Care routine for disabled dog

A dog with a disabled needs regular grooming just like any normal dog. Depending on the type of disabled of the dog, this can be quite different. Like Mojo and Rana, Mateo gets his fur brushed, his claws shortened and his teeth cleaned as needed. I have explained the grooming routine for the dogs in this blog post.

Then there is a little extra for Mateo, because he is missing his left front paw. Instead of his missing paw he only has a stump. Of course, this stump has to be cared for and you can find out here what is part of the stump care.

I have to admit that for a while I didn’t know that a stump needs care at all. After all, I don’t groom dogs’ paws every day and somehow Mateo’s stump is like a paw to me. A too short paw somehow.

First of all it has to be said that the stump care is not witchcraft. Mateo wears his current, growing prosthesis for a few hours every day. His residual limb is thus “under lock and key” every day and must therefore be kept supple. I therefore apply cream to his residual limb regularly. Somehow like people with dry skin. For this I use a wound and protective ointment for babies.

Mateo knows not to lick the cream. He knows that so well that he also follows this rule – as long as I’m in the same room with him 😉 Since he likes to lick off the obviously delicious cream when I’m out of the house or otherwise busy, Mateo wears a small sock after the stump care. This makes him less tempted to go for the supposedly delicious cream and I can devote myself to other things – like the household – in peace and quiet.

The daily application of cream from the residual limb is not enough with the care routine, because: A dog on three legs is a bit slippery. Especially on smooth floors such as parquet or tiled floors. Since we have both in the house – parquet and tiles – Mateo has shown some difficulties in his movement here and there, because: At home he always walks around without a prosthesis.

Why?

Because it is simply more comfortable. After all, we don’t lie around on the sofa at home in sneakers or cook in blouses and blazers. When the pack is at home, most of them are sleeping. Maybe they play a little here and there, but that’s about it. And because there is so little action indoors, Mateo simply doesn’t need his prosthesis at home.

Back to the real issue: three-legged friends have a little more difficulty walking on smooth surfaces than normal dogs. So I did some research and came across the following tip: Trim the fur between the paw pads. This gives more grip on the individual paw pads in three-legged dogs. Read, found good and practiced immediately. I could see an immediate improvement in Mateo’s condition. In other words: To cream the stump, you have to cut the fur in the spaces between the paw pads (neologism?! :D).

That’s it.

That’s all it is. Rub a little greasy cream between your fingers, apply it to the dog and knead the stump a little. Every few weeks cut the coat under the paws and the grooming routine for the disabled dog is ready.