Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I don't know where to put this, so I'll write here.
Has anyone noticed change in behaviour after amputation?
My boy had his leg amputated a year and a half ago, when I adopted him. I haven't met him pre-op, so I don't know how he behaved before that, but I noticed in time he is getting worse.
He was always very skitish, shy, afraid of strangers, especily men, and kind of tense around male dogs. But in time he became completely aggressive to male dogs, very nervous around strangers, and even biting. He doesnt draw blood, more like nips, but I don't like it. He even did that a couple of times to family members (not to me, his owner, handler etc).
I'm at constant stress on our walks, and now even at home. He seems he doesn't like to be touched.
People said i need to be more firm with him, alfa and stuff, i am trying to, but sometimes I think his condition caused that. Maybe he feels more vulnerable, or maybe he's even in pain? I'll take him to the vet for checkups day after tomorrow, but I wanted to check if you have any simillar eperiences?
He never showed and fantom pain or any kind of pain. On the other hand, he is a shepherd and very sturdy.
Edit: now that I think of it, he did have a couple of clumsy jumps and falls on ice. He also sometimes slips on the floor in the house, so maybe he hurt himself and he's in constant pain?
Great question! It's just one of the topics we address in the Tripawds e-books .
Jerry first wrote about pack behavior after amputation in the Tripawds News blog a while back:
How Do Canine Siblings React to New Tripawds?
Search the forums for "pack mates" or "siblings" for more feedback from members or search all blogs here.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
My Min Pin acts a little more protective of himself around other dogs since his amputation. I am actually having an issue with getting my two boys back together since the amputation. Otis is an 8 y/o min pin that broke his leg. After casting, and plating, we had to amputate. I also have a 4 y/o pit bull (Rosco). Otis has always been the alpha male in the house. Since his accident, it seems that Rosco is now trying to take that lead. Needless to say..a 18 lb vs 85 lb. dog is not going well. I have to keep them separated at all times. I attempt to do small, controlled encounters with each other, but Rosco gets very anxious and Otis gets very protective of himself. I am at a loss as to how to get things back to normal in my house. I also have been attempting to restore the "alpha" role to myself, but it is a challenge with Otis. Min Pins are stubborn.
How old is Ollie?
We had the same kinds of issues with our Wyatt Ray , also a German Shepherd when he was about 18 months old. Apparently it's around that time when dogs start turning into obnoxious teenagers and Shepherds are really good at it. Oftentimes this behavior can turn into aggression if you don't get it under control (most Shepherds are surrendered to animal shelters at age 2).
Part of it could be his amputation, or if he's in pain, but I'm going to be a big part of it is the Shepherd coming out. I would seriously consider professional training from a person who understands German Shepherds, if you can get it where you live. When Wyatt had a trainer who specialized in GSDs it saved our sanity. We now have the tools to understand him and life is much better. Not all trainers understand them. Don't mess around with anyone who doesn't, you don't have time.
A great place to start with research about GSD trainers is here, where we found Wyatt's.
Keep us posted OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Olie is such a handsome voy! You are a good soul for givi g him a forever ho e!
Many will saythat dogs sense their vulnerability after having their leg removed.
Olie is definely picking up on your energy. It appears you are already starting your walks in a stressed out state and visualizng and anticipating bad things happening. Once Oie realizes you are his pack leader, you can handle any "dangers" coming towards the two of you, he will feel confident in your leadership and wn't feel so threatened by the outside world.. If you've seen some of the Cesar Millan stuff, all changes start with your enery. He's moved away from tne alha" stuff except in very rare nstances. Don'r kmow if amy of this makes sense, vut it's worth a try. Just be aware what energyyou are portraying on a walk....confident, hapy, care free, in charge.....or fearful, scared, tense.
And for Otis and Roscoe, you can relax, neither of you need to jockey for position..... your mom is the pack leader, ok,ay? Relax, you dn't have to worry about anything!
All this is just 2¢ worth...othing more!
Lots of hugs to all!
Sally and Happy Hannah
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!
Officially he is 2,5 years old, but that's just an assumption, because he was found as grownup. But i think he might be older, because he was never crazy playful and he already has some white hair around his mouth.
He's a dutch shepherd or a cross, and we've been to 2 obedience classes (beginner and advanced). He's overall very obedient, except around other dogs, when he barks, lounges, and chases them if he has an opportunity.
To be honest, his aggression doesn't seem to me like he's being pushy or trying to be alfa etc, but rather like he's protecting himself. He never liked strangers much, and was never very cuddly, but now it's worse. Three times he let people (one stranger and my dad who he loves) pet him, and when they took their hand back, he snapped at them. Just yesterday he snapped at my grandmother who wanted to approach him from the back and touch him (in his defence she did approach with strange/scary body language).
It all started on May 1st (around 1 year after adoption) when he bit/nipped two of my friends on the butt. He lied calmly in the house and then sneaked from the back and nipped them. I was stunned!!
But anyhow, if it turns out he's ok healthwise, I'm gonna see another trainer who works with GSDs, malinois, cane corso etc. At first I didn't believe in his alfa approach and training with chocke chain, but I'm losing my choices and have to try whatever is there to make my boy ok again.
Good luck! Keep us posted! Do you find yourself becoming anxious around him now? I know I get very anxious with Rosco and I can tell he feeds from that because his body language starts to show anxiety and it escalates the problems even more.
I totally understand where you are coming from. And I agree that so much of the dog's energy is a result of our own. Who can blame you for being nervous? But there's a lot that can be done to reverse the behavior, you'll just need a lot of commitment to doing so.
Many GSDs from working lines aren't naturally affectionate dogs to strangers and even to their humans they believe their job is more to protect than to be a loving, affectionate pup. But you can work with that if you find a trainer who understands the breed. There's a reason why there are so many of these dogs who end up in shelters and on death row; it takes a very special, patient and firm individual who understands them. I know you've got it in you!
Also check out this website too, lots of good info about the breed:
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
We are going through a similar thing with our 4.5 yo Travis. When he was about two and now a repeat. For what its worth the behavior coincides with this sort of "I am Mr. Big" attitude, where he is jockeying for pack status with the other "beta" of our pack.
Anyway, Travis has always had fear aggression issues (we started fostering him when he was 8 mos old). He had specific triggers at that time (large women dressed in black, people looming over him, pit bulls, great danes). He would and will growl and can escalate to barking aggressively and lunging at people and dogs who make him uncomfortable. Twice lately he put his mouth (but did not bite down) on two people that he was uncomfortable with and that he knew were scared and/or uncomfortable with HIM (if they had been confident I don't believe he would have done anything). This was our signal that we needed to start working with him again--HARD!
Travis has been through beginning and intermediate obedience and took a class to earn his Canine Good Citizen certificate. I also took him to a reactive dog class because he is dog reactive (especially towards dogs he feels are threatening). I am not a dog trainer but from what I have read hardcore training is not appropriate for dogs with fear-based aggression. It will only make things worse. I encourage you to do some major research on the issue before going that route. They need reward based training and LOTS of it. It is a lifetime commitment. We are doing clicker training with Travis and it has been amazing! It creates focus on you--the handler, instead of the issue the dog is reacting to. Fearful dogs lack confidence, so that is the other part of the training equation. Perhaps Olie needs a "job" to build his confidence. Some things to look into are nosework, rally obedience, and agility. These are fun skills you can learn together that also build and expand on basic obedience and give the dog confidence and the knowledge that he has a job to do.
As far as the sneak attack nipping thing I have no immediate advice except. That could be a function of his personality and that he is not overly friendly to begin with. But strange that he would nip your dad. It could be because he is going through this age-related heightened emotional state and may ease as he ages. But obviously the behavior needs to be nipped in the bud (sorry). Perhaps when you have visitors Olie needs to be in a down stay, or separated from visitors. You need to make sure that everyone knows what is going on and to be careful how they approach him. If they are willing, have them participate in training exercises with you and Olie. I recently had a friend come over (very dog neutral person). I had her sit in a chair with instructions not to look at him or react to him in any way and brought Travis in on a leash from another room, using the clicker and treating along the way. When we got into the room she was in and he saw her he strated barking at her. I started clicking, when he looked at me instead he got a treat. After a few minutes he settled down and I let him get closer. I gave her treats to give him while I clicked. He ended up by loving her up and licking her on the face!
Hope this isn't TMI and will be of some use. Please feel free to PM me any time.
Martha (Oaktown Pack wrangler)
p.s. I do believe with a fear-based dog you need to be in firm control of the dog at all times. No choke chains but a properly used prong collar is an invaluable tool.
I've seen a vet, and he said there's no need in doing any x rays because the dog is fine, doesn't show any signs of pain etc. He said the same thing as you guys: he is in an age when they grow up, change character etc, and that he might use socialization.
I've contacted that trainer I mentioned before, but honestly idk what to do. He's an old-school trainer, he works only with choke chains (even on puppies). He is pretty harsh/brutal and i don't like that. I've seen some videos of his classes which I really didn't like (unfortunately they are removed from youtube; but there were situations when dogs would "not listen" and just lie down rolling on the floor, trying to escape etc, and they would practically hang them on choke chain till the dog would come to sense). I think he might i.e. choke my boy until he stops barking at dogs. I don't want that. I can't do that to my best friend who is so loyal and attached to me. I think I'd disappoint him in way.
Unfortunately there isn't any positive reinforcement school that would work on behavioral problems, like reactive dogs. There are a couple of basic obedience schools, one of which i attended, but they don't do more than that.
I think for now I'll just work with him on my own, train obedience harder and "nothing in life is free", and see how that goes. Around a month ago i put him on metal martingale collar from harness, so I have better control, and I can give him a little jerk when needed.
I think he's a bit calmer around dogs now (except his mortal enemies), and i learned to say "NO" when he starts to focus on them and I see that works, it snaps him out of it. So thumbs up for that.
Also, I instructed my family members to ask for sits etc before petting him. I also do some other excercises, like waiting when somebody is in my room (he wont let anyone enter my room, not aggressive, he just comes inside with them and asks for attention), i now take him to his bed and ask for down and stay. Then reward with treats. Also i ask for a lot of sit/down/stand + stay outside.
So good thing is he is ok healthwise, but the bad thing is he will need a lot of work. :/
Travis, i forgot to say, i also work with clicker, and he's doing ok on tricks. I aslo tried doing some counter conditioning and desenz. on my own, but he isn't very into food and it's practically impossible to do it in uncontrolled conditions, so I somehow stopped doing that 
Sounds like you are doing alot of good things with Olie! Yes, its alot of work but will be SO worth it down the road! As for not being very food motivated--maybe try super high value treats? Some treats definitely hold Travis' attention better than others! Or try something else as a reward, many working dogs are not trained with treats but with a ball or tug, as these are much higher value to them than food. We used a squeaky toy for one of our dogs who just totally forgot about food when a trigger appeared. The squeaky helped focus attention back to us and away from the trigger.
Well I'm glad to hear that Ollie is doing well physically. That is a GREAT first step at trying to pinpoint the issues and it sure sounds to me like you have the smarts and drive to help Olie overcome these challenges. You CAN do it on your own, there are so many resources available.
First, please do visit our friends at MySmartPuppy. The trainers on the Forums there are amazing and helped us so much with Wyatt. They can refer you to the types of behavioral training methods that can work for him. The community's founder Sarah Wilson also does phone and Skype consultations for a fee, if that's something you can do. If not, here's a list of the dog training books she has authored and recommends.
Next, avoid that so-called trainer! He sounds absolutely horrific. While we did find that assertive training methods worked best for Wyatt, there is a huge difference between being assertive and instilling fear into a dog, which never makes the situation better. Your instincts are right; Olie is your protector and you owe it to him to be his. You are on track.
Finally, you may want to get some training on using a prong collar. They are not right for every dog but we found that with Wyatt it made a HUGE difference in how he reacts when we encounter different situations while he's on leash. We never in a million years thought we would use a prong and didn't want to at first, but it helped tremendously and it might for Olie. Just get training before using one, even if you just watch the Leerberg videos I linked to above. Wyatt is four years old and we still don't feel he's ready for a martingale but hopefully soon.
Please keep us posted. I am absolutely in love with Olie and want to help you help him be the best dog he can be!
Oh one more thing: This Sunday we are having an animal behaviorist on Tripawd Talk Radio . If you have any questions for her please post them here.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you very, very much guys, for your advice, help and support! I'll keepy ou posted!!
olie said
I don't know where to put this, so I'll write here.Has anyone noticed change in behaviour after amputation?
My boy had his leg amputated a year and a half ago, when I adopted him. I haven't met him pre-op, so I don't know how he behaved before that, but I noticed in time he is getting worse.He was always very skitish, shy, afraid of strangers, especily men, and kind of tense around male dogs. But in time he became completely aggressive to male dogs, very nervous around strangers, and even biting. He doesnt draw blood, more like nips, but I don't like it. He even did that a couple of times to family members (not to me, his owner, handler etc).
I'm at constant stress on our walks, and now even at home. He seems he doesn't like to be touched.
People said i need to be more firm with him, alfa and stuff, i am trying to, but sometimes I think his condition caused that. Maybe he feels more vulnerable, or maybe he's even in pain? I'll take him to the vet for checkups day after tomorrow, but I wanted to check if you have any simillar eperiences?He never showed and fantom pain or any kind of pain. On the other hand, he is a shepherd and very sturdy.
Edit: now that I think of it, he did have a couple of clumsy jumps and falls on ice. He also sometimes slips on the floor in the house, so maybe he hurt himself and he's in constant pain?
Dear Olie,
I'm sorry to hear about what is going on with your dog. He is fortunate to have such a dedicated, loving owner. I would highly recommend that you have an appointment with a veterinary behaviorist. You can find a list at dacvb.org. Although stress and pain can lead to aggression, there are many other behavioral reasons. A veterinary behaviorist can help determine what is medical, what is behavioral and a plan to help change his motivations and make both of your lives happier and less stressful.
Sincerely,
Dr. Meredith Stepita
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