Tripawds Three Legged Dog & Cat Forum Archives
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Hello, I recently adopted a German Shep puppy named Fiddle who is missing her back left foot. She has the thigh but when she was born her mother chewed off her foot. She has scar tissue on what would be her knee and I can tell that it causes her pain. She doesnt like to set it on the ground and is having to constantly raise her back left thigh up to keep the nub (for lack of a better term) from touching the ground. When she walks it almost touches the ground which makes me think that if there was something to protect the scar tissue and a solid base to push off of, she could use her back left leg for support and maybe even some strength. Please let me know if you are familiar with any situation like ours. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Christopher
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You could try the drug gabapentin for phantom pain due to the irritated nerve endings. There are some companies working on prosthetics for dogs but you would probably have to wait until the dog is full grown (or buy new "legs" as the dog grows). The most practical solution is to have your vet amputate the leg mid-femur so that your dog will not be in any more pain. Puppies bounce back really well from this procedure and she should be good as new in 2 or 3 weeks! She is already hopping around anyway and you will quickly end her pain.
Pam
Hi Christopher,
My poodle, Angel was hit by a car and it tore her back right paw off. They decided to amputate the whole leg b/c she was trying to walk on the nub and the skin was breaking and bone was coming through. The vets said that prosthetics for dogs are a ways off and it's better to amputate the whole leg than have a nub that will get irritated and just cause pain. And the dogs don't really know what to do with it b/c they can't walk on it well and it's hard to hold it up while they're trying to hop. I think it will give Fiddle a much better quality of life if he doesn't have to deal with the nub. He'll be able to get around faster and easier without having to carry that extra limb. And they recover so fast from amputation. You'll be surprised!
Ruth and Angel
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