Well today has been one week since Ray’s amputation. The first few days seemed to be pretty good for Ray. I don’t know what has happened but these past 2 days have been pretty tough & I hate not knowing what he is feeling. Ray hadn’t given any indication that he was in pain for the first few days but yesterday he started whimpering even when he was lying still. When he goes to get up – which has only been a few times lately – he seems to be in pain & whimpers and lays right back down. I can’t tell if it is his remaining hinde leg that is bothering him or something else. The incision looks good (to me at least) but I don’t know if maybe that could be causing him pain? Yesterday we were told to try & cut back the tramadol to 2 every 12 hours because he seemed depressed and has no interest in drinking or eating but we told to go back to the every 6-8 hours because he seemed like he was in pain.
I’m concerned with him getting enough fluids and am running out of ideas….he doesn’t want anything from his food & water bowls. I have figured out that he will eat if I put the food on the floor in front of him – but not if it’s in his bowl. He now knows that pills are sometimes hidden in his food – so now he carefully licks everything that goes into his mouth so he can spit out the pills. Forget about drinking water – he turns his head as if in disgust at the very thought of having to drink it! I tried chicken broth/water, which he did like but only once yesterday. He will drink milk/water but again, not out of his bowl, he prefers to drink it out of a drinking glass – I think because he feels as if he is having some of our stuff!
He doesn’t even seem like he wants to go out to potty – he hasn’t gone out since last night and won’t even look at the door, let alone get up. Ray is going back on Tuesday to get looked at and have his sutures removed, I just hope this will pass and he starts to perk up a bit. Is this normal? I’ve been in contact with his surgeon and have been doing all that she says. I’m not sure if it’s the Tramadol & Deramax making him this way or if he is in a lot of pain??
I wish I knew what he was feeling so I could help him feel better quicker, hate the feeling of being so helpless…I hope tomorrow brings a better day for Ray. I want to see him enjoy life again & would love for him to be able to enjoy being outside. The leaves are starting to fall from our trees now & it reminds me of last year & how much Ray loved playing in the leaves! I hope he starts to feel better so he can do this again.
Ray's version of "hide 'n seek"
Pill hidden in peanut butter? added benefit of making him thirsty? just a thought. good luck.
Yes, we have tried the peanut butter. It worked for a little and now he associates the PB with pills & won’t even open his mouth for the peanut butter. We are getting creative & so far, even though it takes awhile, we are finding a way to get him his pills! Thank you!
I have been having a terrible time getting James to eat. I figured out that he likes vanilla ice cream and frozen yogurt. I give him that sometimes. This week, I have been giving him Vanilla Ensure (or the Safeway equivalent). He will drink that when he won’t touch anything else. I have bought about 15 different brands of canned dog food. We do taste tests. He also liked cottage cheese and vanilla yogurt a lot. I offer him lots of different stuff to see if he will eat any of it.
I don’t know about pain, but whenever James is not feeling well, he just stops eating/drinking. Sometimes his stomach is upset. He has had a lot of diarrhea.
Oh, try cooked chicken and rice (if he likes rice). When James will eat nothing at all, he will eat cooked chicken that I feed him by hand.
Nancy and James the poodle
Thanks Nancy & James! Last night Ray had some ground beed mixed with scambled eggs & carrots and ate it right up! I haven’t seen him eat like that for a few weeks! He is still not interested in drinking, so I will try the Ensure as well, I’m sure he will drink that! He does like chicken & rice and I think that is on tonights menu! We can get him to drink if we add a little bit of milk to his bowl of water – actually, he won’t drink out of his bowl, only out of our glasses, but hey, whatever works! I hope James is feeling well today, thanks for the suggestions – it helps so much!
Christina & Ray
Dear Ray’s mom,
It sounds like you are in contact with your vet. That is the best place to start. You may ask them about Phantom Pain. It can cause quite a bit of discomfort to outright pain. There is a specific medication for it called Gabapetin (sp?) it is for the nerves which are severed during the amputation surgery. My girl JD was put on it right out of surgery, and never experienced them. Sammy’s mom can tell you the she and Sammy suffered for quite awhile till they got him on it. Take a look at ‘Sammy’s Smile’ blog. I am NOT a vet, but it is worth asking about.
James has been picky about his meal choices and it seems his mom has some great ideas. I remember someone posting that they made ice cubes out of broth or fish, salmon I think. What ever works and whatever you think Ray might like. Maybe he will get some liquid in him and a bit of food as well.
I am hoping that Ray is comfortable soon.
Spirit JD’s mom
I have been reading about Phantom pain & I am going to call the vet today to ask them about it. I noticed last night that the area where his leg was amputated was trembling a bit and looked like it was twitching…I wonder if this is from the nerves being severed? Thank you so much for the suggestions – it is so nice to hear from people who have gone through/are going through the same thing. I will check out Sammy’s Smile blog – thank you!!
My dog, Bruiser is about a week and a half post amputation and I have been dealing with a lot of the same issues. I, like you, was told to start weening Bruiser off his Tramadol, but then Bruiser would start to tremble (like humans do when we are cold). Vet said to go back to giving him his regular dose. Bruiser is much less interested in eating and drinking now than he was the first few days home. I can get him to eat turkey meatballs and I often stick his pills in the meatball. Hot dogs with cheese also seem to do the trick. I also wish I could converse with Bruiser so he could tell me what the matter is. I hate the feeling of standing by, helpless. I want Bruiser to get up, be his old silly self, and look happy. I believe it will get better. I hope tomorrow will bring a better day for Ray and Bruiser.
Turkey meatballs & hotdogs sound great & I am going to try that with Ray! I hope it gets better for Bruiser & Ray, I’m sure it will but it’s just hard waiting for that time to come. Does Bruiser do a lot of whimpering? Ray does but he didn’t at all for the first 4 days so I thought it was weird that he started all of a sudden. Hope Bruiser is having a good day today 🙂
Guys, this is all pretty normal it sounds like. The ups and downs of the first two weeks are a roller coaster but they do get better and soon you’ll have more ups. Call your vet if you’re at all concerned but know that you will get through this.
Try tuna water, it’s worked for a lot of dawgs. And also, he can get mosture/water by having wet food like chicken and rice as james suggested.
Keep us posted.
Thanks so much! I’m glad to hear that this sounds pretty normal. We have been in constant contact with Ray’s surgeon which has been helpful as well & she has been great. I’ll try the tuna water, sounds like he will love it. I started giving him ground beef mixed with carrots and eggs & he LOVES it, and it’s eat so fast!
Thanks for the suggestions, they are very much appreciated!!