Amy so sorry to hear you had to find this place, but for good advice it is the best place. It sounds like there are a few things in your favor, #1 thankfully you arent here due to cancer in your pooch. #2 beings he is so young transition should be fairly effortless I would think. What kind of dog is he ? and how big will he get? The first couple of weeks you arent going to want him moving around anymore than necessary, he will want to be kept quiet and it is usually recommended that they are kept in a fairly small area. The first couple weeks are the hardest but it gets easier pretty quickly. While wanting to keep him resting and quiet the first couple of weeks , you also dont want to do everything for him. I kept Cooper in an area about 3 x 6 feet and always kept his food and water on the other end so he had to move to get it. And of course they need to move to go outside. Also dont panic if he doesnt go to the bathroom for a few days, if I remember correctly Cooper went 5 days before he pooped. you may want to get some kind of sling or harness to help him move around. As for the incision site of course you will watch for infection, most of us put t-shirts on our dogs early on to help keep dirt out of the wound. Im not going to step too far out on medical advice since I am not a vet, but there are some wonderful members who are vets and hopefully they will see your post and help you off to a good start too. 

Coopsdad

If you get to skip the first couple weeks after the amputation, where protecting the incision is probably the major issue, I'd say traction on smooth floors in the home is potentially the biggest first challenge.  My first tripawd had virtually no problem with traction , even on smooth floors right after the amputation.  My mom had gone out and bought a bunch of rugs for me in anticipation (because we were staying at their house for the recovery).  But some of those rugs got put to good use after all with my second and current tripawd, Gerry, who can slip on smooth floors, when he gets excited to go for a walk or to get his dinner.  Results vary.  So it's probably best to be prepared that slipping can be an issue, but maybe not go all out at covering the floors, for your pocket book's sake, until you know how your pup will do.

As for what your pup will be able to do post-amputation, well, again results vary, but here's what Gerry could do less than a month after his amputation:   http://gerry.tr.....m/2010/01/

There's not much a tripawd can't do.  Keeping them fit and healthy is a must.  Missing a leg is no excuse for being a couch potato.  A friend of mine has a dog who lost a leg due to an infection at around 6 weeks old.  Shes now 8 and has 3 trips to the canine disc world championships under her belt. 

She might be a little more likely to get some curvature of the spine from altering her walk to a tripawd gate, so that's something to keep an eye on.  I also would not let her free run in places where she might get hurt, bolders, logs, fields with lots of holes.  Atleast to me it's just not worth the risk of injuring the remaining leg.

Tripawds can participate in almost any dog sport, but I've found agility to be the safest environment for mine.

Congrats on the new addition to your family.

warming up, stretching…makes perfect sense!!! Why hadnt I thought of that! Thanks so much for that tip!!!

Congrats on the new puppy!!!  Hope all goes well with his surgery today, recovery and the adoption!!!!