Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi 🙂
I am completely new here, both on the side and as a tripawd mom. My 7 month old Jack Russel Terrier had her right front leg amputated yesterday, after a serious car accident. She will be alright though, I hope.
We live in a ground floor house, with only a few steps/stairs to enter the house. But the floors are very slippery. (Normal wood block floor/ cheap woodlike laminate). Due to allergies (to house dust mites) we dont have any carpet/rugs anywhere.
Even before the surgery our dog Baby had troubles with walking on the floor without sliding or skidding a bit; at least when she tried to run fast her feet would make like a wheelspin or something. I dont think she will be able to do that now.
So my question is. Should i buy some rugs/carpet and put on the floor? At least where she is walking the most? Maybe some non-slip mats or something? Or will she be able to make it in the slippery floor, gain her balance over time?
What is your experience?
Thank you in advance (and sorry for the language errors).
Hi Babydog and family, welcome! Your future posts won't require moderation so post away. And language errors? Are you joking? You have better English than most native English speakers 🙂 What country are you in? I noticed you posted really late/early in the AM in my own time zone.
Sorry about the accident but I'm glad she'll be OK. And she WILL! You'll see how well she does. But yes, you as a critical question and I'm glad you did. Adding traction (click on the link for our posts about it) is SO important. Slippery floors are dangerous to three-legged animals and older animals as well. You definitely want to put down throw rugs of some sort, at the very least in the places where she walks most. Putting down traction will inspire confidence in her as well. I've seen my own Tripawd stop in his tracks when he sees slippery floors he recognizes, he won't even walk on them, sinks down like a rock and wont move.
When you travel with her, dog booties like Pawz will be helpful but they aren't a long-term solution for inside the home. It's safer and easier to put down carpet runners. Hopefully someone with allergies here will have some ideas about the type of runners you can get tht won't make you sneeze.
Thanks again for joining. Oh, for more helpful tips be sure to download the Tripawds e-books library.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Welcome to you and to Baby Dog. She is just adorable!
I suggest that you add traction in the way of rugs and/or industrial floor mats. There are a lot of attractive "indoor/outdoor" rugs which, with proper mats underneath, will provide traction and look nice in your home. Plus, you can take them outside, hose them off and let them dry, which should help with the allergy issues. Inexpensive industrial floor mats also work, and can easily be vacuumed or hosed off as well (but are perhaps less attractive in your home). Yoga mats also work for the short term, but you can't really vacuum over them.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
Baby! She's so cute. I bet nobody puts her in a corner!
Milo's front left leg was amputated on July 28 (~7 weeks). Our first floor had not a lick of carpeting or rugs other than at the back door. We decided to go to Home Depot and buy a number of 2' strips of carpet off the 12' rolls that typically sell for 55 cents per sq ft. That translates to about $13 per "runner". We laid them all along Milo's typical paths through the kitchen and hallways. We also got a 4' strip we split in two for his favorite layabouts. It definitely helped, but then again, we don't have allergies to contend with.
Christine's ideas regarding indoor/outdoor rugs might help with the allergy stuff. Home Depot also had some of that in the big rolls, but I opted for the berber which is softer on MY feet. (Hey... I still deserve some attention, too!)
With all the carpet around, Milo took about a week to start laying down on the cork floor or hardwoods, and a few weeks ago decided the tile in the bathroom is a good sleeping spot. He occasionally struggles to get up, but in general, he seems to have mastered the slippery surfaces by now and we are considering rolling up some of the carpets and see how he does. We'll always leave some by his food dishes, though. Any leaning makes him very susceptible to slipping.
Milo slipped all over the place while at the groomers, so we went shopping for booties. We tried a few different kinds on, but he wasn't a fan. He walked like a 3-legged Clydesdale which was very entertaining, but not really a solution. Then we tried on a pair of socks. They look like baby's socks with a little non-slip pattern on the bottom. Very lightweight and wouldn't last an hour outside. Milo didn't seem bothered by them at all, didn't try to take them off, and they didn't really effect his walking. Maybe Baby could wear those inside. PetSmart and Petco seem to sell them for a $2-5.
So carpets or runners to get you through the first month or two until Baby masters life on 3-legs, then maybe just socks for inside?
Peace,
Jenifer & Milo
You might try yoga mats. They come in lots of colors and are pretty cheap. When my quad-pug Tani starting having traction problems due to her age and arthritis I found that she even would slip on some of the throw rugs I had down. Yoga mats worked great for her.
I'm sorry to hear about the accident- how scary! I adopted my current Tripawd when she was 10 months old, she had been hit by a car at 7 months old and lost her right rear leg. She gets around just fine and has to contend with stairs daily. We have tile in our entry way, kitchen and family room. When she is not going too fast her traction is fine, but she does tend to stay on the throw rugs we have around.
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
Thanks to a friend I found Flor carpet titles - they have special stickers that connect the carpet squares, which make it easy to build a custom size rug. Also, they can be disconnected and washed -- if needed. I got some for my dog, Murphy. They have an outlet where you can buy random tiles for just $1, it is just that they aren't matching. I bought 20 total - they are 19.7 x 19.7. and shipping was $4.60. It made it easy to add a runner to my hall way as a little pathway for Murphy. Best surprise -- some actually matched and made a rug I really love. http://www.flor.....les/outlet
Hope that helps.
Murphy, became a tripawd on August 17, 2015. Went to the rainbow bridge on July 5, 2016.
Karl had his amputation on 3/04/16 , I have a large amount of wood floors on the first level of our home. I found that with the large areas that outdoor carpets used for patios were the best price for our large areas . I bought 3 8x10 at SAMs club for about 80 a piece. and then connected runners cut to size . It's really safe having Karl on carpet. Looks like I have a rug fettish 😀
Blessings,
Julie and Karl
Okay - here's to figuring out how the reply system works. I would love to answer all of you individually, and thank you for all the great suggestions.
We are from Denmark (so yeah, different time zone here) and most of the stores you recommended are not some we have. But I think we can find a sollution anyway.
I swear, Baby have been giving me gray hairs today. I feel like I have been close to a heart attack all day. She is absolutely fearless! One thing is that she is running around, as fast as (or even faster) as before, but also jumping and sliding as if she still had all four legs. She did a kamikaze jump up on the couch, failed (I screamed) - and then before I made it to her, she jumped again and made it! My heart stopped! -A few hour earlier she had jumped the few steps on the small stair there is to enter the livingroom from the garden, as her dad came home. I didnt think she was able to do that! But apparently she doesnt know about the limits I think she is subject to. And it does make me happy to see her energized. -As goodmilo wrote, nobody puts Baby in a corner!
We have ordered some babysocks online -for dogs (with small paws on them and all) with some non-stick rubber-ish traction
underneath. For now she is okay with having a normal babysock on her one front-paw (she has some stiches from the injury that she really want to lick and bite).
Once she starts eating and drinking normally again, I will place her food and drinking bowl on a yoga mat permanently. (Right now she is mostly being handfed her food- I think she is allowed to be a little spoiled for now).
And this weekend we will go visit different home-supply stores to see what we can do about the floors.
I really appreciate all of your suggestions. 
-Oh, and I love reading about all of the other tripawds coping and doing fine 🙂
Glad to hear she's doing so well! Hopefully she'll take it easy too though and catch up on some z's so you can relax a bit too. 😉 It worries us more it seems, doesn't it?
Tina and Smore
(with the spirit of Pebbles watching from the Rainbow Bridge)
Smore is my tripawd kitty who adopted me one summer evening. She had an injury to her front left leg and had to have her leg removed July 17th. She was only 3 or 4 months old at the time. Now she moves faster than some four legged cats!
Smore said
Glad to hear she's doing so well! Hopefully she'll take it easy too though and catch up on some z's so you can relax a bit too. 😉 It worries us more it seems, doesn't it?
She is sleeping a lot still, which makes sense since she is still medicated and at the moment also have a bit of a fever. (Hope the antibiotics work soon). But I am watching her like a hawk all the time, -and when she does stunts like that it scares me.
But you are absolutely right, it worries us more. I feel like the worst, most overprotective mother-hen. Hopefully I will get used to it soon.
I know what you mean. Smore, my cat, jumped on a box in her crate and ended up tipping it over herself at some point. Freaked me out. And she started playing right away despite my protests. It's hard to keep a 3 or 4 month old kitten quiet. Thankfully she didn't hurt herself. Perhaps they know their limits better than we think they do.
I hope the fever goes away and that Baby continues to improve.
Tina and Smore
(with the spirit of Pebbles watching from the Rainbow Bridge)
Smore is my tripawd kitty who adopted me one summer evening. She had an injury to her front left leg and had to have her leg removed July 17th. She was only 3 or 4 months old at the time. Now she moves faster than some four legged cats!
Hey there Baby and family❤️🐾
Just joining in, my girl Eurydice is a huge Great Dane who lost her right front leg 4 1/2 months ago.
We placed carpets down with rubber underlay underneath for extra traction as she is very heavy.
You might be able to find rubber underlay in Denmark it is perfect as it sits on the floor and does not move one inch no matter what, it stays solid as a rock.
You can vacuum it ok, it is just not the prettiest looking ... but surely does the job.
Just throwing another option here.
Sending you a big hug and lots of cuddles to your Baby 🐶🐾😘
Eurydice 77kg/170lb Great Dane limping end of April 2016, amputation (right front leg/osteosarcoma) 4 May 2016 6 courses of carboplatin followed by metronomic therapy, lung mets found 30 Nov 2016. 3 courses of doxorubicin, PET scan 26 Jan 2017 showed more mets so stopped chemo. Holistic route April 2017. Lung X-ray 5 May 2017 showed several tennis ball size mets, started cortisone and diuretics. Miss Cow earned her XXL silver wings 12 June 2017, 13 months and 1 week after amputation and 6 1/2 months after lung mets, she was the goofiest dawg ever and is now happily flying from cloud to cloud woof woofing away :-)
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