Dudley is a special dog…very distinct personality and we have had a massive learning curve over the past 9 months. Whatever his supermutt breed mix is, it involves every single stubborn dog breed possible! He doesn’t want to wear a harness, doesn’t want to ride in the car, doesn’t want to go outside when it’s raining (we live on the Oregon coast), doesn’t want to go out to pee before eating breakfast, doesn’t want snuggles, doesn’t want to share his bed, doesn’t want to drink out of his water bowl unless it is brought to him, doesn’t want to poop unless he can be in the bushes…all of that, we have overcome somewhat after 9 months!
If I time it right, car rides are now awesome!!! We still have the struggle of getting him out to the car if he doesn’t want to go, but he will load up. He is now in the back seat instead of on the floor boards because I have a little car hammock that keeps him from falling when he loses his balance. We have a routine where we go out to the LNG tank to meet up with other dogs in the morning and he loves it so much!!! We have met so many people and dogs that are amazed at how well he does with 3 legs. I think I could do a drive with him in the car for an hour with no problems.
At first, it was cute that he would run up my neighbor’s hill and sit on their doorstep to be let in to hang out with their dogs. I stopped letting him do that because it was encouraging him to run off from me. I can tell him to wait when we are out at the unofficial dog park area and he will. Still horrible recall but he doesn’t completely run away. The new leash I got for him is working so well! When I mean business, I go to the short leash handle and give him a little bit of a firm hand and he responds. I’ve found that when he digs his heels, if I walk back to him, we can reset and move forward.
We went to an afternoon music performance with my parents at the public library in a nice grassy setting and Dudley did really well. He loves being around people and dogs and was able to relax for a bit before he started groaning and whining along with the music.
I can see the shift in his posture with the amputation and will be paying attention to the changes. He had some issues with his paw pads but after applying paw balm for a few days (many grumbles on his part) things are better. I’ve learned his limitations, he can do a mile walk on flat ground with a little bit of zooming around with dog friends. He is getting better about taking breaks when he needs to and will flop down on the ground if the humans are chatting. He is doing so good and I love having him educate people about tripawds as well as rescue dogs and pitbull mixes. Still have people clutch their small dogs and children when they see him but most of the time, our reception is nothing but positive. He has the best smile and is just a big block of cheese.
