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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Trace, somewhere between 6 months and a year, is a male Border Collie. He seems very well adjusted and happy already in his new home. Previously he was an outdoor only dog and well, we will have none of that here!! 
I do not know the story behind the missing limb. He was on death row at the animal shelter when he was picked up by a local rescue group. I found Trace on Petfinder.com while I was looking for a Border Collie. He has yet to see my vet but hope to get in early next week. The leg has definitely been amputated by a vet and it's his back left. I would love to find out more information on him but no-one seems to know.
The "bad" news is that I have hardwood / tile throughout my house… not one piece of carpet. I guess I wasn't really thinking about that as I gazed into his gorgeous eyes. He came right over to me and sat down on me feet and I was instantly in love. I purchased dog boots online in hopes that will help. I would appreciate any advice.
Oh bummer. Neither of my two tripawds (Yoda past, Gerry present) had problems on smooth surfaces (even from the start). Maybe more practice will do the trick? I mean, gosh, it seems like border collies can fly when there's a frisbee involved! But I know its not an uncommon problem and others here have good suggestions on how to deal with it. I've seen the posts on solutions to dogs slipping about. I just don't remember what they said. Could be that by the time I finish my post, they will have already chimed in ahead of me.
Congrats on the adoption! I officially adopted my boy Gerry today too!! His knee injury couldn't be fixed and I've been fostering him since a few weeks before his amputation in mid-december. I happen to be under my original username for Yoda at the moment, but I am also "GerrysMom." I took on Gerry's vet bills two weeks ago, so I unoffically adopted him then, but I made my donation to the shelter and got the paperwork signed today. So January 16th, it is.
Happy Adoption Day and welcome to Tripawds!
Yoda&Mom united: 9/5/06 …….… Yoda&Leg separated: 6/5/09……… Yoda&Leg reunited: 10/14/09 ……… ……………….………….………….……. Yoda&Mom NEVER separated! …………………….….……....….…… Though Spirit Yoda currently free-lances as a rabbit hunting instructor for tripawds nationwide
Welcome and thanks for joinng the Tripawds community! Carpet runners are definitely a good ide to help trace get around. You might also find some of Jerry's top ten questions and answers helpful.
Also, if you can past the image url for photos like you did, you can easily embed photos in your posts. Looks like you may have uploaded an invalid file format fr your avatar too, only jpg and png files are accepted for avatars.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Me again, heh heh. Forgot to check out the picture the last time. I can certainly see what you mean about those gorgeous eyes ' class='wp-smiley' />
Hang tight. Tips from the others will come.
Ah! Like I said - there's Admin now.
Gerry has been a tripawd since 12/16/2009.
He was a shelter dog with a mysterious past and an irrepairable knee injury.
Videos and pics of Gerry's pawesomeness can be found at: http://gerry.tripawds.com
AWWWWWWWWWW! What a cutie pie!
Bless you, bless you, bless you for rescuing him! I love petfinder.com!
Well you may have to make a trip to Lowe's and pick out some carpeting! (just kidding) I have a lot of tile and I bought matching berber type throw rugs in various sizes. I got them at Walmart. They don't look so bad. I tend to forget they are down and catch myself telling someone new who comes in my house why I have throw rgs in my kitchen.
You may want to just put lotion or something on his pads to keep them from slipping as much. I've never used booties but others here have.
Welcome aboard! Trust me, you'll find this a great place to hang out because we love our poochies!
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.
Oh, I can see why you picked Trace out. He looks wonderful and he looks pretty happy in his new home! (Reminded me of a furry Yoda when I first saw the pic.)
Small carpet runners is what I used, but they were down for 4 months, not 14 years so you might want a more aesthetic solution. But is he slipping in your house. He is young and probably agile, so might not have trouble. Some people have been spraying some non-stick substance on their feet, but I don't know the name of it.
My dogs have never liked wearing booties inside and have acted like they can hardly walk, but they are okay outside when it is -40. But, maybe they get used to wearing them inside. They can also be hard to keep on.
Welcome to tripawds. You are awesome for adopting!!
My pug Maggie is also a left rear amp. I don't have rugs everywhere- but strategically placed so she doesn't have to go to far. She really doesn't have trouble getting up or going straight on non- carpeted areas, but sometimes she slips a little when she tries to change directions, especially when she is going too fast.
Just last fall she started slipping a bit more, and usually it was her back foot going out so she would fall. Two things I have been doing that really seem to help. I keep the fur around her pads and between her toes trimmed short. And I have been using Mushers Secret on her pads to keep them hydrated. Those two things have solved most of her slipping problems.
Good luck with Trace.
Karen and the pug girls
Congratulations on adopting Trace. I can certainly see why he made your heart melt! Emily was a rear leg amputee and did well on tile and wood floors unless she was in a hurry. We have mostly carpet so I don't have any suggestions on that but want to welcome you. My suggestions (as always to new people) are to start a good joint supplement if you have not already done so and to raise his food dish so he doesn't have to lower his head all the way to the floor to eat. It will help with balance.
I will look forward to hearing how he is doing!
Debra & Angel Emily
Debra & Emily, a five year old doberman mix, who was diagnosed with an osteosaecoma. She had a right rear leg amputation on May 19, 2009. On November 10, 2009 she earned her wings and regained her fourth leg.
What a beauty! Thank you for adopting a tripawd, you'll never regret your decision. Keeping the hair trimmed on their feet helps. We started out with the rubber-like shelf liner down the hallways where Trouble needed to get around. The problem with it was the weight. It was too light weight and she kept it scrunched up. We finally opted for carpet runners down the hallways. I also tried the booties, they worked ok for traction , but would slip on her front paw and rubbed a sore. The last thing I needed was a sore on that remaining front foot! Ugh!
Shanna & Spirit Trouble ~ Trouble gained her wings 3/16/2011, a 27 1/2 month cancer survivor, tail wagging. RIP sweetheart, you are my heart and soul. Run free at Rainbow Bridge.
The November Five - Spirits Max, Cherry, Tika, Trouble & Nova. 11/2008 - 3/2013 An era ends as Queen Nova crossed the Bridge.
Welcome, and thank you for saving Trace, he is a mighty handsome boy!
We love Border Collies. My big sister, Penny, is a BC and she will be 11 next month. It's very humbling for my dad, the chauffeur, to know Penny is smarter than he is.
Hall runners are the answer!
Glad you found the website, you'll meet some truly amazing tripawds and their pawrents here.
Shelby, the P.P.
Welcome Trace! You are gorgeous. No wonder you found a good home! I bet he will get the hang of it before long and slipping won't be such an issue. It's all a matter of learning your surroundings...no matter where you are.
Keep us updated and post lots of pix!
Mary and Caira Sue
May 2001-Jan 21, 2010.....I'm a dog and I'm AWESOME!..... Always.
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