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.
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Hi, first post here! Maverick is a 4 month old mini aussie pre-op tripaw. We are waiting for surgery until he gets around 6 months old to remove a congenitally deformed front right leg. We'll be starting puppy classes soon and are looking into a rehab facility for after surgery. I was just wondering what ideas anyone has to safely exercise a tripaw. I want to take the most precautions I can against damaging his joints since he has a (hopefully) very long life ahead of him. Anyone else with a high energy herding dog have any tips? Besides swimming- I'm working him into not being scared of the water, lol! Thanks in advance.
Maverick is a wonderful miniature australian shepard born with a malformation of the front right radius/ulna, amputation performed on 11/4/13 at 6 months old. Follow his story at mavericksjourney.tripawds.com.
Hi Mavericks Mom,
Thanks for joining us here, your future post will not require approval.
Maverick sure looks like a cutie! I think you're smart for waiting to do the surgery, young dogs can have extra challenges when they lose a leg (such as getting their coordination down when they still haven't fully developed even with four legs). We have lots of great ideas for staying strong on three legs in our ebook, Loving Life on Three Legs, and our Tripawds Gear Blog also has tips every week.
Here are some of our favorite tips:
Best of Tripawds Gear and Fitness Tips for Three Legged Dogs
I hope this helps! I know others will chime in with their own tips so stay tuned, and thanks again for joining us!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Until you do get into some sort of therapy I can only advise you to keep him on a leash and at a reduced activity level for at least 2-3 weeks. One 'accident' and that's a major setback. You are going to have a double whammy... a puppy AND a herder... that's two high activity traits right there.... the pup will want to run/play but keep him at a reduced level till things heal.
He will have to develop the shoulder muscles to do twice the work.. and that will take time. Give a good quality food to help him grow and gain muscle mass.
After a walk my TJ loves ice on his arthritic knee and good shoulder rub... it really makes recuperating from a walk much easier for him... he is 10 and 84 lbs... but I'm sure a growing puppy will still have some pains.
tjm that is great advice, thank you!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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