The following guest blogger post was submitted by tripawd pawrent Kelli Nichols. It is the first in a two-part series about chiropractic care for Tripawds. Stay tuned for the second guest-blog post, coming soon!
While owning a tripawd is an extremely rewarding experience, there are extra considerations when it comes to health care compared to four-legged dogs. One thing I have found to be tremendously beneficial with my tripawd is regular chiropractic care.
Tripawds often compensate structurally for only having three legs and this can create stress on joints and recurring subluxations in their spine. Having regular once-monthly or more appointments with a vet trained in chiropractic care can increase mobility and help keep your dog pain free and active.
My dog Molly once was having a hard time walking after a short rigorous hike and a visit to her chiropractor immediately returned her to her normal, jolly self. I am learning that it takes some fine tuning to find the balance between keeping her in shape and not overdoing it. This can be hard sometimes when your dog loves to play! I have also found that proper nutrition and additional high-quality supplements such as mercury free fish oiland glucosamine are helpful in keeping joints limber.
It’s a tripawd pawrent’s worst nightmare; being told that your tripawd needs another major leg surgery. What do you do? Can your Tripawd handle another confinement and recuperation? Will he ever be the same?
Chuy is one pup from Arizona who says: “Yes, indeed! Just look at me!”
Chuy is a Tripawd friend who was diagnosed with Legg-Calve Perthes Disease, which is a fracture in the ball of the femur. In May 2009, he underwent Femoral Head Osteotomy (FHO) surgery on his rear leg, the same side in which he’s already missing a leg.
This “simple” surgery involves the head of the femur or the attachment to the hip. A new joint is formed by just the muscles of the hind legs, similar to how the shoulder blade is normally attached to the dogs body, by muscle alone.
If you have a Tripawd that needs to undergo another major leg surgery, try not to worry. Check out Chuy’s Mom’s diary she sent to us, to help comfort other pawrents in this situation:
“Research is the key. Research the type of surgery your dog is going to have, the medications your dog will be on, the side effects and withdrawals symptoms. Research the actions you may need to take for your dogs recovery i.e. physical therapy, nursing, home preparation. Make sure you trust your vet, but remember, your vet doesn’t know everything, you need to talk to others that have been through similar experiences.”
Here are more details that Chuy’s Mom shared with us about his recovery:
As you know, Tripawds get around great in life. And although we can do anything a four-legger can, we tend to just do it with shorter bursts of energy.
Sometimes after surgery our stamina can decrease, especially if we are coping with cancer. Our walks may become much shorter, and our people may get sad that we can no longer go as far as we once did.
But now our people don’t need to be sad about those shorter walks! We just heard from a tripawd named Xena, who gets around all of Manhattan with a Strollit dog stroller. Her dad Brian says:
“Xena has had surgery on both cruciates. In addition to that, she had a tumor that ruptured her spleen in 2007. She had to have her spleen removed. Shortly after that she had bloat which required emergency surgery. So to say she’s been “through the mill” is an understatement. The scariest thing by far was her being diagnosed with osteosarcoma and having to make the decision to amputate her leg.
Now a year later, after the surgery and the chemotherapy, she is still with us. She stays as active as she can given her ailments and her age. We still take her for walks in the city, and she even has her own “carriage” to get in when she gets too tired.
I highly recommend the product to anyone. We get tons of people asking about it when we walk through NYC. It is well built, folds down for transport or storage and the company’s customer service is very helpful.
Xena loves riding in it. As you can see, even at 94 pounds, she fits in it comfortably. It also allows us to go places with her that we normally could not. We took her right inside the mall with it.”
We think this dog stroller by SolvIt is fabulous. If you get one for your Tripawd, just remember to introduce him to it slowly. There are lots of ways to get a dog used to being carted on wheels, much like crate training, so that the stroller becomes a comfortable place of refuge for your Tripawd.
People are amazed when they see how well three legged dogs can swim. Getting in the water again is what we love to do, but sometimes we could use a little help when we get tired.
That’s where the Ruff Wear K9 Float Coat comes in handy. Tripawd dogs can swim farther and longer with this awesome life vest. And the strong handle can help you help your pup.
My pawrents wrote about this great life preserver for dogs last year. But Ruff Wear recently announced a close-out sale on remaining inventory for the Float Coat. So we are hoppy to re-publish this post in its entirety, complete with demonstration video and new Big Savings While Supplies Last!
So far, around 30 members of our Tripawds community have contributed $2,170 to the campaign coffers. Thank you so very much! We are truly honored and touched by everyone’s generosity.
We are about halfway to our goal of $4,250, and there’s about 16 days left in the campaign.
This campaign will end May 31, when we hope to have covered our operating expenses for the entire year. We are keeping our paws crossed that we can make it! Remember, if every one of our more than 600 registered users helped out with just a few dollars, we could call this campaign quits today!
Thanks everyone for your help with this major upgrade. We know how hard it is to find the extra cash, especially when dealing with your own tripawd’s expenses, but every little bit helps. We remain forever grateful for your continued support.
Ruff Wear Inventory Closeout: Color may be substituted if preferred choice is unavailable. NO RETURNS OR EXCHANGES!
OUT OF STOCK:
LG Yellow, LG Red, MED Yellow, MED Red, SM Red, XS Yellow, XS Red
REMAINING AVAILABLE STYLES:
XL Red, XL Yellow, SM Yellow, XXS Red, XXS Yellow
(August 4, 2008) I love to swim. And yes, we three legged dogs really can swim! But since we tire easily, we can sometimes take on water.
My people discovered this the hard way, and stopped taking me to the lakes I love so much. That’s why I’m glad they got me a new K-9 Float Coat from Ruff Wear!
Now I can swim farther and longer than ever before. Ruff Wear’s new K-9 Float Coat provides the extra buoyancy your tripawd needs to truly enjoy swimming. Keep reading to read our product review and view the demonstration video we produced, or to order yours today!
My people would like to thank the nice folks at Ruff Wear for sending me their new Web Master harness to try out.
And they’d like to tell you that it is now available for purchase right here at tripawds.com! They’ve been using the Web Master to help me get around since I became a canine amputee. And we all agree the new harness has various improvements.
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While owning a tripawd is an extremely rewarding experience, there are extra considerations when it comes to health care compared to four-legged dogs. One thing I have found to be tremendously beneficial with my tripawd is regular chiropractic care.
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