Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
Hi everyone! I'm new to the forums and seeking advice.
My Levi was apparently dumped and at some point sustained a severe injury to his front leg. He was found and taken to a local rescue group and they took him to the vet for his injured leg. He had suffered extensive nerve damage and the leg was infected so the vet amputated the leg. They guesstimated him to be about 6 months old. My friend at the rescue group reached out for fosters and I volunteered. When I got him, he was one day post-amputation. He hopped around clumsily but did great pottying and everything. He is now 2.5 yrs old has adjusted to being on 3 legs beautifully. He is a happy, loving, playful dog that can run faster than my 8 year old step son. (Levi's problem is stopping! 😊) I take him to doggy daycare a couple of times a month to let him play and burn off his extra energy or he gets a little chewy. (RIP laptop cord and box fan and many many shoes/clothes/books.)
Levi has never demonstrated any sort of aggressive or dominant behaviors. I have an older cat and the two get along fine. He isn't a marker of territory and was neutered prior to my rescuing him. He goes belly up for anyone and everyone. He's a lover for sure.
Three weeks ago we got a labrador puppy who is now 9 weeks old. When we first introduced the puppy to Levi (who is completely used to other dogs!) they played quite a bit and over the course of the past three weeks Levi has started to display a bit of aggression towards the puppy. First it started with bone/toy aggression and now it's anytime the puppy tries to play with Levi. Levi's overall mood is definitely different. The happy bouncy cheerful dog now stays laid up under the bed or on a couch with a demeanor I can only explain as sad. I try to keep the puppy occupied and off of Levi as much as possible but puppies.... 🙄
I'm just curious if maybe this is normal new dog in the house behavior or if he could possibly be in pain from all of the activities? He has never acted like his legs bothered him so I'm not sure what to make of it.
Any advice would be appreciated.
Hi Morgia, Levi and Puppy, welcome! We're so glad you came here to share your story and join the community. Your future posts won't need approval so post away.
I'll tell ya, I'm not the best person to answer this kind of question because we've always been a one-dog family. Others with multiple dogs can give you way better insight than I can. One way you can help them help you is give a little more detail about what happens when Levi shows the aggression, as in, how do you react when these situations pop up? What kinds of things do you do/say to each dog?
I'll be back later, stay tune for help from this amazing community.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thanks, Jerry!
I have lurked this site and forums since I became a tripawd mom 2 years ago and it has been an invaluable resource to me and Levi! Thank y'all for that!!
So Levi's behavior includes growling and snapping at Gunner (the puppy) and he has nipped him a time or two. I usually tell Levi NO and immediately distract the puppy with a toy or going outside because he potties every 15 minutes in order to get him to leave Levi alone.
Hope this helps!!
Hi and welcome!
My parents have raised wheelchair assistance puppies for the last 15 or so years, so we always have puppies in the house, as well as one or two older dogs who we kept because they preferred the lazy life to working. Our oldest golden loved the puppies when he was younger, but when he was 3 or 4, he decided he wanted nothing to do with them. He would tell them off with a growl or snap when they would try to play with him or cut in line for the water dish. It was clear he wasn't going to hurt them - he was just making it crystal clear that he did not want to participate in their puppy behavior.
Behavior like that is pretty normal - puppies have always played with litter mates and don't know what appropriate behavior is for interacting with adult dogs. I wouldn't be too worried unless Levi is actually hurting or trying to hurt your new pup - how far does he go when he's grumpy?
And how do you react when he growls? He should be allowed to dictate playing terms to the puppy as long as he's being appropriate (no biting) and the puppy needs to learn (and he will, once he starts to understand more nuanced signals from Levi - he's likely missing those right now and Levi is having to escalate his behavior to make his point understood).
As for his demeanor, he might be overtired. Does he have a way to fully get away from the puppy when he doesn't want to play any more? We always tried to give our older dogs a place they could go and be alone. Do you notice any changes in his gait?
Here's some good advice for how to set your two pups up for success.
When my son got Max I already had an 11 year old husky mix named Ollie. He didn't want to play and let puppy Max know by growling and putting him down on the ground. Didn't hurt him but put him in his place. Fast forward two years and I got a collie puppy. Max did the same with Riley when he'd become too exuberant. Max always gave Ollie his respect but would constantly correct Riley by putting him down on the ground. It got so every time Max would come to correct Riley he'd just submissively lie down. I think you're seeing Levi asserting his alpha dog position to the puppy. Definitely keep an eye on the situation so puppy doesn't get hurt but puppy does have to learn his position in your pack. As puppy is growing bigger and getting stronger perhaps Levi is just trying to correct what he perceives as unacceptable behavior.
Linda, Riley & Spirits Mighty Max & Ollie
Absolutely agree with DCJack. As long as he is not hurting the puppy, growling or even nipping is a normal way for an adult dog to set boundaries. Make sure that Levi has a safe space that is his alone (maybe on the couch or a bed), and that each have a separate food and water bowl (not right next to each other). If Levi has some favorite toys, put them away and play with them only with Levi for now. Perhaps buy a couple of new toys for group play. I would also walk them separately for now, so each dog gets to spend some special time with you (and Levi does not feel like he needs to keep up with the puppy). I would also try to make sure that the puppy isn't inadvertently impacting upon Levi's mobility (e.g., by biting at his legs, bumping him, etc.).
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
First of all, the puppy should have stayed with it's litter mates until 12 weeks - they learn their social behaviors from their litter mates and taking them too soon means they haven't learned them yet.
I agree with everyone else. Make sure that Levi has his 'safe' places, an escape route. He's the boss, and he needs to correct Gunner when Gunner over-steps the boundaries. As long as he's not hurting him - they usually growl, nip, paw them, sometimes even take them in their mouth lol. I would definitely keep a close eye on them, not leave them alone for awhile, but supervised play would probably be ok. Make sure that Levi knows he's ok to play with the puppy, maybe tell him to 'be gentle' or 'be nice' so that he realizes that Gunner is a baby.
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
Thanks everyone! I was just concerned that the behavior change may have been an expression of pain or discomfort since Levi is so much more active than he normally is thanks to the rambunctious pup.
Right now he is able to escape Gunner by getting on the couch and Gunner sleeps in a kennel at night but during the day while I'm at work I don't have a way to keep them separated.
I appreciate everyone's advice so much!!
1 Guest(s)
