Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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My mother's dog Stella recently had her back left leg amputated although this being probably 3 months ago she still has yet to walk up stairs correctly or even want to move from her dog bed. She even still seems to try and scratch with the missing limb. Is there any way to show her that her leg is gone. She no longer goes upstairs very often, she lags behind walking, she is not enthusiastic about going for walks at all and doesn't even jump in or out of the car anymore she kind of just waits for us to help her. Can anyone suggest what we should do about helping her and showing her that she no longer has this leg.
Hi April! I'm in the Tripawds Chat room right now if you'd like to talk.
Tell us more about Stella so we can better assist you. Why did she lose her leg? What kind of breed is she? How old/young? And what's her weight like?
Have you spoken with your vet about this? Does she exhibit any signs of being painful when you pet her?
At first glance it doesn't seem like a matter of her not realizing her leg is gone, but it does sound like she is in some kind of pain, likely from not being strong enough to do the things she needs to do. I'm not a vet, so take that for what it's worth. But we often see dogs who aren't in the greatest shape, lose a leg and then take a while to regain strength after it's gone, mostly because they aren't getting the right kinds of activity to help them get there.
If you can tell us more, we can steer you to a place where you can have a conversation with your vet about the situation.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Stella and her humans!
The only other observation to add to Jerry's insight and questions would be about the stairs. Rear leggers have a harder rime going UP stairs, and front legggers generally have a harder time going DOWN stairs. Many dogs need help with a harrness when dealie with stairs.
Same goes for jumping" I to cars/trucks. Actually Stella is smart not to be doi g that without assistance.
What was her ecocery like the first two to four weeks? Did she take it easy...slow and essy? No running, jumping, etc? How far are her walks now before she tires? Eating, drinking, okay?
Is it possible she has tweaked her back, her shoukder, some oother muscle? if you massage up and down her spine her neck and shoulder areas does she show any tension?
If you have hardwood floors, does she have non slip scatter rugs for traction ?
Okay, didn't .ean to bombard you with ore wuestio s! We DO look forward to hearing from you though!
Sending best wishes to Stella and yiur Mom!
Hugs
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle and Frankie 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!
Hello and welcome.
We do need some more info about Stella- but I can share some experiences with my two rear amp Tripawds.
My first was a pug named Maggie who lost a rear leg to mast cell cancer. She was small and was never able to do more than 4 or 5 stairs after her surgery. It also took 6 months for her to work up to about half the activity level she was at pre-surgery. I didn't know then how important it was to work on core strength for Tripawds and I more or less left her to her own pace. She did do the 'air scratch' for several months after her amp, but stopped doing it at some point. Maggie was quite stubborn and didn't do well with changes to her routine, she really took her time to get used to her new normal. She didn't play with me for about 6 weeks after her amp.
My current Tripawd is a little pug mix who was hit by a car at 7 months old and lost a rear leg as a result. I adopted Elly when she was 10 months old and about 2.5 months post op. Elly flies up and down the stairs, she is smaller than Maggie was but maybe since she is younger and more motivated she manages the stairs just fine (Maggie was 7.5 years old at the time of her surgery). Elly is now more than 2 years post amp and she still does the 'air scratch'. She forms a crescent shape with her body and the muscles on her hip move. It doesn't cause her any pain- maybe some frustration that she can't satisfy her itch! She will come to me and put her chin in my hand and I do my best to satisfy her 
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
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