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.
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I've owned a Tripawd for about 4 months now and she is the sweetest dog. She was just diagnosed with a partial cruciate tear in her left rear leg. She had her right front leg amputated when she was a puppy as a result of being hit by a car. She's 3 1/2 years old and does fine on 3 legs, but now I'm worried that this is going to have an effect on her being able to run around and play as she loves to do. We've been restricting her activity hoping that this will heal. I was wondering if this is this common in Tripawds and if there is anything I can do to help prevent it. Has anyone else had this problem?
Hi there! thanks for joining us. We're sorry about your pup. What kind of dog is she?
If it's a partial tear, it can be healed. I had one myself and after some acupuncture and TLC I was all better. Although I was a lot older too, so I'm sure you'll have your challenges trying to keep that little puppy confined! Make sure you have lots of busy toys to occupy her time.
Is it common? I would say no more than in other dogs. But, there are lots of things you can do to prevent it.
Check out these videos about rehab and conditionig from CARE that talks about caring for a Tripawd and not overdoing physical activity. While they can do just about anything a quadpawd can do, being extra vigilant about their activity will go a long way in preventing injury.
Our Tripawds YouTube Channel hast two new videos by CARE that we haven't posted about here yet.
Stay tuned because we have more coming up. Some suggestions we are aware of to prevent injuries like this are:
- Keep the dog's weight down. Tripawds need to be thinner than most dogs. Extra weight makes it extra hard to get around.
- Jumping in or out of cars, off of furniture, etc. is asking for trouble, even for four legged dogs
- Avoid prolonged explosive activity (i.e., weekend warrior hour long play dates at the dog park).
- Strengthen, strengthen and strengthen. Doing exercises to strenghten a dog's core muscles will go a long way to help them avoid stress on their leg joints. Remember that walking is not strengthening.
Check out our Fitness Page for more tips.
Tell us more about your pup, we hope she feels better soon.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
We almost bought a A-trac rear leg brace for out rear amp as a prevenative for his leg. We decided without his hip and such a small nub not to purchase it. It has been used to repair tears and I was told it was 90% effective.It has also been used on tripawd dogs. I would consult with your vet but there is a demo tape on the site showing how it works.I got to discuss the brace with it's creator. If we did have a tear instead of just needing it as a prevenative I would definately get it. You can research it at woundwear.com since it may be a good option for you. They are custom made so they are kinda spendy but not as much as a surgery! Just an idea to throw out there!
Best wishes for your pup!
Welcome to tripawds and bless you for rescuing!
My Comet had both tear within 1 year and half of each other when she was 6. But she couldn't walk and had to have TPLO on both.
Always make sure that your dog's muscles are warmed up before playing, exercising. etc. just like humans do. That will help prevent a tear in the future. (I learned that only after having both go out!)
But I will tell you that I always felt more secure after she had her TPLO surgeries because a) there were no more to tear! b) the knees were stable with the metal.
Good luck!
Comet - 1999 to 2011
She departed us unexpectedly January 23, 2011 at the age of 12 1/2.
She was born with a deformed front leg and a tripawd all of her life.
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