Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello friends!
Just 9 days ago I adopted a tri-pod Moroccan street dog named Bennie who is missing her front left leg. (She's about 50 pounds - our first local vet visit is next week). In the meantime, I'm slowly working to teach her to sit, stay, come and what her name is. She's all heart and full of potential.
She is smart and she is VERY treat motivated. My biggest concern is having her gain weight as a result of training.
I'm using freeze-dried liver treats (approx 8 cals each) BUT cutting back on her kibble from 2 1/2 to 2 cups per day to compensate.
I'd love to hear from you about your treat/training recommendations.
I'd also love to learn from anyone else who has adopted a tri-pod street dog.
I'm so happy to have discovered this website! Thanks in advance!
Rhea
Rhea, Bennie sure won the doggie lotto! WOW!
Sorry I think I called her "Rhea" in a previous post. Doh!
Meanwhile, it's awesome that you are thinking about keeping her slim. That is the #1 thing you can do to keep her healthy and strong as she ages. Great insight! Especially because treats can be such a huge issue, and cause unwanted pounds to pile on. The good news is that there are many alternatives to the usual biscuits and peanut butter snacks.
Check out the Tripawds Nutrition blog for our pet treat recipes and ideas. Some are low cal, some are not. But all things in moderation as they say, right?
Is Bennie happy to get people food? If so, anything from carrot sticks to watermelon can make great training treats. The important thing to remember is to save her most favorite "high value" foods for training. When they are a rare treat she'll work harder and be more eager to learn. Keep us posted on what you decide to use for regular training treats and special rewards. We love sharing in the nutrition blog!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I have a small rear amp Tripawd, she is just under 15 pounds. Elly lost her leg at 7 months old after being hit by a car, she is now 6.5 years old.
Elly had severe separation anxiety and fear issues when I adopted her at 10 months old- we have gone to tons of classes and we do some type of training daily to help her become more confident. We also work on her balance and core and leg strength most days through training, exercises and food games and puzzles. With such a small dog every calorie counts so I have to be really careful not to over feed.
What has worked for us is to reduce the calories at meat time to compensate for all the treats she gets throughout the day. I also have a 15 year old Pug boy named Obie, although Elly is much younger and way more active she actually gets about half the food at meal time than Obie does. Because the treats make up a lot of her calorie intake I focus more on making sure the treats are high quality and nutritionally balanced. I don't feed kibble as the main food source but I do occasionally use it for training or food puzzles. You can supplement meals with fruits and veggies- high fiber low sugar is what I usually use. My dogs get NO SALT green beans with most meals- low calorie and very filling. No salt is very important if you used canned veggies. I find fruit and veggies too messy to use for training so I'd rather add them to meals. Besides, Elly is a little picky in what she will eat- for example she will not eat carrots or squash.
Another thing I do is to cut up treats. Even when I buy treats sized for small dogs I find I can make them smaller.
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
krun15 said
I have a small rear amp Tripawd, she is just under 15 pounds. Elly lost her leg at 7 months old after being hit by a car, she is now 6.5 years old.Elly had severe separation anxiety and fear issues when I adopted her at 10 months old- we have gone to tons of classes and we do some type of training daily to help her become more confident. We also work on her balance and core and leg strength most days through training, exercises and food games and puzzles. With such a small dog every calorie counts so I have to be really careful not to over feed.
What has worked for us is to reduce the calories at meat time to compensate for all the treats she gets throughout the day. I also have a 15 year old Pug boy named Obie, although Elly is much younger and way more active she actually gets about half the food at meal time than Obie does. Because the treats make up a lot of her calorie intake I focus more on making sure the treats are high quality and nutritionally balanced. I don't feed kibble as the main food source but I do occasionally use it for training or food puzzles. You can supplement meals with fruits and veggies- high fiber low sugar is what I usually use. My dogs get NO SALT green beans with most meals- low calorie and very filling. No salt is very important if you used canned veggies. I find fruit and veggies too messy to use for training so I'd rather add them to meals. Besides, Elly is a little picky in what she will eat- for example she will not eat carrots or squash.
Another thing I do is to cut up treats. Even when I buy treats sized for small dogs I find I can make them smaller.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Thank you SO much for sharing your wisdom Karen. Everything you shared is fabulous - especially about cutting the treats into smaller pieces and the no salt idea is a good one also! The treats I've been using are dried liver treats and freeze dried salmon. She loves both! So far I haven't been able to convince Bennie that veggies are a good idea but I'm going to keep trying. After all, she was a Moroccan street dog prior to being rescued so I'll bet she's eaten veggies and anything else she could salvage to survive.
Thanks again - I really appreciate your reply - you sound like an extraordinary dog-mom!
Rhea & Bennie Three-Legs
jerry said
Rhea, Bennie sure won the doggie lotto! WOW!Sorry I think I called her "Rhea" in a previous post. Doh!
Meanwhile, it's awesome that you are thinking about keeping her slim. That is the #1 thing you can do to keep her healthy and strong as she ages. Great insight! Especially because treats can be such a huge issue, and cause unwanted pounds to pile on. The good news is that there are many alternatives to the usual biscuits and peanut butter snacks.
Check out the Tripawds Nutrition blog for our pet treat recipes and ideas. Some are low cal, some are not. But all things in moderation as they say, right?
Is Bennie happy to get people food? If so, anything from carrot sticks to watermelon can make great training treats. The important thing to remember is to save her most favorite "high value" foods for training. When they are a rare treat she'll work harder and be more eager to learn. Keep us posted on what you decide to use for regular training treats and special rewards. We love sharing in the nutrition blog!
Thank you so much Jerry - this is great information and I'm going to take a deep dive into the blog posts and recipe ideas!
With gratitude from Rhea & Bennie Three-Legs
Hi there and welcome, and lucky lucky Bennie for finding you!
Are you in the UK by any chance? (just wondering with her coming from Morocco...) Anyway, I have the same issue with my Meg, and her rehab vet recommended these Royal Canin Educ Low Calorie dog treats. They are 3 calories each but also soft and very easy to break into smaller pieces. The other thing would be to weigh out her kibble at the start of the day and then just take from that for training treats.
Also, have you considered seeing a rehab vet/physio for an assessment? Tripawds will even pay for your first session via The Maggie Moo Fund for Tripawd Rehab They will be able to advise on strengthening exercises to keep her healthy (which being smart I bet she will really enjoy and they will also be great for strengthening your bond with each other), appropriate exercise, and an ideal weight for Bennie. It's been invaluable for us, so even if you go just for a one off (free) session, I would think you might find this really helpful.
All best with getting to know each other. Such an exciting journey ahead, and looking forward to hearing how you get on.
Meg, Clare and Angel Pie xxx
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, November 2023, adopted January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Elsie Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
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