Gardenrosakim
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Still wet behind the ears (3/9)
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Two months post amp becoming more fearful
Gardenrosakim replied to Gardenrosakim's topic in Health and Medical discussion
Thanks everyone for your helpful replies. I am wondering now if something happened to scare him because no matter how we take him outside he freaks out. After breakfast this morning I took him out the back door to avoid the steps in the yard and he was just a wary and panicked, and it caused unsteadiness for him because of his fear. Maybe an anti-anxiety drug would be helpful. Once he is in that mode of wariness, it is hard to overcome it. Thanks for sharing stories of your houses with rugs and runners decor. Nice to know we are not alone in that. -
Two months post amp becoming more fearful
Gardenrosakim replied to Gardenrosakim's topic in Health and Medical discussion
That is helpful to hear. Skip also seems to be limiting his footprint in the house. He stays in our family room mostly but used to come down the hall to be with me when I was sewing. He won’t do that anymore either. He is really fearful of the steps to the yard now, and we can take him down the hall to go outside comfortably with no steps—which he doesn’t like either. I don’t want him to be fearful or worried many times a day so we’ll keep trying to figure out how to make things work for him. -
Two months post amp becoming more fearful
Gardenrosakim replied to Gardenrosakim's topic in Health and Medical discussion
Thank you so much! He is due to have chest X-rays at the three month mark but I can see if I can have that sooner and ask about a fuller set of films to include other limbs etc. I smile hearing about Punkin. We really thought Skip could conquer his fear eventually. We consulted with a trainer and tried our best but he was having none of it. We used clicker and treats but anytime you ask Skip to do something for a treat he immediately becomes suspicious and then worried. We gave up and put down more rugs… -
Skip has always had a fear of floors. He was a foster fail for us after he was bounced from his adoptive home due to that fear among other issues of timidity and nervousness. We have wood floors in our home so when we started fostering him, we put down rugs everywhere for him to walk on. Once we adopted him, we kept the rugs but always thought we could work with him and he might overcome his floor phobia. He never did do we kept the rugs (a variety of non-matching, different sizes, our house looks like a rug store 😀). 5 years later, age nine, Skip had his back leg amputated two months ago due to bone cancer. He is exactly 2 months post surgery today and has been doing well. 2 weeks post amp he was fine with our floor/rug set up and was hopping up three steps in our backyard. Suddenly in the last week he has become so fearful that he hesitates to go up even one step let alone three. He won’t cross bare floor between rugs of even 12 inches. If his water dish is across that chasm he simply will go without water. We reconfigured the rugs this morning to cover every inch we could but… I am wondering if others have experienced this with their post-amp greyhound. Since he was always had this issue I want to think that his vigilance has been pushed to high alert because he feels vulnerable but my worst fear is that he has pain somewhere in another limb. He doesn’t limp but he didn’t limp before his leg broke 2 months ago either. He is taking normal walks and will even hop up on the sofa. He shows no visible signs of pain. Has anyone else had a Tripawd that became more fearful with daily movements? Thanks, Kym
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He is doing very well! We had a walk with 12 greyhound buddies and their peeps on Sunday, and he was so excited to see them, it made me want to cry. I really notice a change in him wanting to be social again and that seems like a good sign. The pressure sore has been a difficult to get healed since it is right on his elbow and is constantly being stressed when he gets up off his bed. We had another round of antibiotics and some topical cream. I fashioned a leg cover out of a fleece tube that I sewed to a tee shirt sleeve and it worked pretty well to keep him from licking it, but not perfect. I ended up buying an elbow guard on Amazon and that has worked great. (Our initial visit to the E Vet about it, they bandaged it too tight and I had to cut it off his leg at 3 am when I noticed his foot had swollen up like a tennis ball.) It is still not completely healed over so I still have him wearing the elbow guard. I am thinking it is going to be an ongoing problem.
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Thanks! I am happy to know that Tessie is doing so well. The uncertainty of the outcome weighs heavy right now. Skip has had a pressure sore on his front right elbow since his surgery. Originally, it was scabbed over and seemed okay, but now the scab has come off and underneath is it looking infected, green discharge. It is causing him pain since he puts so much more pressure on his front legs when getting up. I have an appt. to take him in this afternoon to have them look at it. Has anyone else dealt with pressure sores?
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Are there signs to look for that they might be experiencing phantom pain? Skip had an episode of panting yesterday and was licking his front leg on the same side as his amp. Kim
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Thank you. I so appreciate that you all are out there and understand. Sometimes I feel like if I let myself cry, I would never stop. And then I shake it off and go back to carrying on and being positive. And I do want to be positive for him.
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Thank you! My handsome boy...
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This made me smile and feel hopeful. I love thinking about him doing all those things and clearly feeling joy. As for me and how I am feeling, I appreciate you bringing that up as well. Witnessing Skip break his leg was one of the most horrible things I have ever been through. We had no warning at all, no limping or difficulties. One minute he was fine, and the next minute he was in so much pain. You immediately kick into strong mom mode--getting him help, asking questions, making plans, and making sure he is getting what he needs. You don't ever feel like you can let down and be sad.
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Thank you. That all makes sense. I restarted the carprofen, and will ask about codeine sulfate. I need to manage my own anxiety as well. I am worried that he might over do things, worried that we might walk too far, worried to let him try two steps down to the yard, or walk up a slope, hop up on the couch--all things that he wants to do, and has done just fine so far (well, the couch, once he got up there, wasn't comfortable for him and he got right back down). I was told post-surgery that tripods do just great after they recover--walk, run, get up on furniture, do agility! That doesn't factor in the cancer part of it in my mind, but I want him to be active and continue to enjoy his life as long as he can. His lungs were clear prior to surgery so there is good reason to think he can be with us for awhile yet. I am sure as we go along, I will be able to relax and stop waiting for the other shoe to drop. He did great on a walk this morning down to where he likes to sniff, and he seemed so happy to be doing that.
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Thank you so much! He doesn't have any liver or kidney issues. The emergency vet sent him home with carprofen so we have some, but the surgeon didn't prescribe it for him after surgery. I can check in about adding it back. He was on Amicar for five days after he came home. Here he is having a comfy moment.
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Our greyhound Skip, who is 9 years old, has joined the club. He was diagnosed with osteo after breaking his leg while hopping off the couch (a truly horrible day). He had surgery 16 days ago and has been doing amazingly well with recovering. He had his stitches removed yesterday, and at that point I asked about continuing pain meds. They said that once the stitches are taken out, the amputation is considered healed, and you should only have to give any pain meds if they show signs of needing them. Post surgery we were giving gabapentin 300 mg and tramadol 75 mg, every 8 hours on an alternate schedule. I am wondering what others have experienced with pain two weeks out from surgery? He perks along just fine and then he will have a bad spell: panting, restless, not able to settle and eyes dilated. He had a bad one last night at bedtime. I had given him no pain meds all day, and he seemed fine. Then around nine pm he was clearly uncomfortable. I gave him both tramadol and gabapentin. He couldn't settle down and sleep until after midnight. This morning he was fine until mid-morning when he yelped getting up off his bed, and then lay down shaking. Any thoughts on what might be happening? Could his other legs and body be sore from adjusting? Or could he still be having pain in the amputation site? Thanks, Kim
