Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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My 65 lb, 6 year old boxer is scheduled to have her front left leg amputated on 2/16. Her water & food bowls currently rest on the ground. Would raising them be easier on her? If so, can anyone recommend an easy to clean, simple/clean looking, suitable for a big dog?
I think it needs to be fairly heavy, she tends to push her bowl around a lot when she eats.
Anita - mom to two human kids and two dog kids.
Chloe the white boxer - tripawd on 2/16/16 at age 6.
We did get a raised feeding station for our dobe, I think I got it from Pet Smart. I got it before the amp so he would get used to it. He still choses to use the water bowl on the floor most of the time, but I think its a good idea. Good luck.
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
I tried a raised food dish for my pug Maggie. She looked at me like I was crazy and wouldn't eat until I put her bowl on the floor!
Of course she was quite little and a rear amp. I think for a larger front amp a raised bowl is a great idea. Here is a Blog Post about raised dishes, it might give you some ideas. You could also just try putting her bowl on a stack of books (that you don't like much), or maybe a 5 gallon pail upside down. I like Paula's idea of introducing it before the amp.
I had to make a raised dish for my quad pug Tani her last year or so as her balance was declining. I made it out of plywood which I painted, and then added a plastic container lid on top to keep the bowl in place and keep the food she spilled contained.
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
My Shelby was a 24ish pound rear amp and I did get her a raised bowl. I think it helped her a bit. Yet, she would still sometimes prefer to eat on the floor still - out of my bowls (not the stainless steel ones) but I think that was related to her tastebuds and the chemo. But I think the raised bowls are better.
My new dog, not a tripawd, is enjoying those raised bowls too so I think it's good in general.
Alison with Spirit Shelby in her heart (and little jasper too)
Shelby Lynne; Jack Russell/Shiba Inu mix. Proud member of the April Angels of 2014.
October 15, 2000 to April 8, 2014
Our story: Broke rear leg in June 2013 - non-conclusive results for cancer so leg was plated and pinned. Enlarged spleen in September 2013 and had it removed and was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma and started chemotherapy. Became a Tripawd January 8th, 2014 and definitive Hemangiosarcoma diagnosis. Three major surgeries in 7 months and Shelby took them all like a champ only to lose her battle to cancer in her brain. We had 8 amazing extra months together and no regrets. #shelbystrong #loveofmylife
We use raised bowls for water and I would also recommend them. However, my dog never wanted to eat out of them - it takes her a while to eat, so I think she gets tired and gives up. I feed her while she's laying down - something worth trying if raised bowls don't work out.
You've gotten some great insight here!
Front leg Tripawds have a lot of weight to handle when it comes to bending over. Think of holding a kettleball straight out in front of you, then trying to bend over and eat, or hop, or whatever. Their head is the kettleball. Ouch! So yes, elevated bowls do help tremendously. You can experiment by putting bowls on a small step stool with a rubber top surface. And yep, if you do it before the amputation things will go more smoothly. The more time you can introduce something new into a dog's life the better.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I bought the the raised food and water bowls for my front amp Tripawd Westie after she got home from the hospital. She seems to like drinking water from the raised water bowl (but it's funny--she stands to the side of the water bowl instead of in front of it, and only drinks out of the side)! She refuses to even look at the raised food bowl, even when I put her very favorite treats in it. Of course, she is mostly still wanting to be hand-fed, even though she's now a month post-amp! I should add that she's never been food-motivated and has always been suspicious of new foods. A very picky eater even at the best of times!
Well that's a start for sure. Too cute how she drinks but won't eat from it. You may want to try to wean her off the hand-feeding by putting some reallllly tempting food on top of the riser a few times, then eventually into her food bowl. See if that works, your hands will stay a lot cleaner!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Here's to cleaner hands! 
It's hard to know what realllly tempting food is these days. Always super-finicky, she has been turning her little nose up these days at some pretty awesome treats. Today is the last day of her Metacam (Meloxidyl), so maybe her tummy will start feeling better now and she'll get back more of an appetite. Who knows--maybe she'll even decide her new, raised-up food bowl is not The Enemy! 
Of course, she doesn't like the raised bowls. 🙂 She does have a cone on - she is really nosy at her incision without it so it's in everyone's best interest to leave it on, and the cone would get in the way with the elevated dishes. She's not eating much - only some soft canned dog food, or cooked ground beef and chicken - but she will eat that out of a bowl so I'm thankful for that! Her first meal was out of my hand and yuck - that was messy!
Anita - mom to two human kids and two dog kids.
Chloe the white boxer - tripawd on 2/16/16 at age 6.
We raised the bowls, too. Murphy is a front leg amputee. But when he eats, he likes to lay down, so it doesn't really help lol. We started out with a wire shelf until I found one that was affordable - some of the sets can be quite pricey.
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
One of the problems for us with the raised food bowls is that they're usually designed with big dogs in mind, so the only ones I found had HUGE bowls. Susie could actually go swimming in her water bowl or her food bowl, if she wanted to--but she doesn't want to, as she hates water! I think the size intimidates her! Plus, she has always hated changes.
((((hugs))))xxx from Nancy & Susie
Your comment on the cone - Otis wore his for 2 days, but it was cutting into his neck so I put one of my T shirts on him. That has worked perfectly. Keeps him away from the incision, but allows him to eat and move around without the cone. Surgeon also said it was a pretty common solution, although probably wouldn't work for a dog that was really interested in the incision.
With two big dogs, we have always had raised food bowls. Not sure they would eat if I put the bowls on the ground!
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 Thundershirt worked great for Susie. I'm glad the T-shirt worked well for Otis.
I just now realized why Susie will only drink water from the side of her raised bowl (and maybe why she won't eat from the feeding bowl side). She leans against the wall to balance herself while she drinks, and she can't do that when she's drinking (or eating) straight-on.
((((hugs))))xxxx from Nancy & Susie
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