Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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My husband and I are considering adopting a dog who has recently had his right front leg amputated. His is a one year old Border Collie. Apparently, his old owner did not get his injured dog medical care, which finally ended in the amputation. So, this dog is not just recovering from surgery and adapting to life on three legs, but also recovering from severe neglect.
My husband and I already have a five and a half year old border collie named Acie. We rescued Acie from a kill shelter four and a half years ago. When we adopted him, Acie was recovering from a broken leg, a broken back, broken tail, kennel cough and a myriad of other ailments, as well as neglect. Acie has fully recovered from all of his old injuries, with the exception of his tail, which was paralyzed from the back injury. Acie enjoys long hikes, running, swimming, playing (especially with other dogs), performing tricks and agility training.
My questions are numerous... will a new three-legged family member be able to take part in the activities we partake in? Will he be able to play with Acie? Will he be able to get up and down our stairs? Will he be resentful if my husband goes on a bike ride with Acie but leaves him at home because he can't keep up? Could he keep up with a bicycle? Would he be upset if he could not do agility? Could he do agility? Can he swim in the lake with Acie? Acie has a strong herding instinct, would our three-legged friend be able to keep up? Would he get upset if he couldn't? Is there anything we should do to prepare for him besides what we would do for any dog (new crate, blankets, leash, collar, trip to the vet, vaccinations, neutering, microchip, license, etc)? Is there anything we can do to improve his mobility, such as a protesis?
Any help and/or advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you,
Jena
Hi Jenna,
How wonderful that your thinking of adopting Trey, he is a beautiful border collie. As far as your concerns go, you can check out some videos of other tripawds swimming, playing and hopping around on here. I think Pogi has a video of her border collies running around. I don't think he'll be able to keep up with a bike though... as far as personalities go with your present dog, you'll have to test the waters just like any other dog. I think Trey would just be happy to be in a loving home and would really love having his own family. As far as steps are concerned, I'm a worry wort. They can do steps, but I like to keep an eye on my Buster. A few are ok, but a flight would make me nervous... I think in Pogi's video he was really amazing at herding with his fellow border collie... check it out. Tripawds never cease to amaze me!! Let us know how it works out for you, you sound like wonderful pawrents !!
Best wishes,
Kim&Buster
Kim & Angel Buster
"Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened."
–Anatole France
My questions aren't so much about compatibility. I know that every dog's personality is a bit different and it will really depend on Trey and Acie as to whether or not they will get along. My question is not so much "will he be willing to play with Acie" but more along the lines "will he be physically able to play with Acie". Not so much "will he like to swim" but more of "will he be able to swim".
Is there any idea of the distances that he will be able to walk or run? Will he be able to jump across a log if he is walking around in the woods? The description says that he can jump onto the back of a truck, but is it a good idea to allow him to do that or does it put too much stress on his one front leg? Is it even a good idea to bring him along on a hike? Would he be able to do weave poles, if that is something that ends up being of interest to him?
Acie has never been in any shows or competitions, but we go on hikes with him and he absolutely loves swimming, he loves doing agility, he absolutely loves doing tricks like roll over, play dead, spin, speak, shake, etc. One time we went bike riding and were not able to take Acie because he was ill, and he sunk into a deep depression. He watched us ride away on our bikes and slunk into his crate and wouldn't come out the rest of the night.
I'm very curious as to what sorts of things Trey will be able to do or would not be able to do. What are his physical limitations? What are things that we need to be more aware of? If Acie were to wrestle with a basset hound, we wouldn't be concerned. Should we be concerned if a three-legged dog were to wrestle with another dog? What if they were playing tug of war? Acie loves being chased by other dogs. Should we be concerned if a dog were to try to chase Trey, that he would not be able to keep up and might fall and injure himself? Acie loves to swim, but should we make sure that Trey doesn't go into the water, even if he wants to because he can't swim very well? Are there only certain certain conditions in which he can swim? Like he can swim in a pond or lake, but shouldn't try to cross a stream without assistance? It's not unusual for us to go on 4 mile hikes up Rattlesnake Ridge.. should we cut it down to 2 miles because Trey will get tired? Nothing on God's green earth would ever stop Acie from herding a sheep, but should we try to stop Trey from doing that because he might get injured? Should we not even put the sheep temptation in front of him to avoid any injury or depression?
We know that disposition cannot be judged generally, but is specific to every dog. What we are really wondering about is physical limitations, if any, that a tripawd generally experiences. What things that a four-legged dog does, that we don't even think about, would a three-legged dog need more assistance with, or might not be a good idea doing at all.
I really appreciate the post and thank you so much for the best wishes.
Jena
We're so happy you're considering adopting Trey. Don't even think twice!
Border collies make amazing comebacks from amputation. Just check out the movie of Pogi in our "Jerry's Friends" video playlist. Forum member quiltymare is her mom and can surely share how fast and far she runs ... they live on a ranch too.
Thanks for joining the discussion!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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