Rear leg Tripawd Mini Poodle Penny benefits from canine rehab therapy thanks to Tripawds Foundation Rehab Grant #173. The free consultation and at-home rehab exercises help Persephone stay strong and love life on three legs. Read her story, and learn how you can get a free veterinary rehab evaluation for your dog or cat.
Yes! Tri-kitties qualify for free feline rehab too. See all Tripawds who have received free rehab sessions thanks to your support.
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Meet Front Leg Tripawd Mini Poodle Penny
Meet Penny, a 3 year old mini poodle mix who will enchant you with her sweet eyes and sting you with her sassy personality. The extra attention that comes with being a Tripawd pup in the world can sometimes be a challenge for an introverted girl like Penny. She is very protective of her cuteness and only likes affection on her terms.
In the late summer of 2022 she entered the Kern County Animal Shelter as a messy matted fur ball with a broken front leg, crushed paw, and an unknown past. With the help of rescue partner Marley’s Mutts of Tehachapi, CA, they were able to get her immediate medical care, but due to the severity of the break and significant calcification to the affected area they performed a full amputation of the leg to give her the best chance of minimal long term pain. I adopted Penny almost two months after her operation, once her foster and Marley’s Mutt’s thought her recovery was on track.
PET/CLINIC INFO:
- Pet Name: Penny
- Stats: 3 years old, female, Tripawd Mini Poodle mix
- Rehab Clinic: Doghouse Rehab
- Physical Therapist: Josh Schwartz CCRT
Penny Adapts Well After Amputation with Canine Rehab
Tripawd Mini Poodle Penny quickly adapted to her post-surgery body. It didn’t take her long to be running at full speed in the yard or flying up and down the stairwell to my apartment. Still full of puppy energy she pushes her body’s limits…jumping up on the bed or doing zoomies, and sometimes ending up face-planted in the grass. It’s been a year since her amputation and we’ve recently started at-home physical therapy sessions with Josh from DogHouse Rehab to address her alignment and long term plan that will benefit her quality of life.
I had first considered physical therapy for Penny after seeing the resources at Tripawds, a website my vet had recommended.
Our first consultation started with bonding time between Penny and Josh and an observation of how she walks, turns, goes up/down stairs, and transitions between sit/down/stand. Penny twists her front paw inward to stabilize herself, causing her elbow joint and shoulder blade area to extend outward. So we have started an exercise where a treat is drifted at eye level towards her ear, helping her do a right side and left side stretch. As she does the side stretch, the turn straightens the shoulder blade back into the body and then the elbow follows suit.
Another beginner stretch is a front extension-type stretch where the treat is held at a 45 degree angle above Penny’s eye line, encouraging an upper reach motion that straightens out the angle of her neck/upper back line. We do a version of this extension stretch when she is in a sit position, a down position, and will sometimes bring the treat higher so she does squat reps on her hind legs. We also combine this forward extension stretch into a rocking stretch where the treat is pushed towards close her nose shifting her body back while her arm stays forward and stretches almost like a “downward dog” yoga stretch.
These lessons are teaching me how to move the treats in a way that creates the desired angles in each of Penny’s stretches, the angle work being so similar to core training in human pilates. Josh explained that dogs support 60% of their full body weight onto the front legs, so it’s important for Penny to learn how to shift her weight onto her hind limbs to relieve some of the weight in front. I’m also learning that Penny likes when these exercises a game. She is enjoying the use of props, like balancing on the Balance Disc and crawling under the mini “dog limbo” bar, which is engaging her mind in addition to the body.
I’m excited to see how Penny’s body is affected by the small movement shifts, and as a pet parent I feel a lot better knowing what cues to look for and how I may be able to support her.
~ Danielle & Penny