BauersMom

Oh no I'm so sorry.

Oh, I am so sorry. Godspeed, sweet girl.

Lana looks great! What a cutie.

This one? For post-op stuff, Berkeley had no wrap and had quite a bit of swelling and bruising - it was all normal. I'd say it was mostly resolved in probably ~2 weeks or so, about the time the staples were set to come out. We did warm compresses 3x a day.

Yes, harnesses are tough with the front amp because there's no anchor with the missing leg. Here are a few videos of Berkeley post-amp - Three days post-surgery: And then two months post (and giving me a heart attack):

We got the Ruff Wear harness for Berkeley (front amp) and it worked ok, but it is hard to get harnesses like that on and off since you have to lift up the front leg to get it on. We ended up taking it apart each time, so we could avoid having to lift him to get it on... we did use it early on (maybe the first week?) because he kept trying to lift his leg to pee and stuff, and it gave us a handle to grab him when he did those sorts of "forgot I don't have enough legs to do this" moves. The one thing to keep in mind with front amps is that they have all of the power of their back legs, but have lost the ability to steer as finely in the front. So Berkeley could jump into the car ok but didn't quite "aim" as well when not running straight lines or with anything that required turning, etc. Just something to remember with the front amps. I have a rear amp tripod now, and he steers and navigates a lot easier than Berkeley did.

Amicar needs to be given before and after surgery. We had about a week's worth of meds for the amp, and it was really not expensive. I got it at CVS, and it probably cost me a total of $50.

Well, I don't know if I would recommend a dental - even with amicar - if there are low platelets. Seems like you'd want to get to the bottom of that, first. Second, I don't remember amicar being that expensive when we gave it to Berkeley before his amp. And lastly, I wouldn't rush into a dental just because of the vet's schedule - and if you are looking at extractions in August, you're likely looking at extractions in early July, too. Good luck with whatever you decide!

OK, gotcha. And yes, limited thinking stuff would be perfect for Buster.

We have that harness - I only tried a few times but he basically was using his weight to avoid going up by leaning against the harness. So it was really like trying to carry a harness full of cement. lol And the short stairs - he just launches himself up and down them, trying to avoid the stairs altogether. What I have been trying to find is a set long enough that he can't jump but short enough that he isn't intimidated. And along Giselle's idea, I was also thinking about working on some basic commands when he starts to melt down. That plus the right set of stairs is probably our best bet. His leg is fine - he's in really good shape and can navigate being a tripod pretty amazingly.

That's the part he seems to have the most trouble with - and while when teaching a four legged dog to do stairs I can "force" their legs along, when you do that with a tripod, there is the moment where his entire back end is only supported by me physically moving the back leg. He's not so keen on that. And he doesn't get how to navigate the stairs otherwise. It's a full flight of stairs to the second floor - so 13 or so.

Buster lost his back right leg in a racing injury. He never learned stairs before losing the leg. Any tips or tricks particular to this situation? I've gone through all the usual stuff that I've used to train off-the-track-dogs. He is highly food motivated, but it stops working when the stairs come into play - hot dogs, cheese, etc get ignored. I didn't force the issue right when he came home because I wasn't sure how "comfortable" he was to being a tripod in navigating a situation like stairs... but we're at the point now that he's coming up on his year anniversary of the amp and is a fantastic tripod, so I feel the physical part is not the issue. One of the first times we did stair training with him, he slipped on his back leg and fell a bit (nothing bad, my husband was behind him to catch him). His attitude towards the stairs after that seemed to change - a little more trepidation and that's also when we stopped trying to force the issue, thinking adjustment time would help.... TIA!

I just realized this wasn't clear - IF you are seeing limping or non-use years after the original injury, it's more often a long-term situation that needs to be managed, not something that is an easy fix. I didn't mean to imply all broken legs result in limping, etc (I have seen some beautifully healed hocks!), which it sort of sounded like on the re-read.

Certainly, they're still good pets. But I have had several broken leg dogs come through here and some really wouldn't tolerate an hour walk every day - and some would. But of course, without more information, it could be something simple... but my experience has been more often it's poorly healed and a long term management situation with non-use or severe limping years after the original injury.

If this break if two+ years old, you may be limited in what sort of rehab is available. The most successful broken hock fixes, in my experience, happen as soon as possible after the break. And even if a surgical intervention is possible at this point, the risk is always there that it will never be 100%.

We have fed this - it was one of my senior gals favorite and one of the few things I could consistently get her to eat!

I dislike "speed of progression" as an indicator of osteo. Berkeley had a limp off and on for three months prior to diagnosis, with no real progression in severity. I hope the biopsy comes back with some good news.

I'm so sorry. Godspeed, Jet.

Awesome!! Welcome home boys!

Buddy is gorgeous. Sorry to hear of his diagnosis.

Keep him quiet and call the oncologist tomorrow. They will likely want to take some x-rays of that leg. I'm sorry.

Swelling/edema is a fairly common symptom of osteo progression - I don't remember what's been said about it though (I had two friends go through it with their osteo pups). I think someone here had dealt with it before, hopefully they'll chime in.

Oh, Jane, I'm so sorry. Someone sent me this quote when I lost Berkeley - "When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight."

What about putting her on doxy in the meantime? Around here, even with a negative test, vets will do that if it's suspected just because Lyme is so prevalent.

Berkeley definitely was not himself after his chemo - but it only lasted a day. If he doesn't improve in a day or so, there may be something else going on like nausea (though if he's eating, might be something else). Berkeley ended up not tolerating the full dose of carbo, so we ended up using less for him each subsequent treatment (the four doses donated by OSU ended up covering all 6 of his treatments). I see you're in Boston - we took Berkeley to Angell Memorial, which is such a great resource to have nearby for pet owners in the Boston area.