Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Jolie is a French bulldog, 9 weeks old, born with a deformed front/right leg. It is what I would consider a nub and just limp and useless to her. Her back leg, on the same side seems to sit wide out and most of the time doesn't seem to be bending. We aren't sure if at this point it is just for stability being she is so new to the world or if there is more to be concerned with. Just curious if anyone has seen related issues. She will see a vet tomorrow but checked out a few weeks ago with the breeder vet without any other concerns besides the front leg.
Jolie and family, welcome. Your future posts won't require approval so post away. You might want to consider starting a new topic about Jolie's progress in our "Beyond Cancer" Forum where parents discuss dogs who lost a leg for reasons other than cancer.
I'm not a vet but hopefully our fairy vet mother volunteer will see this. Until then, you should hop over to Leo's story, and his blog, where we discuss life on three legs for brand new Tripawds. As we mention there, young dogs have a few more challenges than older ones when they are living on three legs, but with your guidance and proper fitness help from a knowledgeable vet, they do get stronger and more coordinated. We highly recommend having Jolie evaluated by canine rehab therapist, who can guide you in helping Jolie to get strong and learn motor skills on three legs. The Tripawds Foundation will even cover the cost of your first visit:
http://tripawds.....-tripawds/
Thanks again for joining, we look forward to following along on your adventures!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Just want to add another warm welcome to you and your precious pup.
You'll enjoy reading Leo's information and I'm sure you'll feel encouraged as a result.
Tha ks for taking this sweet pup into n your heart. Would love ro see pics.
Hugs!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
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!
We are excited to get Jolie to the vet today to get her checked out. She is becoming more active and starting to figure out that she loves the attention!
Quick question, probably silly but oh well.. I would love to share photos with you of her but not sure how to do that. When I click the add photo tab it says "source" and I am not sure what to do from there. Probably a really lame question but I've just not encountered that before! Thanks so much. Any help would be appreciated!
frenchiejolie said
We are excited to get Jolie to the vet today to get her checked out.
Why highly recommend consulting with a certified rehab vet/tech, and the Tripawds Foundation will reimburse your first visit if you do!
I would love to share photos with you of her but not sure how to do that.
Here are detailed steps for adding photos to forum posts . If you do not already share photos online somewhere you can start a free Tripawds blog any time and upload them there.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you so much for the help in figuring out pictures! I started the blog process and hopefully it is functioning and you can see a picture of our little girl! FrenchieJolie And a video of her hopping in to her bed to show her leg and the stiff back leg! New Bed!
We have a Rehab clinic close by so once we get this initial visit to the vet out of the way we will set up an appointment with them to figure out Jolie's next steps!
Thank you so much!
Fantastic and congrats! I'm hopping over to your blog now, thanks for starting one.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I was trying to look at both back legs, to compare them. It sort of looks like her one curves forward a bit? They may want to do some x-rays to check the bones and joints. It looks like when she walks that the joints bend like they're supposed to. So I would be worried about the bones. Hopefully it's something that just some physical therapy can straighten out.
Donna
Donna, Glenn & Murphy
Murphy had his right front leg amputated due to histiocytic sarcoma at 7 years old. He survived 4 years, 2 months & 1 week, only to be taken by hemangiosarcoma at 11 1/2 years 6/12/17
Read about Murphy's Life on Three Legs
midnighter94 said
I was trying to look at both back legs, to compare them. It sort of looks like her one curves forward a bit? They may want to do some x-rays to check the bones and joints. It looks like when she walks that the joints bend like they're supposed to. So I would be worried about the bones. Hopefully it's something that just some physical therapy can straighten out.Donna
Thank you for taking a look Donna. She definitely has full bend to the leg. She can successfully tuck them both under when she wants to and it looks completely normal. We are curious if it is maybe just a learned thing from being so young and not being exposed to independence. I don't believe she has spent much time on the ground learning to walk until the last few days. She was either carried because of her cuteness or left in her kennel mostly seperate because the others played too rough for her to keep up. Hopefully it is just something we can help her work with and be successful with!
Hi All!,
Just wanted to update you. I took Jolie to our local vet for her initial checkup. They looked at the back leg and were thinking it would probably get stronger as she uses it. They think it is most likely just lack of use and strength. They did say they were concerned with medial luxating patella on that leg though.
Soo... I took her to a friend a little further away that is a vet and specializes in orthopedics. He took a much closer look. Agreed with everything about the strength and just working with her to get it going. However, he did not feel there was the patella issue. That was a relief and his opinion meant more as I watched him really dive in and get a feel for everything. He is excited to watch her grow and care for her.
Now we just focus on her getting stronger and not chewing on literally everything in our house. Ha!
Oh good! Glad you got that cutie pie evaluated in such a thorough manner by the Specialist! And kt all sounds reassuring!
And the chewing is just starting!!! Good luck with that!!
Thanks for the uldate. Really glad things are looking brighter for sweet Jolie.
Hugs!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too
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!
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