Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I adopted Dexter from a humane society just outside my city. The moment I laid eyes on him I wanted him. I had decided to get a companion for my 4 year old pit bull when she started acting depressed. When I brought Dexter home, my other dog Jorja started being more playful and not laying around all the time. Well everything was perfect for a month. One morning, just a couple weeks ago, I came home from work and took the pups outside before going inside to go to bed, as I always do. However, this morning they both started playing and I decided to hang outside and let them play for a bit before I brought them in to go back to bed. Well, they played for a good while and all of a sudden from across the yard my pit bull just went after the puppy. For no apparent reason, she attacked him. I tried to get her off him and she just went into him more so I backed up and screamed for help and as I turned around my step-father was coming through the gate. He got my pit bull off the puppy and truthfully just in the nick of time. A few more seconds and I don't think he would still be with us.
I rushed him to the vet and found out that he had 7 broken ribs all in a row on his right side and a broken leg (just under the shoulder bone) on his left front leg. His was in shock and so young that we had to wait a week before they could do the surgery to repair his arm. They had to put 2 pins in to stabilize the leg. Well 1 week after surgery the pin started pushing out. So the doc went back in and put a larger pin in place, a few hours later took follow up xrays only to find out that his growth plate in his shoulder had shifted and due to this she felt the best option was to amputate.
So I pick up my newly tripawd later on today and I am of course having my own concerns. Prior to the amputation he wasn't using the bad arm really at all. The good arm was having some difficulties dealing with this, I guess because he is such a young puppy the tendons/ligaments aren't very strong. When he walks the good paw lays down flat on the ground. To explain a bit better - you know how a dog stands on the pads of his feet and up from that about 2 inches on the back of the front paws is another single pad?..well his good paw lays down flat all the way to that. Doc says in time that will strengthen I just worry that there could be permanent damage or he will never learn to straighten it out. Also in dealing with the amputation we are still dealing with the 7 broken ribs that only time can heal. He is a fighter and I know he will persevere. Just wondering if anyone else has experienced this with their tripod. I will try to post a pic/video soon.
Welcome and best wishes for Dexter's speedy recovery. Your future forum posts will not require moderation.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
OMG what a horrific story! I'm so sorry about Dexter!
I don't have any answers to your medical questions, but I have to ask...what are you going to do now with the two of them???
Trust me when I say this as a person who dealt with many dog fights; your two dogs will probably never get along now and the chances are that it will escalate. Being that Dexter is now 3 legged, it will be way worse! And not just because he has lost his ability to "fight or flight" but because there is now bad blood between them and your female will find him easy prey and lame.
I'm just sorry. I do hope Dexter makes a full recovery emotionally and physically. Unfortunately your situation in keeping them both is dire. I speak as a person who has tried to make it work with dogs that did not get along. I've nearly lost my 3 legged dog to a dog fight with my other dogs. It emotionally traumatized her for life. Even before my three legged dog, I had dogs that wouldn't stop fighting. At the drop of a hat, they would fight. It probably happened 20 times over 10 years. It has actually left me scarred emotionally (and I physical scars too).
I wish you only the best. Sending good thoughts to Dexter!
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
First of all, welcome to the club nobody wants to belong to but has the best members in the world!
Second, you will find a lot of people here either with dogs who lost a limb through accident (trauma) or as a puppy, or both. So you will get information on strengthening that remaining leg for sure.
And third, cometdog is right. I had two 4-legged dogs who could not get along. One suddenly went for the older one and almost killed her, and we tried unsuccessfully to rehome the offender. Because the offender had been neglected before we got her, I couldn't bring myself to put her down and we kept them segregated for the remaining 3 or 4 years of their lives. It was hell. To be honest, if I could go back in time and do this again, I would euthanize that dog. She went on to growl at children and snapped at a child that simply stroked her back one day. We never again let the dog around a child or out of our yard, but to this day I feel I was irresponsible for not doing what was too hard at the time. I'm not saying that's what you should do, but only what my particular situation required but I did not do.
I wish you well with this journey. Dexter is young and will heal. He may have trouble with other dogs, or he may not. Don't write his future for him. Try to socialize him in a responsible manner and let him have positive experiences with trusted, proven dogs that are not big and rambunctious. Then he has the best chance of this becoming a distant memory that doesn't bother him.
Shari
From abandoned puppy to Tripawd Warrior Dude, Dakota became one of the 2011 February Furballs due to STS. Our incredibly sweet friend lived with grace and dignity till he impulsively raced over the Bridge on 12-15-12.
Dakota's thoughtful and erudite blog is at http://shari.tr.....pawds.com/
So far, I have been keeping them seperate. This whole ordeal has just been way too much for me to deal with. I've been stressed out, can't eat the whole nine yards. So basically knowing I should Euthanize the older dog, but putting it far out of my mind while I have been dealing with Dexter. Now that things are starting to settle with Dexter I have made the decision, the very hard decision, to Euthanize Jorja. Not solely on what happened, but Jorja has always been timid of new people and she barks and doesn't let you pet her. Once she gets to know you she is fine, but that along with other incidents of fighting with other dogs. I believe she is unstable and I can't risk her hurting another animal or a human for that matter. I already talked with the Vet and we are going to sedate her first then Euthanize to make it as easy as possible. I am pretty sure I will be doing it Friday. Its going to be a rough weekend for me. I know its the right thing to do though. Dexter came home today and I could tell immediately that he is in way less pain than he was prior to the amputation. He still hasn't learned to get around and his arm is still laying flat on the ground as it was prior to the amputation. He has been putting his nose on the ground before picking up his only front leg to walk. I hope he works through that, I would hate for him to get blisters on his nose. He doesn't really put alot of pressure on it just enough to pick up is front leg.
Oh, what a heartbreaking story! Its so hard to know if two dogs will get along. I cannot imagine what you have been going through.
Dexter is absolutely adorable! He has alot of healing to do so please don't get discouraged!
Spirit Samson was Spirit Tripawd Daisys four legged "brother" and ruled as the self proclaimed head of the Monkeybutt Federations East Coast Division. Lady Chunky Monkey stayed from Oct 2011 and left for the bridge in Apr 2012. Miss Perdy is left and has some big pawprints to fill.
Do you have what it takes to be a Monkeybutt? Find out more at the Monkeybutt Federation
sometimes doing the right thing means doing the tough thing. sending best wishes for dexter and hoping for speedy healing. he is a cutie pie!
charon & gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
I'm so sorry you have had to make such a hard decision, but it definitely sounds like you are doing the right thing. It is still going to be rough, but please have peace knowing you are potentially keeping someone else from harm.
Hang in there. I hope Dexter recovers well. He is an absolute doll face.
Jackie, Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
My heart goes out to you, I know this can't be easy. I'm so sorry.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Oh, wow. I feel so badly for you. I own two American Staffordshire Terrier mixes, and my sweetheart Trouble was an American Pit Bull Terrier. There is so much, yet so little to say. I don't know how much experience you have with the breed, so I'll run through some basics and hope I don't offend you.
You could probably save the pittie if you are willing to crate and rotate faithfully. That isn't a viable option for most people. The breed can be dog aggressive. I do not believe once you have seen this trait it will resolve, you may be able to control, but it will always be there.
My Duke has a very high prey drive. He thinks small animals (dogs included) are prey. The first week we had him, he went after the neighbor's mini dobe. Scared the pejabbers out of me, but thankfully didn't leave a mark on the other dog. I know I cannot trust him around small animals, when we had the opportunity to rescue a pup about Dexter's age in September, I passed for this reason. Duke's story is different from your incident, as Dexter suffered severe injury. You indicated your pit had fought with other dogs, that should have been your clue this was an dog who didn't need a companion. Were the other dogs it fought with significantly smaller than your dog - if they were, it could be prey and not aggression.
Duke also had some issues with fear and trust. In 2 1/2 years, he has jumped up and growled and barked at us like he would love to eat our faces off. The first time it happened, just as you are facing, we knew we had to make some decisions. I had several trainers talk with me, and the one who made me believe we could work with this dog, was the one who pointed out if the dog was human aggressive, he would not warn, he would bite. He is a dog with boundaries, and you must decide if you are willing to live within those boundaries. This was a powerful and eye opening statement.
We could not touch his feet, he could not be restrained, he had to be muzzled at the vet, and we could not startle him when we woke him. We were on eggshells for a long while. It has taken 2 1/2 years to gain this dog's trust. He will still growl occasionally, but it isn't the I'm going to eat you growl it was in the early days. I live knowing that one day I may have to make the decision to put him down. He is a great dog, he has made outstanding improvements, but should he ever bite or attack Emmi, it will be time to re-evaluate what is best for all concerned.
I am not a trainer, I cannot give you advice, I can simply tell you my experiences. You are no doubt in a bad situation right now, and I would support any decision you make. Only you know in your heart what you feel is right. I would be afraid the pittie would hurt a smaller, recuperating puppy, and at the very least would be extremely careful to keep them separated until the puppy heals and is large enough to hold it's own.
I hope this doesn't sound preachy, I don't mean for it to. Please feel free to PM me if you think I could be of any assistance to you.
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
I guess what we did with our two dogs ("the offender" and "the victim") was what hugapittbull is calling "crate and rotate." We didn't employ crates but we did employ baby gates and rooms. And the reason I said it was hell is because there would be posturing and growling even when segregated. I managed to do it without losing my mind for several years. The real moments of anxiety came when "the offender" started growling at the local children. I doubt there's a large enough homeowner's insurance policy to cover what could have resulted. Thankfully it never did. And my offender was largely rottie. Whatever else was in there was anyone's guess, but she looked like a rottweiler with a curly tail and skinny legs.
If you decide to try to keep Jorja and Dexter both, I think the best thing you could do is PM hugapittbull for some of the training ideas and then work your tail off to find a trainer that understands these issues. Maybe your humane society has a list of "last resort" trainers.
Any breed can have issues with other dogs or people. I think in my dog's case, it was her unknown past that was probably to blame. Without knowing how she'd lived, it was impossible for me to get a good read on her. So ultimately, she was let down by humans. The usual suspect, of course.
Shari
From abandoned puppy to Tripawd Warrior Dude, Dakota became one of the 2011 February Furballs due to STS. Our incredibly sweet friend lived with grace and dignity till he impulsively raced over the Bridge on 12-15-12.
Dakota's thoughtful and erudite blog is at http://shari.tr.....pawds.com/
I appreciate everyone's input. Believe be I have played out all the options. I know a lot about the breed and Jorja's problem is she isn't blatantly aggressive and the other dogs she has been in fights with has been big dogs, so it isn't a prey drive. She is unpredictable she will seem fine one minute and the next minute she flips. It is that unpredictability that I feel makes Euthanasia my only option. I want to have kids one day and I would never trust her with my child. I played with the idea of re homing her, but people that have called me were either obviously planning to fight her or wanted her for the wrong reasons, or had no clue what they were getting into. So for her well being as well as others I think Euthanasia is the only option. My cousin had a dog that was a great dog and one day the neighbors kid saw her kids in the yard playing and came running over through the front yard to the back door and the dog attacked her. Even though she new the dog and the dog was good with her. I believe without a doubt that Jorja would do something like that. Also, being locked in a room the majority of the day away from human contact is no way to live. I believe Jorja was from a litter of fighting dogs, I was at the flea market when I saw some people selling Pitt pups and I knew that was the kind of dog I wanted I just wasn't really ready at the time, she looked in such bad shape though that my heart went out to her and I bought her to save her. The breeder lied to me about her age, parents everything he gave me a disconnected phone number to reach him. Shortly after I got her a huge dog fighting ring was brought down with over 25 dogs that were used for fighting were confiscated.
Anyhow, what I am really looking for here is someone that maybe has experienced a similiar situation with there dog. A young puppy and them not holding the remaining front foot they way they should. After today I am really getting concerned he seems to have digressed. Now he is acting like he can't properly use his hind legs. Its been 48 since surgery and he still doesn't want to get up and walk. I tried coaxing him with some turkey meat and that worked a little but his hind legs seems so unstable they fall right from under him. I am thinking it might be from 2 weeks of hardly moving the muscles have atrophied but, what can I do to help him start walking again. Right now my plan is to get him up and make him walk for a few mins every couple hours. I am just having a hard time dealing with all this, I just want him to be a healthy happy puppy again.
I'm not as familiar with the breed, and what can and can't be fixed by some intensive training. All I know is that would be where I would start -- rather than simply going straight to euthanasia.
My dog, Tosca, when I first got her was aggressive with me and with certain other dogs. Mostly it was small space, high activity, anxiety-based aggression with the other dogs, but with me it was definitely a "who's the boss" kind of aggression. I worked one-on-one with a very good trainer for many months, and now you would never know she was the same dog. I do have to watch her certain situations and triggers, but I'm familiar enough with them to be able to nip her aggression in the bud.
It's possible that the training might not take, but I think you owe it to Jorja to give her that chance -- after all, you had her first.
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~ ~ Rio ~ ~ |
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