Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I have a one and a half year old cavalier/poodle cross called Bailey who had his front leg amputated about 5 months ago. He's doing fantastic though and gets around probably even faster than he did with 4 legs!
What I'm curious about is how other dogs react to him. When taking him on walks, pretty much every dog we pass - doesn't matter how big or small they are - acts in a very unfriendly way towards him. Mostly they just growl, but today a small cavalier spaniel rushed out and literally attacked Bailey with snarling and biting. This dog was in fact smaller than Bailey, but if a bigger dog had attacked with the same ferocity, there would've been some decent injuries! I was wondering if anyone else had found that other dogs react in a very antisocial way towards their Tripawd. Anyone?
I feel quite sorry for Bailey, because his only friends are vet nurses and I'm sure he'd like to have some of the canine variety, haha!
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Bre said:
I was wondering if anyone else had found that other dogs react in a very antisocial way towards their Tripawd. Anyone?
I feel quite sorry for Bailey, because his only friends are vet nurses and I’m sure he’d like to have some of the canine variety, haha!
Hi Bre,
Great question! One that many often wonder about when their dog comes home as a Tripawd.
My Mom was worried about that when I came home, but in the end she had nothing to worry about. I don't know, maybe it's because of my size, but dogs don't even notice that I'm missing a limb. Usually. Sometimes, the reaction I get from other dogs is that they leave me alone, and in the past, they might have roughoused with me. Then again, maybe they just don't want to play with me though.
Now, I'm going to get all psychological on you, and play like I'm Cesar Milan here. Have you asked yourself, what kind of energy do you project when Bailey is around other dogs? Are you fearful that they might attack or reject him? Are you nervous?
I ask, because like Cesar says, dogs absorb the energy that the human on the other end of the leash projects. If one pack isn't strong, the other pack will sense that and take advantage of the weaker pack.
Just some dog psychology for you. Hope it helps!
Love,
Jerry
(thanks for visiting! be sure to post photos of Bailey, we'd love to see him!).
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi 
I have to say that I don't think Darcy has ever had a negative reaction from any dog she has met since her amputation. She's had a few odd looks from some silly humans but I've just glared and they've looked ashamed and looked away LOL. Seriously though, there have been no reactions either way, from dogs.
Darcy – tripawd since 16th October 2007.
***Darcy would love to be your friend on Facebook - just search for Darcy Deerhound***
Since my Genie had the surgery, her temperament had changed a lot.
I think she knew that she had a disadvantage, and that everytime she saw another dog, she would bark, growl, or even tried to lunge forward.
Of course, she knew pretty well that she couldn't break away from me, that was probably why she was making a big gesture of wanting to charge forward.
I guess she wanted to show other creatures that she was still in good shape, and "don't you dare to have the slightest idea of taking advantage on me" that sort of attitute.
That partly could be contributed by her sensing the tension from me as well.
As far as other dogs were concerned, I had not run into any that intiated the aggressive behaviour which I as a human could detect.
Also a possibility that it was the other way around that some other dogs was displaying unfriendly signals, and that Genie just simply "greeted" them back.
* * * *
So ... now I am speculating that, somehow, other dogs picked up strange or unusual signals from Bailey. ???
Jessie
Thanks for the responses all.
I think it may be that it's a vibe that either myself or Bailey sends out. Even when Bailey was a puppy and we took him to puppy preschool, none of the others seemed to like him cos apparently he was a little over-the-top extroverted for the rest of them! Haha, so maybe his mannerisms just aren't conducive to doggie friendliness.
Anyways, I'm glad I could just confirm with all of you that it's not necessarily the 3-leggedness.
I'll have to take some recent photos of him to stick up!
I totally agree with Rene that it depends on who is on the other side of the leash. As we all know, dogs reactions are much more straightforward and uncomplicated; there is the rule of the pack, that the weaker member will be vulnerable to cretain reactions though, and I experienced it a few times with Lalla. Might be a good idea to find an area where Bailey can be off-leash as well to allow for socialization, which is key for dogs, especially young ones. With his poodle/cavalier genes he's most likely to end up being the boss, too. Don't worry, they have their own way of sorting things out. Perhaps start by going for walks with another smallish dog and pawrent.
lalla, moderator said:
I totally agree with Rene
Uh, you mean Jerry? 😉
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
My sister's Pikanese follows Dee everywhere he goes... she is like his shadow since his operation. Where he goes, she goes, where he sits, she sits.. always investigating and smelling... Dee doesnt like her very much.. he thinks she's a pain in the ...you know what... We have to watch over them the whole time, because they sometimes attach each other. I think it is a bit of jealousy from both of them. But otherwise, no problems with the other dawgs. They still play and have fun as always. 🙂
Dee's mom
My French Mastiff is only 4 days out of surgery but our other 2 dogs, a female bullmastiff and a male shitsu/maltese have been quite disinterested in him, in fact they seem to be in a bit more of a hurry to get on his bed or check his food is eaten than before the op..?
Because we're so pre occupied with Butch the other dogs are also acting a bit more needy as if to say 'what about us aren't we special too'? He is also not interested in them but perhaps that's because he's the alpha dog and they arrived after him (both rescues)?
Annie said:
My French Mastiff is only 4 days out of surgery but our other 2 dogs, a female bullmastiff and a male shitsu/maltese have been quite disinterested in him,
I think that maybe they're giving him some space to recover and heal. Dogs are smart that way!
Try not to think so much about it. We dogs don't, that's for sure.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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