Hi, sadly my 10 year old lab has to have a back leg amputated due to cancer. I have tried searching this in other threads but can't find anything. I do see other dogs happily getting around on 3 legs and just wondered if anyone has any advice at all. She is still such a happy lively dog and I am so worried that she may not be able to cope. xx
So sorry to hear about your dog’s cancer. My toller retriever had bone cancer in her jaw, surgery was drastic and prognosis poor. We made the decision to give her the op to see how she coped. She lived for another 4 years and coped so well, we just had to feed her by hand, but she could still carry sticks, swim and enjoy her life. If she didn’t cope then we would have viewed her best interests then. So although not the same as your situation, we had some of the same decisions. Hope that helps you a little? All the best
So sorry to hear what you are going through. My 2 year old lab is having his own cancer battle at the moment. Although it is nothing like losing a limb he had to have his ear amputated or he was given 9 months to live. The surgery was a lot easier to cope with than the thoughts in my head!This was followed by 8 sessions of chemo. At the moment he is cancer free but his prognosis is 6% chance of living beyond 2 years. I take one day at a time and give him the best life possible for as long as possible. Leg amputation seems quite common and dogs on The Supervet programme seem to do very well. Have a look on Facebook for cancer support groups.(I found one specific to Mast cell tumours) Although this site has been very supportive thankfully nobody had been through the same experience. Wishing you all the best with the operation and keep us posted with how it goes.
I'm sorry you and your girl are faced with this. I honestly think it's harder for the human than the dog because we humans can't help thinking about how we would cope with amputation. Dogs on the other hand think about being with their beloved people, dinner, playing, dinner, treats, where to take a comfy nap, and dinner Our neighborhood has a reputation as being very dog friendly and boy do we have a ton of dogs. There are at least 4 "tripawds" that I see regularly on walks. At the dog park there is a lovely Husky with a right front amputation. He acts and plays just like all the other dogs. His owner fostered him before he adopted him and so was responsible for post-op care. He said wound care was much less difficult than he feared and the only issue he had was with hardwood floors, which the dog found slippery during early days. Odds are if she's a happy lively dog now she'll be the same after amputation. Please let us know how you get on.
Thank you JD & Athena, your replies truly have helped. I have bought carpet runners and mats to cover the hardwood floor along with a support harness. She goes in first thing tomorrow morning and fingers crossed home that evening. I will let you know how she gets on. Thanks again xx
Hi Just thought I would update you .. She is unbelievable , i really can't believe how well she coped. On the day I brought her back , myself and my daughter slept downstairs with her. Didn't really sleep at all as , as can be expected a very restless night and to be honest I was feeling really low as I thought 'What have i done' 'Have I done the right thing' ...well 6 weeks on and yes 100% I did the right thing, she is running around, digging, sitting ... everything she did with 4 legs she can do now. The runners and mats around the house was great advice and a stair gate as she will not be able to get up stairs anymore. It is so true that us humans worry more where Lulu seemed to just wake up and got on with it. She'll be 10 next week and i am so proud of her. Thank you all for your kind words and advice xx
