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 adopted an 8 week old English bulldog about three days ago. He's such a sweetie. Loves to cuddle and I honestly couldn't ask for a better puppy.
I took him to get checked up yesterday to make sure his leg healed up correctly.
They told me tht the puppy should had been put down at birth due to it's breed and that it won't live anywhere near it's life expectancy. I believe that with my love and care I can give this puppy a long happy life. Are there any kinda of chest harnesses that will help him take some pressure off of his back hip?
Any advice as to keep him at his best? I already read up on keeping him lean. But I don't know if I can do the active thing. I can tell he already has trouble walking so it breaks my heart to try to force him to.
Hello Katty, thanks for joining us here! Your future posts won't need approval so you can post away!
Thanks for giving this pup a chance at a good life. I'm sorry your vet was so negative about his future. Not knowing this dog I'm not sure what other factors led the vet to that conclusion, but I will say that many vets have given equally negative prognoses to dogs who ended up beating the odds and thriving. Cora is one such dog. She's not a bulldog but she had incredible challenges that made her a long-shot at having a good life. She proved everyone wrong. I'm hoping her Mom Chris will chime in.
As for his walking coordination right now, rest assured he can get stronger. When puppies start out as Tripawds, they have many more challenges than adult dogs because they still need to learn neruomuscular coordination. It can happen with careful direction and rehab therapy, like how Spree's people did for her.
When it comes to harnesses like the Ruffwear Webmaster, they're great for helping you help your dog but they will not support your dog in order to walk better or be stronger. That part happens with a commitment to careful rehabilitation therapy. Tune into our Tripawd Talk Radio episode next Saturday, it's the exact topic we'll be discussing and you can even call in and ask questions if you'd like, or post it here and we'll ask it for you.
Meanwhile, do check out our ebook, Loving Life on Three Legs, which discusses ways you can get started on a happy, healthy and fit life for this pup. By the way, what's his name?
Thanks again for joining us. Do you have any photos? We'd love to see them!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you so much for the advice! I've been doing a lot of reading the past few days! His name is Sir Watson but we just call him Watson
I tried adding a photo
on here but I don't see an option to
Watson is a great name! I picture him wearing glasses and a detective hat.
Here's a link that explains how to add photos. Let me know if this helps.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Katty, my best wishes to your sweet Watson. I can honestly say that there were many people, vets included, whom were negative towards the idea of a dog living life on three legs when my dog was facing amputation. I never like to steer people away from their vets without knowing the full details, but I do like to always encourage second, third, and sometimes even fourth opinions. Some vets are just very old school and some give their opinion as if it were their dog. Watson is your dog though so it is ultimately your choice. I would just continue to research and in the course of your research, be sure to look up physical therapy for tripawds. There are many great at-home exercises to build strength and mobility.
Our tripawd is Meeko. Four and a half year old male Leonberger. Certified therapy dog with his CGC. Diagnosed with grade 1 chondrosarcoma 9-16-12. Right rear leg amputated 10-1-12. We also had Casper who was an 8 year old Great Pyrenees diagnosed with osteosarcoma. We sent him to the Rainbow Bridge 10-29-11.
1 Guest(s)
