Three legged doggie - advice?

Realtine

Does anyone here have a three-legged dog?
Any ideas on where to get products that might help him along-if so would love to hear from ye.

Diane Selwyn

How old was your dog when they lost the leg? We had a terrier cross that lost a back leg when he was only a puppy and he adapted really well without any extra assistance - he kept up with us (as kids) quite easily and was fast enough to terrorise anyone on a bike - we had a few traumatised postmen on our route! You would actually have to look twice to notice the missing leg - he was only a small dog I guess it might be more obvious in a bigger dog.

DBB

Is it a front or hind leg he's missing OP? They tend to cope better when it's a hind leg, and the prognosis is better as most of their weight is borne on their front legs, so coping with just one front leg can be more difficult and puts more pressure on that leg, potentially injuring it more easily.

Realtine

He's just a pup, only 4 weeks old currently, we will have him when he's ready to leave his mam, tragically while eating the placenta when he was born she accidentally chewed off his paw, and it's his front right leg. It's quite a bit shorter than the other right now.
The vet said what he doesn't have he won't miss but I want to know if I can make his life a bit easier, like maybe a harness, or higher food bowls, or lower even.
Its a male golden retriever so he'll grow into a big dog. And if it's a breed that already have problems with hips and joints what extra pressure will be placed on him without that fourth leg?

ihatewinter

You could look into prosthesis for the dog's front paw. It will be expensive but it will help as both front legs will be the same length and movement won't be restricted. It's going to be hard for him to manage, the way he is as dogs fair better with a back leg problem.

Both parents should be hip scored and anything below 19 is good for a Golden Retriever. Other OP's can verify this. Any hip scores should be backed up with paperwork and not a vet check.

Surely the owner of the dog was present at the birth and should have prevented this. Move pups and help mom cope with cleaning pups etc. Maybe it happens?

OP DON'T BE PUT OFF WITH THE ABOVE.

A little bit of research and money will make the dog more comfortable. From your above posts, you care deeply about the pup so hopefully won't change your mind.

DBB

ihatewinter wrote: »

Surely the owner of the dog was present at the birth and should have prevented this. Move pups and help mom cope with cleaning pups etc. Maybe it happens?

It is something that happens, and not just at birth, but when the mother is licking the pups clean at any stage in the early stages. It's almost as if the cleaning urge goes into overdrive, the licking turns into strong licking and nibbling, and all of a sudden there's a lot of damage done to a little leg, ear, or tail.
It is accidental from the point of view that I don't think the mother intends to do it as such, but it's not accidental in the context of the mother chewing on something else and just happens to chew a leg off at the same time. In other words, I don't feel that the mother is likely to chew a pup's leg off accidentally whilst she's removing the placenta, but I'm open to correction on that.
OP, have you spoken to your vet about the prognosis for your pup, or the options that might be open to you? It might do no harm to get your vet to refer you, for a phone call at least, to an orthopaedic specialist who can give you a better idea of what you might expect, and how your dog might be affected over the course of a lifetime.

Lemlin

I sold a Lab pup to a couple last year. At 3-4 months old, it was hit by a car in an accident and it's shoulder was broken. Leg had to be amputated.

The dog is now more than a year old and is flying. She's even fit to go for 5-10k runs with the owner and can swim easily.

I wouldn't let it overly worry you OP. The dog will adapt fine.

Realtine

Lemlin wrote: »

I sold a Lab pup to a couple last year. At 3-4 months old, it was hit by a car in an accident and it's shoulder was broken. Leg had to be amputated.

The dog is now more than a year old and is flying. She's even fit to go for 5-10k runs with the owner and can swim easily.

I wouldn't let it overly worry you OP. The dog will adapt fine.

That's brilliant, that's what I like to hear Lemlin, hope our guy can be like this also.
As soon as we get our guy we'll take him straight to our vets for advice and an assessment, there's no way we won't be taking him home, we're already getting ready for a pup again, we're failed fosterers (we end up keeping the dogs)so we gave that up a good while ago, we still have two dogs and four cats but it's a while since we've had a pup, but we're excited and we'll face whatever challenges he brings, even the extra ones. I just hope we do alright by him whatever we do.

Thanks all.

The Th!ng

Stumbled upon this video via Twitter a few minutes ago and having read this thread earlier in the evening I thought I'd post it here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QKeTYOinik

Inexile

I know there are a few online groups who have some info on three legged dogs like this one http://tripawds.com/

Earlier this year I was minding a 3 legged dog and we though we may have him for a while so I googled 3 legged dogs and found there was a lot of info out there. Unfortunately I cant find the article I read previously but I do recall it suggested getting 3 legged dog a life jacket as it could have difficulty swimming as it could end up going round in circles and needed the floatation device to assist it to move forward.