Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
Tripawds is your home to learn how to care for a three legged dog or cat, with answers about dog leg amputation, and cat amputation recovery from many years of member experiences.
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Hi Everyone,
I am so relieved to find this website! My pup will be 5 years old next month, and we live in Missoula, Montana. He is a Australian Shepard mix, and weighs 75lbs. On Sunday afternoon his left rear leg was hit by a loose rock that fell while someone was rock climbing above him. We took him to the emergency vet and had his leg splinted. The x-rays show his tibia and fibula are badly broken. Since then we've been trying to figure out what to do. Surgery was going to be about $1500 with no promise of it working. Researching other options I found amputation. Unfortunately we are on a very limited budget and the cost has had to influence our decision. Amputation is about half the cost of surgery so we've opted to go with it. Also, seeing all of the positive recoveries for 3 legged dogs has been very encouraging. He's scheduled for surgery this Thursday morning. Right now he is on pain killers which sedate him so he's pretty out of it. We've been trying to keep him comfortable, eating, and hydrated.
We have 2 more days until surgery. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! What did you bring to surgery with you? Any advice for bringing him home after surgery? Also, what about bathroom breaks? Because he's a larger dog he's not easy to carry. I am completely new to this so any information you can give me would be extremely helpful.
Thank you so much!
Welcome! We're sorry to hear about Fuzzy, but glad you found us. Is that his name?
Every dog is different, but if he is otherwise fit and trim he should recover quickly and adapt well. Far too many times we hear from people who put their dogs through multiple, painful and expensive surgeries trying to "save the leg" only to eventually proceed with amputation anyway. Best wishes with the difficult decisions you face.
Consider downloading Tripawds e-books for fast answers to common questions and the best recovery and care tips, or search these forums and the blogs for specific concerns. Dogs are incredibly resilient creatures, they really are born with Three Legs And A Spare ! When they need to go potty, they will. Confinement is key to a safe recovery, and providing traction on slippery floors is very helpful At 75 pounds, Fuzzy is not really that large. We have success stories here about much larger giant breeds doing well on three legs.
Please keep us posted!
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Hello there!
My dog Tyson is an 11 year old black lab that weighs 87 pounds. He just had his front right leg amputated last week, and he can completely support himself. At first, it's a bit tricky, especially when they're not used to getting up from laying down, and if they don't have enough traction . Have the vet give you a sling (which has handles) to put underneath him if you see that he has trouble stabilizing or getting up. We really only had that issue the first day home from surgery. You'll be so amazed at all he's going to be able to do with three legs! Also, it does make it easier that it is the hind leg. Dogs bear more weight on their front legs.
For Tyson's surgery, we brought a little bit of his food in a baggy so they could try to feed that to him after surgery. How long will your dog being staying at the hospital? Tyson stayed for 2 nights. Don't be alarmed if you hear that he isn't eating or drinking. The anesthesia will do that to them. He should be getting plenty of fluids from IVs to keep him hydrated, as well as nourished for that time.
I would recommend buying some runner rugs to spread out around the house if you don't have carpet! It really comes in handy, and they learn to walk where it's more comfortable for them. I went to Costco and bought 5 runners. They were 20 bucks a piece, and they come in a lot of different designs, so they can look pretty as well!
Good luck to your pup! It sounds like he'll do great! I had an Australian Shepherd for a short period of time, and he was an AWESOME dog! Love em!
-Anna and Tyson
Very sorry to hear about your pup, but this a great site for advice and support. My 12 year old beagle, Kasey just had her right front leg amputated yesterday. It was a hard decision and I cried over the thought of her having her leg amputated for days. Yesterday was extremely hard, but I'm glad I made the decision I did. I picked her up today and it was a shock to see her on three legs, but the vet had the surgery site wrapped and bandaged so that made it easier. She came walking into the exam room on three legs with the vet tech! They said she was doing great.
Then when I brought her home, she sniffed the other dogs, let them sniff her and before I could stop her she went right up the stairs to her bed and that is where she is now sleeping.
My advice is to read everyone's comments on here and get yourself prepared (as much as you can). I bought pet steps so she can get up on the bed (she sleeps with me) and my boyfriend and his friend made ramps for the deck in the backyard.
The advice from my vet is to let her adjust as much as she can on her own. Do not let her do any "big" exercise. Let her walk around the house as much as she wants, but keep a close eye on her when she is on tile or wood floors.
Hugs and best wishes!
Danell, Kasey, Pebbles, and Gadget
The Oaktown Pack has three German Shepherd tripawds all missing rear legs and they all do pretty well. In our rescue work we saw dogs with serious fractures that would be repaired with plates and screws and then re-fracture, ultimately leading to an amputation. Your decision to go forward with the amputation could potentially the best for you and him. The standard method for rear leg amputation that does not involve cancer is to do what is called a mid-shaft femoral amputation. A short piece of the femur is left and the muscle is reassembled about the bone. The animal will then move the remnant of the leg and be able to maintain some muscle tone. Done correctly (one or ours was not) the dog then has a nice pad for sitting.
I met an 11 year old dog at a park that had been a tripawd for 10 years after losing a front leg to injury. There is no reason your guy should not have a full life. The first couple of weeks after amputation can be difficult with pain meds and getting adjusted, but usually after that things settle down. It can take a few months to fully adjust to operating on three legs, but after that things should be OK.
It is a bit of a shock at first seeing them with three legs, but pretty soon you realize you have a dog that is just missing his spare leg.
Ralph
I am sorry to hear about Fuzzy. As others have said, this is a great place for information, resources and support for your tri pawd.
In October, our lab was diagnosed with Osteosarcoma and she had the leg amputated. We were stunned when we picked her up 2 days later and she came barreling out pulling the tech with her! It is more of a shock to us seeing her without the leg as well as the staples and redness but she has done very well and quickly figured out how to squat to do her business and get around.
We bought a hefty harness (handicappedpets.com) for when we take her to the pet store and also bought a set of folding stairs (ezloader) for the car and I made a set of steps for her to get up on the couch. After her staples were removed, we let her go up and down the stairs. Its a bit of work for her (we hold her under her bum just for some support) but she isn't afraid to go for it. We have throw rugs over the hardwood and bought the foam squares for the kitchen.
Fuzzy will figure things out and before you know it won't think twice about running around.
Good luck-keep us updated.
FUZZYWUZZY!! Love your name and love your avatar picture!! In fact, I think we all just fell in love withnyou!!!!!
Yes, this is such a scarey time. Recovery is s NO fun! But once that recovery period isover and the sparkle comes back...WOW!! This painfulleg will be gone and Fuzzy will adjust beautifully!
Sou ds like you've already gotten good advice.. If Luanne/Shooter sees your post, she'll suggest raised food and water dishes for Fuzzy. Very important!
I tried using a "towel sling to help Happy Hannah iitially for her potty breaks butmshe would have none of tjat. Many dogs don't need help at all. Just let Fuzzy show you what he needs. Every dog's recovery really is different.
When you pick Fuzzy up, just look straight into his eyes and praise him and hug him and tell him what a good voy heis! Don't even look at that ole' incision site! He's just looking at you a d ready to go home!
Now, one more thing.....very important that you do this, okay? Stock up on lots of chocolate for yourself!!
Everytime Fuzzy gets a pain pill, you eat a candy bar! Yep! Works wonders for stress!!
Stay connected tomus. We are all here for you. You are not alone!
((((((((((((HUGS)))))))))))))))
Sally and Happy Hannah
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!
You all rock!! What a great community this is.
At first the whole thing seemed very unknown but now after reading everyone's replies and all of the information on this website I feel so much better about the surgery tomorrow, and the whole process.
Thank you for all of your knowledge and insight! Our pup, Wuzzy, is going in tomorrow morning and will be at the vet for 2 days. Reading other people's stories was so helpful so I'll keep everyone posted.
Give your awesome 3-legged critters a hug and kiss... just because : ) and thanks again!
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