My 10 year old (approx) Collie cross Lurcher has got a large growth on the bone of his left front leg that has been increasing in size over the last few weeks . Xrays and a biopsy have been inconclusive and the last xrays on Friday showed slight fractures . The vet believes it to be a benine tumour and chest xrays are clear , so has advised that the leg be removed to avoid potential spread and at some point the bone will become so weak it will break . Has anyone on here had experience of three legged dogs and how they cope ?

All the tripoded dogs i have ever seen have been giving it laldy and therefore seem fine. Reckon the wee man will just adapt. It’ll probably be a bigger deal for you than him.

aww sorry to hear about your pooch.

Friends of ours had a Dalmatian and she had a tumour on her back leg, had to be amputated. She lived for many happy and active years after that!

All the best

What he said^^^
Dogs tend to deal like this stuff quite well.

Three legged does are cool, i saw a dog with a bad leg one day, leg off the next, next day the thing was running round like a loon.
The cutest Lurcher i know is a tripod.

My spaniel hasn’t had to have his leg amputated yet, but it may have to be in the future, he limps permanently and we still go out beating for full days, he doesn’t care a jot. He’s very happy running on 3 and a bit legs and would manage well on only 3.

Mmm. Generally they cope better with losing a back leg and again smaller dogs are quicker to adapt. Really best thing is to openly discuss your concerns with the vet. I believe that the choice can only be made knowing the size and temperament etc of each patient.

How is he coping with the leg at the moment, ie is he still using it or holding it up? They are often happier once the painful limb is gone. If you go ahead you will have to look at your home and cover slippy floors etc as they struggle with those.

A study of cat owners showed over 95% who had a 3 legged cat would make the same choice again after having had their cats limb amputated.

Gf’s black lab had a front one removed. He was in a pack of 6, and you could hardly tell tbh, he still rushed around like a loon.

Hope all turns out ok.

In my personal experience I considered the options

1 Amputate and adapt
2 Don’t amputate and struggle to walk and live in pain
3 be put down

As this was me rather than a dog I quickly discounted 3. I decided 1 was more preferable to 2. Fortunately last Monday I was given option 4 which was operate, fuse the ankle and hope I have a bad limp but no pain.

Which ever you do, I wish your dog well. It will do better on 3 legs than I would have on 1 but it might be worth a second opinion on he chop op.

A neighbour’s jack russell had a front leg amputated a couple of years ago but he’s still as mad & sat as he ever was. As has said before, they do seem to adapt to these situations far better/quicker than us mere humans.

Hope it all goes well.

We were looking after a 3 legged dog recently. Just a puppy too, the poor thing. Mobility is not a problem at all. He’d fall over sometimes, but like the others say that’s mostly because he’s still running around like a loon.

The only thing I would say, is they might struggle when age begins to creep in. Obviously it does take a little extra work for them to get around, and I’ve had dogs with Arthritis too and I don’t think the two would mix well.

http://bdnpull.bangorpublishing.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/Roosevelts-Wheels_005-600×394.jpg

http://bangordailynews.com/slideshow/disabled-border-collie-wakes-up-happy-every-day/

http://bdnpull.bangorpublishing.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/04/ROOSEVELT_S_WHEELS_7592057-600×404.jpg

When a friend’s dog had to have a leg amputated, the vet told her dogs were basically three-legged animals with a spare!

Hope all goes well.

front legs deal with braking and turning.
do not expect your dog to be “the same” with three legs
permanent hopping means that it will tire much more quickly
limited slow speed agility might make it more nervous round other dogs
a brain that wants to play and a body that cannot might lead to aggression issues
10 is quite old already and the operation will not be cheap
my dobe had about 30 stitches/staples post op and there is the potential for the wound to collect ‘fluid’ in the days after the operation which could/would need draining

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beautiful Dobe soobalias ! mad,bad,and soft as… all in one,aint they !

My mate had a terrier,got run over as a pup,had to have an amputation,spent the rest of his long years happy as Larry,didn’t seem to notice the missing paw.
Of course he became known as ‘Tripod’…..

A lady we meet when walking ours has a pack of three legged dogs.
All of them seem as happy and mad as any other filthy smell woofers rolling in
Fox crap as any others!
Must get back to persuading 42kg of Basil into the bath.