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!
Hi all,
Gilly is my Australian Shepherd puppy. She just turned one year old in April and she is having her right front leg amputed this morning. She had a detached triceps tendon in that leg from an unknown injury - we got her at seven weeks, and she was never once injured on our watch, so we have no idea what happened. We attempted surgery to reattach the tendon in February, but it didn't take.
Gilly is the sweetest, happiest puppy I've ever met. She is incredibly smart (she can do over 30 tricks) and LOVES people. She's been hopping around on three legs without using her fourth since she was about five or six months old, so I know she'll do great as a true tripawd, but dropping her off at the vet today knowing I'll never see that fourth leg again was still pretty tough.
Any recommendations or suggestions you could offer would be much appreciated. I'm loving reading all of these forum posts to hear about everyone else's experience. The fact that Gilly's young and otherwise healthy seems to be a major headstart, so hopefully this won't be a terribly difficult transition for us.
Thanks all!
-Lisa
welcome lisa and gilly, your future posts won't require moderation. being young is a pluss, and not facing cancer means after the two weeks or so of healing, you will be ready for quite a wonderful life with your little girl. we'd love to see some pictures of gilly!!
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
Hi Lisa,
Gilly will probably be amazing without that leg that she hasn't been using anyway. Young and no cancer, like Charon said, sounds like a long and wonderful tripawd life.
Every dog is different after amputation so let us know how she is doing and I'm sure we can help with your questions you might have.
Good luck and I'm sending good thoughts your way.
Suzie and Rizzo
Jack Russell born in 2001. Mast cell cancer found Dec 2009 and right rear amputation. Five rounds of chemo done before all treatment stopped. Living life to the fullest!! Read my story at http://rizzo.tripawds.com
OMD, she's so cute!
Our Abby was also young, but unfortunately had cancer. Before the cancer slowed her down she was amazing on 3 legs. She would run with us at the beach, and do pretty much all the same things she did before (jumping, playing, digging w/ only one front leg, she would even still "shake a paw"), so you'll probably find Gilly will be the same. Plus she looks nice and light and that is also an advantage. She's going to be speedy. You won't be able to keep up with her once she's fully healed up.
One thing with front leg tripawds is they need to keep their momentum going, so if you usually walk her on a leash, you'll now probably need to trot along on leash. It was harder for me to take Abby on leash walks post-amp. She wanted to go faster than I wanted to go, and then we'd both poop out and she'd need to lay down for a bit. She could only do about a 20 min on-leash walk post-amp (compared to an hour+ before). But luckily we live near a huge off-leash dog park/beach, and there she could easily walk/run for an hour with no problem, because she could go her own pace. So, you might need to alter whatever your walking routine is, but other than that, hopefully she'll be pretty much the same.
It's an awesome thing to be a tripawd pawrent! Once she's through the 10-12 day recovery, she'll begin to amaze you! Welcome to the club,
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!
Hi Lisa and Gilly,
Welcome to Tripawds.
You might want to read through Jerry's Required Reading List, or you could down load the ebook Three Legs and a Spare. Lots of good information there on what to expect with amputation and recovery.
What we see here often is that the young pups recover really fast, and your problem becomes keeping them quiet while the surgery heals. In my case my 7.5 year old pug had to be encouraged to move at all! And since Gilly has been hopping already she has built up some of those tripawd muscles. Sometimes though the first couple of weeks after surgery are full of ups and downs so if that happens don't get discouraged.
With a young pup with a long life ahead of her you will want to be sure to keep her strong and in shape (I bet with aussies that is not a problem!). The Gear Blog has some good Exercise and Rehab ideas.
Some basic ideas are to be sure all slippery floors have rugs on them, and you might think about raising her food and water dish. I think many of us have (or had) the mish mash of assorted rugs on tile and wood floors for our tripawds. Zeus' mom put it best: "it looks like a clown exploded!" Many people find that a harness is a good idea- the Ruff Wear Web Master is popular here. She may not need a harness though-some dogs don't like them or need them. You could cut a reusable shopping bag down the seams to use as a temporary sling (if she even needs that!).
I hope the surgery goes well, let us know how she is doing.
Karen and the pugapalooza
Hi Lisa, Gilly is adorable! I hope that surgery went well, please keep us posted.
You're right, her age and her size is a big plus and she should to just fine on 3 legs. Aussies are hard to stop, so I'm sure her energy will be the biggest issue when you're trying to keep her calm so she can heal up. Tripawds Spokespup Wyatt Ray was 8 months old when he lost his leg, and it's as if he doesn't remember having that 4th one.
My biggest advice right now is, be a strong pack leader. Remember to project pawsitive energy, and know that if you believe she will recuperate and do great on 3 legs, she will believe it too. These CARE videos have great tips for coping with amputation recovery and life on three legs.
We're so glad you found us, and look forward to following along with your Tripawd adventures.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
She is so pretty!!! And she'll even be prettier without the gimpy leg......I promise!
Please let know when you find out how she is doing. Just remember to stay cheery, not teary!
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.
Gilly is gorgeous! I hope everything goes well with the surgery and recovery, you are doing the best thing for her so relax and be assured she will be better off. She may seem sad following the surgery but don't worry, the drugs can do funny things to them and fair enough let them feel a bit sorry for themselves, we would be 20 times worse if we were in their situation. They really do recover really well, my girl who just went through a partial hind leg amputation was able to get up 6 hrs after surgery. But it's best if they mostly rest until stitches out at least, so don't push them too hard, they'll let you know when they are ready to try something.
Best of luck
Amy and Molly
Here's an update - Gilly came through surgery late yesterday afternoon. No complications. The vet said she handled herself like a champ.
She's up and about today and they actually said she got up and started moving around faster than any dog they've seen. She's already started eating so they've switched her to oral meds this morning, which means I can pick her up tonight! This is amazing news, because originally the vet told me they'd have to keep her at least two nights, probably three, and instead they want me to pick her up after only one! 🙂
I'm very excited to see her. I'll post her first Tripawd pictures later tonight or tomorrow!
Thank you all for your advice and support! I've already started reading all of the suggested materials. 🙂
Welcome Gilly! What a cutie pie!
Spirit Samson was Spirit Tripawd Daisys four legged "brother" and ruled as the self proclaimed head of the Monkeybutt Federations East Coast Division. Lady Chunky Monkey stayed from Oct 2011 and left for the bridge in Apr 2012. Miss Perdy is left and has some big pawprints to fill.
Do you have what it takes to be a Monkeybutt? Find out more at the Monkeybutt Federation
This is terrific news indeed!!!! I know you are so excited to have her home!
Now, don't get scared if she crashes a bit in a day or two. Some dogs do really well after surgery and have all that adrenline running thru them and then they konk out a bit. It's normal. If you've ever had a surgery, then you probably remember feeling good and then crashing a bit.
Pictures!!!
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)