Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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We are approaching our 8 week date since surgery. Emma (formerly known as "Dolly Momma") seems to be doing well. She is doing one new thing that has me baffled. She doesn't want to walk out of the bedroom and into the den. This requires walking out into a very short hall and turning the corner. All of our house has hardwood floors. I have mats in strategic places. I wonder if she slipped turning that corner and is now afraid to do it? I have put a mat there but has not always had one. I have seen her slip down a few times but not in that location.
Last night she would not even come out to eat. I had to take her out of the bedroom via the patio, and into the kitchen door. She seemed ok with that but now this morning still will not walk out. She will go into the hall and stand there wagging her tail and whining.....
Any dog psychologists who can diagnose this new behavior? There are no new items in the den, nothing has changed in our household. College students are home but they were here for 2 weeks before this occurred. She has always seemed so easy going through all of her many health issues. I don't want her to turn neurotic on me now!!
Awww Emma! First of all, glad to hear "otherwise" you have been doing so well.
Looks likeyou've covered the bases...starting withnthe scatter rugs/mats. My first assumption would definitely be related to slipping...fear of falling. She instinctively knows any jarm to her remaining legs or back would not be good
So takng her out the "alternate" route did work, right? So that seems to point to falling on the hardwoods...or maybe a loud noise that scared her as she walked down the hall...maybe? Gosh, jard to figure out.
Showng no signs of pain...tenseness when you rub up and down her spine, muscles, legs?
We need a little "Cesar Milan" here! I do recall a tv episode where a dog developed an overnight fear for laminate floors. I've forgotten the technique exactly but I remember he redirected his focus......he would have him outside playing in a happy state and, in that state, led him in the house onto the floors in andout in a playful state until the patternof fear was broken. I can't remember exactly how he made the floors represent good, but he did.
Perhaps another person sheknows and loves without anyprevious historyor ENERGY related to getting her out of the room, could start playing with her in the bedroom, redirect her focus and, without hesitation, have her follow them into the other room with fun and special trat as the motivation...and then repeat.
She has to feel secure on those floors though.
Anyway....all that's just in the "whatever it's worth" corner.....jist throwing stuff out there.
Sendingnyou and Dolly Momma EMMA hugs!
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!
Yeah, I'd say that's a fear of falling on hardwood floors as long as everything else checks out and she's not sore somewhere on her body. Do you have enough traction down?
I saw that Cesar Milan episode too Sally. I do like the idea of playing with Emma in the room, getting her super happy and excited and then gently leading her out of the room by bribing with treats. If that doesn't work I would put a few morsels of the most deeeelicious food you can find just outside of the doorway (on the throw rug of course) and then repeating that a few times as you gradually bring the food bowl out and away into the den.
Don't worry. She's not going to become neurotic, she just got a little scared. If you can find Pawz booties at a local pet supply I would try that tactic too. Just put them on her and she'll gain a ton of confidence right away and gradually lose her fear of those floors. You won't need to use them forever once she gets her confidence back.
Let us know if this helps.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
That must be it - I just didn't see her fall there. I don't see any signs of pain or soreness. I dropped in (with her) at vet's office today - I wanted to have Metacam on hand just in case she seemed sore or in pain. I had hoped to talk about this but our regular vet is on vacation...they said she would call me on Monday.
I have the remains of a rotisserie chicken (a favorite) so I will try luring her out with food. She loves my daughter and last night she was kneeling down in the den calling her and talking "baby talk" to her - she would peek around the corner and wag her tail and whine but would NOT come out.
I've also found out that she whines for me when I leave the house. As my husband cannot talk , I did not know that until my kids came home. So, maybe she has had some anxiety issues that I just didn't see because she generally feels safe if I'm with her. She used to follow me from room to room, would lie in kitchen while I cooked dinner, etc. But now, she just stays in the bedroom 
I just want her to return to her happy, uncomplicated self!
Cindy & Emma
Hi Cindy,
Emma is a great name!
My pug Maggie did become neurotic 
But she seems to have been the exception around here. Mag was quite stubborn and easily discouraged, which was odd because she was fearless around some things that should have scared her. Anyway- she fell a couple times trying to climb stairs early on in her tripawdness, and she would never try again. She was quite small, and climbing stairs for her had disaster written all over it so I never pushed it.
I have gained much more experience with neurotic dogs in the almost 4 years I have had my rescue pug Obie. He was neglected and abused and is very fearful about, well, almost anything that moves or scares him (like sudden loud noises, crinkling newspaper, cricket chirps...). My strategy is a take off of what I learned taking him to obedience classes, there I learned not to punish bad behavior, but to reward the behavior you want. So what I try to do is take the situation that scares him, like meeting new people, and make it fun and rewarding for him. I am very lucky that he is ridiculously food driven, so even his regular kibble will lure him.
You know, it might not be just the doorway- it might be the whole area of slippery floors. I think you will have to help her successfully navigate the rugs in the hall, maybe just one rug at a time. Stand on the rug, lots of praise and treats, back to the room. You might try putting the rug in the safe room first, stand on the rug, praise and treats...etc a couple times. Then have the rug straddle the door way... then into the hall. Or what about starting at the other end of the hall?
It's critical that she builds confidence and doesn't fall, at least for now. When Mag would fall down (rear amp) soon after her surgery she would sit and not want to try again. I had to really coax her. Once she gained confidence she would actually fall into a sit on purpose to change directions on slippery surfaces!
Good luck!
Karen and Spirit Maggie
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
All of this helps a lot - thanks you guys! I am "borrowing" 2 of my daughter's yoga mats to make a non-slip pathway through the hall (it is really a short space).
My friend had a Springer that was neurotic - she was used to her but she would have driven me crazy. I guess it's like your kids, though. Whatever they do, you adjust and it becomes "normal" life for you. I'm still hoping this is temporary. She woke me in the middle of the night, pacing and whining. I got up and took her outside ( it was unusually cold) she didn't do anything but look around for 2 or 3 minutes and head back to the door. So all of this is just not typical for her and yet I cannot see anything that has changed.
I also asked on my rescue board and they all encouraged a vet check next week and some pain meds just in case. Fortunately, I still have left over meds and I got the Metacam refilled today- I'm thinking I'll give her a dose of Metacam because she was on that for a long time before her amp surgery and seemed to do well with it.
Fingers crossed....chime in if you have any other ideas....
Cindy & Emma
It does sound like she may have slipped and is now leery of that spot. After Murphy was cleared last year and we went to my daughter's house, he had sort of the same thing. He was charging up and down their outside steps just fine for a couple of days. There are four sets...1 step, 2 steps, 3 steps and 6 steps. He had conquered the six step section with not a problem. Then I saw him miss a step on the two step one, and from then on, if he wanted to go up onto the porch, he would run all the way around the house to the single step.
Hopefully you can convince Emma (love the new name, by the way) that the area is no longer slippery and is safe for her to walk on.
Kathi and Murphy
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
I do believe, after another day of being with her, that some of this is related to an incident that I did not see. She was even hesitant this morning to walk across the bedroom floor to the patio door - which she has been doing every morning since I got her in Jan. I moved some mats around so she would not have to touch the hardwood floor - she still would not willingly step out of her bed. She stood there (on her bed) wagging her tail and whining. I took her collar and gently got her to step out and then she walked out without a problem. It seems if she stops and thinks about it - she gets nervous and/or frightened. Once she is moving, she does fine. She is not slipping or sliding on the floor - even in spots without mats - but whatever happened must have implanted a memory that she cannot easily shake.
She has trouble turning corners. If she is standing beside the door that opens in to the room - she cannot easily maneuver around the door. This is perplexing as she did not typically use the missing leg before ( it was shorter) but I suppose it gave her a feeling of security - that if she needed to balance herself she could put it down. She needs to re-learn that she can make 90 degree turns if they are wider ones, but cannot "turn on a dime" so to speak.
I believe the pain meds helped her last night - she slept through the night without any pacing or whining. So I assume this will all just take time and practice for her to gain confidence after her fall. Still plan to talk to vet on Monday and see if she thinks she need to check her out.
Cindy & Emma
Emma, you sure did pick the right forever home!
Ci dy, sounds like you've gt things pretty well figured out Something clearly scared her and she associates being in her bed as the safest place. But yeah, do get her checked out to make sure it's not a pi ched nerve, etc. as I re-read your post, it actually could be something causing somepain with certain movements...especially if the Metacam helped. Hmmmmm.....interesting.....please keep us posted!!
Hugs to you and that sweet' sweet Emma!!
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!
Your theory makes sense, she did lose her confidence somewhere. If it's turns that you think she's having the issue with, then take her outside onto grass and start playing slow, basic leash training games that they teach you in obedience. You know, the back and forth, figure eights, "follow me" games.
Here's a great video by our friend Sarah Wilson that explains how to overcome fearful situations:
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thanks for the info. and video! I just spoke with our vet and she agrees it must have been an incident that I did not witness and she is not spooky about the spot where she slipped. She said keep her on the Metacam for awhile and make sure she is not hurting.
She mentioned some sort of pads that go on their nails? She said University of Ga. vet school had recommended them to someone else - she will call back with the name. Said they are around $30 - anyone familiar with these? How do they compare to the little bootie type things?
I have not ordered the booties yet and I'm just working her through her anxiety and didn't want to introduce something else for her to have to deal with. I put some booties on another dog once - just to go out in the weather - and she shook her feet and acted all weird and funny. So.....I anticipated that Emma might feel the same way with a new sensation on her feet.
I plan to try some of the leash exercises later once it dries up outside.
Cindy & Emma
Does she like cats? And, in this case, I'm hoping the answer is "no"! Bring a cat in the house and see if that breaks her pattern and she goes running out after it!
I LOVE EMMA!!!!!
One more quick thing.....maybe take in a fresh urine sample. If she's asking to go ojt during the night but not peeing, could "possibly" be a uti or something...doubt it, bt worth checkng out.
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!
Was your vet talking about Toe Grips? I saw something about them, but never heard if anyone had any first hand info on them.
Kathi and Murphy
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
murphsmom said
Was your vet talking about Toe Grips? I saw something about them, but never heard if anyone had any first hand info on them.Kathi and Murphy
Yep, we've put them in the Gear Blog before:
Tripawds Navigate Slippery Floors with Dr. Buzby’s Toe Grips
I really like Pawz boots just on a short-term basis. Because they are like thin balloons and have a very thin (but durable) sole, they tend not to bother dogs as much as regular heavier boots. Most dogs wear them the first time without a problem. It could be a great way to get her confidence back.
Here's a video about how to avoid the oh so pathetic "Dog Boot Dance"!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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