Monday
Dec022013

Boxer Puppy with Only Two Legs

From Youtube description:

Today (11/23/2013)  I took Duncan in the hydrotherapy pool & in the tub filled with warm water to do his stretches & message. He is very comfortable in water thankfully but the hydrotherapy pool may take a couple more times before I can say he's perfectly confident. Thankfully he trusts me & he is picking it all up quickly. The bath tub I fill up with warm water & we soak in it together. Once he is relaxed I work on massaging his muscles since his two legs are doing all of the same amount of work a 4-legged dog does. Then I work on stretching & turning his spine & pelvis. In just four weeks we have turned his pelvis that was at a 90 degree contortion to a 45 degree contortion. That is a major hurdle & I can only see it getting better every week! 


A few other questions I want to answer about him are: 

1. Wheelchair topic: Duncan has multiple chairs & he is learning to use one. He is more comfortable out of it because for his entire life he's done everything every other dog can do on his own. However the chair will help keep his spine as straight as possible. Currently he has a curve to his spine like a shrimp or seahorse but with all of his therapies & the chair we hope to stop to from getting worse. 

2. Pain: Duncan is in NO PAIN. He never has been in pain & we were VERY lucky to get him before his spine turned anymore due to the pressure of his deformities. 

3. How does he potty?: Like every other dog does. He has 100% bowel & bladder control. He balances himself on two legs to do his business & no, he doesn't pee on himself or fall on poop. He does his thing & walks away. 

5. Was he born this way?: No. He was born with four legs. However, his two rear legs were severely deformed & the bones had fused in a pretzel like shape. Criss crossed & doing horrible contortion damage to his spine. He also has a deformed pelvis. So, we were left to either euthanize or double amputate. Clearly, you can see his will to live, and we made the correct decision. 

6. Why is he so skinny?: He's not really. He is a 4 month old puppy that's in a growing stage. He is lean but in exceptional fitness shape. Due to his body shape now it's best to keep him on the slimmer side as opposed to the chunky puppy side of things. Excess weight is unnecessary strain on his body. Also, he is completely atrophied in his back end which is truthfully best for him. Not to mention that boxers are chest cavity heavy with narrow hind ends. He eats the same amount any 4 legged, 4 month puppy would eat & he burns those calories well. 

I hope this answers a lot of what people keep asking & thank you all for your unwavering support!

 

 

 

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