Author: Michael Kearley, DVM

The following may contain Chewy links. PetMD is operated by Chewy. Even though a dog may be missing a leg, they can live a long and healthy life without it. Understanding the needs of your three-legged pet and how to make their life easier is the first step in helping them live a full life. Dogs with three legs can certainly adapt to their situation and make for playful, loving, and lifelong companions.  What Is a Tripod Dog? A dog with only three legs is called a “tripod.” This means either a forelimb or hind limb is missing because of trauma from a car accident, catastrophic event, or amputation (surgical removal) due to infection, cancer, limb deformity, or fracture.  While they may have only three legs, tripod dogs can certainly go on to live a healthy and long life. They usually don’t require any specialized or ongoing care other than what’s needed post-amputation. Adopting a tripod dog requires altering your expectations as the pet parent. These dogs may have a different gait or walk and may have trouble with coordination and balance, so you need to take care around stairs and inclines and watch for tripping hazards.  Agility training and high-impact sports competitions are not completely out of the question for your tripod dog but should be done with extreme caution. Also, these dogs may be at a greater risk for osteoarthritis (joint disease), spine problems, and lameness, so you need to take precautions to reduce or eliminate these risks.  Because dogs carry more weight on their forelimbs, those that have had a forelimb loss may have greater future concerns than those with a hind limb loss. For these pups, walking and running puts them at a greater risk of arthritis to the adjacent leg. And large-breed dogs generally have a harder time than smaller breeds supporting themselves on three legs.  Before taking your tripod dog to her forever home, find out the following: Reason for amputation Date of amputation Long-term medical issues or complications from the amputation (i.e., If the leg is lost due to cancer, are follow-ups, additional testing, or treatments such as biopsies and x-rays required?) Need for medication for long-term pain management Reason for living at the shelter (i.e., owner abandonment/relinquishment, lost/stray, confiscation, etc.) Past medical history, including any diagnostics and treatments Current medical history, including additional medical conditions Availability of in-house low-cost testing, coupons, or discounted medical care to help with future costs Special diet the dog is currently on (feeding schedule and amount, and other feeding options if special diet is not available) Preparing Your Home for a Tripod Dog Congratulations on your family addition! You have taken the first step in building a better tomorrow for you and your new companion. While this is certainly an exciting time for both of you, remember that there is always an adjustment period for any animal in a new environment, so be patient and remain committed.  By making a few simple changes, accommodations, and preparations, you can ease your dog’s adjustment period and improve their physical and emotional wellbeing. These include: Therapeutic bedding: decreases pressure on bones and joints Ramps, toe grips, floor rugs: increase grip and reduce slipping and falling (Pet Gear Step and Ramp and Dr. Buzby’s Toe-Grips) Raised food and water bowls: prevent leaning down too much to eat and drink, helping with balance Harness: reduces the stress when lifting your dog up any stairs, in and out of cars, etc. (Help ‘Em Up Harness) Monitoring yard for tripping hazards and uneven terrain ensures your dog’s safety when unsupervised Carrying your dog, if possible, up and down the stairs or blocking access to the second story to ensure safety If cost is a concern, you can get creative since many of these products can be made by you or substituted with products already in the home. For example, you can place a rolled-up towel under the pelvis to help lift and support your dog.  Be sure to schedule an appointment with your veterinarian for a checkup immediately after adoption. Discuss with your veterinarian ways to keep your dog healthy and maintain good body weight, future care, and the potential need for medications.  The Cost of Caring for a Tripod Dog Beyond the amputation and initial rehabilitation costs, there aren’t any additional expenses in this regard for most tripod dogs. Of course, if possible, ongoing physical therapy with a rehabilitation veterinarian is ideal to help maintain muscle strength and improve coordination and balance. And just because a dog has only three legs doesn’t mean they will be living a life in pain. For many cases where there is significant disease or infection, amputation is considered a therapeutic option that brings relief and helps improve quality of life. Long-Term Management of a Tripod Dog Because your dog walks on three legs instead of four doesn’t mean they can’t have fun. With patience and understanding, you can ensure they are set up for a fun and happy life. Keep in mind the following for long-term management of a tripod dog: Weight Management: A dog’s body weight is distributed over four limbs, with 60% of the weight supported by the forelimbs and 40% by the hind limbs. The weight of tripod dogs is distributed less evenly across their limbs. So, it’s important to keep their weight in check to avoid joint and heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and inflammation. Exercise Management: When walking, let your dog set their own pace but watch if they become winded too soon or fatigued after the walk. For these dogs, shorter, more frequent walks are a better option than long walks. Joint Care: Vigilantly monitor orthopedic disease in the remaining limbs and consider giving your dog joint supplements and feeding them a special diet for joint health. Be sure to discuss the best diet with your veterinarian. Creature Comforts: Provide therapeutic bedding and additional padding to your dog’s elbows and ankles to improve comfort when lying down. Consider putting booties on to protect their paw pads when walking in cold weather and avoid walking during the hottest part of the day. Inspect the pads daily for any cracks, fissures, or sores. Make sure that your dog’s nails are trimmed regularly to help with better traction and balance.   

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Can Dogs See Glow-in-the-Dark Objects? It’s most likely that dogs can see glow-in-the-dark objects and toys, although the phosphorescence may come across as a different color or hue depending on the wavelength.,References Maggs DJ, Miller PE, Ofri R. Slatter’s Fundamentals of Veterinary Ophthalmology. Elsevier; 2018. Featured image: iStock.com/THEPALMER,Anatomically and functionally speaking, human eyes and dog eyes are very similar—although dogs have several advantages that allow them to see better at night. While we often fumble around in the dark to turn on a lamp, dogs are able to get around in the dark much better. Here’s a brief overview of the anatomical structure of the canine eye and some insight on how a dog’s eyes are ultimately designed to see better at night.  Do Dogs Have Night Vision? Yes, dogs can see in the dark, but not in the way that you could see if you used night vision goggles. More studies are needed as there is still much to learn about how a dog “sees” and interprets the world around them.

Ticks carry many serious diseases with long-term and debilitating effects. The best way to fight back is to prevent ticks year-round, keeping you and your pets safe. It is important to understand how ticks reproduce and when they are most active. Ticks can kill both dogs and cats, so you need to stop the tick life cycle, ideally before they are able to transmit a potentially deadly disease. Flea and tick prevention products aim to repel ticks or kill them before disease transmission, which is why they are so important. The Life Cycle of a Tick The tick life cycle consists of four stages: Egg Larva Nymph Adult Larvae and nymphs have six legs and adult ticks have eight legs. Ticks are bloodsuckers and require a host (and its blood) to survive, molt, and reproduce. For most tick species, they require several hosts to complete their life cycle; for others, such as the brown dog tick, they can spend their entire life cycle on one host (your dog). The female tick lays eggs by the thousands, usually under leaves or other types of detritus. The larva hatches and attaches to a host, usually a small bird or rodent like a mouse, where it can then pick up deadly diseases and become a carrier. Shortly after feeding, the larva drops off the host, lies dormant up to a year, molts, and becomes a nymph. It then feeds on another host, where it can transmit its disease or diseases, drops off, and lies dormant again for a few months before molting into an adult.  The adult tick then finds its host—usually a larger animal or human—mates, feeds, and transmits the disease. The male tick remains on its host until done feeding, when it falls off and dies. The female tick usually falls off shortly after mating to lay its eggs. On average, this time frame takes about 2 years to complete. When it’s feeding, the tick regurgitates digestive enzymes to prevent its host’s blood from clotting so it can continue feeding. During the regurgitation process, fleas transmit diseases to the host. This process often takes more than 48 hours for some ticks, but timing varies and for some tick species it only takes a few hours. If the tick is found and removed early, the chances of disease transmission is rare. This is why tick prevention is critical to keeping pets safe year-round, since medications are designed to kill the tick or cause it to drop off its host before disease is transmitted. 6 Most Common Ticks in the United States American Dog Tick Photo Credit: iStock/dbstudio Dermacentor variabilis has been known to transmit tularemia and Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), and is also one of the main ticks that cause tick paralysis. This tick can be found throughout the United States, but no longer in the Rocky Mountains, where it was first identified, and in Southwestern states.  Lone Star Tick Photo Credit: iStock/Joesboy Amblyomma americanum has been known to transmit Ehrlichiosis, tularemia, cytauxzoonosis, Heartland virus disease, rickettsiosis, and STARI (southern tick-associated rash illness). This tick is commonly seen in southern states but can be found in some northern states. This tick is most active from early spring to late fall. Blacklegged (Deer) Tick Photo Credit: iStock/Jason Ondreicka Ixodes scapularis has been known to transmit Lyme disease, babesiosis, anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis, and Powassan virus disease. This tick is most often seen in the eastern United States but has reached as far south and west as Texas and South Dakota.    Brown Dog Tick Photo Credit: iStock/RobertAx Rhipicephalus sanguineus has been known to transmit babesiosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF), Ehrlichiosis, canine hepatozoonosis, and anaplasmosis. This tick is typically seen in southern states but there is no limit to its geographic expansion. A unique feature about this tick is that it can also be found in homes and kennels. Winter Tick Photo Credit: University of Nebraska Dermacentor albipictus is more commonly seen on moose, deer, and elk than our companion animals. It is not known to carry diseases that can be transmitted to people or pets. As its name implies, it is most active in fall and winter and has been seen from coast to coast throughout the United States.   Gulf Coast Tick Photo Credit: National Environmental Health Association Amblyomma maculatum has been known to transmit rickettsiosis and canine hepatozoonosis. As its name implies, this tick is most often seen along the Gulf Coast but has been seen as far north as Ohio. It is most active from late summer to early fall. How to Keep Ticks Off Pets Ticks pose a significant threat to you and to your pets. It is vital that they be protected as best as possible, and the best way to protect is through prevention. Partnering with your veterinarian to find the right flea and tick medication is important for your pet’s health. Most tick prevention products that come in a chewable tablet like Bravecto and Nexgard, a wearable collar like Seresto, or even a topical like Frontline Plus take several hours before they start repelling and killing ticks. So when planning outdoor activity with your pet, make sure they are protected far in advance.

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