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Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

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My recent tripawd may have overdone it
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Member Since:
31 October 2014
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1
18 November 2014 - 3:21 am
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Gday all.

My GSD had her front leg removed on 21/10/14 and had recovered and adjusted to 3 legs brilliantly.

I took her to puppy school on Saturday and we did a pack walk around the football oval before the lessons. AJ has done this twice before since her surgery and despite being tired, was ok. Since the pack walk this week she has been hopping slower and is walking lower on her front leg. Almost like it's too much for her to walk normally. 

I'm concerned she may have overdone it and has stressed her muscles instead of building them up. She's not in any pain and I can touch her leg, foot and shoulder without any complaint from her.

I'm going to build a wobble board, to start building the core muscles. Unfortunately there are no animal physiotherapists within 350 km of us, so any physio or strength training will have to be done at home.

I'd love to hear some suggestions.

regards

AJ and Brenden

Virginia







Member Since:
22 February 2013
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18 November 2014 - 7:18 am
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Glad AJ is doing well overall!

Yeah, my guess would be too much too soon. Of course, I'm no vet.

Actually, there was just a recent post by Jerry making a distinction between the time it takes to "recover from surgery"...which is approximately two weeks, and the time it takes to "recover from adjusting"....muscles, joints, proper mobility development, etc., which is approximately at least a month.

So yes, it clearly appears AJ has overdone it and needs to take it easy and then start the strength training and buildingnup those core muscles. Long walks do not donthis

I've forgotten how ole AJ is, but still being a puppy her joints, bones, etc. are probably still growing and too much crazy jumping, running, etc. on a puppy can cause issues with four legs, muchnless three! I know AJ isn't jumping, etc. buta lap around the football field within the first three weeks....yep...too much. Although I'm sure itsw hard to tell that to AJ!!

For now, I would TRY (good luck) to keep him fairly restricted to potty breaks and very, very brief amount of walking .

Don't know if I made any sense or not...others will chime in.

Sending you and AJ the very best. Sounds like he picked a wonderful human companion for his journey! When you can, we would love to see more pictures of that precious AJ! :-)

Extra treats for AJ, a few leg, shoulder and back massages, a little rest, some very gentle leg stretches and a scoop of ice cream and he should be better in n o time! :-) keep us posted, okay?

Hugs!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle too!

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!

Norene, TN
Member Since:
21 October 2014
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18 November 2014 - 7:26 am
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Sally, you always have the best posts.

Bless his little heart! Heck even 4-pawders get tired too! Just a little rest and TLC and he'll be hopping, I mean, bouncing off the walls soon enough!

big-grin

Harmony became a Tripawd on 10/21/14 (MCT). She left us way too soon on 11/1/14.

"We miss you so much; our love, our heart, our Harmony."

- Pam, Ron and Melody, Meesha, Doublestuff and Mariah Carey

Westminster, MD
Member Since:
31 August 2013
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18 November 2014 - 8:32 am
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What a beautiful GSD !! I don't have much in the way of advice, Sally always gives great advice as does Elizabeth, and I know there will be others here that will post ideas to help you out. I just wanted to add my support, and say to hang in there through the recuperation period. They do tire out easier in that first month or so after surgery.

Best wishes,

Bonnie & Angel Polly

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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18 November 2014 - 11:33 am
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Hey AJ and Brendan! Fear not, your instincts are correct, sounds like she did overdo it. A week or so of strict R&R and some therapeutic massage and she should be back to herself. A month out from surgery isn't a lot a lot of time, I would definitely scale back her activity for at least another month then gradually build up again, no more than 10-15 minutes at a time.

In the meantime, here's some info about how not to allow our Tripawds to overdo things. It's SUPER challenging at first because we all want our dogs to make the most of life, but eventually we get the hang of knowing how to monitor their activity so they strike the right balance between play and rest.

Loving Life on Three Legs: Canine Fitness for Healthy, Hoppy Tripawds

Learn Rehab and Fitness Tips for Tripawd Cats and Dogs, Part 1

Enroll Now for Online Tripawd Conditioning School

"Rehab" posts in the Tripawds Gear blog

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

On The Road


Member Since:
24 September 2009
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10 January 2015 - 5:44 pm
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Hi AJ, it's been a while and I just came across your post. How are you doing? Drop by when you have a chance, we hope everything is good.

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

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