Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hi,
My guy Tango is going in for a rear leg amputation next week. I live on the second floor, so lots of steps to be negotiated. Any advice on getting him up and down much appreciated, especially when he first gets home! (He's been hopping around on 3 legs for a while now, so he does have some balancing skills.)
Thanks so much!
Anne
With Abby, I used a towel that I folded and sewed handles onto as a sling to help her up/down stairs for the first little while. Down was hard, because she would really get her momentum going! We'd have to kinda run down them and rest on the landing for a sec. I would hold the sling loosely in case I needed to drop it - sometimes she'd get going too fast for me and I didn't want her to get tangled up and be worse off. Abby was a front leg amp though, so it might be different w/ a back leg. I'm sure others will chime in.
You can also make a sling out of one of those reusable grocery bags - cut the sides out and line it with a towel.
Good luck!
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 Anne,
In general- rear leggers have more problems going up, front leggers have more problems going down. That being said, most tripawds I've met here can do at least some stairs without a problem.
My rear amp pug Maggie could only go up 2 or 3 stairs on her own after she was all healed up. But for her that was more due to her size I think. She was only 12" at the shoulder, so she was trying to jump most of her body height on one leg each time she went up a stair! She would however go down anything- stairs, getting off furniture, etc.
Many people here use the Ruff Wear Web Master Harness, even for rear leggers. That link will take you to several harnesses. Before investing though you might want to wait and see if he needs long term help. The cut open re-usable grocery bag is a great temporary solution.
Tango has an advantage since he has been a virtual tripawd. He has been working on strength and balance. If he has been doing stairs already my guess is that he will be fine as a tripawd. His balance maybe a little off at first with the dead weight gone.
If the stairs are wood or other slippery surface you might think about adding some traction . Actually, traction can be an issue on any floor surface that is slippery. Here are some Traction Ideas. I went with the 'exploded clown' look with the mish-mash of throw rugs around the floors.
Karen and the pugapalooza
Thanks so much, I had heard about the grocery bag idea, but wasn't sure if that was appropriate right away. I like the "exploded clown" idea as well, my floors are wooden and somewhat slippery.
I bet Tango has already got the stairs figured out since he has a bad leg already...and then without the leg, he'll be a champ! But help him at first.
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.
We lived on a second floor walk-up when I had my surgery. There were 18 stairs between my comfy couch and the backyard. It was scary for all of us for a few days, but this is how we did it:
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Bubba is 1 week post-amp on the front leg. We built him a ramp for easy maneuvering outside and he refused to use it and down the steps he went! Stubborn and set in their ways...on 4 legs and on 3!
Bubba is 1 week post-amp on the front leg. We built him a ramp for easy maneuvering outside and he refused to use it and down the steps he went! Stubborn and set in their ways…on 4 legs and on 3!
Welcome Bubba's mom! I don't think one dog here has ever used a ramp! We build them and they won't use them! 
Please consider starting a new topic and tell us all about Bubba! We'd love to hear his story. Darling face!
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.
i built a ramp for gayle to get into the back yard....funny, but the humans in our family still use the ramp, while the current monkeydogs now run around it and gallop through the rose bed.... guess we are more 'trainable'....
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
That video of Jerry is amazing, he just takes the stairs in stride on his way to the OUTSIDE! What a brave guy.
Tango has a stubborn streak just like Bubba, it's not always ideal, but I think it's going to serve us well as we go through this!
Anne
My Rizzo is a rear amp just like Tango will be and we have a second floor to our house where all the bedrooms are. Well you can only guess where she sleeps.....in our bedroom of course! Those first couple of weeks after the amputation I carried her up until the staples were out and she was pretty well healed amputation site-wise. She got up and walked on her three legs right when she woke up from surgery....you will be amazed at how well they adapt.
I followed Rizzo's lead on the stairs. I think she would have attempted the stairs on day one but they are loopy from the pain meds and you don't want them to try that right away.....heck on the pain meds they think they can fly! When I allowed her to start doing the stairs (both up and down) I always stayed below her so if anything went wrong you can stop the tumble. She was very careful and slow at first and now even after 2.5 years is still careful like she needs to think about each step. I still try and stay below her as she uses the steps but she has never fallen. She has stumbled going up as, like Karen said, up is a little harder for a rear amp as they are lifting their whole weight with that one leg.
We will be thinking of you....let us know how everything goes!
All our Best,
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
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