Hello and welcome.

My Tripawd is a little Pug mix who lost her right rear leg when she was 7 months old after being hit by a car.  Elly has been on three for more than 9 years, she will turn 10 next month.  She weighs 14 pounds.

Elly had no mobility issues until she hurt her left hip 2.5 years ago in a freak accident.  She strained the iliopsoas and it has become a chronic issue.  After the injury her rehab vet prescribed an exercise program as well as a muscle supplement. The following year we added the inject-able anti inflammatory adequan to the mix.  We also started chiropractic adjustments once a month.

I've had small dogs for years and I've trained them all to use stairs or stools to access the furniture on which they are allowed.  They don't always use those, especially when they are young but Elly uses them most of the time.

I have a stroller so that Elly can come on our walks.  For example today we did a 3 mile hike at the local lake.  My quad pup Callie walked and ran (and ran and ran!) the entire way while Elly walked some and rode some. She also wears a harness with a handle so that I can help her in and out of the truck and over and around obstacles.  In addition to the rehab exercises we do trick and obedience training, play food games and puzzles and we do the sport of Nose Work.  All of those things help with her core strength and balance, challenge her mind and are not too hard on her joints.

Elly's chiro vet suggested in September that it might be time to think about a wheelchair so that she can spend more time out of the stroller.  We have an appointment with the rehab vet next month so I will ask her for her input.

One thing that has helped me keep Elly's weight in check is weighing both girls once a week.  Quad girl Callie was wildly reactive when I adopted her 1.5 years ago and we had to do tons of training (with lots of treats) to change her behaviors.  Callie is healthy at 14.5 pounds and I accidentally got her over 16 pounds ...ooops!  Elly's harness got a little snug then too but now I can assess every week and make adjustments before things get out of hand. 

I started Elly on joint supplements when she was 4 years old, she also gets fish oil every day.  One thing the rehab vet recommended is a muscle supplement called Myos.  You can get it without a prescription and there is a stronger, prescription strength version.  I saw improvement in Elly's strength and mobility after we started on that.  And as I mentioned above Elly gets adequan injections every two weeks, I do them at home.  Again, I saw improvement with adequan.  We have not tried acupuncture with her yet, she is very anxious at the vet and we don't think that she will tolerate it right now. 

Elly also has a chronic anal gland issue, she has to have them drained at the vet every 4 weeks.  This problem started after she hurt her hip and I believe it is caused by the fact that she doesn't have the strength in her remaining hip to squeeze the gland and since she has no femur on her amp side she can't squeeze on that side at all.  The gland on her amp side is always full, sometimes the left one isn't.  We've tried diet changes and supplements that are supposed to make things move but nothing has worked.

Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls and Boy