Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hey all, been quite a while since I posted here! Katy is my tripawd, she's a 10 yo chocolate mostly-Lab, 11/1 will be her 2 year ampuversary (left foreleg). She's doing just great, amazes me every day, totally mama's dog. 
Well, mama has decided that she needs to lose some major poundage for health reasons. I'm walking a few miles about every other day and eating better, and I'm about to embark on a couch to 5k program. There's a local 5k run/walk in October called a "Canine Classic," they do it every year to raise money for an animal rescue, people are encouraged to bring their dogs to run/walk with them. I would LOVE to take Katy, she's such an awesome tripawd ambassador and I think people would love to see a 3 legged dog trotting along with the best of them I was wondering if any of you had done a 5k or something similar with your tripawd and how you prepared for it. Katy's in good shape, but I'd need to build up her stamina to walk that long, and of course I'm concerned about stress on her remaining joints. Any advice you all could give me would be much appreciated!
I'm Crystal, but you can call me Katymom. :) I'm Triproud of my Tripawd!
Katy Sue Sarcopski – born approx 2/03, found "the lump" 9/7/11, suspected soft tissue sarcoma (most likely liposarcoma) 10/11, became a Tripawd 11/1/11, official diagnosis of infiltrating lipoma 11/23/11
Follow her "tail" at katydidit.tripawds.com!
Well it's nice to hear from you! I would say that it depends on the dog really. Like anything you will want to ask your vet his/her thoughts about it and if you get the OK, start out slowly. Remember building stamina isn't about going on longer walks but rather building strong core muscles. Here's a great article that discusses why:
http://gear.tri.....g-muscles/
Good luck, let us know how it goes!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Big beautiful girl! Would love to see more photos.
My 2¢ ....tripawd....older, larger dog......would be just as effective having her show up and just join you off and on the course for short "segment" walks...... aking sure she pops in again at the finish line! The crowd will really be cheering her on
And congratulatins to yo for aking a commitment to your health and fitness! i just find myself too busy eating ice cream to exercise
Best to you both and hope to see pics soon!
CNGRATULATIONS ON THE TWO YEAR AND COU TING MARK!
Sally and Happy Hannah
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!
I don't think a 5k is good for a front amp triawd... maybe a rear amp... dogs have 60% of their weight on the front legs. So if you have a 100lb dog, that's 30lbs per front leg. Subtract one leg now you are at 60lbs on that front shoulder joint... I don't think many dogs could do much with that amount of weight on a shoulder.
Even 1k (little over half a mile) would be a lot to ask... remember the hound has ONE good front leg left.... dislocate/tear a muscle or worse, arthritis in that one good leg and its a serious game changer.
I wouldn't risk it.
Thank you guys so much for your input, I appreciate it! Katy was just at the vet a couple weeks ago, she weighs nearly 60 lbs which the vet said is good for her, and she received a clean bill of health, so that's all good. We are trying to keep her on the lean side because of course too much weight is hard on her remaining joints (part of my own issue, actually). I certainly don't expect her to run and I'm happy to go at her pace. I think what we'll do is start slow, do a "baseline walk" and see how far she can go before she starts tiring out, and then go from there. We're actually pretty good workout partners because I think our fitness levels are about the same A 5k is approximately 3 miles and I need a break after about 1, and I really don't walk all that fast, so I think our pace will match up good. Katy loves to walk, she loves to move, her hind legs are pure muscle and she sure can use them Of course if at any point she seems injured or stressed or just unable to do it, then that's it, we'll stop. But I have faith, Katy's my tough lil thing and I think we'll do ok
I'm Crystal, but you can call me Katymom. :) I'm Triproud of my Tripawd!
Katy Sue Sarcopski – born approx 2/03, found "the lump" 9/7/11, suspected soft tissue sarcoma (most likely liposarcoma) 10/11, became a Tripawd 11/1/11, official diagnosis of infiltrating lipoma 11/23/11
Follow her "tail" at katydidit.tripawds.com!
That's awesome, she sounds like she's in good shape overall.
Good for you for getting out there and doing the 5k. Keep us posted on how you're both doing!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Shooter did a 1K wallk where the first half was uphill and the 2nd half all down. We took a 10 minute break at the top and he handled it just fine. I think much more than that would have been to much, but every dog is different. Keep us updated.
Luanne & Spirit Shooter
Spirit Shooter was a Miniature Australian Shepherd who was diagnosed with a MCT and had a LF amp 1/28/13 at 13-1/2 years old.
Shooter crossed the Bridge on 8/28/13, his 7 month ampuversary and two weeks from his 14th birthday.
Sounds like a great goal! I'll go with what Jerry said - every dog is different. You'll both need to work up to it, though, so include her on your training walks. Don't forget to stretch her out, too, and be mindful of antiinflammatories for her for when she seems a little sore. Another idea is to have a helper, staged toward the end of the 5k with Katy. You could pick her up with less than a 1 mile to go and have her by yourself as both of you cross the finish line!
Best wishes to BOTH of you! I commend you. Couch to 5k is a fabulous goal. You (both) got this!
~ Katy & Jackson
ACL tear in right hind leg 12/5/12 and scheduled ACL repair surgery 12/21/12. Pre-op xrays revealed osteosarcoma. Amputation 12/28/12. Chemo (carboplatin) started Jan 10, 2013 and ended on April 5, for a total of 5 doses. He handled carbo like a champ! No side effects. We started metronomic therapy at his third chemo and have been also doing some holistic treatments. He's a lively, playful 10 year old huskie-boarder collie and a very proud member of the Winter Warriors! Our love. Our funny little guy!
Just curious.....what was reason for amputation?
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!
So we did our first walk this morning, ended up going a little over a mile which I thought was great! Katy did very well, we went slow and took plenty of little breaks (mostly because she wanted to stop and sniff everything), took a longer break for water at the halfway point, it went really well. She's a bit more out of shape than I expected, her hind legs are strong but the muscles in her front leg are not so much, so I'll have to do some strengthening exercises with her as well as the walks. I think she enjoyed it, she would have gone further but I didn't want to push her, and I didn't even realize we had walked as far as we did until we got back to the car and I checked my fitness app on my phone. All in all I'm very (tri)proud of my tripawd, she brought a smile to everyone we saw on the trail, and we encountered a group of runners who stopped to admire her and they were very impressed to hear she was training for a 5k Love my Katy girl!
Oh and for benny55 who asked why she lost a leg, I think it's in my sig as well, she had something called an infiltrative lipoma. You know those goofy little fatty tumors dogs get? Usually they're nothing, benign, but Katy developed one on her front left leg that actually dug into the muscle and attached itself to the bone. We really could have sworn it was osteosarcoma, the x-rays were identical to what you'd see with a bone tumor. It was extremely painful for her, so we opted for full amputation and had the leg sent for analysis, that's how we found out what it was. The longer version of her "tail" is on her blog here at tripawds.com, you're welcome to check it out
I'm Crystal, but you can call me Katymom. :) I'm Triproud of my Tripawd!
Katy Sue Sarcopski – born approx 2/03, found "the lump" 9/7/11, suspected soft tissue sarcoma (most likely liposarcoma) 10/11, became a Tripawd 11/1/11, official diagnosis of infiltrating lipoma 11/23/11
Follow her "tail" at katydidit.tripawds.com!
Awesome pawesome! Congrats!
I wouldn't go any longer distances for a while until you feel she is strong enough. Watch her over today and tomorrow to see if she shows any signs of exhaustion or soreness (we hope not!) and of course a massage would be a great reward! Keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Awesome pawsome! YEY! Way to go!
Take those breaks! And you may want to consider keeping her on a low dose of an antiinflammatory through her training. And, like us humans, you may want to treat her after each session with some extra protein and calories. May I suggest some boiled chicken with peanut butter? Nomnomnom!
Happy training!
~ Katy
ACL tear in right hind leg 12/5/12 and scheduled ACL repair surgery 12/21/12. Pre-op xrays revealed osteosarcoma. Amputation 12/28/12. Chemo (carboplatin) started Jan 10, 2013 and ended on April 5, for a total of 5 doses. He handled carbo like a champ! No side effects. We started metronomic therapy at his third chemo and have been also doing some holistic treatments. He's a lively, playful 10 year old huskie-boarder collie and a very proud member of the Winter Warriors! Our love. Our funny little guy!
Sounds like you have a great plan, and your goal is awesome.
I can't really offer any advice- I have pugs so a 5k for them is a three day event!
Actually my Tripug Maggie did work up to walking a mile or a little more (rear amp) which is half the distance she routinely walked before her amp. I had a stroller for Mag so she could ride when we (me and Mag's sis Tani) want for longer walks.
You are off to a good start, keep us posted on the training!
Karen
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