Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
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Our 5 year old Red Heeler was shot in the leg on Friday night. The vet gave us three choices and amputation was the best choice. He will be coming home tomorrow from the vet. I have no idea what to expect or how to handle things from now on. He is a country dog who was always outside and running. I know we will now have to keep him in at night to keep him safe from coyotes and other things. Should we make him an inside dog now or what. I am so heat broken over this and want to make his life as best as it has always been. We have three kids and one other dog.
Hi and welcome, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
I'm sorry to hear about your boy, what is his name? How old is he? Front or back leg?
Here are a couple of good resources for you:
Required Reading List has lots of links to info on this site with what to expect with amputation and recovery.
eBooks from the Tripawds Library are also available to download.
He will definitely need to be an inside dog for the next couple of weeks while he heals and until the sutures or staples come out. Traction is huge for Tripawds, especially new ones so you want to put down throw rugs or yoga mats if you have slippery floors. He will need a quiet, smallish place to recover like a blocked off room without any furniture that he could try and jump up on.
After recovery- well your not dealing with cancer so that is great! I bet he will be able to get back to doing most of what he did before, with some limitations on stamina.
You might want to read about Bart who won awards as a Tripawd! Bart crossed the Bridge but lived life to the fullest as a Tripawd.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Buddy is his name and he is 5 1/2 years old. It was his front left leg. I am so nervous about bring him home tomorrow.
Awe so sorry you have to be here. Yes I definitely think he'll probably have to be more of an "inside dog" going forward. Especially nights. But I'll bet he'll get used to that pretty quickly with all the spoiling he's going to be getting. First few days are the hardest until you find yourself falling into a routine that works for you. Keeping on top of giving the pain meds is really important so you don't have to play catch up. At first it'll be resting, eating and short potty breaks. Make sure you've got something like chicken or liver wurst to wrap around his pills to get him to take them. Be a strong leader because he'll be looking to you for guidance so if you panic so will he. Try to stay calm and positive and he will too. I won't kid you this journey is tough but after the first few days you will see improvement each day. Stay connected to us we will help you get through this one day at a time. You can do this! We've got your back. Let us know any questions you have and definitely check out the resources Karen has listed in her post. A lot of your questions will be answered there. I also got good information from reading about what others posted on the treatment & recovery page here. It gave me information on what to expect as others posted on their journeys. Keep us posted we'll be here waiting.
Hugs ((()))
Linda, Ollie, Riley & Spirit Mighty Max
Hi Shell,
Here is the link to the gallery I mentioned in chat, scroll down to the post-op pictures.
Karen
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
Awww . . . bless your heart. And Buddy's too!
Howdy and welcome!
pam
Harmony became a Tripawd on 10/21/14 (MCT). She left us way too soon on 11/1/14.
"We miss you so much; our love, our heart, our Harmony."
- Pam, Ron and Melody, Meesha, Doublestuff and Mariah Carey
Geez I'm sorry. He's the second dog in a month or so who's been shot. Hope things are going well with Buddy's first day back at home. How is he? How are you?
I would agree that keeping him inside at least for the first couple of months is a smart idea. He will need time to build up stamina and strength before being allowed any kind of free roaming, especially with your other dog.
Keep us posted OK?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you all. Buddy came home this afternoon. He was so glad to see us when they brought him out. He is doing pretty good I think. He has not eaten since we got home but I think they feed him at the vet. We are doing ok. My 5 year old is having a hard time. He keeps asking when his leg is going to grow back. My other two kids are babying him a lot.
Awww I'm glad he's home. Take it slow and remember, the stronger you are around your kids, the more they will feel it's quite normal and not a big deal too. I know it's hard, but you can do it.
Here's to a good recovery. Let us know how we can help.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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