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.
Join The Tripawds Community
Learn how to help three legged dogs and cats in the forums below. Browse and search as a guest or register for free and get full member benefits:
Instant post approval.
Private messages to members.
Subscribe to favorite topics.
Live Chat and much more!
Register
Log In
Members
Add Topic
Meet our new addition Trinity we rescued her from a Vet that seized her from a horrible place. This man brought her in with her left leg mangled, meaning many broken bones and her skin ripped all the way down to her paw. The man that brought her in only wanted them to pull the skin up and staple it back up. Of course the vet had other plans. As the 5 week old puppy sat in pain because the guy didnt want to pay for pain meds the vet called the police and gave the poor pup some pain meds. They made the man sign over rights of the pup and the vet ( which was in her 1st year of med training) wanted to help her. So her boss told her look your first surgery. They took her leg and she started to feel better.
That is were i saw her the vet had been bringing her home at night and i saw her walking the pup, which i thought was a white bunny.lol As soon as i saw her i knew i wanted to take her home. The vet warned me about all her problems... and yes i mean all... you would of thought the whole getting your leg taken at 5 weeks old would of been enough... NO... she had many other problem. She had garideria (and i dont know how to spell it), also cockcideia, it seemed to be another infection or bacteria after another... and know she is 6 months old and still has some of the same problem but she is a very happy pup... she loves playing our main problem is she is always hurting her only front leg... and ideas... she loves the water and going to the river, although she gets very tired very quick,,,,
I am looking for any ideas on leashes or training... she is very smart but i cannot seem to teach her anything but sit... I taught my saint bernard very easily but it seems she needs to learn it in a different manner... if you have any knowledge that would help me please.....
And thank you for reading my story
Offline
Welcome, your future forum posts will not require moderation.
Swimming is great low impact exercise for Tripawds. Consider getting a Float Coat to help Trinity swim longer without tiring so quickly. She looks like a Husky, so she needs to run but you should also focus on core strengthening work before developing her stamina.
Is she missing a front or rear? It is much easier for all Tripawds to hop along at a quick pace than to walk slowly, so invest in some running shoes rather than time trying to make her slow down. And more frequent, shorter walks are much better. Check out our Cal Animal Rehab videos for more advice about exercise for three legged dogs.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi and welcome to you and Trinity. She's a beauty!
We had a young pup w/ a front leg amp (although due to cancer, so we also had a whole host of other things to deal with...). As Jerry said, front leg amps hop along at a pretty good speed, as I'm sure you've seen. With Abby she could easily go for an hour off leash at a local beach/dog park. But in our neighborhood, on leash, she could only go for 20 min and she'd always need to lay down and rest for a bit. It was amazing how much better she did when she could go her own pace - she'd run ahead and then wait for me to catch up.
As for training, I'm not a very good dog trainer (our tripawd was spoiled rotten and never did learn to stop jumping up on people!) so I'll leave training suggestions to others. 🙂
We'll look forward to hearing more about Trinity's tripawd adventures!
Jackie, Angel Abby's mom
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
welcome!! how wonderful of you to adopt this pup - trinity is just beautiful. have you read a bood called "the other end of the leash" by patricia mcconnell??? i found it to be very helpful when i was trying to understand how to communicate better with our newest pup, mel. it's in paperback, and not too expensive - here's the amazon link. even in kindle if you have a reader...
The Other End of the Leash: Why We Do What We Do Around Dogs
often teaching commands 'off leash' is a good way to start, but every dog is different. tripawds have such a unique 'hop', it's hard to use traditional leashes for walking. a flexi-leash has been recommended by many folks.
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
Oh, one other thing I would mention... with Abby we used an "Easy Walker" harness for walking. It helps with the pulling, and also won't put strain on the dog's neck (it goes around the dogs shoulders. It still fit her fine, even with her leg missing).
You might want to check one of those out.
Jackie
Abby: Aug 1, 2009 – Jan 10, 2012. Our beautiful rescue pup lived LARGE with osteosarcoma for 15 months – half her way-too-short life. I think our "halflistic" approach (mixing traditional meds + supplements) helped her thrive. (PM me for details. I'm happy to help.) She had lung mets for over a year. They took her from us in the end, but they cannot take her spirit! She will live forever in our hearts. She loved the beach and giving kisses and going to In-N-Out for a Flying Dutchman. Tripawds blog, and a more detailed blog here. Please also check out my novel, What the Dog Ate. Now also in paperback! Purchase it at Amazon via Tripawds and help support Tripawds!
Welcome Trinity and family!
Bless you for givng the "bunny" a furever home! I applaud the vet too!
Hmmmm. 6 months! All puppies are so difficult! I wouldn't fret! You may want to start drinking though!
Do you have a Petsmart that offers puppy classes? We found them super beneficial....you know....until we would get home and he did what he felt like which was tearing up toys.
Our puppy was about 8 months when he went but 6 months is a good time. Now at a little over 3 years old, our munchkin can do a trick on a dime! (and he can spin on a dime too! ) Sometimes the smart ones are the most difficult! He wouldn't do a trick for us for no amount of treats...but now...Well, he actually jumps through hoops (literally - he's four legged).
Yes, you have to expect tripawds to have much less endurance. Plus, puppies in general have less endurance. I had a tripawd for 12 years and when she was a puppy she'd tire more. At about 1 year+, I could tell she had more endurance. Flexi leash worked for us but she was less than 40lbs. I'd let her do her own thing. I didn't want to train her on how to properly walk on a leash since it was difficult enough. Comet wasn't a long walker but she had a lot of energy at home and was a grand ball player! She could even lay down and roll over as a tripawd!
I hope that helps! Good wishes coming your way!
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.
1 Guest(s)
