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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Our little 11 week old Kai recently survived Parvo and wound up losing her right rear leg due to cellulitis from a bandage being left too tight while she was in hospital. She is a few days away from having her sutures removed. I currently have every throw rug and old baby crib waterproof pad in the house in the kitchen area to help her adjust to her three-legged status while relearning how to walk as a tripawd. Granted she is showing amazing improvements by the day, but I am starting to think of the future. I can't keep a random mess of rugs in the kitchen. Can anyone advise of the products that have most improved your pet's way of life as far as ambulation on hardwood floors? I see everything from yoga mats to toenail pads. I want to make our girl's recovery go well and make certain that she is able to get around easily in the future. Thank you all for any information you have. I am so glad I found this group to gain information for my girl!
Hello and welcome,
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Sounds like little Kai has been through a lot in her 11 weeks. You have done a lot of reading. You can take a look at a few of these links Jerry's Required Reading List , Tripawds Recovery Shopping List and Tripawds What to Expect articles. Others will jump in to give more advice.
I would say the runners are your best option but some dogs go around them. Just depends on the dogs. We had carpet other than the kitchen so I am not much help on that.
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Are your hardwood floors in good shape or kind of beat up? My house has some pretty sad hardwood that desperately needs refinishing... And my tripawd has good traction on them. She struggles with tile, so I can see where really nicely finished shiny hardwoods would be more troublesome. I do have a couple of gel pro mats in my kitchen, which may help as well.
My dog lost her leg at a similar age to yours. I tried toe grips around six months and she pulled them off. I might try them again now that she's older, but I'd avoid them with a puppy.
My hardwood is 23 years old and definitely not super slick, but I just didn't want her sliding and hurting her stump while she heals. I questioned the toenail pads so glad to hear it may not be a great option. I think I will just invest in a couple of long yoga pads and trust that she will become more sure footed as time goes on.
I have concrete floors, so not super slick. While Ellie was healing I had rugs everywhere, but now she gets along on the concrete just fine. As said above I do have a few carpet runners through my kitchen to aid with that. I also got the stick-on pad grippies- I really like them for going to slippery places (home depot, the vet for example), but they don't last very long (24 hours max) so it isn't a great fit for home needs.
Love that you are thinking ahead! Kai is one lucky pup!
One thing to keep in mind is that when a dog loses a leg at such a young age, they haven't developed motor skills yet. You can help Kai develop good habits that will help keep him balanced and strong on slippery floors. The way you can do that is by having him evaluated by a rehab therapist. They can show you how to help him with exercises and things to build strength and stamina. Rehab made the biggest difference for us with Wyatt Ray , also a rear legger for his amazing 12 years on earth. He didn't have to go all the time, just an occasional check in after his first visit/evaluation.
The best part is Tripawds Foundation can pay for your first rehab visit ! We hope you and Kai will take advantage of the program. Let me know if you have any questions.
And welcome to the Tripawds Community! We are so glad you are here.
Hello Denise,
Millie lost her front leg at 10 months old due to being attacked.
I only put down towels and blankets for her around my bed(technically it's my mattress, I got rid of my bed frame since my girl was and still is a jumper) the first 2-3 days after the surgery.
She can easily hop around with no problem really soon, I would say within a week. I would recommend you put T-shirt on her just in case she falls and the incision won't touch the ground directly, if that is something you are concerned about.
Today is Millie's 5th week post-amputation and she just zooming around my kitchen island this morning. She still falls sometimes if she runs too fast but she doesn't care at all lol.
Prior to the 4-legged wonder we have now we nurtured a 3-legged dog from losing her right front leg at 3 months to just shy of 15 years. For her I got carpet with a 1-inch foam pad (the pad was super cushy and was 25% the cost per square foot as the carpet...it was all for her). It was an awesome decision for her.
Lucky for you the loss of a rear-leg is much less impactful in terms of walking/running across hard surfaces. Most of a dogs weight is on the front legs. So I think she can manage the hard wood without a problem once she recovers. In fact if the throw rugs are sliding they may be doing more harm than good. I used to walk in the park occasionally with another owner with a young dog that lost its rear leg in a car accident and she never had to consider impact damage to her dogs feet/legs. I was constantly managing split pads, swollen shoulders etc from the pounding my dog's front leg took. I would watch the dogs missing a back leg and be jealous. They could walk or run and turn left and right more easily as their front wheel drive was intact. Missing a front-leg my dog had a very hard time walking slowly and pretty much could only run in a straight line or make a very wide turn.
Because I was so sensitive to padding on the floor for my 3-legged pup I insisted my partner put some carpet with backing on his hard laminate foor in some areas. Any carpet store usually has the option of selling a carpet to a specific size and making it a rug by stitching the edges and sewing on a backing that makes it non-slip. They are basically custom sized rugs that don't slip. Our 4-legged dog will run through the house by leaping from these sections of carpet to stay on the padding as much as possible. All dogs, 3-legged or not, love soft surfaces so having some is a good idea.
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