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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Hi everyone. Well I'm not a tripawd owner yet - but we may be. And I have found this site very useful in helping us with our decision. Unlike a lot of you, we aren't dealing with cancer, but rather a freak accident that resulted in our 10 year old Fox terrier dislocating his shoulder.
Our vet suggested expensive surgery ( which we can't afford), amputation or euthanasia. We didn't really like any of those options, so went for a 2nd opinion - same options. We had scheduled to amputate the leg after a lot of crying and heartbreak, but at the last minute did some more research, and decided to ask the vet if we could give our dog Colin some time and see if the leg healed by itself. He was managing quite well, not in undue pain, and appeared to be improving. Plus we have a trip in 3 week which we can not reschedule, and so if we were going to go ahead with the amputation, we felt it would be better if we were there to look after him properly.
Although I don't think the leg is going to heal well enough (I think it will still cause some pain and if it's still dislocated I do thin it's better to come off), I'm glad we are taking the chance it might heal, because if we had gone ahead, I thikn I'd have always wondered "what if it had come right?" Our vet was supportive of our decision.
I guess I just wanted to introduce myself, and 'meet' you all, as I think we'll be visiting this site more frequently and could probably use support later down the track - also I don't if anyone has come across a similar situation, and if they had any advice on the matter?
We're quite scared thinking about the operation, it seems a big change, and a lot of pain for him to go through, but we equally don't think he's ready at all to give up on life, so I think we have to be brave for him.
welcome!! sorry to hear colin has dislocated his shoulder. sounds like you are getting good info from your vets. most dogs get along remarkably well after amputation, especially when the damaged leg is so painful that it's virtually useless anyway. you are so right that you need to be brave for him, colin will 'key' off of your emotions. our road was through two types of cancer, so we don't have personal experience with physically damaged bones, etc.. but there will be others who will post with good suggestions.
ten is very young for a fox terrier, colin has so much more yet to do - even if it's on three legs.
charon & spirit 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
Welcome!
Somewhere on here I read "I'd rather run on 3 legs than limp on 4." Not sure who said it but it's so true. I got Trapper as a Tripawd so I had no decisions to make regarding his healthcare. I was a little nervous about adopting a Tripawd, but it turns out he can do everything my other dogs can except for run on the laminate kitchen floor. So remember to get those throw rugs if you have the surgery.
trapper said:
Welcome!
Somewhere on here I read "I'd rather run on 3 legs than limp on 4." Not sure who said it but it's so true. I got Trapper as a Tripawd so I had no decisions to make regarding his healthcare. I was a little nervous about adopting a Tripawd, but it turns out he can do everything my other dogs can except for run on the laminate kitchen floor. So remember to get those throw rugs if you have the surgery.
Oh wait -- it says that right on the top of this webpage LOL
So sorry to hear about your boy, but welcome to the site.
We are here due to a cancer amputation, so I cannot offer any advice on the injury aspect. But, I did want to reassure you of how well most dogs do after they recover from the amputation. Zeus is 11.5 years old and was already slowing down alot before all of this happened. We were very nervous about how he would do on three legs but he has stunned us with how well he recovered. Just this morning he performed some serious acrobatics trying to escape from Dr. R when I dropped him off for his chemo and they tried to take him away from Mom. 
Every dog is different but I would bet that your kiddo would do fine on three legs, if it comes to that. As you said, many of us are here because of cancer - which means that our recovery and follow-up continues with chemo or radiation or other procedures. So, you will likely see many posts about dogs that don't feel well, etc, but those are usually associated with all of the other stuff ours are going through that you will not have to deal with!
Just in the last couple of months there have been several new members due to amps from injury that might give you a better perspective of how those pups do. You might want to do a site search for Sadie, Rider, Trapper (those are the ones that jump to mind) since they fit your circumstances a little better. Good luck to you and keep us updated!!!!
Zeus was a Husky mix diagnosed with Osteosarcoma at age 11. A visible lung met and suspicious spot on his liver meant a poor prognosis-six weeks was our vet's best guess. We decided to fight for our boy and his right front leg was amputated on 12/1/11. We did six rounds of chemo, changed his diet and spoiled him completely rotten. We were blessed with 10 great months after diagnosis. Against the odds, the lung met remained a single met and grew very little over those months. A wonderful furbaby with the most gentle spirit, he fought with a strength that we never imagined he possessed. We have no regrets...
http://zeuspod......pawds.com/
Hi Foxy & Family, thanks for joining us here.
I agree, his age, and his size, are a great advantage, he still has a lot of living to do and getting along as a Tripawd shouldn't be a problem for hm.
As I mentioned in my other post, have you talked to a certified canine rehab vet and had him evaluated by one? That could really help shed some light on what you might expect if you wanted to go the rehab route. See this post for details on finding a good rehab center. And I agree, in my non-veterinarian opinion, if you can wait on the surgery and he's not in any pain, or likely to dislocate it again, you might want to hold off until your trip is over.
What you'll find here is that going though this process is definitely harder on the human than it is for the dog. Dogs don't have shame, or regret or blame, they just know they want to feel better, and when they do, look out! Life is all good again.
Good luck! Please let us know what you decided to do, we'll support you any way we can.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thanks. I should mention we are in New Zealand, so the alternative vets and rehab centers just aren't available here. I'll hav ea look at those other dogs you mentioned are here due to injuey.
The shoulder surgery to repair the ligaments would be in excess of $3000, and the amputation would be around $600-700. It's still not cheap, and we want to put in a bigger dog door as well, so looking at around $1000 all up - but we can afford that - just. The thing with the ligament repair is that we could pay all that money, and still not have it work - and still have to amputate. Which is why we thought that amputation was our best option.
Colin is a very slim dog, so weight is not an issue, and he's managing well using mostly 3 legs at the moment.
Do any of you have other dogs? We have a puppy as well, and I'm thinking we'll have to seperate them until Colin is fully healed.
I really appreciate all your replies, it's nice to have other people agree with us! It's interesting talking to some of our friends & family, as some don't agree with amputation - but when it's your dog, your baby, I just don't see how we can put him down for a broken leg.
Foxy, we ran into the same thing with Cadence. Some of our friends were shocked, I mean shocked when we told them we were moving forward with amputation, especially after she got the amputation one week after we found it and didn't wait for the biopsy. (We trusted our Oncologist and the way the cancer presented was like textbook osteosarcoma). Now they are really supportive and say we did the right thing now that they saw how well she is getting along. A lot of people don't understand how it is more painful for a dog to have the leg remain on their body as compared to taking it off. They don't know that cancers can be so painful and they grow so big and cause the dog more misery than a few weeks or months of relearning how to get around with three legs. It really is education. Sometime you just have to tell people to wait and see. 🙂
Cadence's Mom
Cadence Faye: Born 10/30/04, stepped into our hearts 12/23/2004. Rear leg tumor found 7/24/11 by mom and dad, Xray on 7/25/11, Osteosarcoma suspected 7/26/11, amputation 7/29/11, Carboplatin started 8/23. Met free so far!
foxy said:
Do any of you have other dogs?
Here is a related forum topic and Tripawds News blog post you may find helpful:
Video: How do Canine Siblings React?
Just a couple more resources from the Three Legs and a Spare e-book!
You might also consider listening to the podcast from our recent Tripawd Talk Radio program discussing a very similar subject:
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
YES! And I will just have to post a video later on with Cadence and her baby brother playing. Of course Cadence is fully healed now. I definitely think that it is a good idea to keep them separate at first . Even old dogs have curiosities about Cadence stump and they really like to sniff it and a puppy might even go farther and nip at stitches, etc. So I agree it is a good idea to keep them separated.
Cadence Faye: Born 10/30/04, stepped into our hearts 12/23/2004. Rear leg tumor found 7/24/11 by mom and dad, Xray on 7/25/11, Osteosarcoma suspected 7/26/11, amputation 7/29/11, Carboplatin started 8/23. Met free so far!
Thanks! One other question I just thought of - Colin loves to hold bones in his paws and chew them - it's one of his favourite things! Is there anything that will hold a bone for him (his front leg will be removed). Of course we'll do it for him some of the time - but it would be great if he could enjoy it when we're away at work as well 🙂
I think there's a video somewhere on here showing Spirit Jerry enjoying a bone with only one front leg. Maybe someone will provide the link to it. I actually don't think there's anything a tripawd can't do!
Marla and Daisy
My Two Tripawds...Biscuit 
and Spirit Daisy 
daisygirl said:
I think there's a video somewhere on here showing Spirit Jerry enjoying a bone with only one front leg...
Colin will get the hang of it!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Welcome to you and Colin. He should do quite well, given his size and age. He'll just have to get through the roughly 2 week recovery period. Most dogs are prtty much fully back to their old selves once the stitches come out and the pain meds are done.
Our Abby was a front leg amp and she still had no problem figuring out a way to hold her bones and munch on them. Colin will figure it out. You'll be amazed at how he'll adapt.
It is awesome to be a tripawd pawrent. Keep us posted on how everything goes!
Jackie, Angel 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!
When you are faced with this decision there are so many things that you think you sweet dog wont be able to do anymore but once they have healed they really suprise you. Kayla was digging holes in the garden 4 or 5 days after her op and she lost her right front leg. Tripawds just find new ways of doing things they are amazing to watch and you learn alot from them. Some of our friends didn't think we were making the right choice either but when they see her now they can't believe it, she is just like any other 4 legged dog.
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