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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My beautiful lady has been through so much. Lar par surgery, lymphoma and now a diagnosis of a nerve sheath tumor in her front left leg. Radiation treatment is not an option due to the lack of facilities and, sadly, the cost. The MRI doctor says the only option is amputation. And frankly, I'm terrified. While I can cover my hardwood floors with rubber backed carpet runners, my house is a split level, stairs no matter which door you use. I'm so afraid for my baby. I purchased a Puglife harness which seems to have a sort of handle on the back which I'm hoping will let me help her on the stairs (5 carpet covered steps), but other than that I feel so helpless and afraid for her. I honestly could use any suggestions (and words of wisdom/comfort would be appreciated!) Thank you on mine and Abby's behalf. Oh....she's a chunky monkey pitbull. we're both trying to lose weight, but until that happens (she's about 74# right now) how best can I help her adapt without dissolving into tears every 5 minutes?
Hi Abby's mom, welcome. We are sorry you had to join our club but you are in the best place and we are here to help! First, try not to panic. Many of us have been exactly where you are and understand what you are feeling. It's normal, but the important thing is to remember that Abby needs you to be strong and pawsitive. Animals totally feel our emotions and reflect them right back. If you believe things will be OK she will believe it too! You can do it!
Did you see our Tripawds Start Here page ? That will give you a tour of all of our resources where you can dive in and learn all the different ways you can help Abby be more comfortable in her new 3-legged life. See our Tripawds Start Here series for more help.
About the stairs: if they are carpeted, she should do fine on them. Just make sure that you help her during the first few weeks, don't let her do them alone. The harness you bought is good for walking and can help, but it may not give you the support you need for her. Since she is missing a front leg, it may slip and rotate if she needs lots of help. We recommend the Webmaster harness more than any other for lots of reasons, but mainly because the handle is located further down the back than others. This will give you a better center of gravity when lifting her and helping down the stairs.
It's good that you are aware she needs to lose weight. Don't worry, many Tripawds here started out with extra fluff and over time they were able to drop it thanks to their humans. What has your vet recommended to help her? It's important to work as a team so that you can safely take that weight off her. A lean Tripawd moves around better and feels better, so good for you for getting started! Check out our Tripawds Nutrition blog for lots of diet and weight loss tips.
Whenever you feel like you can't do this, remember, you CAN! Be More Dog and Abby will surprise you in so many ways! You can also call the Tripawds Helpline for live support too OK?
When is surgery day?
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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YOU ARE NOT ALONE!! WE ARE HERE RIGHT BY YOUR SIDE TO HELP YOU NAVIGATE THRU RECOVERY AND ONTO BETTER DAYS AHEAD!!!
Crying every five minutes! That's impressive! Most of is cried non-stop for days with no break inbetween!! See, you're already stronger than many of us here were in the beginning! Jist ve aure snd cry in another room without Abby. Staying upbeat and strong and confident arpund her are really important.
Have you scheduled amputation surgery yet? Is it an OrthopedicSurgeon in a 24/7 staffed clinic?
Take some deep breaths and follow Abby's lead. She's not worried about a thing. And grav lots of chocolate too!
Let us know what questions you jave snd jow we can help support you. We are all cheering for your sweet Abby. We would love seeing pictures. Try this link for adding images .
We are all TEAM ABBY!!
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!
Thank you for your words of comfort. I lied....I pretty much have been on a non-stop crying jag. It just seems so overwhelming for my baby girl after everything else she's been through. Normally, she uses the outside cement stairs to go into the fenced backyard, but last night I decided to just take her out front on the leash to potty. The front steps are inside (no slippery rain or snow) and while not totally carpet covered, they do have the carpet stair treads. She just slipped and slid and almost fell down them whereupon I became a snotty, sniveling wreck. I know she has to have this surgery but it's making me an emotional wreck especially with the not so good prognosis. I did order one of the harnesses you suggested and will return her Puglife harness when it comes. And she's eating a healthy weight dogfood now. Neither one of us are puppies anymore 🙂 and I'm struggling to be strong for her but there are times...... I will post some pics as soon as I can upload them to my domain.
It's OK to cry, that must have been so scary. Glad she's Ok. Usually these things are harder on us than they are on them! I bawled like a baby the first time our Jerry took a stumble. But my husband reminded me it was important to get my act together so Jerry wouldn't absorb my sadness. It was hard to do, but it worked and Jerry stayed confident.
I would say that if possible, take her on the other steps that she is used to, since she won't have to relearn anything right now.
As for the dog food, make sure you're feeding the correct amount based on what your vet recommends. Some senior dog foods can actually make a dog gain weight. Isn't that crazy? Check out:
When Your Tripawd is Overweight, It Changes Everything
Six Really Easy Tripawd Weight Loss Tips
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I switched her over to Authority healthy weight with joint supplements. Since I just started it she's getting a mix of it and her old food right now. I will talk to her vet, but have been feeding her according to a calculator I found online, in fact, I feed her less than they recommend. She gets 3/4 cup with about a 1/4 cup canned mixed in along with her 2 glucosamine chews and a dab of peanut butter with her vitamin in it. In the evening she gets a 3/4 cup of dry. I know I'm responsible for some of the extra fluff as we both love fruit snacks (no grapes but boy does she love apples and peanut butter) and scrambled eggs in the morning 
plus since I have my own back issues (and the constant of loose dogs around here) the daily walks stopped. I have a fenced backyard, but as she's gotten older (no idea how old she really is as she's a rescue....vet thinks 9 to 12 years) zoomies and other backyard antics have stopped.
Sounds like you are on it! Seriously, great job. I would use caution with the peanut butter though. It’s super fattening, something we learned when our Wyatt put on weight because we were using it as a training bribe. Sticking to fruits and veggies sounds like a great plan!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
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