So I have a question for those who are caring for a rear leg amputee…Do you experience this thing where your dog will magically be pointed in another direction (like heading toward home)? Dudley really takes advantage of being able to do a 180 in less than a second. We go out to do bathroom business at 5 am, on a leash because I just don’t trust him as well as it being 5 am in the wood and he will literally flip around and suddenly be pointed back in the opposite direction.
He also uses the tripawd spin for when he is super happy, he gets the zoomies but he will use that back leg like a corkscrew and just spin in circles where he’s at. It doesn’t happen often but when it does, it is memorable! Some days when I come home from work and he feels like playing but knows that he lives in a small space (28 foot trailer), he will just hop around on his dog bed and spin around.
Whenever I come home, I usually spend about 10 minutes completely focused on him. I let him sniff my hair and give him a good rubdown and itch his neck and ears for him. He has a hound nose and is constantly smelling my hands, face, hair and blasting air out of his nose to get more scents. He also loves to have his stinky blankets tossed over him and do some peek-a-boo type stuff! I have to make sure I pay attention to him first before I greet the cat. They are doing fine and he has adjusted to her but he grumbles if she runs past his bed to come up and sleep with me. He has a low prey drive but his bed is His Precious. He doesn’t snap, just warning growls. They are working things out over time and are actually both respectful of each other! Joey Cat is retired from living in our shop next door and she does just fine sleeping on either the heating pad on my couch or on top of me at night. She ignores him for the most part and will give him a swat on the head if he gets in her space.
Dudley came to us with a martingale collar and I have chosen to stick with this style of collar. As his body adapts to the physical changes of being an amputee and his choice of “flipping the switch” I find that the martingale collar works best for him. His neck has become burly with the body changes and I realized that I needed to find an alternate collar to switch out. I did a google search and found this gem on Etsy.
One of his many names is Studly Dudley so I figured that the Stud Muffin print was perfect for him. I do call him Dudley Muffin, he is neutered so he won’t be much of a stud but he does attract and charm everyone he meets. I’m hoping the collar fits the way I need it to but we shall see once it gets here.
The tripawd zoomies! Yes, I am very familiar with that. Loki’s zoomies tend to manifest with spinning in one spot, scampering a short distance, then spinning some more. It’s hilarious every time. I don’t leash walk her often because of her prey drive. I don’t think I’ve seen the flip on a leash walk that you describe.
Oh my gosh that zoomie sounds adorable! Our Wyatt didn’t do that, but I think because he was a German Shepherd with a low back end, it wasn’t easy to pivot that quickly. He would more like do a ballet leap into the air to suddenly turn, not a spin.
Don’t you just love the power of a dog’s nose? We’ve been helping our neighbor with her dogs, and we have to leave Nellie home when we do. But when we come home, her nose is all over us! She reads us like a map for a while. And I can’t help but feel a little guilty about that, like we cheated on her!
Glad to hear Dudley is getting along with your kitty. What a good boy!!!
Hope you guys are doing well and not waterlogged from all that rain.
Not a dog, but my cat has his back left leg amputated. He sometimes spins around like Dudley when he plays or gets the zoomies too!