Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi, I've read many times that stairs are "no problem" for tripods but that's not the case with my boy Romeo. It's 3 months after surgery and he's still apprehensive of stairs, up and down. (He's a front leg amputee, btw.) I have a harness and I've tried supporting him, but the best we've done is four stairs up, four stairs down.
I really need to train him on stairs ASAP because we live in a 2nd floor apartment and have been carrying Romeo up and down a flight of steps multiple times a day. My back is not happy! I can't do this for the rest of Romeo's life.
How did you tackle stairs? Any advice would be appreciated!
Hello and welcome, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
Why did Romeo lose his leg?
I've got to run right now, but I'll check back. I wanted to get your post approved so others could chime in.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
He has osteosarcoma (common in greyhounds) and had his front right leg removed, and has had 4 out of 5 rounds of chemo. He's doing very well now (except for the stairs!).
Do you have carpeting or a non-slip surface on the stairs? I would put his harness on, hold the handle & just start walking up like everything is just fine. Lift just a little bit on the handle to guide. The same for going down, holding the handle, use it as a guide so that Romeo knows you are holding him steady, and just walk. We don't have stairs, so it wasn't really a problem for us. But our groomer grooms the dogs in her basement, and the first time Murphy did her stairs, he just went down (and right back up!) it was kind of comical.
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
Otis started going up and down at about the 3 month point. I had kept them gated off, and opened them up (but we were still sleeping downstairs). He just looked at them for a couple of days, then up he came. Going down the first couple of times (also a front leg amputation) was a bit scary (for me, watching from behind), but then he developed almost a bunny hop to get down the stairs. What will Romeo do if you just call him from the top? (Wondering only if your assisting him might actually be throwing him off balance - my Otis came up and down pretty fast).
Do your stairs have good traction and good lighting? Other than that, I am not sure that there is any good way to train him, other than to try to assist with the harness. Is there anywhere near you that has a shorter flight, perhaps 6 - 8 stairs - you could drive there and train a bit, with the harness or just on a longer lead. Might make him less apprehensive if he believes it to be an outing.
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.
The first thing that occurs to me is what's the traction like? My stairs are wooden and this was much too slippery so I put carpet on them. I'm guessing in an apartment building you may not be able to do much about the stairs but I know some people use little rubber booties etc. for when their dogs need to walk on a smooth surface, for example at the vets. This might be an option if traction is a problem at least until Romeo is feeling more confident.
Does he find it easier going up than down? That's what I'd expect from a front leg tripawd (my Meg is a front leg too). Do you think it's primarily s physical issue or a question of building confidence? do you use a webmaster harness with a handle on the back? That can certainly be helpful in terms of both helping him physically and making him feel more secure.
Are you doing core strengthening exercises ? One of the ones I do with Meg involves her standing on a wobble cushion and putting her front leg up on a step. She also stands with her back legs on the step and puts her front leg down on the wobble cushion. Perhaps something like that might be helpful for Romeo?
All best,
Meg and Clare (and Elsie Pie)
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, 23 November 2023, adopted 12 January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
Lots of great suggestions here. I think having a second person on top and tempting your pup with the BEST TREATS EVER can help too. Have your friend walk up and backwards while you gently guide and encourage your pup to follow upstairs. Do the same going down. Remember, upstairs is scarier to a front-legger (and the reverse is true for rear-leggers).
Are your stairs open on the back? Those are especially scary to some Tripawds, so you'll need a little extra patience.
How are you helping to guide your dog on the steps? Here's how we did it with Jerry and Wyatt Ray as well.
Hang in there! It's not too uncommon for some dogs to take a bit longer to adapt, every situation is slightly different.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thanks for all the awesome replies!
The stairs are wood, but not slippery, and aren't open in the back, luckily. The stairs are not inside, so there's no option to add carpeting. It's encouraging to hear that Otis started getting it at 3 months, otisandtess!
Our Murphy was a rear Tripawd, with other physical problems, so it took him quite a while to conquer the stairs. We finally accomplished it with something that Sally dubbed "The Granny Bump".
Kathi and the Turbotail April Angel...and the Labradork
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
Oh Kathi, thank you! I am so trying the "Grandma Bump"!! Our stairs are steeper than yours but maybe, just maybe this will work. Isa is three months post-amp (today as a matter of fact) and it seems as much a matter of confidence as anything. oh, the thought of sleeping in my bed! thank you!
Right rear leg amp 7/12/16 due to OSA. Metastatic lesion on her right front leg, January 2017. Joined the Winter Warriors January 19, 2017. Run free my sweet girl.
What would Isa do if you went to bed upstairs tonight? Maybe you should go up a bit early, call her, and then go about your business upstairs and see if she comes up? Obviously, if she absolutely will not, you might end up back downstairs, but maybe treating it as just the way it is might help?
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.
We might try that, combined with the Grandma Bump and having the kong with peanut butter (standard bedtime treat) with me at the top of the stairs. Times I have gone upstairs, she sits at the foot of the stairs and barks. and barks. and barks. Until I get up and either haul her up by the harness (hard on both of us) or I go back downstairs. On one notable occasion she turned around halfway up, more than halfway. Not the most graceful move on either of our parts and a wonder either or both of us didn't end up in a heap at the bottom. Scared the daylights out of me.
My dad is coming for a visit in two weeks and he'll get the "good" bed while he's here so, for now, downstairs is fine. Once he heads home, we will revisit this challenge. Paws crossed!
Right rear leg amp 7/12/16 due to OSA. Metastatic lesion on her right front leg, January 2017. Joined the Winter Warriors January 19, 2017. Run free my sweet girl.
Well, today was the day for my girl Eurydice who lost her front leg to osteo 5 1/2 months ago 
I have to explain she is a 69kg huge dog so I waited for as long as she needed before attempting to go down stairs.
Today we went for it, there was an handicap lane if need be so if she wasn't comfortable I could turn back immediately and although there were quite a lot of steps they were quite broad so easier for her first attempt.
She mastered it
All I had to do was hold her harness so she felt safe and she went down step by step by herself.
So there we are, all dogs can do it !!!!!
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
Yeah Euryduce!! You did it!
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
Thank you Donna 💗
I am still unsure wether Eurydice will be able to negotiate normal width steps as her body is so long there is no possible way she can do one step at a time ...
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
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