Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello,
My ~4 yo, ~70 lb. St. Bernard/Collie mix, Cooper, is 3 months post front leg surgery. His amputation is from trauma that occurred before I adopted him. He is doing well with running and playing and is happy but I am wondering what is normal for a tripawd in terms of length of walks and stamina. Will he ever have normal stamina? He can only walk for a distance of several houses before he is panting heavily and uncomfortable. He loves to play, run, and chase squirrels in short bursts in our large backyard and loves going for walks but he cannot go far at all. He starts out very excited but after a few minutes he is clearly struggling and sits or lies down. I don't force him to continue but I'm wondering if I should be helping him build stamina. He is quite strong, fit, and healthy but gets winded and tires very quickly on walks. Does this sound normal? We walk most every day. Thank you.
Janet
Hello and welcome, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
Congrats on the recent addition to your family!
It usually takes more than three months for a Tripawd to get totally strong and fit, and walks don't build strength. Core strength is important for all pups, and critical for Tripawds. Here is a great new Blog Post on Exercises for Tripawds. Here is an older Blog Post on How to Strengthen a Tripawds Leg Muscles, and there are more great links at the end of that post.
My pug Maggie lost a rear leg to cancer, it took her 6 months to get back to half of the activity level before her surgery. I didn't know anything about rehab or core strength then- I just let her do what she wanted. I now have a young pug mix named Elly who lost her rear leg to a car accident at 7 months old. I adopted her at 10 months old and she was not very strong and had almost no endurance. I started immediately on core strength with her and we work on her strength and balance every day through food puzzles, games, obedience and tricks, and balance exercises. With all those options we can do different things every day!
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
Hi Janet and Cooper, and welcome!
Karen has given you great advice. I agree re the importance of core strength exercises. My girl, Meg and i also do these regularly both to build and maintain strength and stamina and also as an engaging, fun and tiring activity in themselves.
In terms of walk length, my Meg is now just over a year post amp and, in terms of stamina, I suspect as good as she ever will be. We walk nothing like as far as we used to. Though Meg undoubtedly would keep going, and show every sign of enjoying herself, I worry about protecting her joints. We do often walk for about an hour, but a good stretch of this is spent swimming, so it's more like twenty minutes walk, twenty minutes swim, twenty minutes walk. I'm not suggesting this is any sort of ideal. Every dog is different. This works well for us, and in time, as Cooper's stamina builds, and his core strength increases, you will find what works well for Cooper.
One thing I do find helpful is to see a rehab vet. I don't know if this is a possibility? She guided us through the process of building Meg's fitness and strength, and we still see her about once a month just so she can monitor Meg, and sometimes do a bit of acupuncture etc. She is excellent at 'reading' Meg, finding any areas of tension etc., and this helps me judge if her activity level is reasonable and sustainable, or if it is having a deleterious impact.
Just one other thought. What's Cooper's weight like? Meg was always pretty slim and certainly highly active, but as a Tripawd I try and keep her really skinny. Front leg Tripawds carry around 60% of their body weight on that single remaining front leg so basically, (as long as they are healthy, obviously), the less they are carrying the better.
Hope some of that helps, and do please keep us posted. i'll look forward to hearing about Cooper's progress.
Meg, Clare and Elsie Pie xxx
Ruby, Staffy, born June 2022, became a Tripawd, November 2023, adopted January 2024.
Also Angel Tripawd Meg (aka The Megastar), who died in April 2023, aged 14, after seven glorious years on three, and Angel Staffies Elsie Pie and Bille. In the pawprints of giants...
Thank you, both! I intend to take Cooper to a rehab vet for evaluation but thought I would check with folks here while I'm locating one. I am also keeping Cooper slim although it is tempting to spoil him with treats. Our vet says he is the right weight. I've been doing some of the core strengthening exercises in the books as well and also doing massage. He is doing well but it seems like everyone I run into trivializes his challenges and has stories about how they've either had or seen dogs that were as normal as before. That's just not my experience so far and was starting to wonder how Cooper should be doing. I worry about keeping his other front leg healthy as well as his fully functional back leg. He's had an FHO on his left rear leg and it's not super functional. But I'm so grateful that his two good legs are on opposite sides of his body. He mostly runs on two legs. Thank you for the support. Still trying to figure all this out.
Janet
birdygrrl said
Will he ever have normal stamina?
Sure! But it won't happen overnight and you'll need to do more than just walk, run and play...
FYI: Walks do not build strength, only stamina, but without strength building exercises to help compensate for that missing leg, Cooper will only continue to become tired quickly.
HINT: If he sits on a walk, he's gone too far. Cut the walk in half after taking a day off, and start adding distance VERY slowly. More frequent shorter walks are better for Tripawds.
AND: Focus on core conditioning, weight bearing exercises, PROM exercises, and other fun things you can do together to help build strength. Luckily, you're in the right place! Check out this recent Tripawds News blog post for some helpful tips and consider searching the Featured Blogs or downloading the Tripawds e-books for much more...
Try These Simple Starter Exercises for Tripawds
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thanks! I will be more patient. I tend to forget that he is only 3 months out because he is doing so well in all other respects. His remaining legs have bulked up considerably, even his bad back leg. He sits up and balances on his back haunches with hardly any assistance from me and he runs fast and cuts corners like a quarter horse. I'll report back after a rehab evaluation and more time. Thanks again!
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