Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Cocoa sat on Friday! Not for long, maybe 20 seconds total, but I thought we were light years away from that. She sat again yesterday, again, not for long but I am so happy to see her trying.
Since Cocoa is a brand new dog to me, figuring out training and tripawding has been a challenge. I must confess it has been a very stressful couple of weeks for me.
Gigi is trained to sit for her treats. I don't want to undo that by having another dog that does not. I'm glad to know it is eomthing we can work on this future.
I want to say again, this is an amazing forum. It has been a tremendous help during "our" learning period.
P.S. I'm going to add some pictures of Gigi to my Cocoa album (linked below).
Susan
Yeah for Cocoa!
Daisy earned her wings on Oct 22, 2011 at 14 years old
She is now the official greeter at the rainbow bridge
Everyone is guaranteed a welcome sniff and Dalmatian smile
When we got Duke, Trouble was about 6 months post amp. We had the opposite situation - he was trained, she knew commands but was the regal queen and chose whether or not it would benefit her to respond at the time.
I always took them out together, and in the evening would run Duke through his commands as we learned what to expect from one another. It didn't take the queen long to realize when I told him to sit and he responded, he got a treat. She watched about twice and the next thing I knew she was right beside him and when I gave the command, she would respond too!
Duke taught her to 'speak'. It was one of the things he knew, and when I practiced with him, Trouble would speak too!.
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.
Keep up the good work, Cocoa! 
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Susan,
It is really important to be sure Cocoa learns basic commands & manners well. Be sure to carefully monitor the lengths of her training sessions. It may not be as easy for he to perform repetitive motions, especially on her back end. We ask a lot of their remaining back leg. She is a young dog and has a lot of years to rely on that leg, be sure to protect it now. You might consider teaching her a stand stay in exchange for whatever resource (treats, door opening, etc) she desires, and reserve the sit for special circumstances( you can use it as a trick) or when she wants to offer that behavior. If you are consistent, Gigi will not generalize & follow Cocoa's lead. She will know that for her, resources come when she sits. You won't undo her training.
As Cocoa gets older, it is less likely for sitting to be comfortable, but if it's what she always did, she will try to continue. If there is one thing I would change in Isabelle's previous training, sitting for everything would be it.
Something else I have found invaluable is a reliable WAIT command. This is completely separate from a STAY. A stay requires some other action, sit, down, stand, first & then maintaining that position. Wait means stop whatever you're doing, immediately. Fortunately, I had taught this long ago. It has been very useful since Isabelle's amputation. If she's excited & wants to fly down thew stairs, or there's an icy spot, etc., I can intervene with just a command. It does not happen overnight, but well worth the effort. It's a nice behavior for a young dog to master anyway.
Everyone is overwhelmed at this point. You've given a dog you didn't even know a new life, not many people would have taken that on. You are doing great. You're very proactive, that will make things so much easier in the future.
Cynthia
We also differentiate WAIT from STAY by only releasing Wyatt from a Stay after returning to him, where a Wait can be released from a distance. Basically, stay means stay until we come get you. Whereas wait means proceed when we say so. Wait comes in most handy when going through doors.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hi Susan,
Sounds like Cocoa is doing great.
I can't really remember a time after her amp that Maggie wouldn't or couldn't sit at least for a bit- but it was always leaning toward her right side- where the remaining real leg was. Eventually she would only sit on her amp side- with her right leg out to the side. But then neither of my pug girls were very good at a straight up sit- they always rocked to one side or the other.
She would often lay on her amp side too-maybe more than her other side- but at least as often.
Karen and the pugapalooza
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