The new member of my family is a 7 month old three legged border collie. He had his front leg amputated in January. He is now becoming quite confident and flies around everywhere. I have not previously had such a young dog and wonder whether he could cope with more stimulating experiences than just walking and playing with his toys. I am just unsure as to what he is capable of.

jangor Wrote:The new member of my family is a 7 month old three legged border collie. He had his front leg amputated in January. He is now becoming quite confident and flies around everywhere. I have not previously had such a young dog and wonder whether he could cope with more stimulating experiences than just walking and playing with his toys. I am just unsure as to what he is capable of.

Hello,
First time on this site today but your post prompted me to reply.

My pal has a ten year old border collie bitch who had her rear leg amputated at about same age. (Car accident, then gangrene set in while still in cast) She has sucessfully had and reared two litters of pups since and lives such an active life that most people dont even notice the missing leg when they meet her.

When I first met her eight years ago every day she ran a mile morning and evening and could out run the other collie most times when chasing a tennis ball. Now she is getting older and a little grumpy as her joints are stiffening up a little but her mobility is still good and she enjoys a full life.

I have also known several three legged cats and found they too adapt suprisingly well

Instinct tells me that because your pup is young and his bones and muscles are still strengthening up, p'haps swimming would be the best exercise to build him up whilst supporting the weight and taking any strain, hopefully vent a bit of that mad energy too. Have you any pals with pools (!) or now its warming up, would he go in river or sea (doggy lifejackets are available on market)

Speak to your vet for advice on types of exercise and try asking if they can recommend dog training classes, this should help with socialisation with other dogs as well, as he learns to adapt to different body image / limits. Im suggesting classes to help stimulate your pup but this could lead to agility classes (if your vet feels appropriate), that way you can explore pups ability in a relatively safe enviroment which should be fun for both of you and help strengthen the bond between you as you both learn together

Sorry I cant offer any expert comments, but just wanted to let you know of similar dog who adapted really quickly and enjoys life to the full

Hope you have a lot of fun together xx

Hi, like Katrina it's my first time on the forums & I wish I'd seen your post earlier. I've had 4 BC's over the years & known many more, I'm sure he can cope with more stimulating experiences as I've yet to meet a BC that's over stimulated!

I think Katrina's spot on with her swimming advice, but obviously under supervision initially. I'm not sure of the rules on this forum so I won't post specific websites but if you enter "three legged dog swim" into google you'll see many stories of what 3 legged dogs can do, (& they do include swimming ;~). My fella jumps in the Thames at every available opportunity to fetch ball, & although the rescue home showed me his pedigree, I think it was a forgery as I'm sure he's part retriever.

Needless to say, socialisation with other dogs is also important so that he can feel confident around them. I wouldn't rule out frisbee & 'catch' games too once he's fully developed.

Best of luck with him, I'm certain you'll find him a lot of fun as he regains his confidence.

RearAd

katrina537 Wrote:Hello,
First time on this site today but your post prompted me to reply.

Instinct tells me that because your pup is young and his bones and muscles are still strengthening up, p'haps swimming would be the best exercise to build him up whilst supporting the weight and taking any strain, hopefully vent a bit of that mad energy too. Have you any pals with pools (!) or now its warming up, would he go in river or sea (doggy lifejackets are available on market)