She is a 10 year old Husky, around 30 kg right now. She has a soft tissue sarcoma in her rear right leg, x-rays show no signs of growth in her lungs. Her joints look very healthy. The mass is growing at a rapid rate and is causing her pain, after the biopsy it also bleeds very easily.
I have decided to get her leg amputated. I am really nervous about it all :(. She is a very strong pup and will handle everything like a champ! But still it makes me feel bad because she won't know what happened.
The idea of getting her a doggy wheelchair was refused by the vet, she said it won't help her much.
Anyways if anyone has any tips for me Pre-op and post op please feel free to comment I would appreciate any advice.
Most dogs get through the surgery beautifully and adapt quite well. Within a couple weeks the majority of them are back to normal activities. Some of them think that they should be good to go within a few days and then they need held back so they don't do damage to their healing surgery site. It's harder on the human than it is on the dog.
Unless she has mobility issues in her remaining hind leg, a wheelchair could do more harm than good. She needs to build up muscle and learn to balance on the remaining hind leg and being supported, even part of the time, will hinder that. It takes time to build endurance. Using a wheelchair, even part of the time, could actually cause her to lose muscle mass from not bearing weight on that leg and could mess with her ability to balance as well.
Yes, thank you so much! I really appreciate your words! Should I be constantly helping her with a sling? Or let her try and fail, I don't know when I should stop trying to 'hold her hand'
I would advise letting her dictate it. Don't let her fall which could really hurt if she falls (and possibly injure the healing site) but if the sling is irritating her back off on using it. Learning to balance is a bit of a learning curve unfortunately.
They will give you a sling but I stopped using it and try to guide him with holding his sides (not the incision) To help him balance. I don’t think they’ll really need it after long
Check out tripawds.com. They have a lot of resources that helped me.
She will be okay. She will be happy the pain is gone. She will take some time to get used to her new normal. Have patience and cheer her victories (climbing the stairs, shaking without losing balance, learning how to chase down balls again).
Don't feel bad. Things happen and we have to deal with them as they come.
I'll check out the website. Thank you so much for your advice and kind words!
She’s so beautiful!
Thank you!
I wish you both all the best ❤️❤️❤️
Thank you so much!
My dog recently had an amputation due to a soft tissue sarcoma. He is 10 days post op and is doing great. The first few days are rough, so be prepared to be available for your pup more than usual. Mine would only sleep when laying on my chest, so we spent the first two nights on the sofa. Keep on too of icing and pain meds. Mine was eager for our walk the very next day after surgery. You should have a sling to help stabilize them until the remaining leg is stronger.
The cancer my dog had was a grade 3, very aggressive. While xrays showed no obvious spread, it probably has. I was worried about the decision to amputate because it might not give him more than a couple of months, but there’s no way to know. I just couldn’t euthanize because of a local tumor on his leg.
Don’t worry about your decision. It’s a hard surgery but dogs are 3 legged animals with a spare, and they adjust to it well. It will give you and your buddy more time.
Turkey tail supplement ASAP. I’m in the same boat, def hitting him with all the supplements so it DOESNT come back
I’m having trouble getting him to eat food with the supplements. I need to get a liquid one I can squirt directly into his mouth. Still, I doubt it will have much power over grade 3 carcinomas.
You can add water to his food. Or feed him canned food. Mine will not eat it on dry food. I wouldn’t give up yet. That means if he has it- it’s microscopic.
What does the turkey tail supplement do? I give her a supplement for her joints (mobiflex) and omega 3.
I am so sorry to hear that, hers is a grade 1 soft tissue sarcoma, this is really tough but I am sure your pup loves you. You're a great pet parent!
I have a beautiful husky tripawd…. He is 18ish months old I adopted him soon after surgery and is A okay. Gets around great great. Fast guy! And he digs holes with one leg! They are highly adaptable esp huskies
Before we started on her current pain meds she was already starting to walk on 3 legs. I happy to hear your pup is doing good!
12.5 year old husky here 🙋♀️
Leg amputated 11/26, first round of chemo + Yale vaccine last week.
She is singing, running around, throwing fits, pottying on her own, and she has the sparkle back she had lost due to the pain from osteosarcoma.
My vet is so so so happy with her progress and you would never know she had lost a beat. The first days are hard but just know their husky energy comes back and the happiness comes with it ❤️
She's in her own universe, I am glad to hear my silly loud baby will be back soon!
I have a tripod and I swear it makes her faster. Lmk if you have any questions
<3
My pup is on day 7 after front left leg amputation. She’s a big dog 92lbs before surgery and 8 and a half years old.. I’d say be prepared for the worst, and be pleasantly surprised on how she recovers. Night one having her home, the day after surgery, we woke up in the middle of the night to her panting like crazy, tongue sticking out weirdly, and her fur coated in sweat. I believe it was her coming off of whatever IV meds they had her on. I cried to my wife that we made the wrong decision. We made the right decision and she is doing great now. The other thing that concerned me was she wouldn’t poop at first. It took about 5 days for her first movement. This is normal. Have pumpkin purée on hand to mix in food if this is the case with your baby. She is doing well on day 7, and is able to go up the stairs to our second floor condo without help. Be prepared mentally. Stay calm around her, as she will feel panicked if you are. They feel our energy as we all know. My 8.5 year old is very hyper so they have her on trazodone so she doesn’t do too much to fast. I feel like the trazodone and the gabapentin they have her on makes her seem like she’s doing a lot worse than she is, as the pills make her seem drunk and out of it. Mentally prepare yourself for that as well, as I think the first couple of days can be scarier for us than them.
Pumpkin purée is genius will have to drive out now to get some
I'll be sure to keep some pumpkin puree on hand, thank you! 'Prepare for the worst' is something I needed to hear.
No problem. I wish someone had said it to me. Our oncologist was all flowers and roses, how immediately she’s going to be out of pain and up and running around day one. I unfortunately have to pick her up and carry her down our stairs. The screams the first couple of times I had to pick her up post surgery were brutal and I’m extremely gentle. Things do get much better fairly quick, but I wish I was a little more prepared mentally for the first couple of days, rather than everything will be perfect. Your baby will do great! Thoughts and prayers to her🙏🏻 Also for our baby calm visitors seemed to help lift her spirits.
So sorry to hear this. If I may ask, what were the presenting symptoms?
The symptoms are mostly local, there is some bleeding on her cancer, the bleeding had increased Sunday night but it has subdued now. Since Sunday night she has been a bit lethargic. Her appetite has slightly decreased but only at night. The biopsy spot did get an infection and we are actively cleaning and bandaging her up daily/ whenever we see she's uncomfortable. She's extremely good with pain so I am not sure about the level of pain she has, but I assume it's not low.
I have a rear tripawd husky also from soft tissue sarcoma! She was 5 at the time of amputation, and just turned 8. Other than slipping/falling on wood/tile floors more than she used to, you wouldn't even know she was missing a leg. We have rugs down wherever possible and started her on joint supplements right away. I'd also recommend keeping an eye on her weight, especially as she's already a bit older - a healthy weight will go a long way in protecting her remaining rear leg!
Most importantly, trust your pup. She'll figure things out quicker than you think, and will be just as happy once the post-op pain wears off. Best of luck!
Thank you, your advice is much appreciated!
I just went through this a day ago. So relieved!! I won’t lie that he is struggling a little to walk but it looks like he will learn. He magically knows how to walk if he wants something.
You’re doing the right thing!! Your dog will live a full life.
I also put him on turkey tail supplement by Fido. (Surgeon Okayed it)He also didn’t have evidence of the sarcoma migrating but I’ve heard good things so I’m giving it to him just in case.
I just cleaned his bed sheets well and have it sanitary. Maybe be ready with chicken and rice, my dog seemed a lil nauseous bc he didn’t like the canned food he usually loves.
Oh yeah by some Cosequin for joints. And fish oil.
Ahh okay! Someone else commented about turkey tail supplement too, what is it exactly? I already give her mobiflex and an omega 3 supplement Thank you so much!
It’s for lumps and bumps/immune system and a cancer preventative. Now he will still need the leg off but I’m trying it so the cancer will keep away.
She was cleared with x rays but microscopic cells may exist. Fingers crossed it hasent. My specialist said sarcoma was highly localized but aggressive. So there’s a good chance it’s gone gone for good after the procedure