Hi and welcome! Your future posts won't need approval so please post away, we'd love to hear more about your new pup! What's his name? Thanks for giving him a great home. With all of your experience with dogs, he really won the lotto!

Now, here are my thoughts when it comes to training a Tripawd in basic things like obedience, take them for what they're worth. I'm neither a professional dog trainer or a veterinary behaviorist, but I do have six years of living with and training Wyatt Ray , our Tripawds spokesdog, who came to us with a lot of behaviorial and aggression issues caused by abuse and neglect during his first six months of life (that's how he lost his leg, you can read his story here). Wyatt has come a long way but he still has issues (don't we all?!).

When we first adopted Wyatt we tended to feel sorry for him. How can you not feel sympathy for a dog like him, or yours, that had an unfair start in life? I think because of our feelings we weren't as disciplined ourselves at treating him like a 'normal' dog and applying 'normal' behavior training methods to his life. As a result, his behavior grew worse, not better, and it wasn't until we snapped out of it and realized: Wyatt doesn't think of himself any differently, why are we?!  At that point we sought professional help with German Shepherd training experts, and our pack is soooo much better because of it.

My point is: Tripawds don't think of themselves as "special needs," therefore, at least when it comes to mental health and training, we can't either if we want to give them their best life possible.

Now that doesn't mean that we neglect their physical limitations. For instance, when we take Wyatt to obedience class, which involves a lot of walking, we make him take lots of breaks. On a daily basis, we don't allow him to overdo his activity in order to keep his body in top shape, and we watch how plays in order to avoid injury. Our e-book, Loving Life On Three Legs , talks about this important subject.

But when it comes to a Tripawd's mental health and behavior, it's up to us to treat them just like any other dog. If the dog has issues that are a special challenge, like aggression, then you treat them as you would any other dog with those issues and train appropriately. Any less is doing them a disservice, and making your life tougher than it should be

One of my favorite trainers who helped us tons is Sarah Wilson, here are some posts all about her and here's her website.