Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Hello! My Goldendoodle Trevor (age 3, 74 pounds) is scheduled for a front leg amputation on Feb 14. I've purchased the Ruffwear Flagline harness for when he is healed, and I have a simple padded sling someone gave me for immediate use. But during those first two to three weeks when I take him outside to potty and back in, before he can wear the Ruffwear harness , should I take him out on the leash attached to his collar?
For context, we have a large yard with invisible fencing. I'm sure he won't want to run around at first and while medicated, but he's a high energy dog easily triggered by wildlife in the woods behind us and people or dogs he knows in the street in front of us. I've been living pretty much in the yard with him ever since the bone biopsy on Jan 22 to prevent running and bounding, as his triggers can happen at a moment's notice and his limp right now is only intermittent.
Being outside even in the cold, just to get air, has kept both of us sane, so I'd like to be able to stand in the yard with him now and then as he gets a bit stronger. Should I be purchasing some other type of harness for the early days, or leash / collar ok?
Will I likely be taking him home from the hospital on leash / collar, or just with the sling to help get him in the car?
Do most dogs transition to the Flagline or similar harness around weeks 2/3?
I will add that the harness is so cute - we got the most beautiful color for him - and he's already been trying it out, so it's a motivating thing for me to get him back in the harness and back to some outside time even if it's on a short leash with me!
(It will be an even happier day for me when he can go off leash in our yard again - it's cold here in Massachusetts!!)
Hi Diana! Great question.
Yes, you really want to take him out on leash if he is easily motivated to run when he sees critters. Pain medication probably won't slow him down that much.
We recommend waiting to use the harness on front leg amputees until their sutures our out, just in case the straps bother the area. That's generally around the 10-14 day mark.
If you have to use it, say if you have stairs, or if you have a high clearance vehicle and he needs help getting in, put a t-shirt on underneath the harness to prevent direct contact. Most passenger cars are low enough that a front leg amputee won't have too much need for assistance getting in and out.
SUPER smart of you to test the harness now!
Hello,
I wanted to check in to see how things are going. Our lab/golden had surgery on the 14th as well. We have been using the help em up harness for now (the vet had her in a thunder shirt for the first week and the harness adjusted loose) and plan to transition to the ruffwear harness
once she gets her stitches out.
We are frustrated that it is snowing tonight here, but we are managing. Poor girl really wants to roll in it!
Katie
Thanks for checking in, Katie -- nice to meet a fellow Valentines Day tripawd, and glad to hear you are managing! We also have snow on the ground; Trevor is also a snow-roller but for now is just lying on patches of it when we go out. I'm guessing it makes him feel better, so I've let him do it a little bit.
Interesting your girl was in a thunder shirt. We have one - I've just transitioned from the cone today to an inflatable zen collar and T shirt - but I wondered about a thunder shirt for extra protection; we do own one.
I wish I had gotten something like the help em up harness; I'm just now learning about that and by the time I ordered one, I might no longer need it, not sure. I'm struggling in the yard. I have a short leash on a collar and a sling. He's actually getting around pretty well (as long as he's not on Trazadone) and I could just use the short leash, but he takes frequent breaks, plops into the snow, and seems very resistant to going back inside. The sling was fine for the first two days and getting him in and out of the car when he came out of the hospital, but now I'm not sure it helps at all. He either wants to charge ahead on the short leash - and I realize that may be a gait change thing, the new speed - or he lays down and won't move, very hard to help up with the sling or anything. Very frustrating, as he was very compliant before. Twice today it took me 40 minutes to get him all the way back inside, and once I had to call a neighbor to help me! I hope it is not the new normal and just a phase...
Diana, hang in there, it gets better!
It sounds like he is wanting more freedom than he should be getting, and that's a really good sign that he's feeling good. He may not need the level of help you are trying to provide. I would give him a little bit more freedom, but on a long leash, so he feels free enough to do his business. At this point I would say if you aren't using the Flagline it would be helpful. Put the Thundershirt on underneath and it should be more help to you.
The snow probably feels really good on his incision, that's pretty common. If he wants to lay in it for a little while and isn't getting too crazy, it may help him relax.
Also, yes, front leg amputees move much faster than before. They need to move faster for the momentum to move themselves forward. It's a faster gait for sure, not intentional, but out of necessity.
Hello,
I hope things are getting better each day. Our snow has already melted, to Marion’s disappointment. But we laid a towel out and she sat in the sun a bit. I’m trying to remember to remain patient. She’s doing so well, but this will be a long process. There will be a new normal, but they will also figure out ways to get back close to the old normal.
Wishing you all the best,
Katie
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