Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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In honor of our friend Sally and her adoptee to be... FYI: Tripawds are even *more* fun to hug without that extra pesky front leg! 
-No jumping. It's better to train them not to do it at all then to have them do it occasionally.
-Front leggers can feel very unsteady on ramps, especially at first, and will often try to jump.
-Introduce vehicle ramps very gradually. Start out of the car, and add a two-by-four under it. Train with treats, then raise the ramp to a low stair level, and progressing to slightly higher elevations.
-While training them to use a vehicle ramp make sure to have a family member, neighbor or friend help you on the other side to help give treats and to discourage jumping.
-Stacking some smaller memory foam crate mats on top of each other can help when entering and exiting vehicles, and getting them from floor to upholstered bench to couch, or upholstered bench to human bed (if that's where they sleep).
-Core strength is really important, and this 'fitness donut' can help:
I know there are some conditioning videos out there with front-legged Tripawds. Hopefully others will chime in!
Deb and Angel Lexie* Diagnosed at age 13. Tried radiation first; wish we had amputated upon diagnosis (even with lung mets). Joined Club Tripawd April 2014 & Lexie loved life on 3 legs! Advice: Start physical therapy as soon as your vet clears it, especially hydrotherapy if available :-) See Lexie pics here.
Great suggestions Deb, we appreciate it! And yep, when a front leg is missing it's even easier to love them up!
More tips:
Front leggers put out a lot of effort getting around, much moreso than a rear-legger, just because dogs naturally put 60% of their body weight on the front legs. Even with one leg missing, they're still exerting more effort moving around. It's important to keep that in mind during walks and other activity. Building up stamina takes time, always keep an eye on their activity and moderate it closely.
Also, placing that extra weight on the front leads to more neck muscle soreness, so regular, gentle massage is key.
Yep, also got lots more front-leg insight in the Tripawds Gear blog, along with things like the FitPAWS donut and other FitPAWS contioning gear which is a lot of fun.
Also I highly recommend checking out Dr. Kennedy & Domino's Conditioning Videos for more instruction, as well as the upcoming online Tripawds Conditioning & Fitness Course with the one and only Dr. Deborah Gross. This course will focus on keeping front or rear Tripawds lean and strong.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
DEB AND JERRY!! You two are the BO.B when it comes to sharing valuable information!!!
I hadn't even thought of the ramp as being scarier for a front legger than a rear legger. Going down the ramp puts more pressure on that front leg too. Yep, a whole different learning curve!
Althug I do have one thing mastered to perfection (just ask HappyHannah)...training /motivating with TREATS...and perhaps an occasional M&M!
I notice a lot of front leggers wear booties. I think I'll checknout FitPaws. Isn't that one of the most popular brands?
This is great Deb and Jerry! There really are imlortant distinctions!
Love you guys!!!!!!!!!!
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!
We all know that my Franklin was a front legger amputee. The one thing that we did for him was raise his water and food bowls up so that he did not have to strain down to eat or drink. With the extra stress that is put on their necks from their "hop" I did not want him to strain any more by having to reach down. So we made it a nice height that was comfortable for him to eat and drink at.. I believe it was about 10 inches.
I think your Franklin may be a bit taller than my Franklin, so you might have to measure to get a good height for him. We just made a little bench for his bowls to sit on and Maggie and Wilson use it to this day as well.
Chest rubs and neck massages were my favourite pastime for Franklin. Having that leg missing made snuggling so much easier!!
Cant wait to hear of your Franklin's adventures!! (NO M&M'S!!!!)
Christine.. with Franklin in her heart♥
Franklin, he was the Happiest Dog on Three Legs! Diagnosed 09/26/2012 with Osteosarcoma, amputated 12/4/2012. Had a wonderful 5 1/2 months painfree until he ran for the Bridge on 5/15/2013. Always in my heart, and always a guardian angel of my pack... You can follow his Tripawd Adventures, before and after, in my blog, Frank'n'Farter!
Mona, front leg amputee cat, has been developing her core muscles by sitting up like a meerkat. I started doing this exercise after her amputation by holding her food bowl up high. That was the only time she would do it until recently when I saw her doing it to see over a plant and then yesterday when focused on something up the stairs (turns out it was a some fluff caught in a cobweb, my household skills are obviously lacking).
Always looking for more exercises for her, I found this article title "Five things to know before acquiring a tripod dog" at http://teamunru.....com/?p=346. It turns out the author, Kelsey and Nellie relied on this website for surgery support. The article has great photos of a very sporty front-leg tripawd Nellie and many suggestions including how to work your dog's core. I may try some of these with Mona although she isn't very enthusiastic about exercise.
I can now see Sally on a stepstool holding a puppy latte above Sir Franklin's head encouraging him to sit like a meerkat.
Example of the meerdog pose:
I'm loving these tips!
When it comes to ramps, many animals are instinctively afraid of them. It's a depth perception concept called "the Visual Cliff," which basically means that animals have a harder time distinguishing depth perception, which makes ramps terrifying for many. Our friend Brian Douglas has a ramp in development that will overcome this situation:
we also have a new version of the "old school" ramp intended for all the dogs unable - or unwilling - to use one. Still under development and in patent-pending status, this innovation could revolutionize the way elderly, disabled and ramp-averse dogs are moved by their people. Validated by the scientific research of - among others - pioneering animal behaviorist and welfare advocate Dr. Temple Grandin, the functionality of this ramp eliminates fear of the "visual cliff" and removes much of the risk associated with changing elevations.
As for boots:
I notice a lot of front leggers wear booties. I think I’ll checknout FitPaws. Isn’t that one of the most popular brands?
Maybe you're thinking of PAWZ? Not sure if there's more front leggers than rear leggers who wear them, but they do come in handy for either type of Tripawd. We use them at the vet's office all the time.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Yes JERRY.......PAWZ!! Thank you for figuring out what I meant!! I love that about you!!!
KERREN AND MONA! I always love reading n your posts! I do believe Mona has a whole lot of dog in her DNA! WE HAVE TO HAVE MONA IN HER MEERKAT POSE! The dog picture here is adorable!
Sir Frnaklin posing for his first puppy latte......Merry Myrtle drooling all over him trying to get to hers....oh yeah...Starbucks is gonna love this!!
ALANA AND DEB! Your help with transport knfo. Is GREATLY appreciated!!!! It is sooo nice of you! I should jave ananswer in a day or so if they are even open to the transport idea and then I'll continue on from there.
CHRISTINE and THE FRANKLIN! Love yout blog...hope everyone reads it...just beautifully said...as always.
I'll post a video of the ramp my brother made for Happy Hannah....but I have to do that emory cad thing agin...ugh...scares me! Anyway, its real wide so I can walk beside her (which she never needed my assistance anyway....she did like me walking beside her when it was icy. It amazed me how careful she would be.) It has rails which really helps with security issues and he put asphalt shingles on one side to help with traction )
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!
Hi Sally,
I use PAWZ all the time for quad pug Tani. She has some chronic health issues which led her to be a tiny bit ataxic since she was a puppy. Now that she is an old lady and has had a couple strokes her ataxia is worse and her legs just don't stay under her at all on slippery floors. I've tried several types of booties and socks but these are the best I have found for her issues. She does not wear them at home usually (rugs and yoga mats!) but for every vet visit like WRD.
They don't work for her on grass at all, they actually make her fall. But I think that is more because her feet knuckle a bit and she is not strong enough to force her feet through the grass.
Tani has never minded booties, but start slowly if they are a new thing.
Karen
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Karen, I ALWAYS love reading about your Pugs and could NEVER grow tired of the "trials and tribulations" they through! If you could get Old Lady Pug Tani to wear these things, then I know I could get a hound dog too!
Heck, it hasn't been very long at all since I picked up the scatter rugs...just kept them down as a remembrance Happy Hannah thing. I put them back down for Franklin's homecoming. However, for a Merry Myrtle they're just another item to tear up and shred!
AND, that was a lovely tribute to Stubborn and Obstinate Pug Maggie onn he Honor wall.....and a well deserved tribute to you from Rene!
Love!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle 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!
I tried taking a photo of Mona's meerkat pose by tempting her with food. Because of the camera flash delay she would already be sitting down before I got the photo. Finally, she got impatient with me and yanked the bowl of food with her paw. Success! I got a photo.
Kerren and Meerkat Mona
Boy oh boy, we sure did need a laugh and MONA MEERKAT did not diappoint at all!!!
Adorable! Absolutely ADORABLE!!! And you can see how impatient shes gettig! OMC!! That look!! This realky is priceless!! I LOOOOOOVE THIS CAT!!!!
Thanks soooooo much for the smiles! Great job!!!
LOVE AND HUGS!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle 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!
kazann said
Always looking for more exercises for her, I found this article title "Five things to know before acquiring a tripod dog" at http://teamunru.....com/?p=346. It turns out the author, Kelsey and Nellie relied on this website for surgery support. The article has great photos of a very sporty front-leg tripawd Nellie and many suggestions including how to work your dog's core. I may try some of these with Mona although she isn't very enthusiastic about exercise.
Holy moly we were posting at almost the same time so I didn't see you had mentioned this article. VERY cool information there, I'd never seen it before. The only thing I would add, which I said in the comments there, is that because dogs in particular come in different shapes and sizes (for example, a bulldog has a different body shape than a greyhound, with vastly different weight distribution), what is easy for one Tripawd may not be for the next. It doesn’t mean that dog can’t do the task, whatever it is, it just means that more practice and caution should be used.
LOVE those Meercat/Merdog photos! Mona you are so darn talented!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
benny55 said
DEB AND JERRY!! You two are the BO.B when it comes to sharing valuable information!!!I hadn't even thought of the ramp as being scarier for a front legger than a rear legger. Going down the ramp puts more pressure on that front leg too. Yep, a whole different learning curve!
My 9-month tripawd Bella goes down her ramp but takes the stairs up. It's half and half. I thought for sure she'd prefer going up on her one front leg.... I've tried treats and all to get her to come up it, but I suppose it doesn't matter as much--coming up is not as stressful on that leg.
She is one strong tripawd--i get a lot of comments on that, although she is not always able to keep up with dogs running at the park. We'll see, she's still a baby. :O)
polarbear4 said
I thought for sure she'd prefer going up on her one front leg....
Front leggers have much more weight on that front leg going downstairs, so going up stairs will be easier—just the opposite for rear tripawds.
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Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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