Dog Question

My 3 year old Chocolate lab tried to jump his kennel this weekend. I found him Sunday morning hanging from the fence. Vet figured he was probably there for at most two hours. He was supporting himself with his front legs however he got his foot stuck in the fence and had an open wound with a broken bone and almost all tendons were snapped.
He is a great dog and loves to spend time chasing pheasants with me. The vets assured me yesterday that dogs have no problem hunting on 3 legs. At this point I just feel horrible about what happened to him. Do you guys have experience with dogs with 3 legs? I really don’t care if he can’t hunt hard anymore I just don’t want him to be miserable for the rest of his life. It is his back right leg. The vet is taking it off today as they are worried that infection will take over his body if they don’t. Anything you guys have good or bad about this would help. One of the most depressing days I have had in a long long time

I have seen many farm dogs with a leg removed, they are all happy as can be.

No experience to share, but sorry I’mto hear it.

I hope it turns out good as it can be!

I can’t give any advice on three legged dogs. I have heard that it hardly slows them down though. I just want to send out my regards. I lost a two year old Chocolate to drowning of all things. They are “just” dogs to some people, but not us. Best wishes!

I’ve also seen many three-legged dogs that get around just fine and are quite happy.

It’s an unfortunate circumstance, but if you like the dog, I am sure he will be back to as normal as can be soon!

I hunted a good bit over a friends 3-legged springer. It did shorten his career – as he only hunted until he was 13…….. Those mutts are a helluva lot tougher than we are. Take care of him good and he’ll pull through like you can’t imagine! Sorry to hear about it, though.

Tim

I have actually seen a few 3 legged labs around, The dogs themself seemed to be just as happy! Your dog will be happy with 3 legs as long as you learn to cope with his situation.
I am sorry to hear of the mis-hap and I hope for a speedy recovery.
Beughty is in the eye of the beholder!

Hello, I read your post and had to reply. A little over a year ago we adopted a 9 month old choc. lab. They were giving her away because she had her back right leg amputated as well. The owners were breeders and the vet told them they could not use this one because the weight of 10-13 puppys inside would be to much. so they doctored her all up and when she was well enough found her a good home. “Snickers” was the first choc. lab I have had and the first dog my family has had. She is one of the smartests, most loving dogs i’ve seen. As far as the missing leg, it doest seem to bother her abit. She loves to play fetch, swim, jump into my ranger and go for a ride etc. It hasnt slowed her down one bit! I do believe she suffers from PTSD though she is very way of gates and if we have a fan in a doorway she wont come in. She isnt a “working dog”, we keep her in the house but she is one of the best dogs ever. Im sure yours will be just fine too. Ive put a few pics of her here for you to see aswall. Good luck

PIC 2

last pic 3 legged dog

Thanks for the replies guys. It makes it easier to cope with to hear other stories of successs.

I know for a fact that some dogs can run just fine on 3 legs. I have a small rat terrier… When she was about 9 months old… I think she was attached by a bird or something because when we first got her, she had some type of scratches on her leg. We noticed right away that when she would run, she would hold up that leg completely and run on 3 legs. Really kind of strange.

Now that we have had her for a few years… I wonder if she just isn’t [censored]… if you watch her… she will switch which legs she runs on in back… sometimes she holds up the right back, sometimes the left back

So sorry to hear about your dog! But on a good note, we had a german shorthair that lost her back leg and she hunted like a champ! It slowed her down so she found a lot more birds instead of just running by them. She had no problems moving around and lived for years that way. She finally passed away from old age. Your lab probably will not be able to swim but who knows. Don’t give up and good luck! Chunk

Vet just called. He is doing well and seems happy (as can be).

They are going to keep him overnite and I can pick him up in the morning. Thanks again to all for their concern. I will let you all know how he turns out as he recovers.

Thanks

Glad to hear everything is going well so far. Hope he heals up for ya and be sure to give him a big old dog bone when he gets home!

That’s gotta be tough- – -I feel for ya. BUT- -a hunting buddy in SD has a 3 legged black lab, calls her Tripod. They are inseperable. He claimed she’s the best dog he’s ever had, said she slowed down just enough to be very effective at finding roosters. She’s getting a little white around the muzzle, but the fire is still there. Good luck with this one- – -jerr

Brent…sorry to hear that…..I hope he’s up and running soon. Please keep us informed how he is doing.

And, I don’t mean to pry into a unfortunate accident, but can you explain a little more how he got caught on the fence? That could be valuable info for anyone else kenneling their dog!

Shorter kennel or he was up on a dog house? His collar get caught on the top?

Hemi, that is a great question. I never thought to post the reason that this happened. I would say that it is my fault. I rarely kennel my dog as he usually stays around the house very well. His kennel is about 30′ long. He also has a barn that is attached to his kennel. All fenced sides of his kennel are at least 7 feet accept one. That one is about 5.5 feet. That was the problem, and the long run he can take is at that end of the kennel. I can’t be sure but I think that he took off from the opposite side of the kennel and attempted to jump the shortest part of the fence. He cleared it with everything but the one leg. So I guess that anyone that has a strong jumping lab maybe they should take a look at how high their fence is. I sure wish I woulda’
It is possible that he somehow climbed the fence also but I will never know for sure. I will for sure be putting in a taller fence on that side if he will ever go in there again.

We have some friends that have a dog named Lucky. Lucky is a great dog to play around with. Lucky also gets his but kicked by a three legged dog down at the park.

My neighbors had a dog that fell into a running grain auger while trying to jump up to his owner in the grain box. The dog lost it’s rear leg but after figuring out how to do without it, he probably ran just as fast on three legs as he did on four. He didn’t have that fourth leg getting in the way! It didn’t bother the dog at all and lived a good life. It was a male and had a tough time getting the tires, but he could still do it!

He was called Tripod after that of course.

I can’t say I ever saw the dog swim before or after the accident to know if it was still possible though. It was a shepard/lab cross, FWIW.

Brent no expierence here but sorry to hear that and hope all goes well..Ive seen many a pooch runnin around with 3 legs though and seem to do pretty good…again hope all goes well…Jay

I’ve seen several Tripods myself. My dog broke her back leg when she was 10 weeks old and our vet told us she would get around fine while she’s healing. She said dogs and cats both are three legged creatures that come with a spare.

Just make sure to keep your dog at a healthy weight. You don’t want to see any hip or knee problems with the other rear leg.

Let us know how things go over the next couple of weeks.

Well Hunter is doing great. He jumped right into the back of my 3/4 ton pickup last night. I had the tailgate down loading some stuff in the truck, turned around and he was standing in the back of the truck. Could not believe it. I guess mother nature know how to take care of them. He doesn’t show any signs of being sore and really seems to be doing well.

That’s great to hear – he’s probably excited as heck to see you and be with you again.

Good luck from my two yellows – Chesney and Zander.

ted

great to here the good news.

Lost my 6 yr old chocolate this summer, she just collapsed and died, Vet figured a genetic birth defect caused an aneurism or heart attack. Weird thing is, 2 other dogs from this breeder in South Dakota also died prematurely from sudden heart attack. Good luck, feel your pain buddy.