What a gorgeous boy!

I can't offer much recovery advice, as I adopted my pup at 10 weeks and already a tri-pawd. He was small enough for us to not quite worry about harness and mobility yet, and he'd seen the worst of recovery at the shelter.

But I do want to tell you you're in the right place! The people here are wonderful and have helped us so much in getting used to life with a tripawd and making all the necessary changes and adaptations. 

Swimming is a great activity for tripawds, so your boy can definitely still enjoy that! I can also tell you that he will be able to keep up with his brother in play. I was worried that Dante would be left out by the girls - and he was the first few weeks. But now he runs just as fast as they do and can catch them no problem, and he plays and plays all day long.

Oscar might not be able to do everything exactly the same as before or without some assistance, but with a few modifications he can still do almost everything with you that he did before.  

Don't forget, dogs aren't like us. They live for the here and now. Oscar won't feel sorry for himself, or wish he could do things he used to - he'll be excited for all the new challenges and adventures that life brings each and every day.

I'm sorry you had to find tripawds, but I'm glad that you did - it really is a great place, with great people, and an endless amount of information and support!

 I am sorry to read about Oscar's accident. Amputation is a scary. Tasha is an 8 year old Rottweiler who had her left front leg amputated due to cancer over 8 months ago. Tasha stayed at the vets for 2 days after her surgery. The day we picked her up I was so afraid to see her I thought I would just freak out, I didn't. When she came hopping into us wiggling and happy I felt such joy she was still with us. My husband helped her into the car, when we got home he helped her out and she hopped a little bit in the yard, she peed, came in and layed on the bed we had made for her. Tasha never needed help even from the beginning getting up by herself or help going outside to do her business. Some dogs do need help at first, you can make a sling out of a towel to help him up if he needs it. The first 2 weeks can be very hard, the pain meds do some weird things to them. Tasha did a lot of crying until we took her off her pain meds on day 9. She had a couple of very bad days early in her recovery and her Dr. had us increase her pain meds. Some dogs will not want to eat but be sure he always has plenty of water. Sometimes it takes several days before they take their first poop. He will probably want to do a lot of sleeping at first. Shower him with love and happiness don't let him see you cry, he will pick up on your emotions. Once his stitches come out he will be ready for swimming again, hiking, running, playing. He will amaze you at how he adapts to three legs. He will once again be able to do all the things he loves, maybe for not quite as long but you will have your beautiful sweet Oscar back, just a slightly different version.

Jo Ann & Tasha

Yeah, seems likes meds are often harder on the dogs than the absence of the leg.  But without them, well... yeah that would be  A LOT worse. 

With my front leg amputee (now passed) he was actually fairly energetic for the first few days home, though a little confused and did a lot of turning in circles and staring at walls (like I said, the meds).  Don't be surprised though if you see that and then a drop in energy.  That seems to be just the heavy duty drugs (like fentanyl) wearing off, at which point they might not feel so restless and realize it's time to rest and heal!  (Some dogs never seem to realize that though, based on some posts I've read- haha!).  Some of the drugs can cause them to "vocalize" (whine) a lot.  It's not pain, it's just the meds.  If you can pat the incision site gently without a reaction, you can prove that to yourself, that the meds are doing it - not pain.  That happened with Yoda.  And then there was Gerry whose drugs made him relentlessy restless and that was scary, because he wasn't getting any sleep (bad ketamine possibly).  BUT  that shouldn't happen.  And I've thrown out a lot of possibilities.  You may not experience any of these things!  One of the greatest lessons I've learned on Tripawds is keep in mind how much you pay your vet and therefore feel free to call them lots.  You and your pup deserve it.  Another of the greatest lessons you have already learned by coming here - this is a great place for support and there's a lot of collective wisdom/experience here. 

Oh, and regarding helping him, that varies too, and plenty of dogs don't need any.  Yoda wouldn't let them use the towel sling on him.  The vet told me that when the techs tried, he wouldn't get up.  As soon as they took the towel sling away, he was hopping away to go outside.  He was an independent spirit too.

As far as the active lifestyle goes, both my tripawds were blessed with excellent mobility.  Yoda did tire out faster (but still not as fast as me) and needed water more often, but he was still very fast.  In fact, his average speed increased because it's easier for front-leggers to hop faster.  I got Gerry when he was already limping.  It's hard to imagine the amputation has slowed him down any, but maybe he has because he gets a little belligerent at the park when he starts to tire out and gets mouthy with the other dogs - I think because he doesn't like it when he feels tired and they don't yet.  Still, doesn't this look like he's plenty fast  an active enough?  No trick photography and not much editing - I swear!

http://gerry.tr...../dog-park/

(See the video on his blog from January)

That was a month after Gerry's amputation.

So yeah, accomodations may need to be made on outings.  More water and more breaks, but all of the activities you have mentioned are done and enjoyed by tripawds here.

Hang in there!  Get plenty of sleep and eat right.  Set a good example for your patient!!!

Welcome to the family. Gus had his left front amputated so I can't say how a back three wheeler works. The first 2 weeks are the toughest, but by week 4 Gus was 90% his old self. Get ready for some ups and downs, mood swings , one day you think all is well, the next you'll wonder why no energy. Drugs sometimes are a wonderful thing, just think how many great songs were written with their help!!!! But I will say, Gus didn't get along with Tramadol so we took him off, made quite a difference. He was restless at night, no appetite, kind of in la-la land, and he had some phantom pain , he was on rimidyl and Gabapentin., Hopefully you won't have to deal with phantom pain , that stuff will tear your heart out. They all of a sudden sound like they were hit by a car, doesn't last long but man do they howl, hold on for the ride. You'll be amazed how fast Oscar rebounds, this whole thing will probably be harder on you than him. Don't be afraid to ask anything here, experience gives the best answers.. This is a great place to be, good luck, Gus and Dan

Don't be so sure about that not jumping around like the energizer bunny, there is a video of a 2 legged greyhound, lost both legs on the same side and you can't believe what that dog does. I think Oscar will surprise you, but then, isn't the element of surprise a great thing, especially in this community. Paws up, Gus and Dan