My two year old lab, Dixie, was hit by a car 2 weeks ago. What started out as a broken leg, quickly turned worse when we discovered her hip was dislocated. The surgeon operated on her leg and was going to put her hip back in place. He then called me to tell me every muscle was pulled away from her hip and would I like to try to save her leg. Of course I said yes, since her leg had been operated on already. She was given a 50/50 chance of keeping her leg. Unfortunately her hip slipped out of joint again and the doctor said the only option available was the removal of her leg. After two weeks of lifting her in a sling to take her outside and seeing her in pain, I feel somewhat relieved, but still sad. She had the surgery today and we can pick her up tomorrow. She is such an active dog, swimming, chasing balls, etc… that we are very anxious to see how she does. I am angry at myself for turning my back on her allowing her to run into the street, which was something she just never really did. I know she is better off without a leg that will cause her pain the rest of her life, but it is still hard for me and my 15 year old daughter to imagine our happy, jumping, swimming, crazy dog without her back leg. Tomorrow is coming up soon. Someone told me today “A dog is really a 3 legged animal with one to spare”….
And… I’ve been told she needs to lose about 10 to 15 pounds to make it easier on her. Any help with how much to feed her a day would be greatly appreciated. She weighs about 75 pounds.
Welcome Dixie and family-
Don’t be too hard on yourself, it’s so obvious just how much you love her. Sometimes things just happen.
The first couple of weeks are the toughest. Remember that she is just out of major surgery and on mucho drugs so it will take a bit for her normal self to show up. I promise you will have her back, but you just have to watch for the little things. Those are cause for major celebrations around here!! (pees, poops, food…).
It’s a good idea to put down area rugs on any hard surface floors to help with footing.
You will get lots of great advice here and if you need some immediate support please go to the chat room. There is almost always someone there.
Take care and keep us updated.
Luanne and Spirit Shooter
Hi,
I adopted my dog a few months after his amputation, so I didn’t have to face the whole difficult recovery period, and I didn’t know him before the amputation, so I didn’t have to deal with the shock of seeing him looking different.
However, I would just share that my dog lost a rear leg to an injury as a younger dog and he does remarkably well. He wrestles with friends at the dog park, chases my friend’s greyhound, loves hiking and swimming, bounds up stairs and jumps up onto the couch without a thought. There is nothing that any other dog can do that he cannot do (Except for scratching his ear on that side- I help him out with that).
Every dog is different, and every dog adjusts differently, but don’t feel bad for your dog, or coddle them, because they don’t know they lost a leg or feel bad about it, they just go on living their life to the fullest, and it’s all we can do for them to allow them to do so.
My vet’s one piece of advice was to be very careful of his weight. I feed him less than other people might, but he is lean and strong and happier for the ease of mobility his lighter weight gives him.
Best of luck to you and Dixie!
Sorry to hear what happened to Dixie. Accidents happen, don’t blame yourself.
She will be fine, they really are amazing how they adapt. Our boy Snoop had his amputation ,right front due to osteosarcoma 10 months ago. He’s doing well.
You’ll see she will also. It’s a major surgery so she’ll need quiet and rest to recoup for sure.
Each is different in their recoup, so be patient.
As far as diet, she will probably be on meds coming home so her stomach may be sensitive. Her appetite may also be off, so my advice would be to be to alter her diet after recoup.
Good luck in her recoup.
Esther and her Snoop
Good morning
Welcome to the club that nobody really wants to be a member of!
Tucker, my nine year old lab, had his right front leg amputated six months ago due to an invasive but localized sarcoma. Tucker is doing GREAT! His life has changed a bit in that he now enjoys shorter walks with lots of sniffing but he is the happy, goofy boy he always was.
Tucker also had to lose weight….and has done so in the last six months. Tuck was fed Metabolic (from the vet) and he slowly lost the 10 pounds he needed to – but he still weighs 84 pounds.
Dixie will amaze you with how well she adapts to her new normal. The first few weeks after her surgery there may be some ups and downs related to her injury, the surgery and meds….but it does get better 🙂
Keep posting here….or go into the chat room and “talk” to everyone in this wonderful community.
Hugs
Linda and Tucker
Hi Dixie and family, I’m so sorry you’re in the club that nopawdy wants to join but we hope that everything goes great today! You are going to amaze your humans, they’ll wonder why they were ever so worried. Most dogs get back to normal within a couple of weeks but some need longer, so don’t be discouraged if you do (I hope not).
Weight loss is so important to a Tripawd and being skinner than other dogs of your breed type is critical to avoid excess joint stress and mobility problems. Check out the Tripawds Nutrition Blog (http://nutrition.tripawds.com/) for weight loss tips in our “Diet” category and then talk to your vet about how much food she should be eating (again, all dogs are different).
Good luck! We are cheering you on so keep us posted.