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. Firstly, I've found this forum really useful for the last few years since we've owned Derek - a now 8 year old tripawd Whippet. He lost his front right leg due to injury when he was less than one year old. We adopted him when he was 5 and other than the odd pulled muscle he copes really well on three legs and every vet he's seen always comments on how healthy he is.
A couple of weeks ago we noticed Derek was a bit apprehensive of jumping into the car and up onto the sofa - so we rested him for 4 days and that seemed to do the trick and he had a week or so back to normal. It then came back a little worse so we gave him some Metacam for a few days and again kept him in and rested him but he didn't really improve.
This Monday just gone (4th) we took him to our Vet. He is petrified of the vets so she came out to him but he had really tensed up by then and she prescribed Metacam and a weeks rest and to return. Unfortunately, on our return from the vets he refused to put his back right leg down at all - and for a tripawd this obviously makes things difficult!
By Wednesday (6th) he was too bad and so we took him back to the vets where he had an X-Ray and under sedation the vet was able to examine him better that she had been able to on Monday. She concluded that the X-Ray didn't show anything untoward and the examination seemed to show the the ACL was OK as we had thought this could be an ACL injury at first. She referred us to a specialist orthopaedic vet who we saw last night.
He gave Derek a thorough examination and concluded that there was a SLIGHT shadow on his knee which could be an ACL injury - but he did not think it would be severe enough for surgery and it felt very stable. He got a small reaction from Derek when manipulating one of his vertibrae which then led him to think he could have a trapped nerve (maybe siatic) or some other injury to a disk.
He has said all we can now do is have an MRI if he does not improve over the next 3-5 days. Our vets only have the MRI visit once a month but we can take him elsewhere if we need to in the meantime.
Being a Whippet, Derek can be very dramatic too!
Looking for some ideas or anyone who has been in a similar position?
Welcome and best wishes for Derek! Hold off on the MRI until you consult with a certified canine rehab therapist. Visit a CCRT or CCRP and the Tripawds Foundation can even pay for your first consult from the Maggie Moo Fund for Tripawd Rehab.
All that jumping can certainly do damage over time. But there are many exercises, treatments, and braces that can help.
Please keep us posted, your future forum posts will not require moderation.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you! I will look into that for sure. We had already decided we would take him for some physio therapy once he had recovered, but maybe it is what he actually needs to recover now!
The only worry I have, the vet mentioned that if he gets worse then it could be a ruptured disk or something - and I worry that if that is the case manipulating him too much might make him worse at this stage?
Oh good, please do take him to a physio therapy practice now. I'm sorry the specialist didn't refer you to one (lots still aren't familiar with physio's benefits, so I'm not entirely surprised). A good physio therapist can gently work with him to help him recover faster but safely, if it is indeed something they can remedy. A qualified therapist won't do anything to make his situation worse, but rather perform a number of techniques that will alleviate his pain and help him get stronger, such as acupuncture, light massage, range of motion exercises and maybe even cold laser therapy.
If they aren't able to help with his immediate needs, then they can work with you and any other veterinary surgeon post-surger if something more serious is going on. But don't go there in your mind just yet OK? Be pawsitive, Derek will benefit greatly from it.
And do keep us posted. I'm so glad you decided to share his story after all these years!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you Jerry. I'm definitely going to look at taking him ASAP. We did speak to our vet about physio and they did say they would refer us happily, but we just wanted to get over this immediate issue to a point where he can at least stand before arranging the physio. I will probably give the physio I was going to use a call and see if they can give me any advice prior to taking him.
Here is a photo of him and his big brother, Defer (Dog).
free image hosting
Oh. My. DOG! What cuties! Defer and Derek are so adorable!
Thanks for the backstory on your vet's thoughts about physio, that makes total sense. Let us know how your call to the center goes, we hope they can get him in soon. Until then don't forget there are things you can do to help him feel better. We have lots of posts about animal massage therapy that may help.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Such great looking pups!! Two RockStars! Love both their names too!
Yeah, as Jerry said, a Rehab Specialist will take things slowly and gently They don't push things too fast.
Wondering if a Radiologist could look at the xray and help clarify what's going on. They seem to be a notch above when it comes to reading xrays
Give that handsome Derek a big smooch for us, and Defer too! And congratulations on keeping Derek so fit and strong all these years as a tripawd!😎
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie 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!
Update on Derek!
After a week he started standing up to eat his dinner, and would very wobbly be able to go outside to the loo, sometimes he needed carrying back in and sometimes he was OK. Since then he's just continued to get better and although he still holds the leg up occasionally, is not crying out and most of the time is trying to get into his usual mischief.
He hasn't been out for a walk now for almost 3 weeks and every time we take Defer out he is desperate to go with him!
I'm just waiting to hear back from the vet on whether we can take him to Physio - here in the UK it seems the physio needs permission from your vet to treat your dog. I think this will be OK though and so hopefully we will get him there soon and we can help make sure he gets back to his normal self!
Thank you for all the messages you sent, it was really helpful.
YEAAAH! 
What great news, thank you for letting us know. We always hope that a bit of R&R will be what it takes, your patience paid off for sure. Take things slow and easy, like 1/8th of what his walks were before, and if he starts to slow down, sit down or look creaky, scale back. He'll get to a good place again.
Hope the vet approves the physio. Let us know what you find out.
I'm so happy for the news!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Always love seeing the avatar photo of Derek and Defer. Such good looking pups!
It's wonderful to hear Derek is "getting into mischief " and getting more and more comfortable with his little outings to the loo😎 Continue to celebrate all these victories😊
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie 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 got back from Derek's first physio appointment!
Physio can see the Derek has adapted to putting most of his weight through to his front leg, and uses his back legs very little when he walks. We've always noticed how Derek's back legs move very little, and take very small steps. Whereas our other Whippet, Defer, has much larger strides - but we always put this down to the way he walked due to his amputation (which it is, but not in a good way).
Over time this has led to his ham strings becoming very tight and actually lost a lot of muscle around that area. As soon as he point out the difference it all makes sense, and comparing him to Defer too you can really tell there is a lack of muscle. He's also always had huge muscle in his front leg and whilst this obviously makes sense with him being a tri-whip; we never thought that his back legs were small in comparison.
Good news is we can now try and build those muscles back up and get him used to using his rear legs properly again. At first we're doing some massages and cold compresses; and then we're back next week to get doing some exercises to build the muscles back up.
Here's me in my protective goggles, and Derek getting some laser therapy to loosen the muscles in his rear legs!
Wheeee! YAY for physio! YAY for advocating for Derek! You are a ROCK STAR 
His situation is identical to our Wyatt Ray 's. We were told that he also has tight hamstrings and all the weight goes to his front end. He can practically do a handstand! Of course he needs to stretch (well, we need to stretch him, but he hates it!), and the physio therapist also prescribed different exercises to help him.
Did Derek come home with any exercises? Wyatt was prescribed a thera-band to wear when we walk him, as well as different workouts using balance equipment.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
YIPPPPEEEEEE!! 😃 So glad to hear Deter us making progress! 😁
By you sharing Deter's experience, he has already helped enlighten others facing some of the same challenges.
The insight you shared from the therapy session was quite interesting. Certainly makes sense. My front leg tripawd Frankie had surgery on one rear leg in December a year ago, and then the other this December. Cruciate stuff. Your feedback helped in assessing where he is. He DEFINITELY relies on that front a lot! A LOT!! Too much. Of course, adding hip issues and arthritis jnto rhe equation keeps it "interesting "too. I hadn't necessarily thought of muscle wasting as also being part of the issue.
Be real interested in hearing how the physio goes. Will you be doing hydro therapy? Update when uou can.
BTW...sweet picture pf uour handsome boy😎
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie too!
PS. WUATT RAY, we'll be waiting for the video of you doing your handstand!!
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!
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