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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jerry, THANK YOU so much for the advice!! We're trying to get a balance disc but there's a good chance it won't be available so those tips are great. Especially love the sand one, which we'll definitely do once we resume our weekly beach trips 🙂
No vids available yet but now I'm starting to think that it looks pretty normal to me.
Regarding twitching - when it happens while she's lying down she seems a little unhappy with it. Increasingly now, she is lying on the side where her stump is.
@Lyriclemom - thank you, I wasn't sure. I need to be specific when asking the vets here because otherwise they do the wrong thing/test or just look at you like you're an idiot!
Ah. You could try building the buja board, it's a great tool to have and a fun way to spend time together.
The twitching is pretty normal. As long as she's not crying out or very agitated when it happens, it's probably the exact same thing that happens to a lot of Tripawds. Our own Wyatt Ray is 6 years post-amputation and his stump still twitches occasionally.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Looks like my dobie is not digesting carrots and green beans well, although she seems to be enjoying them. I am giving them to her fresh and cut into small pieces. Perhaps I should cook and then blend them?
Dogs have a harder time digesting raw veggies. Ideally they're used as snacks just to make them feel full (that's awesome she's enjoying them!. But when adding them to meals, yep, grating and cooking them is more digestible.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Dogs (and a lot of humans) don't digest veggies well, since there's so much fiber that just passes through. That's why they're such a good weight loss tool, and why dieters eat lots of salads! Your dobie is probably still getting some good nutrients from them. Unless she's vomiting them up, I wouldn't worry too much, especially since she enjoys them. The undigested fiber fills her up to keep her from overeating and gaining more weight--that's the whole idea behind the veggie-feeding system. As far as raw vs. cooked, I think a lot of dogs (mine included) enjoy crunching the raw veggies between their teeth.
I had a little Yorkie who got tubby, and feeding him green beans and baby carrots (raw, not cooked) as treats helped a lot to keep him happy, yet curbed his appetite for higher caloric food.
((((hugs)))))xxxx from Nancy & Susie
Thank you both - I'm really grateful for the advice. I have started putting the veggies in a food processor and will see how that works out, as apparently cooking will destroy a lot of the nutrients.
Today, someone who has't seen her in a 4-5 days commented that she lost weight, so this is good 🙂
Also, my brother couldn't find an appropriate harness nor a balance disc in South Africa, so will start using cushions and obstacles for core strengthening. Thanks for those tips - this forum is really a life-saver for me, stuck in a place where there are no resources available!!
Oh that's awesome she's looking svelte!
Don't worry about not being able to buy exercise gear, there's so much you can do on your own. I may need to do another blog post about it. Here are some examples:
We taught Wyatt how to balance on a step stool. You can start with a larger one when she's new at it:
We added a challenge with his Paw Pods:
And whenever we can find outdoor obstacles, we work him with them (keep in mind some of this is advanced, start small)
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Problem is that your beautiful Wyatt looks very well behaved 🙂 Our dobie was never trained and this is proving to be a problem now. I was trying to get her to stand on the pillow while feeding her and she wasn't happy. Eventually she stood with one front paw on the pillow and ate. Baby steps.
We also have plenty of those paw pods here (human version), but I have no idea how I'd get her on them - she's so squirmy. She does love playing with them though!
I think the beach sand will be our best bet, as well as low steps in our garden - plenty of them here.
Hahahaha! Wyatt Ray well behaved? Now that is FUNNY!
Baby steps indeed. You will get there, you're both doing great!
Show us a photo of the pods, maybe we can give you some ideas.
Keep in mind that walking in sand is a lot of work, so try to get her into better shape first.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
You could also try frozen green beans (in a package). My dogs always enjoyed crunching on those. My neighbor's dog was putting on some extra pounds, and her vet recommended those.
((((hugs))))xxxx from Nancy & Susie
And Venus isn't even two weeks post-op yet, right? So she's doing great! Her workouts can come later!
I'm so glad she's recovering well!
((((hugs))))xxx from Nancy & Susie
This is what the pods look like: https://stores......ot-fitness (having problems uploading pics from my phone - which is also why I haven't uploaded pics of her yet!)
Before surgery, she had been running on the beach with us, even with the bad leg (managed to tire 2 people out and still had plenty of energy), so maybe it'll be ok even with 3 legs?
@lyricle, I had been giving her frozen green beans (cut from the local market, not packaged) and fresh, refrigerated carrot. Is there a difference?
By the way, Venus got her stitches out today 🙂 Thanks all for the lovely support you've given us!!
It seems the problems never stop though. Last year, she had a benign tumor removed (apparently the mammary gland). However, the vet warned us that more could come. Today I found 3 small bumps in different places on her abdomen 🙁
I wish loving a pet wasn't this hard.
Ah OK, that's cool. Those kinds of pods are an advanced tool, but she can get there with your help. And yes, she can run on the beach once she's ready. We were overjoyed when our Jerry made it back to the beach about 2 months after surgery, it was such a great day. One day at a time and you'll get there!
And YAY for getting stitches out!
see, you've already made it over the first hurdle!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
The green beans you get from the local market sound even better than the frozen packaged kind! I think Venus is getting lots of good nutrients, even though she's not digesting the fibrous part.
And YAY for getting the stitches out!!!!! That's HUGE. Many dogs (mine included) seem to feel so much better once those stitches are out and they're off the pain meds.
I don't think Venus will have any trouble running on the beach as a tripawd! She will probably still be leading her pack, and you'll be hard-pressed to keep up with her!
I'm sorry you're finding more lumps. Hopefully, they will stay small and you won't have to worry too much about them. You might want to point them out to the vet at your next visit, just to ease your mind.
Loving a dog does have some painful moments, that's for sure, but so does loving anyone--your kid, your friends, etc. And the rewards of a loving a dog are so fabulous!
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