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 guys,
I'm new here my dog Digby just had his front leg amputated almost two weeks ago due to severe nerve damage from a trauma.
He is all ready to be running around as he has been primarily in his crate for at least the last month. He gets his stitches out on Wednesday and after that I'm keen to get him out and moving more. But I am not sure how much exercise is too much for him?
We've been going on short and frequent walks but he just wants to run. His favorite activity before being a tripawd was our daily and very long trips to the dog park, he is all leg and loves to stretch them (some people think hes part greyhound.).
I just wondered if any one had any activities or exercises to build up strength and stamina, any help would be appreciated 🙂
Ohhh what a doll! And great questions! I have lots of tipsbut am gonna loose my cell signal so stay tuned. Oh start with our Loving Life On Three Legs book, have you seen it?
More coming soon!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hello and welcome, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
It's wonderful that Digby is doing so well and is raring to go, but you want to take it easy and slowly build up strength and endurance. Much easier said than done I know, how old is Digby?
Core strength is huge for tripawds since their gait is altered and they use their bodies differently. If you go to the Fitness tab in our Gear Blog you will find ideas on equipment. I searched 'fitness' in the News Blog and got these results.
My current tripawd is a little rear amp pug mix named Elly. She lost her leg after being hit by a car. We do exercises at home on a FitBone and Elly gets some of her meals in food puzzles. We also work on obedience and tricks some of which work her core. When we go on walks I am always looking for natural obstacles to work on her balance and strength. Deep, thick grass acts like sand. Big roots around trees are like nature's cavaletti poles. I have her balance on rocks and curbs.
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
Great suggestions Karen!
To those I'll add, start slow and carefully. Don't let him overdo it as much as you know he wants to go crazy. Digby sounds like a ball of energy so it'll be up to you to keep him mentally exhausted in rder to help his body heal and get stronger. We have tons of good ideas in the blogs Karen mentioned, and you may want to consider a visit to a certified rehabilitation therapist in order to have him evaluated. You can learn SO MUCH from a therapist, about how to keep him healthy and strong for life. Here are some posts about rehab:
http://download.....m/?s=rehab
The cool part is Tripawds Foundation will reimburse for your first rehab consult! See:
http://tripawds.....-tripawds/
You can still do lots of fun things with him, but now it's time to shift your thought process about what fun activities are like. Mind games are so much more beneficial over explosive activity like crazy dog park chases and long walks. You'll have Digby stay strong for his entire life if you can focus on mental interaction over physical. Check out these cool tricks that Roxy is learning:
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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