Ah, I'm so sorry to hear it. Our dog Loa is an 11-year old yellow lab who was diagnosed 2.5 months ago--she had her right front amputation two months ago.

We have a nine-year-old daughter, so quite a bit older than your three-year-old, but we tried to be very straightforward about it. We emphasized that while you can't control what happens to you (or to your dog!), what matters is how you handle it. We explained that Loa had cancer, that we would need to amputate so she wouldn't be in constant pain, that after a couple of weeks she should be back to close to her normal self (she was!) and we told our daughter that we could expect anywhere from a couple of months to a few years with Loa. In retrospect, I sort of wish I hadn't told our daughter about the four-month average life expectancy, because I think she's a little anxious about it--she watches Loa like a hawk (so do I).

We did show our daughter photos and videos of three-legged dogs so she'd know what to expect.

I can tell you that amputation was the right way to go for us. No more pain, she's mobile and playful and happy. Loves her walks and visits to the dog park. Our daughter loves to explain why Loa has only three legs to people who ask about it. The first couple of weeks are rough, and we're back on Gabapentin for some nerve-related (I think) pain. But Loa's doing super well. I wish you and Tucker and your family the very best! This site and the helpful folks on it have been invaluable during the journey. They truly understand!

Take good care and give Tucker a hug from Loa and her pack!

So sorry about the cancer. I cant help with that but we do have a 3yr old son and a 6yr old son so when Kayla went for her surgury we had a bit of explaining to do to. Kayla broke her front leg so I just told them that her leg was too badly broken to fix and it would keep hurting her so the vet is going to take it off. then showed them videos of tripawds running etc so they could see that it doesn't worry the dog that is has a leg missing. We had to go through the whole 'will it grow back' and 'will she get a new one' with our youngest but he understood it really well and is now VERY proud of his special tripawd. Also try to show pics of dogs not long after surgery so they know what Tucker will look like when he gets home as it can be a bit of a shock. our 6yr was a bit standoff ish when Kayla first come home but he got over that real quick. Your baby will grow up thinking all dogs should only have 3 legs

Best of luck and ask away if you have any questions no matter how small.

Sarah

Sarah mentioned what I was hoping somebody would mention: what a new amputation site looks like. You definitely do not want to have your child horrified that part of his dog is shaved, bruised, leaking some and missing a leg! I took the liberty of asking a couple of members who have young kids to reply to you here. Hopefully they'll see that. But I think Sarah gives excellent advice in terms of preschoolers.

The only thing I'd like to add is something I hear about a lot that you should be prepared for. It's very common for kids to play near or with the dog and the dog gets bumped or feels pain as a result. Maybe the child plays too hard or runs into the dog, something like that. Dogs often yelp when they anticipate something hurting so they may not even be hurt when it happens; they're just afraid of it. If your little one bumps into Tucker or causes him to hurt just by being a little kid, please don't freak out. Tucker will be over it in 10 seconds, but your child may feel really guilty and be wary around Tucker. It's part of life, and sometimes people and dogs get bumped and yelp. Just as your reactions set the stage for how Tucker responds to much of this, they also impact your kids. I only caution you because I've heard from a few people who overreacted and the kids were so terrified of hurting the dog that they withdrew from all play. That would be shame.

Keep us posted, and hopefully the other parents of little ones will appear!

Shari

I am sorry you have to go through this. My son had just turned 4 and my daughter had just turned 2 when our Golden had to be amputated. We watched a lot of youtube videos of three legged dogs running, walking, etc. We counted their legs and I pointed out that they were still able to do all of the same things. The day Chili Dawg came home, my 2 year old daughter was scared of him and tried to climb back inside of me- it was scary looking at the area from her perspective. It was angry looking and had staples. My son however sat right down next to him, kissed him on the head and petted him until bedtime. The next morning my daughter gave him a kiss on the nose and was no longer afraid. From that day on my son became an advocate for 3 legged dogs everywhere, telling everyone that his dog was cooler than theirs bc his had 3 legs and theirs needed 4 legs.