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
Hi All!
our pug Clenna was using stairs to get on and off our bed, up until she had her front right leg amputated. We don't mind picking her up and down off the bed, but the problem is she's on chemo which makes her excessively thirsty at night and in need of water. Because she can't get off the bed, we've been getting her water when we hear her heavy breathing at night, but we can't keep doing that forever. We got her a ramp from way fair, but it's been a few weeks and she's too nervous to use it and I think it might be too steep/ slippery for her even with a rug on it. We've tried training her and she gets freaked out and skips going up it.
Anyone have recommendations for what we can do? We are about to have a baby too and know we can't be up with Clenna and the baby all night. Need help/suggestions. Thank you!
Hello and welcome to the fourms, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
I know you have a blog for Clenna- I hope she is doing well!
As far as the ramp- she may have a depth perception issue called virtual cliff, my TriPug Maggie had it. I built 3 different ramps for her while she was on three and she wouldn't use them. She also (pre amp) wouldn't go up or down open back stairs, wouldn't walk on a deck if she could see through the cracks, wouldn't go over a threshold if it was a different color or texture than the floors.
Maggie wouldn't go up or down the stairs by my bed after her amp either.
Have you tried putting the ramp flat on the floor to get her used to it? If she is OK with that you can try raising it just a little- and continue to raise the ramp if she continues to progress. You could also try to put sides on the ramp. My second Pug Tani had mobility issues most of her life, she would use a ramp but would fall off. Once I added sides she did fine. Which reminds me Tani would walk off my bed by accident when it was dark, I added a night light which solved that problem. How is her eye sight? Is there enough light for her?
Another idea would be to make the steps with a more shallow rise and longer treads. Of course the problem with that might be the stairs go across your room!
Or you could try making a platform at the end of the bed to hold the water dish. It would need sides of course.
I thought we had an article about training for ramp use but I can't find it...maybe Jerry can find it!
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Hi Clenna and people! Good to see you here! We've missed Clenna's blog posting but it sounds like you sure have your hands full at the moment 🙂 Congrats on the upcoming family member about to join the pack!
Karen's tips are excellent. We have another post here about ramp training:
Three Tripawd Tips for Pet Steps and Ramp Training Success
and here
Remember, Safety First with DIY Ramps for Cats and Dogs
Keep in mind that some dogs never get comfortable with ramps. Dogs have difficulty with depth perception, and for some, the distance between floor and ramp is just too scary. So if she doesn't ever get used to the ramp, perhaps looking for pet stairs that are easier for her to use (better traction , less space between steps).
Let us know what you find works for her.
Thanks so much for the advice on the ramp situation. We will def try having her use it when it's on the floor, and go from there. She has good eyesight, but my husband mentioned putting a night light in our room too so she can see where the ramp is better. I think she's scared of how tall it is and her slipping going up it doesn't help her fear out either. We'll keep at it before we move on to the other options.
It's funny you mentioned building a water station platform on the bed because we were also checking that out last night as we have a wire bed so we might be able to get one that you hook up like you would with a crate, and have it so she can drink without having to leave the bed at night.
We'll keep you in the loop on what ends up working AND have some good news to add to the blog posts, so I'll be posting shortly. Thanks again!!
Thank you, Jerry, for sharing those links! I'll def check them out. I def think the ramp might be too high, so we'll try it out on the ground first for her to get used to it, and then go from there. Will keep you all in the loop!
1 Guest(s)
