Hydrotherapy in the Care of Canine Amputees
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When your best friend needs an amputation, it can be an emotionally challenging decision to make as a family. When you have no choice and the amputation needs to be performed suddenly, it can be even more difficult to deal with. But there is hope.
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Amputations are often lifesaving procedures and it may give your?best friend?many more years with a good?quality of life.?And that is what I want to highlight for you in this article.
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The difference between a fore and hindlimb amputation
Dog’s carry their weight on four limbs, making it much easier for them to adjust to amputation than it is for us as two-legged people. However, all four limbs are not the same. Dogs carry 60% of their weight on their forelimbs and 40% of their weight on their hindlimbs.
The limbs also have different functions, the hindlimbs are important for forward propulsion, while the forelimbs are important for changing directions, slowing down and balancing.
Together, these points mean that dogs generally cope and adjust more easily to a hindlimb amputation and take a little more time and require a little more help when it comes to a forelimb amputation.
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The adjustment period
Once your dog has had an amputation, they will need to learn how to?balance, how to walk, how to change speed and direction, and generally how to function in the best possible way. In the beginning, they may struggle with the simplest tasks, but with some help, they can quickly adjust and learn to live life to the fullest again.
In the words of Hydrotherapist Angela Griffiths,??“your dog doesn’t know how it looks, it doesn’t have any of those disability issues that we have in people, it doesn’t have to worry about earning a living and paying the mortgage, it just wants to be a dog and get on with life, and what we have to do is make sure they are supported and pain-free, for however long they are going to be with us.”
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Your biggest concern
A dog with only three legs will be placing?excess weight?on the remaining legs as well as drastically changing the way it moves from the way it’s body was designed to move. These factors together mean that your dog will be at a greater risk to injure one of the remaining legs, as well as to?develop arthritis?in the remaining legs.
The images below show some of the ways in which dogs might change their gait or movement in response to a forelimb amputation, which can predispose them to injury or the development of arthritis.