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.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Offline
Hello! Leroy has been doing much better since he has gotten back on the rimadyl and gabapentin. He has a lot more energy and he really enjoys walking again (he actually sprints now) I have to almost jog to keep up with him ha. He recently decided he wanted to jump on the bed. He has discovered he can do this and is doing alright but I am scared he might over exert himself. I looked online at pet stairs but he is 85 pounds and I didn't see any good reviews for stairs that work on dogs that large let alone ones that are missing a front leg. I tried to use the step stool we have but he doesn't get it. I've been helping to lift him up and down when I can but he isn't too fond of it. Any recommendations would be helpful. Also, I got him the ez harness which is decent but I wonder if there is a better harness option? It slides around on him. Also if anyone has any recommendations at all for other things I can do for him to make his life easier or make him stronger please let me know.
With a front legger, most harnesses will slide since there is no leg to anchor it. We used the Ruffwear Webmaster Plus, loved it, but it did slide around to his side bit. I never did find a big enough bed step (although an Amish company I found on Amazon, Pinnacle Woodcroft, said they could make something to order. They make a very high quality smaller step, so might be worth looking into). One member, Milo's family, made their own - there is a thread somewhere with a picture. I ultimately took my bed off the frame - the extra 6 inches seemed to help.
Otis - 106 pound lab/Dane mix, lost his right front leg to osteosarcoma on Febuary 9, 2016. Four rounds of carboplatin completed in April, 2016. Lung mets August 25, 2016. Said goodbye too soon on September 4, 2016. Lost his adopted sister, Tess, suddenly on October 9, 2016. likely due to hemangiosarcoma.
Wherever they are, they are together.
Baby mattresses and plywood cut to size. Stack a baby mattress, then plywood, then another baby mattress, and so on. Matresses are big enough not to slip around, and, eventually, many dogs choose to sleep on those instead of in bed. Also, quality of matress does not matter ( firmness does) so good place to get crib mattresses are Dollar General type stores or Sam's Club, etc. You can use styrofoam or some type of block to fill in the empty areas as you stagger the mattresses.
Cheaper than that is pine straw or straw bales wrapped in non slippery trash bags ( and, because they are so light you can use them to get in and out of cars/SUVs/trucks as well). Some people freak out at having a straw bale inside but if they are wrapped, really, there are no issues. You can add/ super glue non slip rugs, etc. to trash bags.
And, best of all, putting your matress on the floor. That ALWAYS has the dog vote!!!
Isn't it great how front-leg Tripawds sprint like that?! We always say, when that leg goes, get a better pair of running shoes! They need that momentum to stay balanced, so any "heel" commands that a dog may have learned goes out the window.
I'm sorry the Convert harness is slipping around. Have you tried adjusting the front chest strap? As Christine said, with front leggers, there is no "perfect" harness that won't slip even a little, but sometimes with slick-fur dogs they slide a little more. The Webmaster is the least twisty of them all and with the Brush Guard attached it slides even less. We love that one.
Regarding the steps...yes, many do build stairs. And as long as you can train him with lots of treats, he could adapt in time. You're right to be concerned about jumping off the bed though, you want to minimize the forces that get put on that front leg. Here are the Pinnacle Woodcroft steps that Christine mentioned.
I do love the straw bale idea too! My frugal nature is all over that one, it's brilliant!
And the baby mattresses..great idea also. We have an old blog post about that:
The Perfect Bed for Your Tripawd Dog
I can't find that post about the bed stairs, maybe someone knows where it is?
Be sure to check out the Tripawds Gear blog and the Tripawds Amazon blog , we have lots of ideas for Tripawd-proofing your home.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
1 Guest(s)
