Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat

Post-operative day 9:  Turk amazes me everyday.  Yesterday he went down the stairs while I wasn't looking.  My mouth was agape.  I can't wait until the sutures come out because the cone collar is annoying him more than anything else and he loves to lick.  The only problems we are having are occasional stumbles and scraped up front paws.  He had a problem with scraping his front paws until they bled on long walks before the surgery because of mild degenerative changes in his spine.  Before if we kept him off the sidewalk it was pretty well managed.  Now it seems to be worse since his usage of the front paws has changed.  Maybe it will get better as he gets used to his new state but I'm concerned since it's happening even though we aren't letting him do much.  We tried boots before but it wasn't something he let us do twice.  Otherwise, he's doing great with only occasional periods where he seems upset by mobility issues.  If he moves fast, he moves better - I love to watch him run and hope he's up to full steam soon!

Turk is still doing great.  He's off all the pain meds and gets his sutures out tomorrow.  This will be great because then he can stop wearing that cone when I'm not around.  We ordered him some boots for use on pavement to help with the scraped paws.  Hopefully he will let us put them on.  When I think of the options of four legs up or three legs down, I'm glad I chose what I did!

Sutures are out and just two and one half weeks post-op, he's about 80% full steam.  The boots were a disaster - he wouldn't walk after I put them on and gave me a pitiful look.   But he was eager to go on a walk without them so I suited him up in the ruffwear harness and we took a stroll outside of the backyard.  I wouldn't let him on pavement because of foot scraping issues but the ruffwear harness made it easy to pick him up at every driveway and street and set him down again on grass.  We had a great time walking and went a little under half way around the block before we turned around.  The walk really lifted his spirits and was a boon for me too.  He had to rest often during the walk but I think in a couple of months he'll have made some more adjustments and it will be more like the walks we used to take.  Everyday I am so grateful that he is alive and adjusting to life as a tripawd.  I'm aiming for long walks again together but if I have to settle for him sleeping on my feet, I'll still be happy.