# Rear leg amputation?



## patk (Jun 13, 2013)

sending pf power thoughts for no cancer. truly hoping with all my heart for that.

re amputation: there is a little dog in my neighborhood with back wheels who is sprightly as can be. no amputation, but i think her legs don't work. dogs are so great at adapting, especially when their human is there to help.

burning candles in my mind for you and tika!


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

I watched a local dog - a largish terrier - running and jumping through the hedge, dashing along the path, and generally full of the joys of life. My brain was telling me there was something unusual about him, but it was only when he slowed down a little that I realised he was a tripaw, with only one hind leg. It sounds as if the tumour must have been causing discomfort if not pain - you may find that Tika is more comfortable with it gone, and she may have already been avoiding putting weight on that leg. Dogs seem to adjust well to amputation.

Hoping with you that it is not cancerous, and that if it is, that it has not spread.


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## hopetocurl (Jan 8, 2014)

Sending "no cancer" vibes your way!


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## Kimmie (Feb 23, 2014)

I'm not terribly religious, but I'm praying that they find no cancer.


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

Another poodle person here hoping Tika is cancer-free and can be put back on the path to comfortable good living. I have known two fabulous three-legged dogs who lived joyful, active lives. (Both had an amputated rear leg.) I so hope things go her way. I'm very sorry for the stress and difficulty laid at your feet. She's only 7 years old, right? She deserves many good healthy years ahead. Wishing for that!:clover:


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## Suey61 (Oct 2, 2013)

I also im praying for no cancer . And have also seen many dogs with 3 legs and even 2 legs and they seem to live a very active and happy life .Im sure your girl will adapt very well and will supprise you at what she can do .


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## Suddenly (Aug 8, 2013)

Hoping Tika is cancer free. Sending thought and prayers to beautiful Tika, with lots of hugs.


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## Poodlebeguiled (May 27, 2013)

I'm sending my most powerful, positive vibes that she is cancer free. I too have known a few tripods....one recently. She lost a front leg due to a terrible break that just shattered the bones from a car hitting her. Within a very short time, after having the cast removed, she figured out very well how to get along and in no time was running and enjoying life. Dogs are really amazing. 

Sending my very best to you and Tika.


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## Tiny Poodles (Jun 20, 2013)

Sending many good wishes for you and Tika. 


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## liljaker (Aug 6, 2011)

Sending hopeful wishes your way for you and Tika. I do know dogs can adapt much better than us humans can. There was a woman in my neighborhood who had a golden with a front leg amputated. It was a rescue and I will spare you the details since they were not pretty. She was a Northwestern student and it was so difficult to watch with only one front leg, but she did fine. I hope things work out well for you.


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## elem8886 (Sep 19, 2012)

Thank you everyone for your good wishes!

I spoke with her regular vet this morning and she confirmed that we are facing amputation irregardless of the mass. I know dogs can adapt and your stories are so encouraging. It makes me sad that my bouncy poodle won't be able to bounce so well anymore but it will also be a relief for both of us when she doesn't have to awkwardly hobble and try to sit or lay down around a heavy slippery splint.

I hope the mass isn't cancerous or at least isn't an osteosarcoma - we have to wait almost a week to find out. Tika is only 7 so hopefully we have at least a few more years together.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

I hope you get a good pathology report and that once the amputation is done you are all clear for a good number of happy years.


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

Awww I hope everything turns out ok. I am looking at having to have my 11 month old Tpoo's front leg amputated due to a deformity. I hope all goes well with Tika and that it isn't cancer. We are actually seeing a cancer patient at the clinic I work at. Our doctor removed the tumor and sent it off to pathology and it came back as cancer. we thought she wasn't going to make it, but her owner took her to an oncologist and they are expecting a full recovery for her. So it is possible for them to beat the cancer. I looked up videos of three legged one eyed dogs (my girl, Killa, only has one eye also) on YouTube and it is amazing how well they get around. You should look up some rear legged amputee videos and see if it helps. It made me feel better knowing that they adapt so well to having three legs. Again good luck and we are all hoping that the results come back negative for cancer.


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## exile (Dec 15, 2013)

I certainly hope the CA stays away. I had a Collie some years ago that was struck by a car and had to have one rear leg amputated. He did just fine, like he didn't miss it at all. He would run, jump, turn on a dime, playful as ever. I hope everything turns out for the best... 
Now You See It: Two-legged pup's run on the beach goes viral - WFLA News Channel 8


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## Manxcat (May 6, 2013)

Sending lots of prayers for Tika up to the Big Guy from here across the pond.

Very best wishes for a positive outcome


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## PoodlePaws (May 28, 2013)

Positive prayers coming your way. 


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## Grandma's Boys (Feb 28, 2014)

Sending good wishes your way for Tika and you.


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## elem8886 (Sep 19, 2012)

Poodlecrazy I hope things go well for your tpoo girl. You posted pictures of her dressy eye-patches didn't you - a sparkly one and a pirate maybe? After reading your post I did go watch some videos of three-legged dogs and it did help so thank you for that suggestion. 

I know dogs adapt just fine to three legs and after today I think splinting the leg was sort of a way to get the Tika and me ready for/used to the idea and she's been doing well for the most part. She has a little trouble aiming when she lays down because she sort of pivots on the splint and then drops - she usually ends up with her back smooshed against the wall of her shoulders falling off the bed. Going to the bathroom is a bit difficult in terms of balancing and getting her splinted leg out of the way. Keeping her still is going to be hard because she wants to run around and play and that's not allowed at this point - she already hops for the most part but occasionally she'll limp on the splint.

I've been researching harnesses and contemplating life jackets because I feel swimming is probably going to be the best exercise for her and she likes it but isn't a super strong swimmer with 4 legs, never mind 3. Also, some sites recommend core strengthening in particular for dogs with amputations - does anyone have any suggestions on how to do this?


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

Will have a good talk with that 'Man Upstairs' tonight for good outcome for beautiful Tika. Then I will cross all fingers, toes, and paws in my house, light a candle and beg the 'powers that be' that you and Tika will have many happy years together! You have the power of the PF with ya!!!!!!


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## Carrie-e (Oct 23, 2012)

Love and best wishes to you and Tika,you are in my thoughts. Xx


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

I am sending healing vibes Tika's way and am also praying for no cancer. Swimming is the perfect therapy for rehab. I purchased a nice life jacket for Swizzle at TJ Max. He is an excellent swimmer but for safety sake he wears it when we canoe. Check Susan Garrett's blog. She rehabbed her dog and showed some great core exercises she used.


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## ArreauStandardPoodle (Sep 1, 2009)

You have my prayers for a cancer free diagnosis! She will adjust fine without the leg, but praying she lives a long, long life.


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## schpeckie (Jun 29, 2010)

So sorry to hear about this and wishing there is no cancer. I have seen a dog in my neighbourhood who has lost a back leg, and he trots along beautifully. Hugs & prayers coming your way :hug:
Sylvia & the girls


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## Dallasminis (Feb 6, 2011)

Sending healing vibes and visualizing your pup on ALL legs...glad Tika has you for a mommy!


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## Wren (Jul 2, 2013)

*Hoping for the best*

I am sorry Tika is having problems and am wishing for a positive outcome for all.

This was my experience with my 3 legged dog.

I had a 50 lb. mixed breed (golden/setter mix) that lost a front leg at the age of one. Raleigh lived a normal life span for a dog his size with no ill effects from the amputation.

After the first couple of weeks following surgery, he did everything he had always done before on four legs. He ran, he jumped, and he climbed. I did not make him swim because he never liked water to begin with, but if he had wanted to swim, I would have put him in a vest. The only thing I was more cautious about were stairs and very steep inclines, I made sure he slowed down going up or down and that when he was bathed; he had a secure stable rubber mat under him. Yes, he took a few more tumbles in his lifetime than he would have if he had all four legs, but he always got right back up, shook it off and continued on his merry way. He thoroughly enjoyed his life.

Handicapped dogs don’t feel sorry for themselves when something happens to them and they get over it much more quickly than we humans do. Raleigh seemed more puzzled at first, as in “Oh, I’m a little sore and something is really different.”

I do know he experienced some phantom feelings in the missing leg at first; he would swing his head around to look directly where the missing leg would have been, then he would look at me in a surprized way like “oh, I can feel something on my leg, but what the heck?…it’s not there.” He didn’t act like he was in pain, never whimpered or anything like that. That only happened a few times. 

By the 2nd day after surgery, he was walking around, going out to use the bathroom, eating from his bowl. I did a quick re-hab to teach him how to get down a few steps to the backyard and then back up to come inside. After a couple of trips, he had it down.

As your everyday routine returns to normal, you will easily see where you need to do a quick re-hab, be able to spot potential issues and address longer term re-hab (which really won’t be all that long) needs to build muscle in the places where your dog will need more muscle to compensate for the missing leg and to address any balance issues. 

The only time Raleigh really scared me during that first year afterwards was when we were out on a walk in the woods and I was at the bottom of a steep wooded ravine. Raleigh had wandered up to the top of the ravine and decided he would race down the ravine to me the way he used to. About half way down, I could see that he had forgotten he was now one brake short of the normal four and he was about to fly head over heels out of control and would crash into the trees. He knew it too and gave me that very direct eye contact, you know the look…”Oh, s***, Help me!” I raced up the ravine and grabbed him in a bear hug just as he was beginning to roll. Both of us were a little shaken, but just fine. We walked to the bottom of the ravine, walked around a little and then I had him try it again, but we worked on learning to zig-zag his way down instead of going head first. So, it will be things like this that you will work out as you go along.

The only other thing I can think of is that after the surgery; check how the vet bandages the dog. Raleigh’s vet redressed the area right before I was to bring him home and inadvertently taped the skin and hair of Raleigh’s good front leg to the skin of his chest so that he couldn’t move his good front leg without pulling on both the skin and hair. (There was a compression bandage around his entire chest.) When Raleigh tried to stand, he couldn’t and would scream in pain. Since the vets carried Raleigh to my car and I carried him into the house I did not notice this. I thought it was pain from the amputation; it took me a little while to figure it out. I carefully pulled and cut the tape away from the good leg and bingo…he was able to get up without any problem and no pain.

I think Miss Tika will bounce again.


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

*Wren*: I was riveted reading about Raleigh. Really heartening to know what a good life he had post amputation. I find your resourcefulness and resiliency very impressive too. What outstanding roles models you are!


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## Grandma's Boys (Feb 28, 2014)

Wren, that was such a kind thing to share that story. I'm sure it will be a great comfort.


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## Suey61 (Oct 2, 2013)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xaM-xXgl4Bs hi just thought you would like to see this and how this dog manages with just 2 front legs x


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

elem8886 said:


> Poodlecrazy I hope things go well for your tpoo girl. You posted pictures of her dressy eye-patches didn't you - a sparkly one and a pirate maybe? After reading your post I did go watch some videos of three-legged dogs and it did help so thank you for that suggestion.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yep the fancy little eye patch girl is mine,lol. Im glad the videos helped. Hoping for the best for you and Tika 


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## Wren (Jul 2, 2013)

*Remembering More*

I was thinking about your potential situation with Tika again this morning and had a few more thoughts I wanted to share with you in hope they might help. 

First, I made the decision to not allow Raleigh see me grieve the loss of his leg. I went outside, well out of his sight or hearing, to cry, kick rocks, curse the universe; whatever made me feel better. I do think dogs can detect our emotions but they don’t understand why we are feeling the way we do. They may want to comfort us when they know we are stressed or they react in other ways by not eating, etc. Raleigh was a soft, sensitive dog. He did not like his people to be upset (sad or angry); it worried him and made him feel insecure. I knew he wouldn’t connect my grieving to the loss of his leg and I didn’t want to add to his stress. I wanted him to think that this was just a normal part of life, nothing to be upset about. I had a second dog at the same time as I was dealing with Raleigh and although she was very sensitive to me whenever I was ill or physically hurting, human’s emotional issues didn’t seem to phase her. So this is something you may want to think about as you know Tika sensitivity level best. 

Re-building Confidence: This aspect was like going back in time to when Raleigh was a pup and building his confidence. As I said before Raleigh was a little bit of a shy dog and sensitive (not a reactive dog, and never even once aggressive in any way) and we worked hard to re-build his confidence the first few weeks. Learning to walk on various surfaces, getting him out and around other people and situations, etc., all the techniques for building confidence in pups, worked well for us. It didn’t take long for him to spring back.

My thinking was… I may have a physically handicapped dog, but I wasn’t going to allow him to think any less of himself or refrain from enjoying a full life. (You will feel so sorry for them and you will want to overprotect them, but in the end I knew doing so would undermine his confidence and cause potential behavioral problems.) The more I treated the whole issue as normal, the more quickly Raleigh adapted.

Jumping: I was more careful about allowing him to jump from heights; in and out of vehicles, and if he had been allowed him on furniture/beds, which he wasn’t, I would also be careful there. Normally, I had a harness on him for vehicle exiting, or I put him in and out of the vehicle myself. I saw no point on adding stress to his one remaining front leg. If he jumped over something lying on the ground in a field or the yard, I didn’t worry about that.

I also bought an extra thick orthopedic dog bed to reduce pressure on his joints.

I dug up some old pictures and scanned them. You can see that he adjusted well. Raleigh is the black dog. The late fall picture was taken about 1 mo. after his surgery. The snow play pictures were about 3 months later (yes, there is a missing leg…that snow was really deep and he was loving it) and the late spring pictures were about 6 or 7 mo. later.

Wishing both of you the best.


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## poodlecrazy#1 (Jul 2, 2013)

Wren, thank you so much for both of your posts. They really helped me so much. 


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## Wren (Jul 2, 2013)

*poodlecrazy#1*

You are very welcome. I haven't had time to catch up on everything here at PF lately and didn't realize you, too were facing the same situation with little Killa and I'm very sorry to hear that. 

I hope all goes well for you and Killa.


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## elem8886 (Sep 19, 2012)

Thank you again everyone for your good wishes  I got Tika's biopsy results today and the cartilage tumor was confirmed but the bone samples didn't show signs of cancer :happy:. I will be speaking with her regular vet tomorrow to determine when she will have her surgery.

Wren, thank you for both of your posts - it was so helpful and encouraging to hear about your experience with Raleigh. Tika isn't terribly sensitive to people's emotions and while she is a more timid dog she is also a "go with the flow" sort and nothing keeps her down for long. Case in point: after her biopsy she was sore and her pain meds kept her sleepy but this past week it's been almost impossible to keep her from trying to play and run around on her splinted leg.

One of the websites that has been really helpful in preparing myself and preparing for changes in our house and routine is Tripawds. Tika and I certainly agree with their motto that "It's better to hop on three legs than to limp on four." Before the biopsy and splint she was limping and reluctant to run and play, with the splint she wants to run around but isn't really allowed, and after the surgery and recovery she will be able to play again.


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## Chagall's mom (Jan 9, 2010)

Wonderful news that the biopsy results showed no bone cancer! One giant hurdle already overcome. It sounds like you are well prepared to see Tika through the surgery and her recovery. It's great you can envision her living a pain-free, happy, active life after the amputation. I know you both have a lot to go through yet, but your outlook and her prognosis sound terrific. I hope you'll continue to give us updates on her progress. I wish her a successful surgery and rehab, then onto a full, fun, long poodle life!:clover:


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## Shamrockmommy (Aug 16, 2013)

Prayers for Tika!

FWIW, I have a 3 legged chihuahua. She is a front right amputee. From what I've read the front amputations are "worse" because they carry 70% of their weight on the front legs and less on the back. Rear amputees do better, apparently. 

Cookie didn't get the memo. She might be tiny 4 pounds and 3 legs, but she can zoom with the best of 'em! She tries! She is a very happy girl. The only thing she can't do is go down stairs. Goes up them just fine, though she can hop down 1 step. But then again, she's like 6" at the shoulder LOL!

Anyway, thinking of you two!


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

That sounds like great news, given what the worst case would have been. Rear leg amputation probably is easier to deal with for them being gone since their weight carriage is pretty front loaded, especially given how poodles are built. 

For after her surgery see if you can find a class like one of the ones offered at Welcome to The Martial ARFS?. Lily and I go there for conditioning classes (Karuffte), but he also runs a class for physically challenged dogs (Tai Poochi). I know that even though Lily is a very fit and athletic dog she has gotten more muscular in the hind quarters and has better core strength as a result of the classes we done.

I hope everything is smooth sailing through and after the surgery. We are all pulling for you and Tika.


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