The back legs trembling is normal. They are having to do extra duty now and it'll take time to learn. Plus, he may always have that tremble when his legs get tired. My Dakota did. He would walk a little while and then his back legs would tremble. He would adjust his stance and they'd stop. But Dakota had arthritis in his shoulders that made it harder for him to get around, and he was cheated out of a good puppyhood and I think his body acted older than it was.

Don't worry if Tilghman always has a bit of a back leg tremble after exertion. I see videos here of some of the younger tripawds racing around like crazy, ears flapping, and I think "dang, my dog could never do that." And then their human says "well, the video shows the 2 minutes of crazy running but it doesn't show that my dog collapsed and slept for the next 2 hours." So even though we celebrate the physical accomplishments of our tripawds, the reality is that almost all of them get tired quicker, almost all of them go on much shorter walks, and almost all of them are very happy to recline. 

We do have some amazing dogs here who seem made out of superhero stuff. But most of them are very content to relax and snuggle. And there's nothing wrong with that.

So you have a strong willed dog. That's ok, too. I often compare this journey to dancing. You and your dog are thrust together as new dance partners. For awhile, you're going to do it all weird. Eventually you'll find your roles. Just make sure that you don't think Tillie has any stomach upset from the Rimadyl. That's the only thing I can think of that might keep him subdued. Is he eating normally? Does he appear to enjoy his food? Once he's off the Tramadol, his appetite should get back to normal. But Rimadyl can sometimes cause some tummy distress. If you think he's just acting like his strong willed self, then he's good. If you think he's punky because he isn't enjoying his food and seems a bit down, it may be tummy trouble.

Some of our members have motivated their dog by having a doggie friend visit, or by taking the new tripawd to a favorite place. He isn't ready to spend 30 minutes patrolling the aisles of Home Depot, but he can go visit a relative or friend. He can go for a ride to the bank for a dog cookie, or a ride to a burger join drive through. Dog buddies can come visit. I know the bank cookies and burgers are usually highly recommended here!

I think he's doing just fine. None of this sounds out of the ordinary at all. Don't judge anything for at least a month. It takes that long to really see his personality coming back. Physically he'll be doing well before that, but he knows his body is different and he has a lot to get used to. You're doing fine, too!

Shari