Tripawds Three Legged Dog & Cat Forum Archives

Bless you for fostering!

That's really strange they didn't take it all the way off.  Is he young?

The best therapy if you can find a place is hydro therapy.  It's relatively cheap to do.  I go to a rehab facility and they have great therapists.  I think the cost is around $30 for an hour (in Vegas).

Lucky for you our admin has a shepherd that is a rear amp along with many others.

Hey! Welcome to Tripawds!!!!

Lets hear it for fostering GSD amputees! Where are you and who are you fostering for? We are in California and foster for German Shepherd Rescue of Northern California. We have a foster right now--Travis Ray, and we fostered Codie Rae for three months until she convinced us to adopt her. We also fostered Wyatt Ray Dawg until he was adopted by Jim and Rene, Tripawds founders. All rear leg amps.

It sounds like the amputation was done properly but can you post a photo? I kind of doubt that what remains of his leg is weighing him down. It is more likely to be an issue of strength and coordination. How long have you been fostering him? Do you know what your foster's condition was before the amputation? Do you know what sort of excercise he has been getting since his amp? Is he overweight? Could he be getting too much exercise? How old is he? These things all play into what you are seeing now.

It definitely takes awhile for new amputees to adjust. Not only do they have to build up strength but the brain and body have to get reprogrammed to functioning on three legs. Take a look at this video, which shows Wyatt at three weeks and Codie Rae at three years post amp and you will see what I am talking about.   

Swimming is a great low impact exercise but dogs use their front legs much more than their back legs when swimming. As Cometdog suggests, a hydrotherapy treadmill would be good though. Hydrotherapy is really expensive where we live way more than Las Vegas.....Alternatively, straight line running is good exercise. That is how Codie Rae gained strength--we got her about a month after her surgery and I seriously had doubts as to whether she would ever be able to get around easily--it was so painful to watch her move. Again, I will refer you to the video above to see how she gets around now! We took her to the dog park every day and she ran the fence with little dogs on the other side. She was running a straight line, no twisting and turning. I think that is the best kind of exercise, at least it has been in my experience. Because, of course, with shepherds particularly, keeping that remaining leg and hip in good shape is of paramount importance.

Do you jog? That would be good exercise--it is way easier for rear leg amps to run than walk. I am totally out of shape but I try to jog a little when I am walking Travis so he can lope along with me. We just discovered he likes to chase a ball and that is good exercise as well, as long as you throw it so he is not jumping up for it, just chasing after it.

Bottom line--your foster should be slim. Exercise should be in proportion to his condition--don't overdo it as that can make them weak until they recover. Tripawds generally do not need as much exercise as 4 legged dogs. They do not generally have the stamina. The bigger the dog the more this is true. Try alternating amounts of exercise day to day. Codie Rae is a smaller GSD (~58 lbs) and she gets a 2 mile walk one day and a one mile walk the next. And she occasionally gets to romp with her brother dog or foster brother dog. That is enough for her. You have to walk a fine line between keeping them as fit as they can be and overdoing the exercise--and that is going to be individual for each dog. I would err on the side of caution at this point and just work on slowly building up your foster pup's strength. Today is Travis' 4 month ampuversary and it is just really in the past two weeks that he has seemed to really come around. To start with he was super clumsy (we got him about 2 weeks post amp) and had no strength or stamina. All of a sudden he is well coordinated and really seems to be gaining strength--he is good for about a mile walk now.

I hope this helps, please don't hesitate to ask more questions, and please post a photo or two of your foster pup!

Thank you for being willing to take on a tripawd foster. Alot of folks would not.

Codie Rae's mom Martha

Glad we could help! Hard wood floors can be hard for a tripawd to negotiate, throw some small rugs or runners around if you can. You can also try booties, especially on the hind paw--try a google search for dog booties. He will always "limp" but you will be surprised at how well he will be getting around soon.

Check out some more videos of rear leg amps--Gerry has a bunch, I particularly like <a href="