mishtergrolsch Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 6 hours ago, CM. said: Has anyone here went through any experiences of their dog getting a leg amputated? One of mine broke his leg yesterday morning and veterinary advice has boiled down to this or several thousands for specialist treatment of which might not even heal it properly and/or give him problems down the line. I know and have been advised a dog can still be very active and healthy with a missing limb (particularly as it's one of the front ones) but just feels so extreme. Wish I could take his pain off him Don't think twice about amputation. It'll be an adjustment period for you more than the pooch. Archie had his back right leg off due to cancer and honestly he's happier with the leg away rather than the pain and discomfort he had before. He only really misses it when he wants to scratch his ear. On the plus side he dosent need to lift the leg to pish anymore! He was able to come home less than 24 hours after the op too. I do realise it's slightly different for you, but had we not made that decision Archie wouldn't be here today. The rehab won't be as difficult as you think it is imo. It's a case of keeping his weight down. Also its keeping your dog back, slow and short walks and no playing for a couple months. This won't be as difficult as he'll be on pain killers (guessing gabapentin) which makes them a bit drowsy anyway. What made Archies rehab so much harder for him was the chemo on top. Don't get me wrong, I totally toiled with the guilt and I felt he wasn't going to be happy etc but it couldn't be further from reality. The vets we had in Edinburgh (we were referred to the Hospital for Small Animals at the Dick Vet School) summed it up in one line - Dogs are born with three legs and a spare. 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CM. Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 51 minutes ago, mishtergrolsch said: Don't think twice about amputation. It'll be an adjustment period for you more than the pooch. Archie had his back right leg off due to cancer and honestly he's happier with the leg away rather than the pain and discomfort he had before. He only really misses it when he wants to scratch his ear. On the plus side he dosent need to lift the leg to pish anymore! He was able to come home less than 24 hours after the op too. I do realise it's slightly different for you, but had we not made that decision Archie wouldn't be here today. The rehab won't be as difficult as you think it is imo. It's a case of keeping his weight down. Also its keeping your dog back, slow and short walks and no playing for a couple months. This won't be as difficult as he'll be on pain killers (guessing gabapentin) which makes them a bit drowsy anyway. What made Archies rehab so much harder for him was the chemo on top. Don't get me wrong, I totally toiled with the guilt and I felt he wasn't going to be happy etc but it couldn't be further from reality. The vets we had in Edinburgh (we were referred to the Hospital for Small Animals at the Dick Vet School) summed it up in one line - Dogs are born with three legs and a spare. Thanks for the words mate. I was in bits over it this morning but as the day's went on I realise it's the best thing for Bruce. Just a very sobering thing to be told at the time and the thing that got me the most was when he went for a pish he lifted his back leg and just buckled due the imbalance before just continuing without lifting any of his back legs. Booked in for his op tomorrow morning. He's been the bravest little soldier ever since it happened so have no doubt he'll be as happy as he's ever been once he gets back home after it. Glad to hear Archie's happy too after what sounds like an awful time of things. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mishtergrolsch Posted October 12, 2022 Share Posted October 12, 2022 3 minutes ago, CM. said: Thanks for the words mate. I was in bits over it this morning but as the day's went on I realise it's the best thing for Bruce. Just a very sobering thing to be told at the time and the thing that got me the most was when he went for a pish he lifted his back leg and just buckled due the imbalance before just continuing without lifting any of his back legs. Booked in for his op tomorrow morning. He's been the bravest little soldier ever since it happened so have no doubt he'll be as happy as he's ever been once he gets back home after it. Glad to hear Archie's happy too after what sounds like an awful time of things. It's a hard decision to make for a beloved family member that can't speak. Especially when your emotional. But once you're a few (admittedly long and difficult) months down the line you'll start to see him getting back to where he was. Like I said, Archie figured out how to go for a pish within a few hours and within two days he was trying to get up the stairs and onto the couch. They are far more resilient than we realise. I'd reccomend having a look on the tripawds website, really good information and you'll see folk going through the same as yourself. https://tripawds.com/ Another bit of advice, prepare yourself for the scar, that was when the gravity and permanence of our decision really hit home. Once the fur is back its not so bad! All the best to Bruce and you for tomorrow! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH33 Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 11 hours ago, Rizzo said: The closest the SSPCA could give us was between 8 and 12 months. That'll keep the other two on their toes! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rizzo Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 3 hours ago, RH33 said: That'll keep the other two on their toes! She is keeping us on our toes never mind the other two. They're not being left together unsupervised at the moment. Her and Morse just want to have a carry on, and the neighbour has already been round to complain about the noise. She's fallen in the fish pond twice (a raised pond) and doesn't seem to have learned her lesson. Silly wee bint has zero fear. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shandon Par Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 Renton trying and failing to get past the cat 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KD1711 Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 Getting bigger every day now! 10 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florentine_Pogen Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 2 hours ago, Shandon Par said: Renton trying and failing to get past the cat These pics obviously a metaphor for the rules of the Par Marriage . 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH33 Posted October 13, 2022 Share Posted October 13, 2022 Shug is fussy eater. Would rather starve than eat anything that isn't Harrington's wet food. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH33 Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 Dog was unsettled from when kids normally get home as it was their night at dad's. Had call him and ask him bring one back. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rizzo Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 3 hours ago, RH33 said: Dog was unsettled from when kids normally get home as it was their night at dad's. Had call him and ask him bring one back. We went through the same with all of ours over the years, it does take them a bit of time to build up resilience to changes in routine. Any change from what ours perceived to be the norm totally threw them for a while. When he realises that your house is where he gets all the love from he'll learn to cope with unexpected changes because he knows the important things are consistent. We're still having plenty of issues with our new wee girl just not having worked that out yet. She nearly screamed the place down the other night when the other two got fed a whole minute earlier than her in a different place in the house. To her it must have genuinely felt like they were being fed and she wasn't. He seems like a savvy dude, it won't be long before he settles right in and the wee stuff won't bother him. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH33 Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 Yeah, he'll get into way of the girls being away part week and just us those days. He had a cry when she left this morning, it's been good for wee one as she's up and dressed and walking him round the block. I'm not keen on kids walking dog by themselves, especially when they're being dragged along, but our house is the backrow so it's a quiet lane and then along back of the gardens with a school on other side. Shugs good on the lead and isn't pulling to get to other dogs so I'm letting her have that responsability. We're not even a week in and he's adjusting well. Easiest rescue we (mum and dad rescued a few) Probably because he was a rehome rather than a random stray. He only had a week in kennels before he went to a foster family. He's off back upstairs to snooze on my bed! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CM. Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 (edited) On 12/10/2022 at 22:42, mishtergrolsch said: Another bit of advice, prepare yourself for the scar, that was when the gravity and permanence of our decision really hit home. Once the fur is back its not so bad! Appreciate this bit of advice in particular, although I still burst into tears when they brought him through and I seen it, at least I went in expecting it to be gruesome. Bruce got back home yesterday after his op, he was the bravest little soldier through the whole process and the vet even said that when he woke up he just rolled over wanting his belly rubbed which gave me a little bit of laughter through the distress. Since getting home, he has been milking all the attention from the household and neighbours even if his Mum Meg (she stays with us aswell) is getting a bit annoyed over it He had some difficulty last night eating his scrambled eggs as he kept hitting his bowl with the cone so I had to spoon feed most of it to him which went okay apart from the wee bits he wasn't catching in his mouth properly that spilt down his cone which was murder to get back out. As you say, the adjustment is probably tougher for me than it is him - I struggle a bit with the fact the leg just isn't there anymore after 7 years of him on 4 and I was panicking how I'd get him out for a pee this morning (more so incase the stitches/wound got disturbed in some way) but he managed fine. Edited October 14, 2022 by CM. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH33 Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 Ore fucked off by the cone than lack of leg?! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florentine_Pogen Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 I think wee Bruce should be considered for the Chancellor of the Exchequer job. He's obviously got more staying power than any Tory. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mishtergrolsch Posted October 14, 2022 Share Posted October 14, 2022 42 minutes ago, CM. said: Appreciate this bit of advice in particular, although I still burst into tears when they brought him through and I seen it, at least I went in expecting it to be gruesome. Bruce got back home yesterday after his op, he was the bravest little soldier through the whole process and the vet even said that when he woke up he just rolled over wanting his belly rubbed which gave me a little bit of laughter through the distress. Since getting home, he has been milking all the attention from the household and neighbours even if his Mum Meg (she stays with us aswell) is getting a bit annoyed over it He had some difficulty last night eating his scrambled eggs as he kept hitting his bowl with the cone so I had to spoon feed most of it to him which went okay apart from the wee bits he wasn't catching in his mouth properly that spilt down his cone which was murder to get back out. As you say, the adjustment is probably tougher for me than it is him - I struggle a bit with the fact the leg just isn't there anymore after 7 years of him on 4 and I was panicking how I'd get him out for a pee this morning (more so incase the stitches/wound got disturbed in some way) but he managed fine. Really good to see the lad on the mend! I found Archie was fine if we went for a few walks of about 3 or 4 minutes round the neighbourhood, couple of pishes then home. Anything else and I let him into the garden. It's hard to keep them still! We spoke to the vets about physio to help build muscle in his legs, specifically the remaining rear leg, and they said hydrotherapy if anything but it probably wouldn't matter which I thing was a good call. Wee while before Bruce needs to worry about that though! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH33 Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 WTF is that thing?! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florentine_Pogen Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 1 hour ago, RH33 said: WTF is that thing?! He's actually wondering why you've got 2 different types of paint on the wall above those empty shelves. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RH33 Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 (edited) 11 minutes ago, Florentine_Pogen said: He's actually wondering why you've got 2 different types of paint on the wall above those empty shelves. Ha! I know it annoys me too but the living room needs the 70's brick unit knocked out, the woodchip off the walls....look me up in the year 2000..... @Bert Raccoon Edited October 15, 2022 by RH33 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
++Ammo - Airdrie++ Posted October 15, 2022 Share Posted October 15, 2022 Good ebening. 14 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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