3-legged dogs

D

Dead Eye Dave

New member
Anyone have an opinion on hunting a 3-legged dog? My hunting buddy owns my dogs' littermate, they are almost 10, my dog still hunts hard and finds lots of birds and runs like he has at least 3 more years in him. My buddies dog injured his front right wrist stepping in a hole 3 years ago then re-injured it 2 years ago, limped painfully for several months. Last year first day hunting ran for an hour then refused to bare weight on it and winced when he tried. It has not improved. Vets said it was ligamentous injury with poor prognosis, they could fuze the joint for $5,000 but he would never hunt again. He hobbles around the house with a wrist brace but clearly hurts whenever a little weight is placed on that foot. The other day I spoke with a 70 year old dog trainer who said he should have had it amputated after the second injury and he'd been hunting a week later. They had known several 3-legged hunting dogs, even owned one. Not as fast as before, but sometimes that helps. Any opinions?
 
not a hunting dog but lady I used to work for had a 3 legged lab that I watched put many a guy running back to their truck. I would say its possible to hunt with a 3 legged dog.
 
A comment first , a tribute to follow. Dogs missing hind legs are very very capable! ! If you face a amputation do not dispare! Missing front legs are very comprised . I would think front legged amputees could cover “sitting” birds , likely not running birds!
We rescued Kalli at 4 years of age. Had never hunted , black lab. She had been hit by car as a pup. Had an ongoing rear leg infection, which we tried and failed to clear up. Within 6 months of rehoming ,the leg had to come off due to failed kidney function. She never missed a beat after surgery recovery we continued introducing her to upland hunting. We hunted 6 weeks after surgery and she loved chasing roosters. The Hamstring on her good leg was huge, and she could run so well you could not discern her small handicap ! We had 6 wonderful years and some incredible hunts and retrieves! Her 10th year she tore her acl!!! An amazing surgeon did the TPLO surgery, we got her pain free and hunted on small routes for another couple of seasons! Advice please- if you face this some day ! Do Not Give up on your dog. No regrets here! Kalli final duck 2018/ roosters 201954006976-BA82-4D0A-A005-8043FF3BD6E2.jpeg1A8CE62E-1362-4956-A156-48AD12FCADF1.jpeg
 
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there's a two-legged dog on the internet. missing a front and a rear leg on same side. runs around just fine.
 
There is a good 5 minute read on a visla who lost his front leg and continued to hunt last fall. Pheasants included. Www.projectupland.com perhaps I stand corrected on the ability of a front amputated dogs hunting ???? If so I accept
 
Late to this game but I owned a GSP and she was awesome on 3 legs ( missing front left) Her points were beautiful and often you couldn't tell her missing leg. She worked close and swept the field when the others would go out further.
She honor and retrieve but I tried not to have her work that hard. She would hunt for about an hour without rest and back at it after a good rest. As she got tired she would lay down on her points. At 12 yrs old she would hunt for a bit but then was to tired. Bless her RIP - She would have been a great Champion in competition if I had elected to go the route.
 

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