Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi guys, im still here lurking from time to time, and happy to say that on the 23rd of this month, it will be already be Wilson's one year ampuversary, and turning 13 in July, so proud of my ol man, he is doing great ...although he is aging, but just like any other dog would, he now acts 8 instead of 2, lol, always been high energy !
The question I have, is, has anybody else noticed that their pooch's claws grow a lot faster now with only 3 legs ??? Seems Wilsy's need trimming so much more often than when he had all 4's. Im wondering if its simply because the body still puts out the same effort as it would for all 4 to grow, but since its only going to 3 legs, there's a little extra oomph to it. Does this make sense, and has anybody else noticed this ?
Hope your all doing well, and enjoying this awesome weather !!!
Wils & Brenda
Congrats on the impending anniversary...and when is his birthday? We also have a b-day in July!
Re: Nails...could it be that he gets less exercise on hard surfaces, and so the nails get worn down less--thus making them seem to grow faster? (Mind you, I have a dog who hasn't had his nails trimmed in YEARS and who grows no hair, so...grain of salt and all that)
Side note: I envy your locale--my brother-in-law and fam live in Seattle. Beautiful up there <3
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It may be age. I know as my old dog got older we found her nails needed trimming more as she wasn't as active. At least in my experience.
Glad he is adjusting well to being on three legs. I know it is much harder for older dogs to adjust than it is for younger dogs but so happy to hear he is doing well.
Thanks mmrocker13 ! Im actually not too sure of exact date, as he was a rescue (barely alive) at approx 2 weeks old in July of 2000, but since my birthday is July 17th, i decided that is when his was going to be too, so i guess July 17th.
I cant believe i didn't think of that probable answer to my question, lol ! You are probably so right !!!
Yes, the weather has been unbelievable here for the last 3 days, a sudden burst of hot summer weather, as nice as it is, nature didn't give us a chance to acclimatize though, but not complaining, i worship the sun !
Hey it's great to hear from you!!!
Yep, less exercise on hard surfaces (which is great to help prevent joint-stress, by the way!). We notice that whenever we go from the city to the country, Wyatt's nails need more trimming because he's not getting his daily walks on concrete but rather dirt.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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Thanks Jerry !
Funny thing is though, that even when he had all 4's, he rarely walked on the cement. We never did do much of on leash type of walking on roads, he basically just got/gets all his exercise on our small acreage (5 acres) when he comes out to help me with the horses 3+ times a day, which is either grass or dirt footing, so regardless, you wouldnt actually think that kind of footing would wear down claws overly much anyways, but i guess it must have some what, as doing less of it now, they are definitely growing faster. I still do wonder a little if maybe since the body has one less set of nails to grow, that that extra bit of effort would be distributed through out the other 3 remaining sets.
Just a little tid bit, i thought id share since we are talking about nails ...not sure if im the only crazy one that did this, but asked the vet if he could trim his nails, from his bad leg before he took it, as i wanted to keep them as a keep sake, so i now have a wee, zip lock bag, labeled with operation date, and 4 little nail clippings in it, kinda weird i know, but they do make me smile when i look at them, as he had neat black stripes down the middle of two of them, and only on that paw, so i still get to see them if i feel like it, and strangely it does make me smile every time 
Take care, B & W
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