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.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
I posted this in another area on the forum, but maybe this makes more sense!
My dog Chops (2 1/2 years old- Husky cross, lost his left back leg when he was about a month and a half old) has had less and less mobility over the past little while. Started out innocently enough- he stopped pulling on our walks (how nice!) and then was afraid of our porch stairs. Didn’t want to come upstairs to our bedroom like usual. He has always dragged his back leg/behind around when in the house, when he has been laying down for long periods of time, but it became excessive these past few days. He also started laying down on walks (not like him at all- usually he is running and leaping and playing and exploring). Anyway- he went from being a little strange, to full on in pain. It is quite obvious to us.
Anyway- went to the vet. Bad news: arthritis in his knee, hip and spine. A tear (I don’t understand entirely) and some other knee issues. I am hoping to get a better picture tomorrow. Apparently surgery can be done, and likely successfully. We will do whatever we need to do. He is so young and loves life.
My question to the forum: he will be having surgery on his only hind leg. Any advice? I feel like this is going to be a very challenging experience for all of us. I want to make him as comfortable as possible post surgery and through his rehab. Anyone ever go through something like this?
I feel terrible- I didn't see or ignored warning signs that something was wrong. Chops has always been an active and energetic dog and I think sometimes I let him take on more than he should have. Maybe it wouldn't have stopped this from happening, but I can't help but wonder if I had been more careful and made sure he was stronger, this wouldn't have happened. Anyway, looking forward and onto the future...
Thank you!
Leslie (and Chops)
I totally understand your feelings. Our Murphy was hit by a car and lost a back leg almost two and a half years ago. His accident also left him with a damaged hip, which resulted in him having a total hip replacement. You can read his story here in the Beyond Cancer topic.
He started physical therapy four months after the THR, and it made a huge difference. When he has had problems with his back, a quick redo on the PT has helped him back to his old self. Doing the core muscle exercises has helped keep him going, too.
If you are anywhere near a canine rehab facility, I would strongly encourage you to have an evaluation done by a rehab vet. They are miracle workers!
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!
Sooooo glad Kathi and Murphy responded first! They are legendary around here for tripawds who have had to have surgery on their remaining legs. I don't think the bllg link she gave you worked, but one of the computer geeks will fix that. She and I laugh at our ....err.....lack of computer knowlege
Yes, these things do happen and all we can do is do the best we can! Please do not spend one second of wasting energy on "guilt".....that takes you away from being with CHOPS! And that would not make CHOPS hapou!
I love his name and his avatar picture! Can't wait to see more photos!
As Kathi said, it's not easy and recovery requires patience. But I nave no doubt that you and Chops will overcome this hurdle together miat fine!!
We are all nere by your side to help you in anyway we can!
((((((((((((((((((Hugs))))))))))))))))))
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle too!
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!
Just one other thought... Was Chops evaluated by your regular vet, an orthopedic vet or a physical therapy vet? The one time we had to take Murphy to the emergency about a year after his recovery, the emergency vet thought he had a CCL tear. When the rehab vet (who he had seen through two months of PT) saw him, she immediately recognized that it was not his knee, but a back problem. Our ortho vet has also said that he has a very solid knee.
Just a thought that whatever it is might (just might) be something that can be treated with less invasive procedures. Of course, I am NOT a vet, so this is pure conjecture on my part.
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!
One of our members Chuy had a femoral head ostectomy on his remaining rear leg and did awesomely. Of course it took him longer to recover but recover he did. As I recall his mom posted quite a bit about his recovery process, and she was dedicated to his rehab so check out his blog by clicking on his name above. She also posted in the forums about him. Just do a search for Chuy. I am sure Eleanor would not mind if you PM'd her for advice as well. At the top of each forum post is a PM button so you can just go to one of her posts to PM her.
Here are a few other links that might be helpful (I stole them form another post so I hope they work
):
Tripawd Max Does Swimmingly Well, Even After Hip Replacements
When a Tripawd Needs Another Leg Surgery
ACL/CCL Surgery for Ajax … tips from Tripawds who have had ACL surgery welcome
Hope this helps and keep us posted!!
xoxo,
Codie Rae and the Oaktown Pack
Woohoo! Tripawds Rule!
Regulator of the Oaktown Pack, Sheriff of the Oaktown Pawsse, Founding member and President of the Tripawd Girldogs With 2 Names ROCK Club, and ... Tripawd Girldog Extraordinaire!
Hi and welcome.
You got great input already- I just wanted to let you know that I deleted your other identical (title anyway) post, no one had posted there yet.
You should consider an ortho vet if you haven't seen one already. There are sometimes alternatives to surgery that you can explore. With one back leg, and if the CCL is torn completely surgery may be the best choice, but it's good to get all the options. There are also different kinds of knee repair surgeries, more and less invasive repairs can be done. Most vets only do one kind, so there is where another opinion might help.
And if he does have arthritis (2.5 is really young, but not unheard of) there are lots of supplements to choose from to help him feel his best.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
I just realized as a someone new to the site you might have a little trouble searching the forums (I still do!!) so here is a forum post about Chuy.
Woohoo! Tripawds Rule!
Regulator of the Oaktown Pack, Sheriff of the Oaktown Pawsse, Founding member and President of the Tripawd Girldogs With 2 Names ROCK Club, and ... Tripawd Girldog Extraordinaire!
A few other posts Tripawds News blog posts...you can search all blogs here .
Dog Rehab Therapy Helps Tripawds Beat the Odds
When a Tripawd Needs Another Leg Surgery
Tripawd Max Does Swimmingly Well, Even After Hip Replacements
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Here is the link to Murphy's story.
http://tripawds.....mputation/
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!
WOW. Thank you everyone for all the fantastic advice and links. I'll be sure to start reading up... so much to consider.
I have an update! And it is very positive! Chops went in for an orthopedic examination. They had done x-rays on the Tuesday already, but he needed to be sedated for the exam, so they did that yesterday. They found that there was no need for surgery and that him limping and pain is caused by a cartilage tear and arthritis. SO RELIEVED. So he is on an anti-inflammatory and isn't really allowed to do much. We have a sling for him, but he really won't let us use it. He just stands there and won't move. So silly this guy...
Regardless, all of your advice and experiences are giving us perspective on our next steps to keep Chops healthy in the long term. The vet said surgery is possible down the road given that he is not even 3 years old and already experiencing these things. So the goal is to get him strong and healthy now.
We are thinking of getting a second dog sometime in the summer. Chops LOVES other dogs and I can see him getting depressed if he can't play at the dog park and run around. So maybe a friend at home would be a good idea. We'll see.
Thank you all again,
Leslie
That's awesome news Leslie! Glad to hear the ortho team came back with a good report. Keep us posted and give him extra smooches from us.
p.S. If you're thinking of another pup, why not make it a Tripawd of about the same age? That way they will both require similar amounts of exercise. We only have one pup, but having a four legger and a three-legger seems like it would be extra challenging to keep both happy and exercised at the same time, without putting extra stress on Chops' joints.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Certainly something to think about Jerry! We will see what dogs we meet once we start our search. We were thinking even if they were 4 legged- maybe a dog that had a little less energy or something. Might be a good fit. But if we found another Tripawd I am certain we couldn't resist.
That is very true, many big four leggers are couch potatoes. Good luck!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
1 Guest(s)
