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Olie is a very tired dog
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Member Since:
26 May 2012
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26 May 2012 - 7:53 am
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Olaf is a 1,5 year old dutch shepherd. He had his hind right leg amputated 2 months ago, because it was broken and frozen, due to living in the woods at great cold.

I met him a month after his surgery, adopted him and he has been living with me for 1 month.

 

He is a very good dog, we love him tons, but I have some worries:

He is very very calm at home. I walk him 3-4 times a day: early in the morning 10-15 pee and poop walk in a nearby park, again in the afternoon, and in the evening we go for a slight longer walk to stretch our legs around the block (30-45 min with usually one 10 min break) or to a large park where he runs around alone, or plays chase with other dogs.

99,9% of the time in the house he is either laying down or sleeping. He doesnt show any signs of pain, but his "lazyness" worries me. He rarely plays on his own, and when we play tug (well, he is still leaning to play) he takes the toy and carries it to his bed, and chews it there for a few sec. And then he is back again in his nap mode 🙂

 

Do other tripawds lay and sleep that much?

knoxville, tn
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26 May 2012 - 8:42 am
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welcome!!  your future posts won't require moderation. 

all of our pups are different, but some dogs are just 'relaxed' by nature and this could be normal for olaf.  we have a four year old english shepherd (quad pawd), squirrel boy sam, who can be a maniac outside chasing birds and squirrels, but comes inside and loves to nap or look out of the window from his favorite chair.  he isn't a 'player' either, just enjoys relaxing.  as you said, olaf is just learning to play, and may have issues with understanding the concept...it's only been a month, and maybe he's just figuring out how to adjust to his new forever life.

we'd love to see some pictures of olaf!!

 

charon & spirit gayle

Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included).  She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.

Love Never Ends

http://etgayle

San Diego, CA
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26 May 2012 - 9:14 am
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Welcome to you and Olaf. Our young Tripawd had a lot of energy, but she could only handle a 20 min walk, and that included a break. She could run and play at the beach much longer, since she could rest and go her own pace, but we kept her walks quite short. 3 to 4 walks a day might be tiring him out so he doesn't feel like he needs additional play time. Maybe cut back th walks for a week and see if there are any changes. If not, than he is probably happy to be a couch potato. 🙂 lots of dog's are!

Jackie, angel Abby's mom

Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!

On The Road


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26 May 2012 - 1:56 pm
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Ooooh we love Sheppies! Pics please!

Thanks for joining us here, we can't wait to hear more about Olie.

My first thought was, "Wow, what a lucky human you are to have such a laid back Tripawd!" Our own German Shepherd Tripawd Wyatt is a total maniac and shows no signs of slowing down at the age of 3.5.

But the more I read your details, the more I think that maybe you could be walking him just a little too much. Not your fault, I promise. Getting to know a Tripawd's limitations takes a while, but you'll find your groove.

When you go for walks, do you have to encourage him to go or does he get excited to go? If you find that you have to ask him to go, then yes, I'd say that's a sign that he's tired out from too much activity. Sleeping after long walks and play a lot is certainly a sign of a tired dog. Our Wyatt lays around a lot at home too, but he still has a lot of energy and never misses a chance to nudge us for a walk.

What rehab therapists recommend is, shorter more frequent walks of no more than 15 to 20 minutes each, and to avoid "explosive" activities like chase. I know that's hard, and not every dog is the same, some can go on longer walks and wrassle all day long with other pups, but others not so much. 

Our CARE videos about canine rehab have some great tips about caring for a Tripawd, be sure to scroll through this list and watch some.

Just curious, but have you had him x-rayed for signs of hip displaysia? We found out our Wyatt has it, and once we learned this we became more vigilant about his activity level. This has helped reduce the small signs of pain he was showing when he played too hard, like little groans when he would get up after sleeping. 

I like AngelAbbysMom's advice, to cut back a little and see if that helps. Maybe he's just a mellow guy, and if that's the case, oh boy you're lucky!

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

Member Since:
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27 May 2012 - 1:58 am
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Thanks for replies!

 

That is is him:

Image Enlarger

 

And his modus operandi 🙂 (he usually sleeps on his bed, ona a carpet, or on mat, this was taken on  first day before I got mats for his favorite naping spotrs)

Image Enlarger

 

Playing with his siter:

Image Enlarger

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27 May 2012 - 2:27 am
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About walking him too much:

Our shot walks are really short. We just go to a nearby park (literally 1 min walk from my house), for potty, and then he sniffs around for a 5-10 mins. I sometimes throw him a stick or a ball, but only for 4-5 times. We also sometimes practice obedience, or play with another dog, but all those activities are very easy going and we go home after 10-15-20min.

So to be honest, i dont think those are to long.

Our longer walks, which we do once a day, may be a bit too much. At first i went to a park, but there are young dogs there and he plays chase robustly and play fight with them, which is fun, but a bit to much for him. The puppies tire him out so much that he lays down in the middle of play and pants heavily, like he`s having a heart attack. So for the last couple of weeks I limited playing with dogs and we rather walk in the park, where he can smell the bushes on his own, or we go for a walk around the block (wich tires him the mst becuase walking he has to be on the leish, and walking on my speed is the worst)

So..these longer walks could be a bit shorter (I.E.yesterday we went for  1,5-2 hours hike in the woods. We made a couple of breaks. He was tired, but Id say he gets more tired walking around a block 30 min on a liesh)

 

He really likes going outside, never ever did I have to encourige him to go out.

 

I dont know what to do. I want to watch for his health and dont push hm to hard, but on the other hand, I dont want to make him a bigger handicapped dog than he is. 

After his surgery he was in a shelter and didnt get walked often, so I think he got out of shape (cant think of better word, sorry). So when he come to my home he would get tired after only 200-300m walks. Now he can do much longer, so i think walking and runing, does good for his shape (he can go for longer now).

So on one hand, i dont want to push him to hard, but on the other hand, no pain no gain.

I love how he walks better now. When i met him, he curved his back a lot, like a snake, but nw he hops more naturaly. I also noticed his back muscles got stronger.

 

He never shows any signs of pain in remaining leg, back, or phantom pain .

 

i dont know about x-rays, i dont have any, but i hope vet checked the hips before amputation.

 

Excuse me for my clumsy english! smiley

Portage Lake, Maine
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27 May 2012 - 5:39 am
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He's gorgeous!!!  Love him!  What I'd do if I could walk my Maggie 1.5 - 2 hours...WOW!  I will say a leash restricting tripawds does tire them faster than if they can be loose and make their own pace.  I have read that Admin guy stated that they have found that rear leg amputee's take longer to build up stamina then front leg tripawds.  Correct me if I'm wrong?

I would suggest some sort of core conditioning program.  Walking only build endurance.  My rear leg tripawd is 12+ years old now and as of this Spring, really can't handle long walks(15-20 min is IT).  But she can very much still handle being loose in her yard(she lays around a lot), doing some 5 minute PT workouts about 3 times per week and doing a bit of low impact training.

Do you have this boy on a joint supplement?  Just food for thought..

Your english is great!

Tracy, Maggie's Mom

Maggie was amputated for soft tissue sarcoma 10-20-09

Maggie lost her battle with kidney disease on 8-24-13

http://maggie.t.....t-24-2013/

knoxville, tn
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27 May 2012 - 7:34 am
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olaf is beautiful!!!!  i don't have any additional recommendations, except you might want to check out tracy & maggie's blog   http://www.magg.....ipawds.com  (tracy posted right above me).  she has great videos of how to do PT work, agility training, etc.  it does take time for the muscle to build up in that remaining leg - gayle's front left leg got very strong, her paw spread, and became centered more under her chest.  you're probably already seeing the changes in olaf's remaining rear leg.  thanks for sharing the photos, and geesh, you have much better english than most folks here in east tennessee!!!  laughinglaughing

 

charon & spirit gayle

Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included).  She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.

Love Never Ends

http://etgayle

Member Since:
26 May 2012
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27 May 2012 - 12:03 pm
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Thanks guys! 🙂

 

I dont feed him any supplements. I feed him raw meat, barf and cooked meat with veggies (and sometimes high quality no-grain kibble with added glucosamine and chondroitine). His raw meat and barf contains bones and cartilages, and i sometimes give him an extra bone or beef tracheas wich is pure cartilage.

 

Do you think i should give him some supplements? Here we have some of those, but they are pretty expensive.

 

What do you think.. should I get a flexi leash for him?

 

Thanks, I will check ut the bolgs.

What is PT?

Portage Lake, Maine
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27 May 2012 - 1:29 pm
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PT = physical therapy. 

With you feeding raw, he is getting lots of good stuff!! big-blink

My tripawd Maggie has been on joint products for a good number of years, before being a tripawd, she was an agility dog.  With your dog being young and active and a tripawd, I would think it would be a 'good thing'...but that's purely my opinion.

There are many to choose from.  If you check out this link, it can educate you some on them:

http://www.doga.....upplements

As far as flexi's, I'm a HUGE fan of them(many, many people aren't)...but I have the flexi ALL TAPE versions, not the rope versions.  I walk in the woods a lot, where it's often we run into deer/moose/bear...so I want my dogs on a leash!  Because YES, they would chase wildlife.  Plus, with a flexi, it allows more freedom to move farther for them out away from you.

Tracy, Maggie's Mom

Maggie was amputated for soft tissue sarcoma 10-20-09

Maggie lost her battle with kidney disease on 8-24-13

http://maggie.t.....t-24-2013/

11
27 May 2012 - 2:47 pm
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Hello and Welcome to Tripawds!! Olaf is strikingly beautiful!! His coat is gorgeous! Not sure why he is so tired but maybe he is still getting used to his new home and being a Tripawd. My Great Dane tired very easily after her amputation and always slept alot more than she did before the surgery. She initially had the energy to get up and go out and do a little run around but it was very brief and then she would stand by the door because she wanted to go in , get a drink of water and take another nap. Some Dogs are lazier than others but being so young you would think that he would have a little more energy. Maybe a little more time with you and getting in a little better shape will help him. Good Luck! Glad you are here!

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27 May 2012 - 7:05 pm
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Hello Olaf!  You are a handsome young dog.  Hope some of the comments help you.

 

Heather & Spirit Shadow

On The Road


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27 May 2012 - 10:02 pm
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Olaf, we are in LOVE with you! Wow, what a handsome pup you are! I'm curious, where do you live? Your English is perfect by the way!

OK, so I don't think your short walks sound too long, but what I think you may need to do is scale back his longer ones and his playtime until he gets stronger. We have been told that if a dog sits down during a walk or during hard play, he's overdone it and needs shorter playtimes.

It really hasn't been that long since his surgery, and we know from our own Wyatt Ray 's experience as a rear leg German Shepherd, that it took him much longer (over 6 months) to build up strength than it took our Jerry, who was a front leg amputee.

Our Tripawd Gear blog has an article that may help you learn some tips for helping him get stronger: Why Longer Walks Won't Strengthen A Tripawd's Leg Muscles.

His diet sounds great. We've been told by rehabilitation vets that there's no point in starting things like glucosamine until there is a need for it, say for example, if he has hip displaysia. I'm not a vet, so please don't take our opinions here as being medical-worthy. Your best bet is to talk to your vet and find a canine rehabilitation expert who can help decide how to get him stronger so that he's not so tired. But we are always here to bounce ideas off of and share stories so we can help you decide the best plan of action.

Meanwhile, did I say we are in LOVE with Olie? Wow!

Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet

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28 May 2012 - 4:48 am
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Thank you guys! 🙂 Olaf sends kisses!aw-shucks

I am from Croatia, Europe, and there aren`t many PT vets here, but i will buy a pilates ball and work out a bit with him.

Other then that, its just patience, i guess.

San Diego, CA
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28 May 2012 - 10:38 am
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Wow, I think you are our first member from Croatia. Your English is great.

Olaf is so handsome. Love his coat!
Jackie, angel Abby's mom

Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!

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