Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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So, as Alexander is coming home tonight, I am trying to get prepared. First off, our house is mostly carpeted, so I am not too worried regarding slippage. I do NOT want him to try getting on the couch, bed or his king sized mattress yet (yes, the dogs have their own king sized mattress).
I am going to try and sequester him in our office where there is nothing he can "climb" on to hurt himself. I plan on laying down dog beds and blankets.
We do have another Great Dane, named Baylee. She is nine years old! When Alexander is feeling unwell, he can be snarky to her, so I am not sure if I am going to let them interact at first....what are people's experiences with other dogs and your new tripawd?
I am open to ANY other tips and suggestions to make transitioning into a tripawd parent go as smoothly as possible!
Alexander The Great Dane
Suspected Osteosarcoma July 12
Diagnosed Officially 7/16/2010
Amputated 7/27/2010
Became Spirit Xander 2/20/2011
If his mattress is on the floor, why keep him off it? A good firm mattress makes an excelent recovery bed.
You will find more advice than you can ever imagine in Jerry's Required Reading List.
Confinement is key to safe recovery.
Interactive toys will help keep xander from being bored while confined.
Elevated feeding stations are imperative for helping maintain ptoper tripawd posture, especially important for big dogs.
Members have provided many other tips in other existing forum topics. Try searching or using the tags if you don't receive other replies soon. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I agree with admin, if the mattress is on the floor, I don't know of a reason to keep him off, unless it's just that you can't get it to the room where he's going to be. If that's the case, the beds and blankets will be fine. My experience with other dogs is the other dogs didn't seem to realize Roxy was going through anything. That meant if they were coming to eat dinner and Roxy was going too slow, they just pushed right past her. I don't remember her ever being knocked down, but she was definitely bumped into a wall on a couple occasions. I almost had a heart attack! But Roxy just kept going, she didn't let it trip her up. I'm not sure, with the Dane's being so much taller if Alexander would have as much grace. The elevated bowls are a must. We took a bucket, turned it over, cut a hole, and used a bowl (with a lip) set into the hole. You may need to get a tall bucket! 
Good luck tonight.
Leslie
Regarding other pups - when we brought Skyler home, we kept Chloe away from her as we knew she'd probably want to play with her. The next day we brought Chloe down to the basement to see/smell Skyler. Initially she was frightened (wouldn't go in the room, was barking - acting scared), but did manage to approach Skyler carefully. We did keep them separate for a few days, just so Skyler could get rest and also to protect the incision and making sure the staples didn't pop. Once the staples were out, they were back together and we were also able to bring Skyler upstairs to the main living area.
Any time that Skyler had to be alone, we had a soft Elizabethian Collar on her, so she couldn't get to the incision. We also had her back in the pen, so she wouldn't get up on the couches downstairs. (Yes, they have 2 couches...and a TV - just for them).
Paws are crossed for a speedy recovery. Please keep us posted!
Cathy/Jane/Spirit Skyler/Chloe
Today was the first day my dog Chloe (amped 8 days ago) was briefly reunited with her sister Rocket. They do tend to play alot even at the age of 9 (for both), so unfortunately we do have to keep them separated most of the time (since Chloe still has her staples in). We let Chloe have a 10 min, monitored reunion in the grassy backyard this morning, which is only because she has become much more secure using her new body. In this I mean standing, sitting, walking, and going to the bathroom with ease. She did stumble a couple times trying to play with her sister, but since Chloe has gained strength in her remaining back leg from a week of recovery, she got right back up again no problem. I would just use your discretion based on your situation with your dogs because this just my situation with our dogs.
Also, we have a cat that Chloe usually gets along with very well, however she has been a bit "snarky" when he invades her living room space (where she is cooped up in all day with me). Otherwise, outside of her confinement she is fine with our cat. Hope this helps!
Best of luck to Alexander!
Chloe became a rear amp tripawd on 7-29-10. Another tumor was removed on front leg 2-20-14. Found 3rd tumor on neck 2-2015, but she's still kicking cancer's butt at age 14. Chloe's blog
Well, with Jake... Wolfie definitely knew that something was wrong... He'd be lying next to him all the time, and when Jake would get up to go and pee or eat, Wolfie would be right next to him smelling him and stuff. But once Jake was better and hopping around by himself, Wolfie was so excited and would run and body slam him from time to time. Of course, it was always when we weren't close enough to stop him... Luckily, nothing bad happened... But a few times, I actually caught Wolfie licking Jake's incision... Arrrhhhh!!!
I guess that each dog is different, and you need to have some supervised play time with them.
Good luck with Alexander!!!
Angel Jake and Wolfie's Mom
Jake, 10yr old golden retriever (fractured his front right leg on 9/1, bone biopsy revealed osteosarcoma on 9/10, amputation on 9/17) and his family Marguerite, Jacques and Wolfie, 5yr old german shepherd and the newest addition to the family, Nala, a 7mth old Bengal mix kittie. Jake lost his battle on 11/9/2009, almost 8 weeks after his surgery. We will never forget our sweet golden angel… http://jakesjou.....ipawds.com ….. CANCER SUCKS!
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