Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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Yesterday was our one month ampuversary! So happy we've made it this far. I have a question though- With eva playing with the puppy all the time and honestly even sometimes just by herself, she can get way too excited and run a little too fast. I try to slow her down but obviously it can take me a second to get to her. Sometimes she'll slip and fall. Even sometimes it's just because the other animals are underneath her feet but she seems to stumble often. How do you deal with those nerves everytime???? I feel like i'm having a heart attack everytime i think she's stumbling.
First of all, HAPPY ONE MONTH AMPUVERSARY EVA!!
I wish I had an answet to those "heart attack moments" our tripawds give us.
Here are two examples of how front leg tripawd Frankie likes to scare me!
Snow board jumping: http://youtu.be.....26sQ2C78Rg
Don't try this at home..: http://youtu.be.....CafQDLb-0s
I nave tried to nail up some higher rails. I'm not a handyman type person at all! Frankie just jumps higher and still tries to take shortcuts off the ramp.
All we can do is try and keep them safe, yet let them play full out and enjoy life! Not an easy task!
Hugs to all!
Sally and Alumni Happy Hannah and Merry Myrtle too!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
Yea! Oh gosh! I get so nervous ALLL the time! So it's common, obviously, to have slips and falls?! I feel like she's gonna break a leg or something and I just get terrified!
I know it's tough...I struggle sometimes with not worrying over our new pup Lucian (quadpaw) because of what we went through with our boy Leland. My husband is always telling me "you can't wrap Lucian up in a bubble. You have to let him be a pup." Whether they have 3 or 4 legs they're going to have stumbles and falls. You just have to do the best you can to avert the "major" mishaps.
Plus Eva is still fairly new as a Tripawd...Happy 1 month Ampuversary by the way. She get her balance and all figured out.
You both are doing Great!!
Sahana and her Angel Leland and Lucian too
November 17, 2009 - June 30, 2014
May you finally be healthy and running free at the Rainbow Bridge. Until we meet again my sweet boy!
Thank you guys so much! Before we brought home the quadpaw puppy, Eva never ever slipped and / or fell. But now that we have this puppy, they get tangled and slip together and she falls like a bunch and it always makes my heart stop. She's never cried out, and she gets right back up to play. It just scares the heck out of me and I LOVE the reassurance I get here!!!!!!
We used to call Jerry "Mister Stumbles" when he would do a face plant. It made me cry at first, but then I finally realized it hurt me more than him, he didn't care. As long as he was being safe, that's all that mattered. To help me stay calm I would repeat this mantra "Let him be a dog...let him be a dog...."
There's a fine line between protecting our pets from injury and harm, to constricting them so much their quality of life is lessened because we're not letting them do the things they love most. Watch Eva, make her take breaks, and know that even when she falls, she is getting a ton of joy from this little puppy, that alone will really give her such an awesome quality of life that will keep her spirits high and her health strong.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
jerry said
We used to call Jerry "Mister Stumbles" when he would do a face plant. It made me cry at first, but then I finally realized it hurt me more than him, he didn't care. As long as he was being safe, that's all that mattered. To help me stay calm I would repeat this mantra "Let him be a dog...let him be a dog...."There's a fine line between protecting our pets from injury and harm, to constricting them so much their quality of life is lessened because we're not letting them do the things they love most. Watch Eva, make her take breaks, and know that even when she falls, she is getting a ton of joy from this little puppy, that alone will really give her such an awesome quality of life that will keep her spirits high and her health strong.
This helps a lot. The first time she fell, we both cried. She barely slipped, three days after surgery or so, and she wouldn't stand back up and she cried and cried in my arms for about 2 minutes before she crawled into bed and looked at me like I betrayed her for letting her slip. That was before our tripawd convert came in lol. Now we don't have so many mishaps like that, but when all three legs go out from under her and she smacks the floor because of the puppy, I can't help but to have my heart stop! I'm trying to let her do her own thing lately, I think you're really right about the fine line thing. Eva's always been SO hyper and happy and to completely restrict her from hyperactivity wouldn't be any better than her having the cancer and being sick as she was before. Honestly I'm thrilled that she has so much energy all over again, I'm just a paranoid mama haha.
Welcome to the Paranoid Mama Club!!!
Kathi and the Turbotail April Angel and the Labradork
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
Ain't that tha dang truth! I'm so paranoid about my two quadpaws, especially Meesha. She ain't got a brain cell in her head, but she's Purdy!
She keeps running into the trees in the yard when playing. I had the vet check her eyes and he said she was in perfect health.
Harmony became a Tripawd on 10/21/14 (MCT). She left us way too soon on 11/1/14.
"We miss you so much; our love, our heart, our Harmony."
- Pam, Ron and Melody, Meesha, Doublestuff and Mariah Carey
Sorry Meesha...just had to laugh at you running into trees and your mamma getting your eyesight checked! Trees just shouldn't show up inyour path without announcing their presence!! Toooo funny!
Happy Hannah had a glorious additional bonus time of over one yr & two months after amp for osteo! She made me laugh everyday! Joined April's Angels after send off meal of steak, ice cream, M&Ms & deer poop!
glad to hear other ones are anxious over that too. My girl is Front leg amputation with a hind leg TPLO 4yrs ago.. So I get supper nervous, mostly on hard floors. In the grass i let her romp, but I just cant handle the thought of slipping and breaking that knee or tearing that other one. .
I love winter because the falls are softer.. via if we have lots of snow.. but ice and slickness gets me just as nervous as hard slippery floors.. Oh well...Its a balance. everyone thinks im crazy...
Steph & Neka
Angel Neka
7/4/2003-4/5/2016
2.5yr 3x cancer warrior survivor
We don't!
Kathi and the Turbotail April Angel...and the Labradork
Murphy is a five year old Lab/Chessie cross. He was hit by a car on 10/29/12 and became a Tripawd on 11/24/12. On 2/5/13, he had a total hip replacement on his remaining back leg. He has absolutely no idea that he has only three legs!
UPDATE: Murphy lived his life to the fullest, right up until an aggressive bone lesion took him across the Rainbow Bridge on April 9, 2015 and he gained his membership in the April Angels. Run free, my love. You deserve it!
neka03 said
glad to hear other ones are anxious over that too. My girl is Front leg amputation with a hind leg TPLO 4yrs ago.. So I get supper nervous, mostly on hard floors. In the grass i let her romp, but I just cant handle the thought of slipping and breaking that knee or tearing that other one. .I love winter because the falls are softer.. via if we have lots of snow.. but ice and slickness gets me just as nervous as hard slippery floors.. Oh well...Its a balance. everyone thinks im crazy...
Steph & Neka
Eva has her rear right leg amputated, but prior to amputation we thought she was having problems in her knees and when we x-rayed them, the right CCL was pretty fine but the left showed some damage.... of course, the remaining leg. So I get that for sure. I would be way more nervous if Eva was a front leg amp though because the thought of her hitting her little face would make my heart stop.
We haven't made it to winter yet, as this is our first full finished month of three legged life, but I'm hoping I feel better with some good lake effect snow on the ground lol.
harmony said
Ain't that tha dang truth! I'm so paranoid about my two quadpaws, especially Meesha. She ain't got a brain cell in her head, but she's Purdy!She keeps running into the trees in the yard when playing. I had the vet check her eyes and he said she was in perfect health.
Hahahhaha! Oh no! My dad thinks our quadpaw is deaf but our quadpaw just doesn't listen to my dad because my dad hasn't spent any time with him. So I left them alone for a few hours and now my dad is positive Bowie is deaf.... but he'll come to me calling him from the other side of the house lol.
As for our tripawd, she's always been this insane burst of wild baby energy and even at three with an Osteosarcoma, she has not slowed down the slightest. So it's pins and needles all the time!
Well, now Meesha has started something new. She has started to wag her tail so hard that she hits things with a force that causes her tail to bleed.
So, you can imagine what my bathroom looked like yesterday morning with the hub-a-dub and myself trying to grab a tail that had already slung enough blood to resemble a huge murder scene on the walls, floor, cabinets and my white skirt.
Holy shifting sands . . . what next????
Harmony became a Tripawd on 10/21/14 (MCT). She left us way too soon on 11/1/14.
"We miss you so much; our love, our heart, our Harmony."
- Pam, Ron and Melody, Meesha, Doublestuff and Mariah Carey
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