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 all, I'm new here. I'm a proud hooman of my tripawd Husky, Theo, who weighs 90 lbs (yes, that is a lot for a tripawd). He is missing a leg at the front. Our vet has put him on a diet, so we take him for walks regularly, but he does get tired easily...usually after 15 minutes of sniffing around. My partner and I are looking forward to a weekend getaway along with our husky. The trip will involve an easy hike to the waterfalls, but it's about a 1 mile round trip. I'm afraid my husky will not survive nor enjoy the hike. I'm hoping a harness will help make the hike more bearable for him, but we've never tried a harness on him before. I would love to hear your thoughts on a good harness for hiking and a dog his size. Would this hike be too difficult for my husky? Would a harness help any?
Hi Theo and family, thanks for joining us (sorry you had to). What was the reason for his amputation?
I’m so glad you are working with your vet to help him lose weight. Every extra pound lost means it will be soooo much easier for him to get around. It will also lessen the risk of injury from putting so much force in the remaining front leg.
As you may have seen we are huge fans of the Ruffwear Webmaster harness and especially the Flagline harness for front leg amputees. But these harnesses are merely tools to help a dog get up and into vehicles, do stairs, get off the floor and that sort of thing. They won’t help him walk or make it easier to do any kind of hiking, other than to give you the ability to help him with tricky situations.
Since Theo is on a weight loss plan right now, I’m guessing that any kind of strenuous exercise like a 1 mile hike is going to be too much for him to handle right now. Even fit Tripawds should only go on 15-20 minute walks at a time.
I’m not a vet though, so if you are not already working with a rehab therapy team, please get a referral from your vet to help you find one. These experts can show you better ways to help him lose weight and get strong, so that he can go on longer walks eventually. Walking alone will probably not do it and may put him at risk of injury. The best part of seeing a rehab therapist is the Tripawds Foundation may pay for your first rehab visit !
I encourage you to check out the Tripawds Nutrition blog for our many articles about weight loss for Tripawds, and to get with a rehab therapy team so soon as possible. We will be cheering you and Theo on every step of the way so keep us posted!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Theo's human (what's your name?)! Welcome to the Tripawds community! I'm Stacy, mama to Griffin the 10-year old goldendoodle who has his right forelimb amputated on April 2, 2020 due to osteosarcoma (Griffin's Journey). I'm not sure how steep the hike is, but you might want to look into getting a stroller or wagon for Theo which would allow you to take him on longer walks. Connie, Jake's mom, recently started a thread about Big Breed Dog Strollers, which might be worthwhile to check out. Keep asking questions - someone here always has the answer! ~ Stacy
Griffin lived an amazing life for 11 years! Diagnosed with osteosarcoma on March 17, 2020, Griffin's right forelimb was amputated on April 2, 2020. Ten days later he was running and playing fetch! Lung metastasis discovered in July 2020 did not slow down Griffin and he lived joyfully for the next 7 months, passing peacefully at home on February 11, 2021. https://griffin.tripawds.com
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