Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi! My girl Daphne had her front left leg removed in August. She's back to her old self (chasing squirrels and barking at neighbors). She's about 55-60 lbs. Her balance seems great -- when it's time to go back inside while we're walking, she can definitely stubbornly dig in against the leash). Before the surgery, she slept in my bed. She sleeps in a dog bed in my room now. She paces at night sometimes, and I think it might be her sussing out the human bed situation.
We're both missing sharing the human bed. I don't have a lot of room around the bed for ramps or steps, but I've found some options. Before I invest the money in trying anything, I was wondering if anyone had any stories to share about re-integrating the human bed to the situation.
Hi Donnie and Daphne, welcome!
I'm so glad she is back to her old self! Nothing better than seeing our dogs do what they love again. Just curious, what was the reason for her amputation?
So the bed situation is a tough one because the goal with a Tripawd is to always be thinking of the impact that certain activities will have on a dog's joints. Jumping is one of those activities, especially for a front leg amputee.
Landing on the ground, carpeted or not, can result joint stress over time, and since a Tripawd is already at risk of experiencing osteoarthritis earlier than their four-legged friends, you really want to minimize the impact of everyday activities as best you can.
I would absolutely try to put some type of ottoman or other step that will make it easier for her to get off the bed. Most dogs can be trained pretty quickly to use the step, especially when treats are involved.
And worst case, many people also just put their mattress on the floor if the dog just doesn't want to use the ramp or step.
Let us know what you think and what works!
Oh boy I sure can relate!!
I've slept with my dogs all my life with them snuggled next to me in the bed! Yes, sometimes it means I sleep like a pretzel are only have 6 in of the bed, but that's okay!
With my front leg tripawd Frankie, rather than using steps, I had sort of a landing pad by using a fairly firm dog bed (memory foam) One too squishy could cause slippage. Depending g on the height of your bed, you could layer two beds on top of each other.
Yeah, it does cause dogs stress of they aren't able to sleep in bed with their hoomans and have always done so.
Let is know what works, okay?
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
PS How much does Daphne weigh?
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!
My dogs sleep with me too.
My Tripawds have both been rear amps and both small. Maggie was my first. She would go up the little stairs by herself at first but a few months in I think she must have fallen because she then refused to go up stairs- to the bed or regular house stairs. She was very cautious so would never even try to get down by herself, she waited for me to help her down.
My current Tripawd is a bit smaller than Mag was. Elly is a Pug Mix who lost her rear leg 9 years ago to a car accident. When I first adopted her at 10 months old she would jump up on they bed by herself, she would fly off, and she could and would do any stairs. It took me a couple months but I finally trained her to use the stairs, up and down, to all the furniture on which she is allowed. Now as she approaches 10 years old she always uses the stairs.
Getting down will be the highest risk for your girl so some sort of mid step could be used. Be sure whatever you try has good traction and supports her body weight. You can make it a game to teach her to use whatever you put in place. Another idea is if her front leg is long enough she may be able to 'slide' off the bed so there is less impact on the leg.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Thanks for the speedy replies and tips. To answer a couple of questions folks had:
- Daphne lost her front left leg to a simple small cell sarcoma. All of the tests post op were positive, so hopefully this is the last we'll see of any issues.
- Daphne is about 55-60 lbs.
- My bed is very tall. Floor-to-mattress-top is 28" without any boxspring (my apartment doesn't have a lot of storage, so under my bed is doing a lot of work to compensate). A new bed or moving it to the floor is not an option for me.
Naturally, because I've been searching for something, the algorithm has presented some options. One I'm considering right now is this:
https://steppyb.....dy-booster
I think maybe it sounds similar in its approach to some of the tips above.
Oooh wow why haven't I seen that bed step before? That's pretty sweet. Thanks for sharing! Let us know if you get it.
I hope that's the last of Daphne's health challenges. She's a good weight and as long as you continue to be mindful of her joints and activity (I can tell you already are based on your terrific question), she should have many healthy happy years ahead. We look forward to following along with her adventures!
I like that one, it looks very versatile.
I did the bed on the floor thing a couple times when my quad Pug had his knee surgeries. It worked great for him, my knees were not so happy...
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
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