Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi
My seven year old rescue had his front left leg amputated after accidentally being stepped on by a horse. Overall he seems to be doing well but car rides seem to be an increasing issue. He's always absolutely hated car rides but now he seems to have a lot of trouble keeping his balance. He never lies down in the car so he gets tossed around a lot. We love to hike but it's getting to the point that a 15-20 minute ride to the trail head isn't worth it. He loves hikeing and I really want to be able to take him and have him feel safe in the car.
Has anyone else had this issue with their dog in the car? What solutions have helped your furry friend?
Great question, thanks for joining! Your future forum posts will not require moderation.
What's your dog's name? Is he crate trained? Confining him during car rides may be the best solution.
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Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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There was a post not too long ago about this - along with several others, I use a crate in the car to confine my tripawd. Without it, she either wanted to sit on my lap or balance precariously and I knew we needed to find a better solution.
I chose a soft-sided crate, Elitefield, which can be easily collapsed when we're not using it. In order to fit the crate in the car, we fold down the back seats and put the crate on top, which means Jack can still see out the window while laying down. This may not work well for you if you're dog chews- the soft sided crates are not sturdy matches for dogs' teeth.
Gosh, we had exactly this problem! Ellie hated the car, wouldn't lie down and she'd lose her balance once she became a tripawd. But since we were usually just taking her to/from the vet and one of us would usually ride w/ her in the cargo area of our CRV. It was a bit crazy, but needs must.
We did think hard about a better solution though. The best we could come up w/ were large foam blocks of some sort (you can get these cut at fabric stores). We were going to use them to create a narrow space for Ellie to stand in. One "wall" would be the rear seat backs and the other side (between her and the tail gate) would be a large thick foam pad. We never tried it out, but it is an idea.
Denise, Bill and Angel Ellie.
Active 10+ Pyr mix suddenly came up lame with ACL tear in left rear leg. Scheduled for a TPLO but final pre-op x-rays indicated a small suspicious area, possibly OSA, which could have caused the ACL tear. Surgeon opened the knee for TPLO but found soft bone. Biopsy came back positive for OSA. Became a Tripawd 9/18/14. Carbo6 with Cerenia and Fluids. Pain free and living in the moment. Crossed the Bridge on 7/12/15 after probable spread of cancer to her cervical spine. A whole lifetime of memories squeezed into 10 months. Here's her story: Eloise
Thanks for all the ideas everyone
to answer some questions:
My dogs name is Oliver (Ollie).
He is crate trained but we very rarely use it anymore.
I hadn't thought of a soft crate. I know I can't fit an open wire one in my little Mazda 3 sedan. But I'll have to look into some soft crates.
His favorite place while riding in the car has always been pressed up against the back of the drivers seat with his nose in the drivers left ear.
I think he'd like the large foam blocks the best. I had no idea fabric stores did that. How much were they?
jbelfgym said
Thanks for all the ideas everyoneI think he'd like the large foam blocks the best. I had no idea fabric stores did that. How much were they?
It was the best idea we could come up w/ but we never had to put it into practice (we were always able to arrange our schedules so both of us could take Ellie to the vet).
The foam shouldn't be too expensive, depending on how thick and how big a piece you need. You'll need to find a fabric store that does upholstery fabrics. You might need to tape a couple of pieces together to get something thick enough depending on the car.
Active 10+ Pyr mix suddenly came up lame with ACL tear in left rear leg. Scheduled for a TPLO but final pre-op x-rays indicated a small suspicious area, possibly OSA, which could have caused the ACL tear. Surgeon opened the knee for TPLO but found soft bone. Biopsy came back positive for OSA. Became a Tripawd 9/18/14. Carbo6 with Cerenia and Fluids. Pain free and living in the moment. Crossed the Bridge on 7/12/15 after probable spread of cancer to her cervical spine. A whole lifetime of memories squeezed into 10 months. Here's her story: Eloise
We have a crazy car dog. Tanner is the nicest dog but he turns into a complete lunatic in the car. We can not crate him in the car. We tried, he goes even more crazy attacking the crate. The only solution we have been able to come up with is the seat belt "zip line". We have a cover on our backseat which makes it less slippery, a barrier so he can't get into the front seat and we put a make shift barrier down so he can't get on the floor board. Then we just attach him with a swivel tether to the zipline and he can have free roam of the back seat. It's not ideal, but it works for us.
Your guy looks like he's big in the avatar, but just in case he's not they make boosters for dogs that they can sit or lay in. We have one that was for our Roscoe, he was a front tripawd and it was the only way he could ride without being knocked all around the car.
You can find all the stuff I talked about here if you want to look at any of it:
Mom to Tripawd Angels Jake (2001-2014) and Rosco (2012-2015) and Tripawd Tanner. “Whatever happens tomorrow, we had today; and I'll always remember it”
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