperate than others, it just depends on the dog. Some are out and about after a couple of weeks, others take a month or so. The same goes for chemotherapy. It all depends on your situation and Vinnie's, and there are no right answers. All that matters is you do what feels right in your heart.
Try not to worry. It's sure hard not to, but remember this was a major surgery, and he's most likely reacting to the pain meds. Think about how you would cope if you had gone through this.
You can search our forums for "panting" and you'll see lots of dogs experience this kind of reaction.
Meanwhile, it's GREAT that he is eating and doing well, that is a great sign. If you are at all concerned talk to your vet, but that's just what we've seen in the pups who've been here.
Here's some of our most commonly asked questions and some perspective for you. Hope this helps.
Whatever we can do to help please let us know OK?
Keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
jerry said:
We know you're having a ruff time with all this, and rest assured, it sounds pretty "normal." Hang in there!
First, we are very sorry to hear of Vinnie's diagnosis, but you have found a great site filled with wonderful people who will share their collective experience base, provide great advice, and be here for support. I know that it may sound a little difficult when it is your companion, but Jerry is so very right. Each and every one responds a little differently, but it sounds very "normal" for where you are on your journey. What you are seeing is most probably a result of the pain meds. Miss Cherry's and Emily's reaction to the Tramadol was so bad that both of us had to remove it from their respective protocols. Also, it is very GREAT that Vinnie is eating so well at this stage of the recovery.
Jerry, has given you some excellent reading that will help you during the recovery. I would like to add my usual suggestions.
1) Remain as positive as possible around Vinnie. They will pick up on your feelings and if you are down, it will only make it harder. I often left Cherry, left the house, and then totally lost it before regaining composure and returning with a smile. It will make a difference.
2) Remember to treat the spirit as well as the body. Find something that they love and can still do during recovery. Then exploit that love to give them purpose. For Cherry, it was her trips in the truck/car. It was the first and for a long time, the only place that she would willingly take food when offered. As the time when she thinks that she is going for a ride approaches, you can see the excitement grow. Jake's mom would probably tell you that for Jake it was the swimming pool. Once Jake saw the pool and was allowed back in, the improvement appears to have been remarkable. View the Fun! Doug and Heidi will tell you that for Molly it continues to be canoe trips. Watch her celebrate her one year anpuversary! Finally there is Calpurnia who loves the life filled with the outdoors and sledding and has survived the amputation for more than two years. View the fun! Help them find a purpose to fight.
3) Consider keeping a journal. I kept a journal and posted much it on-line. It allowed me to go back days/weeks/months and make a good comparison. The detail that you keep in this journal is more than I would ever put into a blog ,which is also a great idea. This very detailed journal really helped to make honest assessments of Cherry's progress during the ups and downs of recovery. Our oncologist actually used these journal postings to keep up to speed on Cherry's condition.
Paws crossed and sending pawsitive thoughts from Northern California,
Spirit Cherry & Dad
Welcome Vinnie! I'm sorry that you had to come to us under the circumstances. But I'm so glad you did. I won't send you any more reading material. I think Spirit Jerry and Cherry already did a good job of that. Plus, I haven't been through bone cancer - just a birth defect.
I just wanted to say, hello!
Comet's Mom
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Hi Vinnie the Lab & family……
I am so sorry that Vinnie and you have to go through this dumb cancer!! You have heard from the best already….Jerry & Cherry….hey they rhyme!! We try to use humor around here to diffuse the pain & sorrow, it helps sometimes.
All the things you are dealing with are so "normal". Our Lab, Paris did very well for the first few days and then started crying out day & night, she was on so much medication. After 2-3 weeks she was great, but we had many sleepless nights during those first 2 weeks. She did very well for one year and 3 days, she enjoyed life completely with no limitations.
We did chemo, but there are many paths that our Tripawd families choose and there is no right or wrong choices. This is a place for support and people that care without judgement.
Sending you care & support,
Ginny & Angel Paris
Grateful for every moment we had with Paris…..no regrets!
Honoring her life by opening our hearts & home to Addy!
Hi Vinnie,
Mika the Wonder Dog is one month post-amuptation. Each day gets better and better for her and I hope you will start having a similar experience soon. The Tripawds community has been a WONDERFUL and tremendously supportive group for us!
Big furry hug & Take care!
Mari (Mika's mom)
Welcome to the group! You and Vinnie will find lots of support here and will learn so much from other's experiences. Those first two week recovering are tough, tough! Hang in there, it will soon be over and the dog you've always known will return.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
Welcome to the very special Tripawds group! Glad you found it for your pup!(and you to help keep your sanity in knowing there are other folks/dogs like yours going thru same thing!)
The fact that he's eating is AWESOME!!!! That's been a struggle for some after surgery(mine included)...so thank your lucky stars there! What type of meds is he on? Just the Deramaxx for pain? it's so hard to know if it's the meds or is he having pain that the Deramaxx isn't taking care of..
If he doesn't tolerate meds well, I would imagine they'd do smaller doses of Chemo? I have no experience with chemo as didn't take that route with my dog, Maggie. She is being treated homeopathically for her cancer.
Tracy, Maggie's Mom
Maggie was amputated for soft tissue sarcoma 10-20-09
Maggie lost her battle with kidney disease on 8-24-13
Welcome to tripawds. I am so sorry to hear about Vinnie's diagnosis but glad that you found this website. I think there are many of us that when we hear the word cancer we think it does mean we need to put our babies down. Like it was for you tripawds was such a God send to me.
It sounds like Vinnie is doing well for being four days post-amp. As Bob mentioned (Welcome back, Bob) my Emily did not do well on her pain meds and we took her completely off them about four days after her amputation.
Emily did not have any bad reactions to chemo. Her white blood cell dropped some so she had chemo every 25 days instead of every 21. Deciding whether to try chemo is a tough decision but remember that you can always do one chemo session and see how he does. If there is no problem you can continue but if Vinnie has a hard time you can stop the chemo at any time.
Good luck with everything and keep us updated.
Debra & Angel Emily
Debra & Emily, a five year old doberman mix, who was diagnosed with an osteosaecoma. She had a right rear leg amputation on May 19, 2009. On November 10, 2009 she earned her wings and regained her fourth leg.
First I would like to THANK ALL OF YOU very much for your support and advice. It has been a God send to have this resource.
Having read many of your stories, we now feel that Vinnie is doing pretty well given that he is only 8 days out of surgery!
His spirits have been great - almost always a smile and a thumping tail - and a voracious appetite - even after throwing up! He is really hopping along well - he gets himself up and down and we built a ramp down to the yard so he does not have to worry about stairs - he takes himself out for the most part without support. (I guess limping for awhile got him pretty used to being on 3 legs)
He is currently off the Deramaxx and is just on Tramadol for pain. He was prescribed 75 mg every 8 hours. When he started getting sick, we stopped the Deramaxx and cut him back to 50 mg Tramadol. That usually holds him for 8 hours. He really doesn't cry or yelp - at night - around 2 am he will start to pant heavily and whimper a bit - then we give him another Tramadol and he can usually go back to sleep.
We get the stitches out on Tuesday and are hoping to get him into some pool therapy (he loves to swim!) as soon as the Vet gives the green light. There is a place not very far that has a 93 degree salt water lap pool with a sloping ramp. We are going to check that out.
We are hoping that things will be OK when we bring his "brother" Mike back home. Mike is an 8 yr old standard poodle and is very very active. I know the boys miss each other - I just hope that Mike isn't too rough with Vinnie.
Thanks again. We will let you know about the Chemo - right now we just want him to get stronger and off the pain medicine. We really don't want to see him sick and lethargic again - even if it means a few more months of life.
The journal is a great idea - we also bought a video camera to chart his progress.
Hey, does anyone know how we can upload his picture?
Thanks!
Monica, Bill and Vinnie
vinnie said:
...does anyone know how we can upload his picture?
You cannot upload photos directly to the forums. Here are detailed instructions for adding photos to posts from the Tech Support forum .
The easiest way, is to start a Tripawds Blog so you can upload the photos there. Otherwise, images must be hosted somewhere online, like Flickr or some other photo sharing site. Then, you copy the image file location and paste it into the Image URL field whn using the insert/edit image button (small tree icon) when drafting your post.
We also created the Tripawds Blogs community to give folks a place to journal about their dog's recovery. If you prefer to do it the old fashioned way, consider writing in a Tripawds Healthcare Journal. Most of the designs in the Tripawds Gift Shop are available on spiral bound journals.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Our dog Milkshake really had an awful first week and a half, but progressively she did get better. Just as everyone says!! (We are now exactly 3 weeks out).
I'm so glad you mentioned taking out the stiches - Milkshake had staples and I can really, truly say that taking them out was a major turning point. I think the stiches/staples may pinch, inhibit movement, etc...
I really hope the nights get more smooth for you! It's great that your with her and can see when she needs her meds, especially in the middle of the night... Your baby must feel so loved!!
Keep us updated!! 😉
Hi There;
I'm a little late to the reply here, but just wanted to say that I'm sorry for your diagnosis, but it sounds like you are doing well and about normal.
For Nikki (See http://nikkithe.....ipawds.com) we found that the Tramadol seemed to be the thing that caused her restlessness. It was very odd, and hard to track because she'd do so well when she first got the pill, but then as it wore off she'd become increasingly restless, panting, and just overall miserable. Once she stopped taking Tramadol, that seemed to disappear. Part of this was also the itching of the wound for her. We found that using standard anti-itch hydrocortisone cream really helped Recently we had a situation where the doc wanted to put her back on the Tramadol, and we experienced the same restlessness again. The technical term for it is "Dysphoria", but in all honesty I didn't care what they called it, I just wanted it to stop.
Nikki is celebrating her 2 month apuversary, and she continues to improve, so I know that you can expect the same. It's tough to take at first, but things will indeed get better!
Hey, does anyone know how we can upload his picture?
Admin did a great job of explaining how to upload pics but perhaps you just meant a profile pic instead of the generic tripawd one? If you want to add a profile pic (it's called avatar) Here's an easy way:
Go to the "profile" button on the top right of the forums or click the link below:
http://tripawds.....s/profile/
The page looks like this:
Click the 'your Tripawds User Dashboard' link as shown in the pic above.
Another page will open (a pop blocker may block it so turn it off).
Now you are in Tripawd Dashboard!
Once there:
Click 'Browse...' to open up your own computer files and find a photo you would like to use (not too big of a photo). Then you can click the 'upload' button.
I hope that helps! If not, let us know.
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Sorry I'm so late with welcoming you!!! A cancer diagnosis is really scary, but it's totally not the end of the world. You just have to learn how to do things a little differently! For us, the only thing we do differently is be social 🙂 Having a Tripawd you will find that people will want to stop you, talk to you, and tell you all about the other tripawds they have known. Some may want to talk to you about cancer (cancer is VERY common in dogs, so a lot of people share the same experiences, except i find that a lot just chose to wait it out and put the dog under humanely without amputation). Vinnie has just become an ambassador for canine cancer awareness, whether he likes it or not!!! I have read that tramadol can really throw a dog for a loop and that once the doggie is off of medication, they really seem to be "normal" again. I never noticed a huge change with Captain Jack, but for a lot of pets, the medication is a big issue. That's great that he is getting along so well! once he is recovered, he should have no problem getting back to normal play. They only thing Jack can't do that he did before is "shake, other paw, other paw, other paw...". I try to get him to do it, but no such luck (hehehe!). Super dog Cherry had amputation at age 11, and lived for another 405 DAYS!!!!! I hope this same success for you and Vinnie 🙂 Best wishes as he continues to recover. You are right...this website is a Godsend and has helped me through so much, both the good and the bad. Next month we will be celebrating ten months post-diagnosis and amputation. I can't wait until Vinnie reaches his ampuversaries 🙂
<3 Laura and El Capitan
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