Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi--thanks for all your encouragement about Rocky! A few better days but we are having a terrible time getting him in & out of car(like for vet appointment). I was thinking about getting a ramp but wondered about experience of others-he is 92 lbs and front right leg amputee. Also-have looked at big dog strollers so we can take him on walks-is there any place to look for used strollers/
Thanks!
Definitely Craig's list for strollers. You can also try garage sales and kid's consignment sales. For the ramp, here's an easy and inexpensive idea-- get a prefab shelf from you local Home Depot, then cover it with the grippy shelf liner; secure the shelf liner on the precut shelf with duct tape on the underside. We did this and it worked like a charm and lasted forever.
Scout: January 31, 2002 to November 7, 2011
Scout's diagnosis was "poorly differentiated sarcoma"; amputation 1/11/2011. Scout enjoyed 9 fantastic years on 4 legs and 9 glorious months on 3 legs. If love alone could have saved you…
oh- let me clarify on the stroller– look for one of those strollers that doubles as a bike cart– they are roomy, fully enclosed and can hold 90 lbs. I think it's sold as a bike cart (pull behind adult bike) but you can also push it like a stroller. And hey, you pup may want to take up cycling!
Scout: January 31, 2002 to November 7, 2011
Scout's diagnosis was "poorly differentiated sarcoma"; amputation 1/11/2011. Scout enjoyed 9 fantastic years on 4 legs and 9 glorious months on 3 legs. If love alone could have saved you…
we purchased a ramp, to help get in and out of our ford escape. gayle would have none of it... probably because she was a front amp, and the hop left her in mid air, on an incline...too scary. i just got good at picking her up and putting her in (use your knees)..but she was a little bit lighter at around 70# at the most. we never went the cart route, as the sofa and dog bed always called a bit louder to us...
charon & spirit gayle
Life is good, so very, very good!!! Gayle enjoyed each and every moment of each and every wonderful day (naps included). She left this world December 12, 2011 – off on a new adventure.
Love Never Ends
We've been using a ramp to get in and out of the car since before her amputation so she's fine with it. However, the ramp is a bit steep given the height of our car so it is much harder for her to use now. As a result, I need to help her with the harness (thanks again OKScout!). We also recently bought another ramp for her to go from our house to the backyard (there's 3 steps there) and I discovered that not all ramps are made equal! This new ramp is very narrow, which makes it hard because she will fall if she hops even a little bit to the side. It also has sand paper as the covering and I can't imagine that feels good on her paws.
This looks like the ramp that we have that I really like:
This one has edges on the side and it's a bit wider so it makes it harder for her to fall off. It's also carpeted and I think she appreciates that. Finally, I find that the telescoping ramps, compared to the folding ramps, are easier to take out and put back into the car.
Also, search craigslist for ramps. I bought both of mine off craigslist for WAY cheaper than the original price.
Consider posting in the Angel Exchange Forum if you can't find what you need in the posts below. And please remember to search the Tripawds Affiliate Partners whenever shopping online to help support this community.
Strollers Help Dogs Large and Small Get Out
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
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As for a ramp being hard because Rocky is a rock amp, you could try to teach him to back down the ramp instead of going forward down it so he has more stability. Good luck!
We bought a telescoping ramp for our large moose, Tosca, because she was having trouble jumping into the back of our Expedition. We tried to get her to use it right out of the box, but she would have none of it. We finally laid it on the ground and had her step on and off of it, giving lots of praise and treats. Then put it on a slight incline and repeated the process, then a little higher. Now she uses it, no problem. As an interesting side-note, Rio (rear amp and all) did use it right out of the box… If there were cookies involved, she would do just about anything asked of her.
We also went the stroller route for Rio. I initially shopped Craig's list and some local second hand stores, looking for one of the bike carts for kids. Unfortunately, since we are fairly rural and stuff like that doesn't come up very often, the few I did find would have required a lot of modification to be usable for a dog (vs. human). They had small seats and such in them… We ended up going with a Doggy Ride stroller (which can be modified for bike use). It was a little spendy, but well worth having my exercise buddy back! My only complaint about it is that it doesn't have a hand brake. We live in a pretty hilly area, and going down a steep hill with a heavy pup-on-wheels with no brakes can be a little scary… Going back up those same hills, whew, let me tell you — you definitely get a work out!!!
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~ ~ Rio ~ ~ |
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