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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I have a 85lb Malamute/Husky that has a left rear amputation. September will be 4 years. His right leg is very weak do to the work out it's been through and he is 14 years old. Ruffwear Webmaster doesn't support his rear. Help um Up doesn't fit well with one rear leg.
Hello and welcome, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.
It is tough to find a harness that supports the rear end when there is only one back leg. You might check out the Doubleback Harness- a member came up with a simple modification that keeps it on rear amp dogs.
What is your pups name? Why the amputation? Does he need help all the time or sometimes?
I had a quad pug who had issues with her back end and I used the GingerLead with some success. It supported her rear just fine, but isn't the type of thing you can leave on all the time.
You can also look at the harnesses that Handicap Pets carry.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Tri-pug Maggie survived a 4.5 year mast cell cancer battle only to be lost to oral melanoma.
1999 to 2010
krun15 said
Hello and welcome, your future posts will not have to wait for approval.It is tough to find a harness that supports the rear end when there is only one back leg. You might check out the Doubleback Harness- a member came up with a simple modification that keeps it on rear amp dogs.
What is your pups name? Why the amputation? Does he need help all the time or sometimes?
I had a quad pug who had issues with her back end and I used the GingerLead with some success. It supported her rear just fine, but isn't the type of thing you can leave on all the time.
You can also look at the harnesses that Handicap Pets carry.
Karen and the Spirit Pug Girls
Josiah04, I did see the modification Karen is talking about in the link to the Doubleback Harness. Does your dog have any stump left of the amputated leg? I wonder if the same modification could be made to your existing Help em Up harness? Not sure what that one looks like.
Lisa, Minneapolis
On October 27, 2016, nearly 6 months after amputation, and 18 months since his cancer likely started, we lost Pofi to a recurrence of Soft Tissue Sarcoma in his spine quite suddenly. His canine sister also succumbed to cancer on March 1, 2019 - we lavished her with our love in the interim, but life was never quite the same without her only real canine friend. Cliff kitty had to leave us, too, suddenly, in August 2019. Lucia kitty grieved all these losses, but helped us welcome two new Lurchers into our home and our lives, Shae and Barley.
Help Em Up now has a modification for rear amputees:
We have come out with the anti-rotation strap that is custom to attach to the harness to help hold it on tripods. Our harness has straps that adjust around a dogs front and back limbs, and if a dog is missing a front or rear leg, this will help hold the harness in place. Please visit our online store for more information
misskittymom said
Help Em Up now has a modification for rear amputees:
Thanks for sharing. Too bad their website doesn't have a photo of this strap being used. If someone here tries it we would like to know how it works for your pup.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I know, how stupid to post a video with a 4 legged stuffed dog! A friend has offered to loan us one, will probably order the strap and will report back.
She loved it for her 4 legged dog who is now gone. So it appears quality issues are a thing of the past.
We have had the best luck with the sling that just wraps around Izzi's waist. She is a hind leg amputee and doesn't have much of a stump so I haven't been able to work with anything else. She can walk a much longer distance with the sling on and can even run a little so it's a must-have for walks. It's also very helpful for going up steps and prevents her from slipping on slick floors such as at the vet or PetSmart etc. It has straps long enough that I can comfortably hold it and walk along beside her but it does wear my arm out after a while because she's almost 70 lbs and I'm not much bigger than she is lol.
Also - I forgot to add, it's helpful to use a leash that wraps around your waist and attaches to their collar. That way I have my hands free to hold the sling while still keeping her safely leashed. It's similar to this: Tuff Mutt Hands-Free Bungee Leash
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