Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
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I\'m fostering a beautiful 1.5 yr old tripawd GSD mix pup who I\'m considering adopting and have some questions.
She was a stray that was hit by a car. They couldn\'t rehab her front left leg and had to amputate. She\'s been with me for a couple weeks and is 3 weeks post surgery. Her energy levels are growing every day! We are up to a mile walk in the morning and a mile in the evening and she still wants to keep going each time.
Before her surgery when we were still trying to save the leg but she was just dragging it, I took her out to a dog park where she happily hopped around for about 30 minutes and did just fine. Day before yesterday she went on her normal mile walk in the morning and then just a bit over a mile in the evening. She had massive amounts of energy that evening getting the zoomies like I\'ve never seen. So yesterday I took her to an off leash wilderness area for about 30 minutes where she ran around having so much fun. Later that afternoon she seemed a little sore and was licking her remaining front leg, so I let her rest and did not do an evening walk.
This morning she still seemed maybe a little sore so I just took her out for a quick less than half mile walk. By the end it looked like her front leg was in pain again. She was much slower and looking at her leg like it hurt. I gave her a rimadyl after and she\'s been resting for the day. She still in high spirits trying to jump on things etc... but I\'m really worried about her. Did I ruin her chances of healing properly??? How do I keep her other leg safe and not overdo things, but still let her get her energy out. How do I find her limit without hurting her.
I know it\'s not good to let her do that all the time, but I also want her to be able to do the things she loves. Shorter walks like a mile or less in morning and evening will remain standard,, but is the occasional dog park or running in wilderness areas always going to be off the table for her or will she work up to it?
I don\'t know what her activity levels were before the accident but I can tell she is a young pup with tons and tons of energy! How do I balance letting her be a dog with reigning her in for her safety? I\'ve heard of people who really regret overdoing things and others who\'s tripawd is fine into their teens with no reduction in the activity at all! I guess I\'m just trying to find the right balance for her.Â
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Hi Shelley, thanks for posting. What is your dog's name? Thank you for fostering her!
You ask great questions and we are so glad you found us. To answer your immediate questions: we aren't vets, but based on what you are describing, your pup definitely sounds like she is giving clear pain signals that indicate she is getting too much activity right now. The walks and playtime that you are describing is a lot for even a four-legged puppy at that age, so yes, it's time to cut way, way back on her free roaming, dog parks and two-mile a day walks, and find other ways to help satiate her need to be a dog. Please let her rest for a few more days and if she continues licking her leg, consult with her vet OK?Â
In the meantime you're probably thinking "OMD she will go crazy if she doesn't get out and so will I!" Of course you are. It's not easy but you the good news is that it IS possible to help her do all the things a dog loves, while staying safe, building strength and stamina that will ensure she has a long, injury-free life on three legs with minimal arthritis. Because if she is allowed to continue at this pace, it will catch up to her sooner than it needs to and leave her in a very bad way with aches and pains. Here's a blog post as an example:
How to Exercise Young, Recovering Tripawd Dogs and Cats
Focusing on games that challenge her brain can be as exhausting as a long walk and free-roaming. We love interactive brain games for dogs of any age, and getting her started with obedience games and activities can also wear her out while doing double-duty of turning her into a really well-behaved pup.
As you can see there are so many things to consider when it comes to raising a young three-legged dog. The most important in my book is to make sure that you or whoever adopts her keeps her activity well-managed to avoid injury and later, arthritis. If you think you'll adopt her, please check out our e-book, Loving Life On Three Legs , which has tons of tips about what to do and what not to do. Here are some articles as well:
Ten Things to Know About Adopting a Tripawd (Part 1)
How To Prevent Common Injuries in Tripawds
How to Raise a Tripawd Puppy: Nyaya’s Story
Tripawd Health Tips to Avoid Injury to Remaining Legs
Finally, please consider getting her evaluated by a canine rehabilitation therapist. It's soooo important because you will learn what kind of activity is appropriate for her, and what isn't. The best part is the Tripawds Foundation can pay for your first rehab visit ! If you adopt her, please consider taking advantage of the program or else let the rescue know so that her future family can take her.
Thank you so much for writing. Hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving with your wild puppy! Keep us posted and do share more about her life with you. Welcome to the community!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you so much for your response and all the resources. I feel terrible 😔. In my experience I was doing so much less than I normally would with a dog her age with her energy. I clearly need to scale back even further. I hope free roaming and dog parks can be part of her life at some point as she is so happy when she's there. I will work on more appropriate activities for her.Â
Oh gosh please don’t beat yourself up, we have all been there I promise! It’s a learning curve and you will get a feel for the e right kinds of activities. She is a lucky gal to have you looking out for her, I hope you turn into a foster fail!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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