jerry said
Hi Mimi, thanks for joining. Your future posts won't need approval so post away. Thank you for the kind words, we're glad we could be there for you.

I'm really sorry to hear about your pup's diagnosis. What's his name?

A few questions:

• What exactly is his age?

• When was his surgery?

• Is he on any pain medication?

• Is he overweight by even 1 pound? What's his weight?

A few more details about his current situation will help us try to give you some pointers and things you can share with your vet. Hang in there, things do get better! Looking forward to hearing back.

His name is Leo! He is 14. He came to our rescue as an owner surrender and we were led to believe he was younger than we found him to be after surgery. He was also heartworm positive. His surgery was 6/2. He is recovering well. He doesn't appear to be in any pain. He had Tramadol post-op. But i don't find him licking at his incision site. He doesn't cry or whimper as though he is in pain or any discomfort. He is able to pull himself up to a sitting position, but just isn't strong enough to bring himself to a standing position w that back right leg. Once we are able to assist him to a standing position he holds it for about a second and than topples over to the right. When we hold his back end he can really get going. I'm just not sure we are assisting his back side the correct way. He gets pool PT everyday for about 20 mins "swimming laps". His appetite was poor after starting heartworm treatment. We stopped the Doxy and his appetite has picked up nicely. We weighed him today and he is at 68lbs. He is an average size Golden and I think this is a good weight for him.

jerry said
Oh gosh he's a mature guy! But yeah sounds like a good weight!

Well, it hasn't been very long since surgery, so there's that aspect, it takes time to get strong, especially for older dogs. But of course he shouldn't be toppling over. When you say he gets pool therapy, do you mean he swims at your house or with a rehab vet?
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Sorry, I know I have more questions than answers or suggestions right now. But I'm wondering if he's overdoing it in the pool, if it's something you're doing with him at home. We've been told by rehab vets that swiming is great but it's something that should be done later in rehab, after pain management and strengthening is underway. Swimming builds endurance, which is awesome, but rehab vets we've talked to focus on that last, not until the dog regains strength. He may be getting too much swimming and not enough strengthening.

If you are able, I would really recommend making an appointment with a rehab vet, they can really do so much for a dog like Leo. We also have lots of tips in our Tripawds e-books library and the book Loving Life On Three Legs .

He does his pool PT at our house. We had him swim approx 15 feet to the steps as many times as he was able before just letting us know he was done. Never thought it would be too much.

I will look into a rehab vet and also check out your book ideas. Thanks.

jerry said
It's so awesome you have a pool that you can use for him. But yeah I would definitely slow down with the swimming length and frequency, sounds like he's definitely getting too much of a good thing 🙂 I'm not a rehab vet but in our experience here we've seen that dogs will go and go and go even if it's not good for them, especially when they really love what they're doing.

Once you meet with a rehab vet you can work together to figure out a good at-home routine for him. If you're not using a float coat I really recommend one, they really do help Tripawds swim longer and safer.

Here's some rehab vet info to get started on your research.

Thanks! I will look into those. We do have a life vest for him. He is starting to regain his balance. He can stand for a good period of time without tipping over. He can stand to pee and poop with assistance. He is almost able to pull himself up to a standing position if we place his right leg underneath him. I'm looking into strengthening exercises. Thanks for the feedback!