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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Our tripod rescue, Buddie, suffers from fear aggression. We have a marvelous trainer who specializes in traumatized dogs.. Since Buddie is a border collie/western cattle dog mis he's very smart and wants a job. He's decided his job is protecting me. The trainer suggested a backpack as a job when we are on our walks
Any suggestions? He's a 75 lb front leg amputee as a result of having been found abandoned and caught in an animal trap.
Awww . . . poor thing. He's so lucky to have found you. How old is he? Is that him as your avatar?
Harmony became a Tripawd on 10/21/14 (MCT). She left us way too soon on 11/1/14.
"We miss you so much; our love, our heart, our Harmony."
- Pam, Ron and Melody, Meesha, Doublestuff and Mariah Carey
I'd be nervous about adding more weight to a tripod, but others will know more about that than I will.
My Jack is also fearful and can get out of hand on walks, lunging and barking. The amputation set us back a few steps, but she's starting to improve again.
She's been put to work on walks, but her job is to sit quietly and watch me when other dogs pass us. She also has a whole host of things we work on while out and about - sitting at cross walks, waiting, 180 degree reversals if someone she thinks is scary is approaching, and other tricks to keep her mind busy. Maybe you could incorporate things like that?
If you haven't picked up any books by Patricia McConnell, check her out. She's a wonderful resource for dogs who are fearful and a nice reminder that there are other dogs out there who have the same challenges. I've also had good success using positive training techniques from BAT. And finally, one of the most helpful things I've found is to limit her exposure to things that set her off - we walk in the quietest areas of our neighborhood and I've asked for my neighbors' help in keeping a bit of distance between her and dogs/kids.
Great suggestions from Jack's people! Agree 100% with everything. Our own Wyatt Ray comes from a similar background and we've had our share of issues with him. He's a wonderful dog but like Buddie, needs a job or he's destructive and aggressive. You might also want to see these books from Sarah Wilson, she's helped us tremendously with Wyatt.
We've had rehab vets tell us backpacks are a no-no so you can try a Webmaster harness but if you still want to add a backpack, do not put anything in it, just put it on him empty as long as it's a lightweight model.
Tell us more about Buddie! He's so handsome and you are pawesome for working with him to help him be the best dog he can be. 
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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