Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Before all this cancer business interrupted our life, Max would go to daycare one or two days a week. He LOVED it. He's super social and friendly, so it satisfied his need for interaction with other dogs and wore him out beautifully. Plus, I got a day to get some work done and put my feet up on those days.
At nearly four months post-amp, he is back to being crazy-strong, lightening-fast, and very frisky. He has regained his interest and confidence with other dogs. I think he might enjoy going back to daycare on occasion.
I've asked the oncologist if this will be okay on the metronomic chlorambucil. But I'm actually most concerned about the possibility of injury. He's very rough and tumble and I don't want to hold him back, but we don't have any more legs to spare.
Any thoughts or experiences on this one out there?
Others will chime in who actually have taken their tripawds to daycare and tell you how they handled it.
I would imagine (again, based on zero first hand knowledge), as long as all playtime is observed by humans right there with them, that he should be okay. Also putting him in with dogs who maybe are a little smaller or not quite as "rough and tumble" could be an option. Sounds like Max can take care of himself just fine.
My tripawd Frankie (he adopted me in January!), plays full out like a mad man with my 110 lb. Bull Mastiff. Frankie is 65 lbs Bluetiick Coonhound. They run, tumble, wrestling, jump on each other, really play full out. And yes, I "try" and monitor them, but I'm sure they do all this romping around when they are out in their yard and I'm at work.
Look forard to the input of others who do daycare....
Hugs to sweet Max!!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Hi Susanna!
Miss Jack went to daycare both before and after her amputation. I was nervous sending her back, too, but was surprised to find out that she wasn't the only tripawd there. In fact, she was one of 7 tripawds who regularly visited her daycare. She did great going back and I'm glad I sent her.
She's pretty good at self-regulating, but I asked the staff to keep an eye out to make sure she wasn't too active and putting too much stress on her other legs. You could ask them to encourage him to take breaks or separate him if he's getting too rough and tumble.
I think it's definitely important to keep them social, especially if they are a very social dog. Tanner is an amp from injury but we regularly take him to the dog park where he can be rough and rowdy with his friends. It's usual for us to spend 3 hours there just letting him be his crazy self. He's very active and NEEDS that social time not only physically but mentally. I know we all want to put our babies in a bubble and protect them, but what kind of life is that? Yes, you will be anxious about it and I'm sure you could call and check in as much as you want those first few days but as long as your vet is ok with it then by all means I say let Max have at it.
Mom to Tripawd Angels Jake (2001-2014) and Rosco (2012-2015) and Tripawd Tanner. “Whatever happens tomorrow, we had today; and I'll always remember it”
It depends on the daycare! But most daycares have lots of nap time. They normally don't show all the naps on their webpages, just all the fun. If you follow them on a webcam, you see that the middle of the day is often spent napping. I've used several different places and one was just one big free for all and the dogs decided what they would do with some human imput. Kitty would get tired of the mess (she was 14) and would go bark at a human to put her in a kennel so she could take a nap alone. I have no idea how she knew that this was an option but she trained the humans. When she was ready to come back out, she'd bark some more till they let her out. Sometimes she'd sleep the entire day, sometimes just an hour or two. No other dog ever asked for this but mine. Cookie went to daycare while Nixon was in physical therapy. Cookie and Nixon had side by side kennels so they could smell and hear each other and this made Cookie very happy. That was a very structured day with set play time, rest time, and feeding time.
Talk to your daycare and see what your options are. Maybe just do half a day for the first time back or maybe find a place that is more structured or has smaller number of dogs playing at once. You know Max best.
My new dog, Jasper, is not a tripawd but goes to daycare and there are a couple tripawds there. They romp, play, and look the same as the other dogs. Now I don't know about dogs fighting cancer since my tripawd didn't go to daycare after her amp. But I definitely get the point about wanting to put them in a bubble and keep them safe but at the same time, there is the balance to let them 'be a dog' and 'enjoy their life'. I would check w/your onco and vets! Or perhaps,.... I did this w/Shelby a lot - we just went to pet stores and other places so she could 'be social'. I think it helped her love her life even more!
Alison with Spirit Shelby in her heart (and little Jasper too)
Shelby Lynne; Jack Russell/Shiba Inu mix. Proud member of the April Angels of 2014.
October 15, 2000 to April 8, 2014
Our story: Broke rear leg in June 2013 - non-conclusive results for cancer so leg was plated and pinned. Enlarged spleen in September 2013 and had it removed and was diagnosed with Hemangiosarcoma and started chemotherapy. Became a Tripawd January 8th, 2014 and definitive Hemangiosarcoma diagnosis. Three major surgeries in 7 months and Shelby took them all like a champ only to lose her battle to cancer in her brain. We had 8 amazing extra months together and no regrets. #shelbystrong #loveofmylife
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