In our previous discussions with canine rehabilitation specialists from California Animal Rehabilitation Center (CARE) we discussed fitness and conditioning, and coping with amputation recovery. In this final installment, we hear the doctors discuss pain indicators, post-surgery advice for pain medications and how to choose quality supplements.

Here are some of CARE’s post-surgery tips to remember:

• Keep an eye out for pain medication side effects; if you’re concerned, stop the medication.
• Use supplements only when they are needed
• Choose supplements that have been third party tested by unbiased organizations such as ConsumerLab.com.

Many thanks to the pawesome staff at California Animal Rehabilitation Center in Southern California for helping us bring this series to you. If you are lucky enough to live nearby, be sure to visit this incredible facility and see how they can help your Tripawd stay strong and live hoppy!

Catch Part I: Canine Rehabilitation: Exercises and Stretches with CARE

Catch Part II: Canine Rehabilitation: Amputation Recovery Advice with CARE

In this second of our three part series with Drs. Jessica Waldman and Amy Kramer from California Animal Rehabilitation Center (CARE), the good doctors answer popular questions Tripawd pawrents want answers to:

• Who has it harder: front, or rear leg amputees?
• Do dogs get depressed?
• How can we help our dogs heal faster from surgery?

While rehab is great for Tripawds, Dr. Waldman says she wishes she could see all of her rehab clients before they have surgery; when they are still young, healthy puppies. If she could, she would warn pawrents about seemingly harmless fun that could result in injuries later on.

She would tell pawrents not to let their dogs jump in and out of trucks, or play Frisbee without warming up and cooling down. She would also tell them to use a ramp instead of jumping into trucks or on furniture. Because if pawrents wait until their dog is injured to take her advice, that’s when things get complicated. Changing a dog’s behavior patterns is another hurdle to add on top of recovery.

In the next and final discussion we have with Drs. Kramer and Waldman, we’ll address concerns about supplements and pain medication.

Many thanks to the pawesome staff at California Animal Rehabilitation Center in Southern California for helping us bring this series to you. If you are lucky enough to live nearby, be sure to visit this incredible facility and see how they can help your Tripawd stay strong and live hoppy!

Catch Part 1: Canine Rehabilitation: Exercises and Stretches with CARE

Catch Part III: Canine Rehabilitation: Pain Meds and Supplement Tips from CARE

What a great time it is to be a Tripawd. With the increasing number of animal rehabilitation practitioners, or what humans call “physical therapists,” three legged dogs can now take advantage of the same life-changing therapies that humans do.

Tripawds recently visited Southern California, and were lucky enough to spend the afternoon with one of the most respected animal rehabilitation centers in the region, California Animal Rehabilitation (CARE).

The founders of CARE, veterinarian Jessica Waldman, VMD, CVA, CCRT, and physical therapist Amy L. Kramer, PT, DPT, CCRT, are partners at one of the few  rehabilitation centers in the country that has a vet and a physical therapist on staff, both certified in canine rehabilitation.

Drs. Waldman and Kramer were kind enough to spend time with us to answer Tripawd member’s questions about rehabilitation. And here in part 1, “Stretching and Exercises with Happy Face,” they demo conditioning exercises on this two year old pup who was hit by car. Happy Face is just a few weeks post op and is in therapy because he has neck, lower back, pelvic pain and phantom pain caused by the accident.

CARE’s Exercise Tips to Remember:

• Be creative and find new activities to do together, such as creating homemade obstacle courses and playing new games that can help with mobility.
• Create body awareness by doing things like playing with your Tripawd’s paws to help her connect her leg movements with her brain.
• Research canine physical therapy to show you different activities that are both fun and rehabilitative.

Many thanks to everyone at California Animal Rehabilitation Center in Los Angeles for helping us bring this series to you. If you are lucky enough to live nearby, be sure to visit this incredible facility and see how their staff can help your dog stay strong and live hoppy!

Catch Part II: Canine Rehabilitation: Amputation Recovery Advice with CARE

Catch Part III: Canine Rehabilitation: Pain Meds and Supplement Tips from CARE

We couldn’t believe it when we first heard about Maggie. She’s a three year bone cancer survivor living in Northern California with sister Tani and Mom Karen. Maggie was diagnosed with mast cell cancer more than three years ago at age 7. She might have lost her leg, but she sure didn’t lose her girlish charm! Here’s Maggie’s inspirational story as told by Karen:

Maggie is having some kidney issues right now, so please join us in sending lots of pawsitive healing energy her way. You can read more about Maggie’s Journey on her blog, Life with a Tri-Pug.

Jerry was our first dog, and even after his leg amputation in 2006, we knew zilch about canine rehabilitation (known as “physical therapy” in the human world). It’s only recently that we’ve become aware of this life-changing therapy, and we want to start sharing what we are learning with all of you.

Connecticut-based “Wizard of Paws,” Dr. Debbie Gross Saunders was brought to our attention by our friend, renowned dog behaviorist and trainer Sarah Wilson.

Dr. Saunders is a certified canine rehabilitation practitioner who is well regarded in the performance sports dog world. She is one of the founders of the first and only university based program in canine rehabilitation – University of Tennessee’s Canine Physical Rehabilitation Program. Along with her therapy services, she teaches  and has a variety of DVDs to help dog parents practice safe and effective therapy at home.

Dr. Saunders was kind enough to send us a copy of her newest video, “Osteoarthritis and Your Dog” for review.

Osteoarthritis and Your Dog: What it is, and How to Help

Osteoarthritis is a painful, degenerative condition that affects dogs of all ages. When one of these arthritic dogs is told that a spare leg  has to be amputated, pawrents agonize over the amputation decision more than others. They wonder:

Can a three legged, arthritic dog have a good life?

After watching Debbie’s video, we think that for most dogs, consistent therapy exercises like the one in Dr. Saunder’s video will go a long way in providing a great quality of life as a Tripawd.

The first half of the video will hit you with a lot of information. Be sure to have a notepad ready to take notes. Although we wished it had informational graphics to study, Dr. Saunders does a fantastic job conveying what we need to know about osteoarthritis if your dog receives an osteoarthritis diagnosis.

The rest of the video is an awesome instructional guide to performing canine massage and range-of-motion exercises at home. Dr. Saunders discusses why these exercises are important, and how to tell if you’re working your dog too hard.

She also gives tips to great therapy products that we like, such as Bella’s Pain Pack. Lastly, she kindly provides cost-saving ideas for making your own therapy exercise tools at home.

Catch a glimpse of “Osteoarthrits and Your Dog,” here on the Wizard of Paws You Tube Channel.

Tracy Snow-Cormier, pawrent to Tripawd Maggie, and Tripawds Supporter, is a fan of Dr. Saunders, and loves this DVD. Tracy says that  “I had an interest in Debbie’s new DVD because I have one of my dogs with start of arthritis in her wrists. I wanted to have a safe way to exercise and strengthen her, and know that I wasn’t going to do further damage to her wrists.”

About the DVD, Tracy says that

“The low cost to do most of her exercises for the dogs is great. From doing basic obedience flatwork to doing theraball work, to low cavaletti work. It is easy for someone to do the exercises with your arthritic dog with very little cost…with the exception of the treadmills!”

We think you’ll find “Osteoarthritis and Your Dog” just as informative and useful. If you order it on Debbie’s website, let us know what you think!

Can anyone guess what the most common fear among Tripawd pawrents is?

Most pawrents fear that their Tripawd will lose the use of another limb.

What if a rear-leg amputee grows old, and hip displaysia takes it’s toll? Or a front-leg Tripawd takes a bad fall and severely injures the remaining leg?

What would you do if your Tripawd lost the use of another leg?

As much as it hurts to think about it, it never hurts to be prepared, just in case.

That’s why we talked to the good people at Doggon Wheels in Bozeman, Montana.

Since 1994, Doggon Wheels has been one of the world’s top creators of mobility aids like wheelchairs, for physically challenged animals.

We asked Doggon co-founder Lori, a few questions about how Tripawds can benefit from wheelchairs, and here’s what she had to say:

Can wheelchairs work with Tripawd dogs?

“Yes- we do make wheelchairs for amputees. They are most commonly used by older amputee’s who are starting to have difficulties compensating for the missing limb (front or rear), or for pets with birth defects. We also make wheelchairs for pets with double amputations.

Generally they do really well with using wheels and appreciate being able to go for longer walks or on more varied/difficult terrain.”

The biggest fear some Tripawd pawrents have is for their dog to lose function of their remaining rear or front leg. We know of one Tripawd who needs a hip replacement, yet he is also a rear-leg amputee. Would a wheelchair help?

“This is legitimate concern and why we recommend that you take into consideration putting the remaining rear leg up in the stirrup during periods of intense exercise. Generally the dogs using amputee wheelchairs are doing so because the other limb is overly stressed or arthritic. Putting the remaining limb into a suspended position allows it to rest during the most stressful periods of exercise.

Owners who do this find that their dogs are able to get around easier on their own the rest of the time, when not in wheels. A wheelchair for the pet above would be useful for both long term use to avoid stressing the remaining limb post surgery, or if the humans opt not have his hip replaced.”

How do you measure a Tripawd for a wheelchair?

The measurements are the same for all of our chairs, except for a Tripawd we need to know:

• Is s/he a left or right amputee?
• Does the dog have any part of her leg remaining? Is the amputation site partial or flush? Most amputations are flush, however if there is enough leg remaining that you can measure the circumference around it, a different support might be needed, other than our amputee support.

To see how mobile a dog really is when using a wheelchair, check out this beautiful movie of Popeye, a dog currently available for adoption through Walkin’ the Bark Rescue in Northern California:

Learn more about wheelchairs for your three legged Tripawd dog at the Doggon Wheels website.

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.

To find a dog chiropractor in your area please visit the American Veterinary Chiropractic Association website.

Good luck and may your tripawd live a long and healthy life!

Today is a day that will go down in the history books as the largest Tripawd gathering ever!

What an amazing day it was at our first ever Tripawds gathering in Longmont, Colorado. When we planned this party, we figured we’d be really fortunate if a dozen Tripawds showed up. What an incredible sight it was to see Tripawd after Tripawd coming through the dog park gates!

We believe we had 30 Tripawds attend, but my silly pawrents forgot to bring a guest book so we’ll never know for sure. There were so many incredible pawrents and Tripawds of all sizes stopping by all day, we wish that we had more time to get to know each and every one better.

We should have some great local newspaper coverage out of this, thanks to Tripawd Lily and her pawrents Clay and Jody, who handled public relations for the event. And our hero Tika gets the award for traveling the farthest for the pawty, all the way from eastern Kansas, an eight hour drive!

We can’t thank everyone enough for taking time out to gather with us today. We hope that more of you can come out for our next one sometime in the future.

Better yet, how about planning a Tripawd Pawty in your town?

More pictures are posted on our Tripawds Facebook Page.

Ten months have passed since I left this earth. Every human has different ideas about what they consider “enough” time to grieve before bringing a new companion into their lives. For my own pawrents, they didn’t have any ideas about how long that would be for them.

As time went on, I tried to tell my pawrents that it was OK for them to want to share their life with another dog. And that dog didn’t even have to be a Tripawd, I just wanted them to be happy, to once again feel the joy at sharing life’s great wonders as a pack.

Throughout our travels together, we sought far and wide for land where I could live out my final days. Though I didn’t make it there with them, they did finally find my perfect resting place. Having made a vow to wait until they found our new mountain home, they now wondered if they were perhaps ready to open their hearts and welcome a new member to the pack.

In July, my friend Codie Rae’s pawrents, Martha and Ralph, posted this announcement about a young pup named Wyatt, who had just been rescued by some very kind people. Being just a little partial towards Shepherds, Wyatt’s big ears, deep eyes and handsome mugshot caught the attention of my pawrents.

“Did you see that Rescue Forums post that Codie Rae put up on the site?” my Dad said to Mom.

“He’s gorgeous!” Mom said.

Mom and Martha were soon on the phone talking about Wyatt. Mom wanted to learn more. Why was he a Tripawd? What was he like? Did he have any issues?

Seems that Wyatt is a well-bred Shepherd puppy who spent the first few months of his life tethered to a rope, in a backyard in Oakland, California. He was underfed and neglected by stupid humans that likely paid a lot of money for him, probably because they just wanted a guard dog. One day his cruel owners went outside and saw that Wyatt’s leg was tangled up in the rope for who knows how long. They took him to the vet to fix his leg, but it was beyond help. When the vet recommended amputation, the owners said forget it; euthanize him. They didn’t want a three legged Shepherd.

A kind vet tech at the clinic named Lucie said “No way!” She knew that Wyatt was destined for greater things, so she took him home, and called the good people at German Shepherd Rescue of Northern California for help. The group paid for Wyatt’s leg amputation, his post-op care, and all of the things necessary to help him get ready to find a loving home.

This group is the same one which helped save my friend Codie Rae from the exact same situation last year. In fact, Codie Rae was 8 months old at the time they found her, and she’s even from the same neighborhood! Her pawrents Martha and Ralph are active volunteers for the group, and that’s how they found out about Wyatt.

Finding out about Wyatt was such perfect timing; it seemed like the universe was conspiring to put him and my pawrents together.

See, last November when Mom and Dad met Codie Rae for the first time, it was only about a month after my passing. Mom and Dad were so heavy in mourning, that they just couldn’t imagine being able to bring another dog into their lives. Today, ten months later, it seemed only fitting that Codie Rae and her pawrents introduce them to the next great love of their lives; my legacy, Wyatt Ray Dawg.

Leg-a-cy. Get it?!

Last week, Mom and Dad went out to Northern California to get their stuff out of storage. Along the way, they made a stop in Oakland, to meet this very special Tripawd! Yes, it was puppy love at first sight. Wyatt made the three day journey back to Jerry’s Acres, and appears to be loving his new life.

And as my pawrents begin their new chapter in Colorado, Wyatt will be there alongside them to share all the joys that life has to offer. And, he’ll continue showing the world that “It’s better to hop on three legs than limp on four!” I’ll be watching over the pack as their travels continue.

Stay tuned for more details about our new Tripawds spokesdog, and read more about Wyatt on his Tripawds blog, Way to Go, Wyatt!

Did you know you can now sign up for your own free Tripawds blog? More big announcements about that coming up soon!

Forgive us for being a few days late with this announcement, but we just wanted to let you know that movie producer Geoff Talbott has announced who the lucky contenders are for his upcoming movie, Lucky and Rich:

Congratulations to the following dogs who secured 1000 votes and made it directly though to the next round of casting… Bean, Rocky, Smudge, Maty, Chopper, Red and Bradley.

We are looking at selecting 5 more dogs for the remaining places in the next round of casting… 3 legged Dog Idol. To be honest it is almost impossible to choose. We currently have narrowed it down to 29 dogs for five more places… so difficult because each of the dogs are unique and have something special to offer.

The final 12 (plus two reserves) will be announced at 12pm West Coast Time on Monday the 10th of August. The announcement will be made live on my blog at this time.

To see the contenders, visit Geoff’s blog.