Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Abby is 6 days post surgery and, while we're in no hurry, I'd like to know when it's realistic to try stairs. She has had no complications so far and is just 15 months old.
We are in the midst of a major house remodel so we are unfortunately living in a 3rd floor apartment. There are five half flights of stairs and Abby has never been too fond of going down them. Her general mode is to get down them as quickly as possible, but we've always kept her close on a leash.
Since surgery we've been living with my parents so Abby doesn't have to do stairs. She's wearing her new Ruffwear harness and we tried my parents' carpeted stairs today. That was a no-go. She freaked out and we retreated after 3 steps.
Do I need to wait until the stitches are out? She'll need to go use them every time she goes to the bathroom.
Thanks! Erika and Abby
Not sure how to answer this.....our circumstances were so different. Our boy was 8 1/2 yrs old when he had surgery, and he only HAD to go down 2 porch steps. I wouldn't let him do our 12 steps to the basement for 4 months or better because I was so paranoid he'd fall. My husband guided him with the ruff wear harness on him, and it went well when we finally tried it. 15 months later I still go down in front of him, more for my peace of mind than anything. He can go down all by himself when I'm not looking, but that freaks me out. I would think it might feel better for her once the staples/stitches come out. It may just be trial and error for a bit, but eventually she'll get the hang of it.
paula and nitro
Nitro 11 1/2 yr old Doberman; right front amp June 2014. Had 6 doses carboplatin, followed by metronomic therapy. Rocked it on 3 legs for over 3 years! My Warrior beat cancer, but couldn't beat old age. He crossed the Bridge peacefully on July 25, 2017, with dignity and on his terms. Follow his blog entitled "Doberman's journey"
"Be good, mama loves you".....run free my beautiful Warrior
Just my unprofessional opinion, but I would definitely wait at least til stitches are out, especially with her not being fond of the steps anyway...and already kind of freaking out about them.
Geez, that's a lot of stairs! Every dog is different and many dogs can handle stairs fine. I can only tell you that my Happy Hannah (rear leg amp.) never went UP stairs after her amp. Fortunately I had a ramp built for her to come back in on when she had to go outside. She tried a couple of stairs once early in her recovery and panicked and I thought for sure she was going to fall. She tried again at seven months post amp. and that was the only time she ever did it.
I know I'm no help. Hopeful l y others can offer some insight. Rear leggers can usually go DOWN stairs easier than UP stairs. That was definitely true for Happy Hannah
Here's hoping for a fast paced remodeling job!!
YAY FOR ABBY!! Glad she's doing so well!
Hugs to all!
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!
Yep, good idea to wait until stitches are out. That's what we did with Jerry. We had 18 steps to go in or out of our 2nd floor walkup, it was tough for the first two weeks. When he was ready, we guided him using the handle of his Ruffwear harness , like this:
Are your stairs carpeted or slick or do they have traction ?
I'm wondering why she freaked out on the carpeted stairs. Were you trying to help her? Sometimes when we try too hard our dogs panic because it's unusual. I know there were many instances when we tried too hard to help and had to back off.
If that wasn't the case, for the next few days you might want to just play a little game and place treats on the first one or two stairs to associate stairs with a good thing.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I would also say to wait. Our Murphy went upstairs twice on his own before he refused to go at all. I will have to figure out how to retrieve the "Granny Bump" video to show how he finally learned.
Kathi and the Turbotail April Angel...and the Labrafork
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!
I carried Izzy outside for the first week or so after surgery. She's 12 and a front leg amputee, so I was mostly concerned with her going down the stairs. There were only three steps on the porch for her to go potty, so after the first week, I started letting her walk UP the stairs, just not down.
Tomorrow will be 3 weeks post amp and she takes the stairs up and down, both out on the porch and within the house, which is a full on (carpeted) staircase. Still won't let her roam when we aren't home; she's restricted to just one floor, though she is gaining more and more balance and confidence each day.
Izzy is only about a 50 pound dog and I'm guessing your baby is a bit heavier but we did really well with carrying ... but were lucky to only have one flight of stairs to tackle at a time.
Keep up posted! Glad it's going well so far!
Momma to the world's most beautiful American Bulldog, Izzy!! Lost her front leg to OSA 9/18/15. Diagnosed w MCT in June 2016. Celebrated her 1 year ampuversary with knee surgery on 9/18/16! MCT recurrence in Dec 2016. Happy & hungry til nearly 14, earning her wings on 7/31/17.
Thanks everyone for the replies. I lost track of this post when it changed forums and am just now catching up.
I think that the cone has a lot to do with why Abby freaked out on the carpeted stairs so we are just holding off until we get rid of that in a few days. I had her outside on my parents' patio a few days ago and without even thinking about it she hopped up two stairs from one level to another so I don't think it's the stairs so much as the confined space and the limited vision.
The stairs are wooden and somewhat narrow--not ideal. While I can lift her, she doesn't like being carried enough to make it safe to cart her up the stairs. She was 67 pounds pre-amputation, but she is finally eating well again so we're hoping to get her back around that weight even minus the leg. We'll just take it slowly and offer treats as we go when she does seem ready. Thanks!
epprice said
I lost track of this post...
FYI: Click your avatar any time, or the Profile button at the top of every Forums page and follow the links to all the topics you have posted in or started. For more help keeping track of posts and topics see: Finding Favorite Topics
Hope this helps!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
First off congratulations to you and Abby for being 12 days post amp and doing well! Woohoo, you have almost made it through what is often the worst part of recovery 
You have already gotten great advice on the stair issue and I don't really have anything to add except that I have three rear-leg amp German Shepherds and two do great going up or down stairs. The third we assist with his ruffwear harness . Once Abby's stitches are out and the cone is off she will hopefully get over her stair phobia!
You mentioned that you were trying to get Abby back up to her pre-amp weight but it is really important to keep her leaner than that. As lean as possible. As we have learned with our pups even a few extra pounds can literally reduce their mobility. In addition, being heavier puts more stress on their joints, something best avoided as much as possible! So check with your vet about an appropriate "new" weight for Abby. I think someone said here that each dog pound is equal to 5 pounds on a human, give or take. Its kind of macabre to think about but say Abby's leg weighed 5 pounds. That is five pounds you do not want her to gain back. It does not sound like at 67 pounds that she was overrweight to begin with so you are ahead of the game already!
Looking forward to following Abby's adventures on three!!
xoxo,
Martha, Codie Rae, and the Oaktown Pack
Woohoo! Tripawds Rule!
Regulator of the Oaktown Pack, Sheriff of the Oaktown Pawsse, Founding member and President of the Tripawd Girldogs With 2 Names ROCK Club, and ... Tripawd Girldog Extraordinaire!
Just a quick update. Abby had her stitches out yesterday and we returned home to our apartment. She bounded up all 32 stairs like they were nothing! While there are a lot of downsides to having a puppy on this journey, this was definitely an upside!
After 2+ months of uncertainty, we finally received a diagnosis of osteosarcoma yesterday. 🙁 For more info on her journey, check out my latest blog at dearabby.tripawds.com
Awesome Abby! That's really cool you're doing so great, just be careful on those stairs OK?
Going over to check your blog, keep up the pawesome puppiness!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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