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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Flloyd will get used to it...he can probably just tell that Barney's not quite feeling like his normal self. Our brown dog Barley had amputation surgery in November, and Morel (our black dog) knew he wasn't feeling great, and just sniffed him a lot. At this point, she's back to laying on his butt, and they can even tug. 🙂 He really hated being on the pain meds after surgery...that was a really difficult period, but it gets better.
Barney B said:
how have your other pets responded to your amputee dog?
Hi Barney,
I'm an only Dawg in our house, but I do know that when I was around other dogs right after surgery, some did act a little weird towards me. My Mom says that was probably because she was nervous herself, and the dogs picked up on that. She also says that she read in the book "Without Regret : A Handbook for Amputee Dog Owners", that some dogs pick up on the surgery smell right afterward, but that goes away almost as soon as you have a bath again.
Sometimes dogs are a little weird around me because they've never been around another dog with such a uniquely fabulous hop. They don't know what to make of it. But most dogs are pretty cool.
I hope you are feeling better and on the road to recovery. Thanks for visiting my website.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
My lovely lab, Ally, is due for surgery this morning to have her hind leg amputated. It has been a rough weekend however I have been trying to keep level-headed and attempt to conduct some research on canine amputees. My big concern however has been care for Ally immediately after the surgery. What can I expect? How will she go to the bathroom? She is a large dog and it is difficult to hold her...also, I have another dog who is young and active and I am afraid he is going to bother her. Should I have him stay somewhere else for a few days?
Any advice would be truly appreciated and will help me support Ally in a much more calming way.
Thanks.
Theresa said:
What can I expect?
Hang in there Theresa! Review the other posts in these forums for lots of advice on how to prepare for Ally's homecoming.
The best advice my people have is to continue life as normal. Be a strong pack leader and be patient through the recovery.
Ally will learn to go potty quickly. I got it down after one or two tries ... a dog's gotta do what a dog's gotta do ...
With other dogs, just play it by ear. Ally may want the company but if they rough-house too much right away, separation might be good. Everything in moderation!
So, what to expect? Hard to say ... every story we hear is different. The vast majority however, are good news: quick recovery after a few days of sedation, depending on the medication your vet prescribed.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
How are all of the puppies doing? Huey's surgery was almost 3 months ago, but it seems like he had a pretty similar experience to most of you. When he came home from the hospital, he was very tired and didn't want to eat much. He was a little bit nauseous from the anesthesia as well. I made him some ground chicken and rice, which he thought was very good! After the chicken was gone, he had ground beef and rice. He even had scrambled eggs and pancakes for breakfast one morning! All of this definitely got him interested in eating again, although he was a little disappointed to go back to plain old dog food. 
The thing that really got to me was that he cried constantly for about 2 days. He would just be laying on floor, crying. I was on maternity leave, so I was home with him all day. It was heartbreaking and made me second guess the decision to go ahead with the amputation. But he improved steadily after that, and was doing great just a few days after surgery. He did have a pain patch and some Tramadol for pain as well. He never had a problem getting up to go outside to "do his business." We have two steps leading into our backyard, and he hops them like a pro! He still has trouble with whole flights of stairs (down is harder than up), but he can manage - especially if he has a little bit of help. He's fallen a couple of times, which I think is scarier for his mommy than for him! He just pops back up and keeps going.
I just wanted to update on our recent amputee, Bella. She had her right rear leg amputated due to osteosarcoma on Monday Feb. 25. Her first night home was rough for her, but we made her as comfortable as possible which I really think she appreciated. We have many dog beds and my wife set up her favorite dog bed with extra pillows and helped her lay comfortably. We provided food and water for her right there at the bed so she didn't need to get up. She was very thirsty but not hungry, although the fried cube steak that we rejected for our dinner was well recieved by her!
Her life has improved daily since then and she is even back to playing some minor fetch! That has been one of the happiest moments for us because we realized after watching her fetch the ball that this is the first quality fetch she's had in months. No more leg pain!
We have three dogs and the other two have been very respectful of Bella. They like to sniff her scar and bare skin, and more butt sniffing than usual. I assume that is because she's on meds so she probably smells different back there.
Here's a video clip my wife took of Bella fetching! I'm currently travelling for work and my smile was ear to ear when I got her email with this video clip.
Thank you for shring your story and including the video! bella looks like she's doing great.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Bella looks great...I hope her great recovery continues.
CJ had her left front leg amputated on March 4th, she is able to go potty, but otherwise she doesn't want to do or pay attention to anything. Her personality has gone and I don't know what to do. When I look in her eyes it's like she has given up, I don't know what to to make life more interesting for her, is this behaviour normal after a week, am I expecting too much? If anyone has any ideas/suggestions please let me know, I will do anything to make her smaile again.
CJ said:
... is this behaviour normal after a week...
I would say, yes. Give it some time. Especially if CJ is still being medicated. I was a downer while doped up. But after a couple weeks I got off the heavy meds and started to spring back to my normal self.
As long as CJ has her appetite and can go ptty on her own, she's probably in good shape. Remember, she will pick up on any negative vibes if you baby her so try to remain strong.
You have our best wishes. Hang in there and keep us posted. Thanks for asking!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you for your input on this I am inclined to agree with you Jerry, she is still medicated, so we are keeping our fingers crossed. Thank you again.
I wanted to say thank you to all of you. My dog Nellie (11 y/o boxer/pit bull mix rescue) was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma 3 weeks ago and had her right hind leg amputated this past Wednesday the 12th. It was after we picked her up on Thursday that I found this sight and was able to get some true info on what to expect and so far it has all been spot on!! She is up and getting around without help (except on and off the bed), even going up and down the porch steps without a problem! Her appetite is good and she even raises her head occasionally when we leave wanting to go for a ride! I am seeing glimmers of her personality coming back even through the meds and large amounts of sleep she is getting.
No ... thank you! We're so glad you found all this helpful. That's why we do it. Even happier that Nellie is doing so well.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
This is an update on CJ, following 10-12 days where she seemed depressed but was able to get about for potty etc. I can say the last 72 hours she has totally improved, she is barking, playing, eating, wanting to go out in the truck, I can't tell you how much she has improved. She had the sutres out yesterday and is loving life it seems, I am finally starting to think I did the right thing 🙂 Thank you so much for your encouragement and this great site for dog owners like us....we appreciate you so much.
Thanks for the update and the kind words. We are so happy to hear the positive progress report for CJ! Keep on enjoying life!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
well, after reading several informative posts here again, I have come to the conclusion that I might be doing something wrong...last Wednesday I went to work, so dear Nori was left alone for the frist time (after her surgery) with her brother, Max (also a St Bernard). When we got home from work, she began to whine. She whined throughout the day - nothing constant - just here and there...and everytime she whined we would go to her and baby her and ask her what we could do for her. Needless to say Max is not amused by this. When we went to bed that night, she whined so much that my husband went downstairs and slept with her. Are we just reinforcing this whining behavior?
does anyone out there know how to tell the difference between an "i want attention" whine and an "i am in pain here" whine? she will wag her tail and whine at times, so that confuses me. she is eating and drinking normally, but pants occasionally (not out of character for saints). it just kills me to think that she is in pain. we are going to the vet tomorrow to get the staples removed, so maybe that will make her feel better...
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