Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi Everyone!
About 4 months ago I adopted a 7 week old puppy named Tiga with a front leg deformity which essentially left her front left leg short and useless. She is now almost 6 months old and she gets around pretty well on three legs. She is just as crazy as any other 6 month old puppy, hence the nickname Tiga Monster! She is in hydrotherapy twice a week to build strength in her remaining limbs as well.
Tiga’s deformed limb has a muscular shoulder but is basically just bones and skin from the elbow down. It is less than half the size of her other legs but it is growing as she grows, at least from the shoulder to the elbow. The “elbow” on her deformed leg is locked and she has a small paw pad on the bottom but no toes. She uses her little leg a lot as a crutch when she is walking around or to stabilize herself when she is sitting. Since she is getting taller, this causes her good shoulder to stick up and kind of twists her back. Her deformed leg isn’t irritated or causing her any pain but I am worried that it is messing with her spinal alignment. She will run around on three legs and she looks pretty straight when she does so but when she is sniffing around or just kind of meandering around she uses her little leg. I feel like she is using her little leg more as she gets older. When she walks on her little leg her back is kind of hunched and her butt almost drifts to the side a little.
Her hydrotherapist has started noticing alignment issues as well and she suggested a chiropractor. Since she uses that little leg so often it is likely that we would need to see the chiropractor fairly regularly. We are already shelling out big bucks to the hydrotherapist so it’s hard to swallow the idea of a chiropractor as well. We don’t really want to amputate the leg either since it doesn’t hurt her and there is live muscle there. She will even “shake” with it!
I am looking for anyone who has been in a similar situation as well as anyone who has an opinion on chiropractors and the long term effects of leaving her little leg alone. Pretty much anything anyone has to say!!
Thanks!
Hi Tiga and family, welcome to Tripawds. I hope you don't mind but I moved your post here since this is where a lot of pups in your situation post their stories. Yes, we do have many members who have coped with a limb deformity so I'm hoping that they will chime in. For now I can point you to some posts:
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Just want to say welcome to you and Tiga
That Tiga is adorable and very lucky to have you bring home into your heart.
Have no knowledge in your specific situation ....others who have will be posting soon...and of course all of the blogs Jerry suggested will give you additional insight.
Best of luck to our and Tiga and we are all here for you to support our with whatever you decide. Dogs do amazingly well on three legs...especially the younger ones!
Sally and Happy Hannah
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Hi!
I think this post is older, so maybe you don't need any more advice. Let us know what you did!
We were in a similar situation to you, but based on the advice of our vet (and the vet the rescue uses), went ahead with the amputation almost right after adopting him, I just joined and you can see pics of our puppy under the Share Your Story. We are one week post-op right now. We are hoping that since Chance is so young, he will not remember any of this and that he will be just a happy tripawd all his life. We are certain it was the right thing to do. His leg was born without joints and the bone in his leg was also deformed. He was already starting to use it as a crutch and we believe long term the amputation is keeping him from further injury and will make his quality of life better. Here Chance is chilling with his sister Shyla, who helps him feel better. The Ace bandage is covering his fentanyl patch.
Rachel that's so nice of you to share Chance's story with Tiga's people, thank you!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Rachel,
Thanks so much for sharing Chance's story with me. What a cute pup! Sorry it took so long to reply, I didn't think anyone else had seen my post.
His deformity looks very similar to Tiga's. We have gotten several different opinions on what to do with her "little leg". Our primary vet says that it looks like it's going to affect her later in life because of the way her spine twists when she uses it as a crutch. However she says to wait and see if she straightens out as she grows. Our hydrotherapist believes that a couple of chiropractic alignments will do wonders for her and that amputation may not be necessary. She has straightened out a lot since I last posted. She standing on all three legs more and more.
If you don't mind sharing, what were your vet and rescue's reasons for the immediate amputation? I'm just trying to gather as much info as possible. I think she will do absolutely fine on three legs. She doesn't let anything slow her down! I just hesitate to put her through an unnecessary surgery. Her current condition does not affect her current quality of life at all. She has no sores or joint pain or any issues like that. It's just later down the road that I'm concerned about. I also know that part of my hesitation is that we as humans have become attached to her "little leg".
I guess our game plan for now is to give the chiropractor a couple of tries. If there is no improvement then we will probably talk to an orthopedic vet about the amputation.
awwww. Tiga Monster... what a cutie..
Unfortunately, I have no advice to offer with the amputation due to the deformity.. Chance's situation is much closer to Tiga's than my guy. My guy had his front left leg amputated due to osteosarcoma.. and he was 14 at the time!!
But, my own personal thoughts are... I believe that by keeping the deformed leg will eventually give them problems with their spine and back in the future because they will always tend to use that as a crutch and over a period of time may cause some issues that are irrepairable.
I have seen how well dogs get along with 3 legs.,. and they don't know any better!! They still love each day and everyone as if they had 4 legs!! and trust me.. 3 legs does not slow them down!!! lol
Keep us posted on what happens.. and more pictures!! we love pictures!!
Christine.... with Franklin in her heart ♥
Franklin, he was the Happiest Dog on Three Legs! Diagnosed 09/26/2012 with Osteosarcoma, amputated 12/4/2012. Had a wonderful 5 1/2 months painfree until he ran for the Bridge on 5/15/2013. Always in my heart, and always a guardian angel of my pack... You can follow his Tripawd Adventures, before and after, in my blog, Frank'n'Farter!
Hi Christine-
When we got Chance he was approx 12 weeks old. We took him to two vets, both our regular vet and the vet that the rescue uses. Both vets recommended to us that it should be amputated. Plus, we had observed him ourselves. We could see him using his bad arm as a crutch (which made him walk very awkwardly when he was using it). Whereas when he would forget he had it, he could run and play just fine and it was less contortion of the spine. We felt, just by watching him, that it was more of an impediment than not. Also, we were afraid (especially since we have two large dogs already - GSDs- that the potential to hurt it and force an emergency amputation, was a possibility we wanted to avoid). The vet agreed and we got his amputation done only a few weeks after we got him. As many people will tell you, the first 2 weeks are pretty awful, but he bounced back and is doing great. He runs, plays with his sisters, goes on our daily walks and in all ways is very well adjusted. I also think that since he is still a puppy, he is much more adaptable, when he takes a spill he just bounces up again and retries whatever he was doing. And my other dogs have been incredibly respectful of him. I am glad we got it done so early, he won't remember it and he'll never know anything different. I hope that helps. If you have any other, more specific questions, I'll answer if i can.
I adopted Cora at about 14 weeks. She had just had her front, deformed leg amputated. In some ways Cora is very similar to Tigra, in other ways very different. Cora is blind and has some brain damage. She was with a rescue group when they chose to have her front leg amputated, so I was not part of that decision.
From what I've learned here and what I've experienced with Cora I would say if there is a chance of the leg getting in the way or causing problems then amputating is the right choice. Of course, this is just my opinion. When they amputated Cora's front leg, they left a stump. I didn't know this was a bad idea, but I did see her fall on it a few times. As Cora got older and more adventurous she started having more problems. At about 5 months old, she fell hard on her stump. It was a very painful injury and wouldn't heal. So in the end, she had a second surgery to remove the stump. She has become a much, much happier dog. If you'd asked me if the stump was bothering her before the fall I would have said not really, only the times she fell on it. Now I know differently. The stump was in the way and a constant source of pain. And without her having the stump, she's moving easier. She's not trying to use something to get up or walk on, that can't actually help her.
So, that's my experience. Obviously, there's a lot of differences. I will also say that if blind and brain damaged cora can adjust to 3 legs, so can Tigra.
I have a 6 month old Great Dane born with a very similar deformity. I chose amputation due to her size. I didn't want her to end up with problems possibly requiring surgical intervention when she was older. I was also afraid we would be making hard decisions re: her quality of life. Good luck with whatever decision you make. I know it's hard, I second guessed myself up until the very last minute.
I can feel the love, support, and hopeful future you want Tiga to have. It's heartwarming! She's in such good care with pawrents who care deeply for her. She's getting every chance possible. I know you want to make the right choice - who here doesn't? I know you're watching her like a hawk and evaluating multiple aspects. The good news, if I understand right, is that you've got time on your side. You can watch her grow and build muscle and get good care from therapy and chiro-care. If at any point you're getting more worried or concerned, you're already on board with amputation and have found us! Everyone here is pretty biased and supportive of amputation, but I think we all know that we take cues from our pups and kitties. With pain, distress, or loss of quality of life, we amputate. So let Tiga direct you here. You two are together enough and bonded well for that message to come around.
Best wishes! Post more pics! She's 1000% cute!
~ Katy & Jackson
ACL tear in right hind leg 12/5/12 and scheduled ACL repair surgery 12/21/12. Pre-op xrays revealed osteosarcoma. Amputation 12/28/12. Chemo (carboplatin) started Jan 10, 2013 and ended on April 5, for a total of 5 doses. He handled carbo like a champ! No side effects. We started metronomic therapy at his third chemo and have been also doing some holistic treatments. He's a lively, playful 10 year old huskie-boarder collie and a very proud member of the Winter Warriors! Our love. Our funny little guy!
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