Advice for a owner of an dog with a new amputation

[ulinemm]

Here is our family story: Barrett is a 6 month old German Short haired Pointer that decided to jump/fall out of our car on Saturday while we were driving to the lake to do some swimming. We quickly rushed to our vet that was only a mile away. We were so relieved to find he had no broken bones and all the x-rays showed no internal bleeding. We thought we were going to walk away with our little pup with just some road rash. Over the next 24 hours, Barrett's blood numbers continued to drop, he developed horner's syndrome, and the swelling in his front leg was becoming a problem. After the vet consulted with another vet friend, they determined he had to be bleeding out somewhere with all signs showing to his front leg and it would most likely need an amputation once they got into surgery. So last night, Barrett had his surgery and did get his front left leg amputated.

My question is, where do we go now? How did you initially grieve? What changes should I expect from my dog and how can I help him so he can get accustomed to his new life? Thank you for any help and support. I really appreciate it!

[CarolC]

Hi ulinemm,



I have no experience with a front amputation, I have a dog missing one hind leg but she is also paralyzed so it isn't much of an issue.

There is some good information on Cassie's Three-Legged Dog Club about what to expect.

http://people.ku.edu/~cadavis/

You can also find people with canine amputees at

http://www.tripawds.com

There is a book about canine amputees:

Without Regret by Susan Neal

http://www.amazon.com/Without-Regret-Ha ... 22+amputee

Here is some great information on helping your front amputee dog ride in the car:

http://handicappedpet.net/helppets/view ... r&start=15

This is a harness that is recommended for amputee dogs. You may want some kind of harness when you are going places, like for example a vet clinic with slippery floors.

http://handicappedpets.com/index.php/li ... rness.html

There is a saying, "Dogs are born with three legs and a spare".

http://handicappedpet.net/helppets/view ... 039#p63039

[critters]

I would be truly surprised if your tripod has too much trouble adjusting, as long as there aren't other problems such as arthritis. They usually do what they need to do and find a way to do it!

[Tripawd Mom]

My husband and I became the parents of a toy mini aussie tripawd when she was only 8 weeks old. Her story was that when she was only 1 month old she jumped out of someone's arms and broke her right front leg almost at the shoulder. Their vet indicated that where the leg was broke and since she was so small, it was best to remove the leg. When we got her, it had only been a month since her surgery, but she was getting around pretty well. After about a month or two, she was keeping up with her sister who is about two months older than she is. She doesn't seem to notice that she is missing her leg. We have taken her to dog parks and people don't even notice her missing leg right away. It isn't until she goes up to them to get attention, which she loves to do, that they notice. We have to keep her on the small dog side of the park, otherwise she tries to keep up with the big dogs, and we just don't think she is strong enough for that since she is only 7 months old.

We did just have a setback. That is why I found this sight. The vet that performed the surgery amputated the leg in the middle of the bone instead of taking it off at the joint. Since our little girl was still growing, the bone started to grow on one side and there is now a sharp piece of bone that has worked its way through the skin. Our vet tried to help by wrapping the leg to see if it would heal. This did not work, so we are now taking her in for a second surgery to amputate the leg at the first joint or possibly taking the entire shoulder.

I was hoping to get advice as to other peoples experience or which is best for the animal.

For your situation, I hope that the amputation was at the joint. If not, I would recommend looking at the various websites for a harness that will protect the amputated leg from injury. In fact, I found a website that has harnesses that provide support for the remaining leg. We are looking it to getting one after our dog heals from the upcoming surgery. Otherwise, don't worry, your dog will cover much more quickly than you will.

Wishing you all the best.

would ask your vet if the amshe is now but we are now looking at

[Lawren F]

Oh, ulinemm;
Our family story is just like yours. Our dog Houston jumped from a moving vehicle as well and as a result lost his front left leg at the shoulder. It was so sad and scary and we spent many a anxious time wondering what to do. Houston answered that for us. Houston wanted to get back to his routine and made is mandatory for the amputation. We did it and within 3 days he was BACK! He was running, jumping and bringing his squeaky ball to play.

Trust me when I say, you are more upset than the dog is. My daughter had a really tough time with all of this. Once she saw that Houston was exactly the same with only 3 legs she calmed down and the household returned to normal. Houston does everything and I mean everything he used to do. The only difference I sense is that he has become more protective of us than he used to.

Here is Houston, with hits ball.

[nzeiner]

I came across this board when searching about my dogs injury, and had to comment. Our 1 year old border collie jumped out of the truck this past weekend, and is also facing amputation of his left front leg. It is comforting to hear from commenters that dogs do well with only 3 legs, but it has been very difficult for myself to accept. He is still very hurt, and has a long road of recovery ahead of him, and I need to find a way to come to peace with what happened. I am sorry to hear that another family is struggling with this difficult situation, and I wish you the very best in this process.

[FYI]

http://tripawds.com/2013/04/30/tripawd- ... puversary/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zPlIW0mMW7g