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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Reece really is amazing!! To be doing this well jist four days after surgery is truly remarkavle!!
Great video tripawds not needing that "spare 4th leg" at all!😎
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!
I'm popping in to add a happy note. After careful consideration, we decided to make Reece a foster failure and adopted her today when her staples were removed. I decided that my husband's view that "we're too old" just wasn't accurate. We realized that we just really like a great many things about Reece--her size, coat, ears, her generally biddable nature, but most of all, her positive attitude and fearlessness. She's a good cuddler, too. The fact that she's now a tripawd is just incidental.
That's Reece in the avatar, but I live with Shibas. I'm guessing that explains quite a bit.
Aww, that's great news! Congrats on your new addition. Reece is one lucky pup!
Yay for foster failures! That's wonderful! Congratulations!!
Reece you won the doggy lotto 🙂
Okay, all who didn't think this wouldn't happen, raise their hands.
Okay no hands have been raised!!
CONGRATULATIONS! Meant to be!!!! Cant wait to follow the adventures in her furever home!
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!
Yeah, yeah, rub it in. 
We tried letting her be without a t-shirt yesterday evening and she immediately starting licking at her incision. She still has some scabbing so we put a fresh t-shirt on her as we have to do every day (she's a bit of a pig pen).
When Reece is wearing a t-shirt, she seems to leave her stump alone. So, do we just keep the t-shirt on her until all the scabs are gone? What about licking after that?
That's Reece in the avatar, but I live with Shibas. I'm guessing that explains quite a bit.
I haven't been through this (I adopted my tripawd 2 months post-amp). I would think that Reece is going to be likely to lick as long as the amputation site still feels in any way weird to her. So, even if she's got full skin coverage and all scabs are gone, there may still be internal healing that feels itchy or tight. I would probably keep using the shirts as needed. Try taking them off when you can supervise and see how it goes. If she starts licking, redirect. If she won't leave it alone, shirt goes back on. It will eventually heal fully and become her new normal and she won't have any reason to focus on it.
I would wait until she doesn't show any signs that she wants to bother the area. @mischief's tips are spot on, see how it goes. Most dogs do stop bothering the area after a while. You can ask your vet about some anti-itch spray, or pick up one from a pet supply store as long as the wound area is completely healed and it's really just light scabbing that's present.
Mischief and Jerry, thank you for those replies. Watching her during the brief time we let her have at it, it seems that it's not a surface issue as much as it is internal sensations. I think another part is her investigation of what's there now. What Mischief outlined is what I was thinking. So, round two this evening. I'm glad I bought the 10-pack of t-shirts.
That's Reece in the avatar, but I live with Shibas. I'm guessing that explains quite a bit.
Ahh OK. Well you know her best! So go with your gut feeling and see how it goes, hopefully the sensation will subside soon. I have talked to a lot of human amputees in my writing life, and they report lots of phantom limb sensations as well, not always painful but just like they really feel the limb that isn't there. So that might be what she's feeling too. Keep us posted.
Just popping in with an update on Reece.
Her incision healed without incident and even the hair pattern came out nicely. Our vet assures me that although the shoulder may be dislocated, "since it's not weight bearing, it can float around in there all it wants and not cause her any trouble."
The Beagle went home (happy dance!) at the end of June and she finally got enough rest to complete the deep healing. Reece loves to play tug and we have multiple sessions during the day. When we're doing that, we practice circles, up and down, back and forth, and even do figure-eights. Her balance is incredible. She's had a few face-plants, but in those instances, she was probably going to face-plant even with four legs because some angles just aren't doable and gravity still works. I need to weigh her again, but I can feel ribs (and not see ribs) and she's all muscle, so I think we're good in that department. She's a total chow hound who loves vegetables and fruit, which makes it easy to give her low-calorie treats. Who knew that a piece of green pepper could be so exciting? We take "walks" just so she can be used to her harness and have a slightly wider range of experience.
Other than that, I'm fairly sure we're going everything wrong. Because her balance is so good, we never made rug paths on the hardwood floors. There is a set up steps up the the couch that she jumps over, both up and down. She'll use the bench at the end of the bed to jump up on it, but she'll rarely use it on the way down. Her latest is to decide that it's sometimes too much trouble to go around the couch, so she just goes over. She finds the stairs easier now that she doesn't have to worry about bumping a painful but useless leg.
Reece's main challenges have to do with being an obnoxious teenaged dog. I notice that her toes are already spreading and her remaining front leg is shifting. Her remaining elbow is starting to go at an angle that looks uncomfortable to me, but she she's young and it's a gradual shift, so I think this is probably normal. I have had her on joint supplements since before her amputation.
That's the Reece report. Thank you for letting me share it.
That's Reece in the avatar, but I live with Shibas. I'm guessing that explains quite a bit.
Wow what progress she's made! Both of you really, because it's a team effort. Congratulations on getting into the New Normal, and rockin the 3 legged life! 
I'm so impressed you are doing the exercises with her. Thank you for reminding me about the circles and figure 8s for balance. I was just doing a workout session with Nellie this morning and had her walking backwards. I knew there was at least one more exercise she should be doing! Next time. Dogs are often much more enthusiastic about working out than we are, right?! She's always ready for a session.
Reece is very puppy-like with all that jumping and blowing off the pet steps. As she ages, she will probably start using them more. As for her elbow bowing out, that's going to happen to a front-legger, which will probably get more pronounced over time. There are things you can to do minimize that compensation and future arthritis hot spot. Did I mention rehab therapy to you previously? I know we sound like a broken record about it here, but working with a therapist to learn things that minimize the impact of life on three legs. And Tripawds Foundation can pay for your first visit too, so please take advantage of the program.
If you have more video of her I'd be happy to share it!
I feel you on the adolescent energy! It's a difficult age for ANY dog, but especially a tripawd. All you can do is your best.
Interesting fact on adolescent dogs.... did you know that over 50% of all dogs surrendered by owners to shelters or rescues are between 5 months and 3 years old? I was astounded to learn that, but it makes a ton of sense.
Jerry, I appreciate the reminder about rehab. This summer has been quite a ride between long-term visiting animals, an injury to the visiting cat, my husband's hip replacement and ongoing back issues, and the unexpected loss of one of our Shibas. Reece's amputation was actually one of the smaller things to be dealt with in terms of recovery. While I'd love to get her convinced that it's not a good idea to keep jumping down from high places, the issue right now is to keep her from eating acorns. This is the same dog who poisoned herself chewing on a arborvitae stump, not long after her amputation. Fun times!
Mischief, I did happen to know that just because we've done rescue for years. It's at that stage that people discover dogs take quite a commitment of time, money, training and effort to become good family members. In our group of dog people, the general saying is that most dogs aren't worth diddly until they're at least three years old. Personally, I find it's all worth it for the wonder years between three and eight or nine--and sometimes longer. But right now, we've got two more years to go.
That's Reece in the avatar, but I live with Shibas. I'm guessing that explains quite a bit.
Of course you knew that. Look at me quoting rescue stats to a rescue person!
Loki will have been with me for 2 years on Halloween. I can't believe it's been that long! She's still a trying adolescent but I can also see how she's grown up in a lot of ways. I excited to see where she is in another year...
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