Tripawds Three Legged Dog & Cat Forum Archives
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8:27 pm
Tomorrow we will officially have a new family member who is a tripawd since birth. She is a 5 yr old long coat chihuahua with the front right leg amputated (has a small stump) and some nerve/bone damage on the other front leg. Apparently the momma dog was overzealous in cleaning/chewing off the umbilical cord and started on her leg 🙁 She gets along pretty good. Today was our trial day. She hops around on her 3 legs but I can see with the nerve/bone damage in her elbow, she gets tired pretty easily. She is a bit overweight, so going to work on getting her lean.
What do you think about a joint supplement?Would that help with her joint/nerve issues?
Also, even though she is tiny and easily picked up/put in a sling, I'd like her to be a dog as often as possible- by being on the floor/ground to get her to strengthen her front leg more.
I bought her a step in harness to help her support her weight but she's not terribly happy about having the harness on so flops over on her back.
Anyone else with itty bitty tripawds?
Thanks!
9:06 pm
12 February 2010
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welcome to the forums, future posts won't require moderation. it's always a good idea to keep tripawds on the lean side, and i'd think this would especially be a good idea for a pup with a slightly damaged lone front leg. what's your pup's name?? if she's been a tripawd for five years, she must be pretty used to her 'normal', but of course this is all new to you. our gayle was a lab, so we don't have 'little dog' knowledge...but we're sure there will be others that jump in and give you all kinds of good info and suggestions.
we'd love to see some pictures!!
charon & spirit gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
9:46 pm
29 October 2010
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Hi, welcome to you and your new pup. What is her name?
We didn't have a bitty tripawd either (ours was 47lbs) so can't offer advice in that regard, but getting her to lose a few pounds (ounces??) would be good if she is overweight. It's hard on the body/limbs for a tripawd to be overweight.
Also if you have slippy wood or tile floors, it's a good idea to get lots of rugs/runners for her so she feels secure and doesn't slip.
Looking foward to hearing more about your new pack member!
Jackie, Angel Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
11:33 pm
14 August 2009
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Welcome and bless you for taking in this little one! What's her name?
I didn't have an itty bitty one either...mine was 37ish lbs (corgi lab mix). We had her for 12 years and she lived a wonderful full life - so we were blessed. She had a birth defect deformed front leg. She did very well on 3 legs but did tire easily on walks. We had a stroller for longer walks.
When she got over 11 years old, she did start creeping up on the weight to 39lbs because she wasn't as mobile and it was hard to not give into her begging. But most of her life we didn't worry too much about her weight because she burned off the calories.
I would guess this little one will drop the weight once there isn't someone handing out treats all the time. Three legged dogs just burn more calories in general from hopping. You certainly don't want to be carrying her too much so her little muscles don't get weak. Can you get her to swim in like a kiddie pool? Swimming/hydro therapy is incredible for building muscle tone with no stress on the joints. Maybe you can get her a little float coat and make her swim (they have a handle so you can control them). It will really help those little legs without stress!
We didn't do any supplements during Comet's life and surprisingly she didn't have arthritis when she aged. She had a boat load of other non-life threatening maladies but not arthritis! 
I just recently had a long conversation with my vet about supplements for our healthy 4-legged 3 year old and he recommended fish oil and vitamin E - if you are going to give a supplement. BUT please ask your vet on the dosage for a dog so small because you can overdose them! My vet said there is no scientific evidence that joint supplements work. There is evidence with fish oil and E. He basically said, you can use joint supplements but it's probably not going to do much except take money out of your wallet. His words, not mine.
Basically, my vet said with any dog to keep them healthy for a long time: feed a good food, keep them lean, keep their muscles toned and keep their mind stimulated and you'll avoid a lot of health problems.
We'd love to see pictures of your new pup! Keep us posted!
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
8:51 am
Team Tripawds
Administrators
25 September 2009
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Hi Shamrock, thanks for joining us here. We hope today's surgery goes well, please keep us posted.
You've got a good attitude about your pup. Not carrying her all over the place and allowing her to be a dog is one of the best things you can do for her recovery. By not babying her, you're showing her that you believe she can get along fine, and in return, she will to. Recovery is a team effort!
As for joint supplements...we have been told by rehab vets that they're not necessary until you notice a problem. That way she won't build up a tolerance and when your pup really needs it, you can start with lower doses and work your way up.This video shares more about that topic. Recently, we started using Synflex joint supplement for our Tripawd Wyatt Ray, who is 3 years old and has hip displaysia. We began using it when he was clearly showing signs of hurting after walks, and it's made a huge difference, but again, we didn't start using it until it became clear that the displaysia was affecting him.
Let us know how the recovery is going, we're here to help OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
8:59 am
Welcome to Tripawds. You are awesome for adopting!
I had a small Tri-pug, but she is gigantic compared to yours 
. Maggie was about 17-17.5 pounds and a rear amp.
I do believe joint supplements are helpful. I have used them for years myself, and I saw improvements in mobility in my first two pugs when I started them on a glucosimine/chondrotin supplement. Both of them (at different times) had started limping and after vet visits couldn't find any injury we started joint supplements.
My dogs now do get fish oil which helps with lots of things.
And I wholeheartedly agree with you about letting your pup be a dog! It is tempting to pick up small dogs- I had to break my parents of that habit after Maggie's surgery. She got around just fine for the most part (going up things was hard for her). Of course we made accommodations for her not being able to walk as far as before, but for the most part she was paws on the ground for her almost 4 years as a tri-pug.
And for weight loss- I had really good luck with green beans when I recently put one of my quad pugs on a diet. You substitute green beans for a portion of their regular food. They are full of fiber and very filling, so my pug actually got a bigger volume of food and lost weight. She loves them and they are a normal part of her diet now. Be sure if you use the canned kind that you get the no salt added. I use them for snacks for her too.
And around here we call them 'Trouble Beans' after one of our Tripawd angels who turned us on to the idea.
Karen and the pugapalooza
11:19 am
14 August 2009
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I do believe joint supplements are helpful. I have used them for years myself, and I saw improvements in mobility in my first two pugs when I started them on a glucosimine/chondrotin supplement.
That's good to know! I, myself have no idea first hand. And if left up to me, I'd say a donut or cookie will cure whatever ails you! 
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
1:24 pm
cometdog said I, myself have no idea first hand. And if left up to me, I'd say a donut or cookie will cure whatever ails you!
Actually- I believe that chocolate cures what ails you, but it's not good for dogs .
Karen
4:40 pm
Thank you to everyone. I should have been clearer. She is 5 and has been an amputee since birth. So she's been getting around on 3 legs since before she could walk. She came with the name Coco, my daughter loves it but personally I think she looks more like a Niki. I may compromise and call her Cookie LOL.
She is 4lbs now and needs to lose probably 1/4lb. Right now she looks like a sausage. no tuck up, no ribs to feel.
Going to feed her the grain free honest kitchen food, since I use that for my other dogs. I have a bichon with bi-lateral HD, so she gets synflex, Ican add some to Coco's food too. Thanks for the help
5:40 pm
28 November 2011
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Hi and welcome! I can't speak about the small dogs, either. We've always had bigger boys. Glad to have you here, though!
Lisa and Zeus
Zeus was a Husky mix diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at age 11. A visible lung met and suspicious spot on his liver meant a poor prognosis-six weeks was our vet's best guess. We decided to fight for our boy and his right front leg was amputated on 12/1/11. We did six rounds of chemo, changed his diet and spoiled him completely rotten. We were blessed with 10 great months after diagnosis. Against the odds, the lung met remained a single met and grew very little over those months. A wonderful furbaby with the most gentle spirit, he fought with a strength that we never imagined he possessed. We have no regrets...
http://zeuspod......pawds.com/
6:22 pm
Team Tripawds
Administrators
25 September 2009
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shamrockmommy said
I have a bichon with bi-lateral HD, so she gets synflex...
Great stuff! Please consider purchasing direct to help support the Tripawds community! We believe SynFlex helped Jerry and now Wyatt is taking it too. Read our SynFlex review for details.
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Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
