Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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I am in need of a sling or harness that will offer full body support for Willow. She is a front left leg amputee and she has torn her cruciate ligament in her back left knee. She is 51 lbs and wears a size medium Ruff Wear harness , but I'm not sure about other brands. She's obviously having a hard time getting around and I"m having a hard time helping her. Currently using a reusable shopping bag as suggested in the forums, but it's just not quite enough.
Thank you,
Carol
Carol, it would help folks if you could take her girth measurement. Wrap a measuring tape around the widest part of her ribcage. Most harness sizes are based on that measurement.
I'm so sorry she's having difficulties. We send our best and have our paws crossed for better days ahead. Keep us posted.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
I'm having the same issue with Daisy. She too is a front left amputee and she tore her CCL in the right knee back in October. She weighs about 70 lbs. I'm trying to get her to drop a few lbs. but it is hard when she is not being that active. I am doing conservative management with her knee vs. surgery. At times Daisy really struggles to get around due to the instability of the joint and the pain.
Yesterday I ordered her a Kyjen Outward Hound Up and Out Lift Harness from Amazon (thru the Tripawds link of course). It was only $13.67. If it doesn't work that great I haven't invested too much money. It can't be any worse than the towel I use now.
Marla and Daisy
My Two Tripawds...Biscuit 
and Spirit Daisy 
Thanks for shopping with our Amazon link Marla. I'm sorry to hear about Daisy's mobility issues and hope that she feels better soon. If you want some weight loss ideas be sure to check out the Nutrition blog for some diet ideas.
Carol, any chance this Walkabout Harness will help? I still have it here and would be happy to send it to you.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Thank you for the offer of the Walkabout Harness, but I don't think that will work. This has been challenging. Willow is a front leg amputee, and her remaining front leg (actually her entire body) has a significant amount of arthritis. Now that she can't bear much weight on one of her back legs, she really needs something that will support her entire body. If I try to support her back end, her front leg gives out and she falls. I've been using a "shopping bag sling" that I position on her chest/abdomen just behind her remaining front leg. It's okay, but still a struggle if she having more pain that day and can't bear any weight on that bad back leg, and the sling also slips back and I have to keep adjusting it or she falls. If you or anyone else has any other suggestions I would greatly appreciate them.
Marla, I'm so sorry that Daisy is having the same issue. I've also opted not to do surgery. Willow hurt herself being a tomboy and running around the yard chasing lizards. How did Daisy get hurt? What are you using for pain management ? Willow takes Rimadyl, Adequan, and a bunch of supplements for her arthritis, and she's been getting Tramadol for the pain from the injury. She saw a Rehab vet yesterday. The Rehab vet suggested Traumeel (a homeopathic remedy) and also Gabapentin, but Willow's regular vet isn't convinced the Gabapentin will help with the pain from the injury. We may be trying cold laser treatments to help with healing. I'd love to hear what advice you've been given and how you've been dealing with this.
Thank you,
Carol
Gosh, it sounds like Willow and Daisy are having more than their share of problems. I don't know if structurally it would be appropriate for an amputee, but my Mendoza wore a Help 'em Up harness for months due to a progressing neurologic disease. It was a godsend for him and me. It comes in two connecting pieces, one for the upper body, the other for the hips, with a lifting/support handle on both pieces. Initially Mendoza just wore the upper body harness, but as the disease progressed we had to use the hip section as well.
Prayers and positive energies beaming out to your furry friends.
Carol, Daisy was diagnosed with arthritis at age 5. That is why she lost her leg. Her elbow joint had such severe arthritis that the bone was literally eaten away and she could no longer bear weight on it so we amputated. She also has arthritis in her hips and spine. I don't really know how she tore her CCL. One day we came home from the dog park and she couldn't put weight on her back leg. She was trying to walk on two legs! She doesn't run around and play hard. Since her amp she pretty much just hops around or lays around. She did some laser treatments for inflammation after the initial injury and had been doing pretty well for several months but we had a setback about a week ago.
Right now she takes Meloxicam daily for her pain and she also gets Dasuquin a glucosumine/chondrotin supplement daily. Daisy's regular vet is also a Certified Rehab vet. She is the vet that did the laser treatment. She just told me to keep giving the joint supplement and pain med and not to allow her to do sudden starts and stops and just to basically restrict activity. I haven't heard of Traumeel. I'll have to check into that.
Good luck with the harness search. I will let you know how the sling I ordered works for Daisy.
Marla and Daisy
My Two Tripawds...Biscuit and Spirit Daisy
Hmmm. OK. Just curious but have you seen the Get A Grip Harness in our Gear Blog?
Traumeel and Gaba are pretty common remedies for dogs in this situation, I've heard of other rehab vets prescribing this combo.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Yo! Willow (and mom)!
We have a Help 'Em Up harness kickin' around here that we don't need right now--would you like to try it? Not sure what size it is but it fits a German Shepherd. PM us if you are interested and we can send it along.
Codie Rae and the OP
Woohoo! Tripawds Rule!
Regulator of the Oaktown Pack, Sheriff of the Oaktown Pawsse, Founding member and President of the Tripawd Girldogs With 2 Names ROCK Club, and ... Tripawd Girldog Extraordinaire!
Also, we do Dasuquin for joint health but our orthopedic surgeon recommends Salmon Oil above all else......so we do that as well. Pets Supplies 4 Less has the best price.......
xoxox,
CR
Woohoo! Tripawds Rule!
Regulator of the Oaktown Pack, Sheriff of the Oaktown Pawsse, Founding member and President of the Tripawd Girldogs With 2 Names ROCK Club, and ... Tripawd Girldog Extraordinaire!
Thank you all for the advice and support. Willow had a rough weekend. She had her Rehab evaluation on Friday, and the vet did some range of motion and massage which I think may have been too much for her. She was having a really hard time on Saturday, so on the advice of her regular vet, I increased her Tramadol. Unfortunately, I think that may have made the situation worse not better. She had a hard time bearing any weight most of the weekend, and was very restless. Thanks to the things I've read on this site, I realized that some of the trouble might be Tramadol related. I cut back today, but haven't seen much improvement, but am hoping tomorrow she'll be feeling and moving better again.
Willow takes Dasuquin, Nordic Naturals Fish Oil, Lubrisyn, Adequan, and Rimadyl regularly for her arthritis. Since her injury she's been taking Tramadol, today I started giving her Traumeel, and tomorrow I will pick up the Gabapentin to see if that helps. Wow, that's a lot! Also, I'm going to schedule her for cold laser therapy.
The Get A Grip Harness looks ideal, but my funds are limited right now. If she doesn't start improving, I may not have a choice.
Thank you again,
Carol
Carol I'm sorry to hear she's feeling badly. Try to keep positive. Oftentimes when someone has therapy like acupuncture or PT, they feel worse before they feel better. It's known as a "healing crisis" but it's often a sign that things are on the right track. I really hope that she is on one.
The harness that Codie has could work really well for her, you should PM Codie.
Keep us posted, we're thinking of you.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Rats. I have a Get a Grip but it was too big on Kermit so it would be MUCH too big for your girl.
Meanwhile, have you tried a canvas bag with a hole for her front leg to go through? With Kermit's bag I didn't cut all the way to the bottom on the front side, so it left the corner of the bag intact in front of his chest. Then I cut an X where his remaining front leg went through. This stabilized the bag a lot so it didn't slip around or slide backwards & bunch up. I could pretty much lift his whole front end off the ground this way.
I could even just tie the handles together on top of his back when he needed some "alone time" to do his business or just lay in the cool grass a bit. I never left him unattended with it but it stayed on just fine this way & allowed me to grab him in a hurry if he needed help.
Btw, he also takes fish oil, glucosamine/chondroitin, Rimadyl, & we'll be starting adequan next week. He's also still on 1 Tramadol 3x a day, 100 mg gabapentin am & pm, and famotidine to protect his tummy every from all the pain meds 12 hours. Your meds sound normal to me! 
Codie Rae said
Yo! Willow (and mom)!We have a Help 'Em Up harness kickin' around here that we don't need right now--would you like to try it? Not sure what size it is but it fits a German Shepherd. PM us if you are interested and we can send it along.
Codie Rae and the OP
I did send you a private message. You may have sent one back to me, because I got an email letting me know that you did, but when I looked for it it wasn't there. Hope you got my message,if you didn't please post to let me know. Thank you so much for the offer. If you sent one to me, I can't seem to find it.
dharma said
Btw, he also takes fish oil, glucosamine/chondroitin, Rimadyl, & we'll be starting adequan next week. He's also still on 1 Tramadol 3x a day, 100 mg gabapentin am & pm, and famotidine to protect his tummy every from all the pain meds 12 hours. Your meds sound normal to me!
Thank you! And I forgot to put on the list that Willow takes Cimetidine for her tummy!!
jerry said
Carol I'm sorry to hear she's feeling badly. Try to keep positive. Oftentimes when someone has therapy like acupuncture or PT, they feel worse before they feel better. It's known as a "healing crisis" but it's often a sign that things are on the right track. I really hope that she is on one.The harness that Codie has could work really well for her, you should PM Codie.
Keep us posted, we're thinking of you.
Thank you for the support. It helps! I hope to be able to post tomorrow that things are looking much better. I think Codie's harness will be too big, but please correct me if you think I'm wrong.
Thank you to all!
Carol
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