Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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So I have just adopted a tripawd Husky!
He's a great guy named Koda but he is being a bit of a devil! 
Firstly a bit about him.
He's an 11 month old husky. We rescued him from the Calgary Humane Society after he had been hit by a car. The shelter found the owners but after hearing that he had lost a leg they didn't want him back!
We live in an apartment in the town of Banff which is in the middle of the rockies. Because of cougar and coyote problems all dogs in the town must be kept inside for fear of being eaten. This is where our problem begins.
I walk him about 2 - 2 and a half ours a day and he doesnt even look a little tired. We have had him for a few days now and he is slowy destroying our house! What can I do? There is plenty of hiking here but I'm unsure about taking him on long hikes (he lost the leg about 4 weeks ago) which would include lots of up and down hills.
How can I exerise him enough to tire him out so he doesnt destroy our place but not put too much pressure on his legs. He lost his back leg if that matters?
Any suggestions?
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Hi there!
First of all... congratulations on adopting tripawd Koda!! 
Alot of other people would not be interested in a 'defective' dog... But as you have learned, he seems to have plenty of energy! How much does he weigh now? What has your vet said about his overall health and how much excercise is too much (or not enough)? Since you can't leave him outside to play, and he's not tired after 2.5 hours of walking... What about buying a used treadmill for inside your home, and get him used to using it? I've seen it done on Cesar Milan (the Dog Whisperer) show... Otherwise, he sounds like a high drive, high maintenance puppy... I think that Wyatt's pawrents can give you lots of advice (or at least share their horror stories with you).
As for the house destroying... sounds like he needs some formal obedience and maybe behavioural training. It will be alot of work, but in the long run... it will definitely be worth it! Another thing that might help is crate training. Do you have a large secure crate for him to be in when you are out of the house? That will save what's left of your home...
Post some pictures of your new baby for us to see!
Good luck with everything... looking forward to hearing all about Koda!!
Angel Jake's Mom
Jake, 10yr old golden retriever (fractured his front right leg on 9/1, bone biopsy revealed osteosarcoma on 9/10, amputation on 9/17) and his family Marguerite, Jacques and Wolfie, 5yr old german shepherd and the newest addition to the family, Nala, a 7mth old Bengal mix kittie. Jake lost his battle on 11/9/2009, almost 8 weeks after his surgery. We will never forget our sweet golden angel… http://jakesjou.....ipawds.com ….. CANCER SUCKS!
Four weeks isn't very long post-op so I would hesitate to do too much more than you are already doing but I don't have any experience with huskies. I would suggest getting a ruffwear harness so help him with the hiking on hills and uneven ground. You can even check out the Angel Exchange to see if anyone has one you can use if Koda is no fully grown yet.Good
Good luck and bless you for adopting your little guy.
Debra & Angel Emily
Debra & Emily, a five year old doberman mix, who was diagnosed with an osteosaecoma. She had a right rear leg amputation on May 19, 2009. On November 10, 2009 she earned her wings and regained her fourth leg.
Four weeks is still pretty early for "long" hikes. And without his spare leg, it's important to keep the remaining three healthy. The best advice is more frequent, shorter walks, and lots of mind game training to keep him occupied. Our Wyatt is also a terror so we can totally relate. Best of luck to you and thanks for joining!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
The only additional thoughts I had to what others said was that swimming, if that's possible (if you can safely find out if he's a swimmer) is great exercise that is easier on the joints. Alot of the tripawds are on a supplement for their joints to (either preventative, or because they already have issues). That might give you some more piece of mind as you let him get his exercise. Gerry takes Dasuquin, as recommended by his vet. Good luck and keep us updated!
Gerry has been a tripawd since 12/16/2009.
He was a shelter dog with a mysterious past and an irrepairable knee injury.
Videos and pics of Gerry's pawesomeness can be found at: http://gerry.tripawds.com
Welcome Koda and Family
There is another tripawd Koda on this website, who lives in Australia (although I keep mixing up Koda and Storm - one is human and one is canid 
).
Post a picture of Koda for us to see. How much does he weigh or how big is he? Just asking in case I have any 'clothes' left over from Tazzie that might fit. I am over in Winnipeg, but lived in AB for much of the last 20 years, including when Tazzie was diagnosed with OSA and lost his leg last summer. Being a husky, I suppose Koda won't be interested in swimming (but if he is, get a life jacket).
Tai is a tripawd labrador in Calgary who might want to meet Koda. I think any 11 month old dog will tend to want to inflict some damage on the house. But it won't take long before he gets through that stage.
Probably a good thing that he lost a hind leg, for the hind legs take a bit less weight than the front. The harness will give you some extra security, just in case you need to help him home (I often brought a sling along, just in case I'd need it, but I don't think I ever did). The harness is definitely good to have with snow, ice and rocks, of which there are plenty in Canmore. I knew of some instances of dogs x coyotes or cougars in canmore, but didn't realize the dogs were under house arrest.
Jerry's suggestion of short frequent walks is good if you can do that. But if Koda is strong, he can probably handle longer walks pretty soon. I guess you can judge based on how he acts when he gets home or the next day.
Oh gosh...sympathies to you!!! My furkid has husky in his mix and they truly have a mind of their own. And a ton of energy...my guy is 11 now, so most of that has pretty much gone away and he had a companion during the younger years, but they had a yard to romp in and at THAT time, I was not walking him daily like we were doing prior to the amp. We would go for just one run in a local kinda wildish area behind a park. That was one a WEEK! give him things he can chew on and if I were you, I would contact a husky group on the web and see if they can offer some ideas you can incorporate with the ideas here. Being confined does present a special problem and four weeks doesn't seem very long (we are three weeks tomorrow)....we were doing tremendously well to make it to the CORNER today!! (three houses down). But that is the difference between a pup and an older guy. Perhaps when he is healed completely and gets the vet's ok, you might check into a sled situation? In the summer I believe they can be converted to something usable on ground. Good luck to you and congrats and smooches for doing the rescue (and may his original owners have all their fresh fruit turn to rot)
Diane, Magic and OJ
I think you'll eventually be able to take Koda on longer hikes, but for now he needs to heal. Obedience/crate training is a must - he has to learn boundaries. And if he's a chewer, then here's the cardinal rule: there's no such thing as too many rawhides. We used to have a dog who was a chewer, and it caused an early remodel of our kitchen after he mangled all the wood cabinets. Go to the nearest pet supply store and stock up on rawhides. If you have carpet, buy the white ones - they don't leave stains. And if Koda's one of those power chewers who can demolish bones faster than you can hand them out, go to Petco and get a bunch of their compressed rawhide bones. They're rawhides that have been machine pressed until they're hard as a rock. They're a challenge even for the strongest chewers.
Every time you catch Koda gnawing on something forbidden, give him a firm, stern "No!" and move him away from it, then immediately give him a rawhide. He'll catch on. Then make sure there are plenty of rawhides strewn around your house, so there's always one in range when he feels the need to gnaw.
Welcome to Puppyhood!
Everyone has given great advice here already. I would just say, puppies have to be crated when you aren't home! It's a must because they can't be trusted! Plus, it's for his safety, too. He could eat an electrical cord! (my big fear!) There are video on the web on how to crate train and it works.
I would say also he's a working dog and they get bored. I have a 14 month old terrier/beagle/something and he gets bored. I can see the wheels in head moving all the time! He's always looking for something to do. Plus, he never sleeps unless YOU are sleeping! It's challenging. But we have routines and games. Plus, we did puppy training at Petsmart. It cost about $100 for 6 weeks and that will not just help, it will give him something to think about.
A good game to do is, hide the treats in the house. One of us holds the dogs and the other person has several treats and hides them while the dogs are watching. And then the dogs go find the treats! They love it! They have to use all of their senses! I've done this trick with a family members senior lazy dog while visiting and she even loved doing it.
Good luck and bless you for rescuing! You won't be disappointed!
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
Maxidad said:
Obedience/crate training is a must – he has to learn boundaries.
John (Maxidad) is totally correct. I brought home two white Standard Poodles, and started them in crates from the very first. It was never punishment and was only used when I left the house and at night during the house training. When I started showing them in Obedience Shows, I started using exercise pens. They are usually eight – two foot wide – three foot tall panels that open to a nice square area but also fold small for storage. If I needed to control where they were or what they were doing, but would be in the general area, I would use these exercise pens. It allows them to be more open to the room, but give you control without being your total focus. This was also done for Cherry and the pen really came in handy when we brought her home from the amputation.
This is a thumbnail of Miss Cherry in the exercise pen just after comming home from surgery. This thumbnail also links to a larger copy of the photo to show more detail.
We wish you the best of luck on your new "energetic" companion.
Spirit Cherry's Dad
[Image Can Not Be Found]
It's hard to believe, but mind games can be just as tiring as long walks and exercise. We have to do that with Wyatt Ray and it really does wear him out for a bit (oh like two hours, but that's two hours where he's not destroying our house! 😉 Instead of hours and hours of exercise, spend half of that time on basic obedience and you'll both be having a great time!
We swear by Sarah Wilson's book, My Smart Puppy (it's not just for puppies, it's for all dogs who need obedience help). You can also watch Sarah working with Wyatt in this demo video. Be sure to visit her online community at MySmartPuppy.com.
Congratulations on the new member of the pack, you're an awesome pawrent for taking him in. We can't wait to hear more about his adventures!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Bob,
Love the 'Walking Cherry' !!!
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
I've found that dogs heal at their own rate. Lucky was able to go for long walks and was playing and running at full speed by the first few weeks after the surgery. Jedi, on the other hand, has been without his front leg for almost 4 months and he isn't able to walk more then 8 blocks before getting tired. I would just try and work off of the dog's energy and see how well he responds to the work out. When he starts getting tired, you should stop, don't push it until he's a little bit more healed.
To me it seems like your dog is just acclimating to the change of environment. I would highly suggest crate training for when you are gone as this will make it unable for him to ruin the furniture or anything. When you are home, if he gets bored and starts to destroy something, squirt him with a waterbottle and then give the dog a toy or something that he can chew on and destroy.
Lucky Amputation 10/29/09 Adoption 12/5/09
Jedi Amputation 12/18/09 Adoption 02/04/10
"I am not afraid, I was born to do this." Joan of Arc
Walking is the best exercise, but increase it gradually since Koda is only 4 weeks out of surgery. You may also want to check out Calpurnia the Tripawd sled dog. She's run over 1,000 miles since her amputation.
http://tripawds.....-sled-dog/
As others have already said, basic obedience training, mind games, crate training, a treadmill and swimming will also help.
Keep us posted on how Koda is doing.
Chuy & Eleanor
Chuy, showing everyone that Tripawds do everything 3 times better than regular dogs!
Hi everyone!
Firstly thanks for all your responses!
I tried to post a picture of him but I couldn't get it to work!?
So Koda seems to be getting more settled in at our place. The crate training is going really well. He goes in it of his own accord when he wants to have a nap! Very pleased with that. We have had a couple of days off because of Easter and he doesn't make a sound until we get up!
Our only problem now is that our landlord has said that as soon as we go out he starts howling like crazy. We tested the theory and when we left him in and we went outside sure thing 3 minutes later he starts howling like crazy! I think if we can get him over that he will be perfect! The landlord said that he has no problem with it but he said if people in the other apartments start complaining he will have no choice to act!
Does anyone have any ideas on how to stop him howling when we are away? Someone suggested that you can give them drugs to help with separation anxiety but that sounds like a very bad idea!
We got the ruffwear harness which really helps him get in and out of our van.
We really hope that he is a swimmer. The lakes around here have just thawed so we won't have him in the water for another couple of months. A life jacket is on the list for him as well!
The compressed rawhide bones worked a treat. He still chews on his blankets but he' not eating them anymore!
Thanks again for all your great tips!
I hate to ask again for advice but if anyone knows a good way to stop him howling when we leave I would love to hear it!
Also how do I post pics? He's a very cute fella and I would love to show you guys some pics of him.
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