Front leg amputation. Pet pig

Please post questions about pets who are expected to undergo amputation or who have already undergone amputation here, as well as pets born with missing or incomplete limbs.
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Li5aMarie
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Front leg amputation. Pet pig

Post by Li5aMarie »

Hi there,
My little pig had a deformity. She's had her right front leg amputated. We will be getting her a prosthetic. However, we don't feel she'll take to it. She's missing much soft tissue. Next is a front chair. If I can't find one that fits, her left leg will collapse and she'll need to be put down. Other than her leg, she's happy and healthy.
Can Eddies do this? Any other suggestions? Any plans out there for a PVC cart while she grows?

Please, any suggestions/idea.

Thank you in advance
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critters
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Re: Front leg amputation. Pet pig

Post by critters »

:slant: Yes, PVC might be a possibility; the problem with PVC is usually that there's a limit to how much weight it can take. Front carts can also be problematic themselves, but another possibility you haven't mentioned is a quad (4-wheeled) cart.
Li5aMarie
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Re: Front leg amputation. Pet pig

Post by Li5aMarie »

Thanks for your input. Won't a quad chair reduce the use of back legs? Or just offer all support all around?
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critters
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Re: Front leg amputation. Pet pig

Post by critters »

You can work it either way.
Li5aMarie
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Re: Front leg amputation. Pet pig

Post by Li5aMarie »

I never knew!! Thanks so much! I'll look into those and discuss them with Cornell.
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critters
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Re: Front leg amputation. Pet pig

Post by critters »

To be honest, I don't know that they'll know for certain; I'd doubt even if your baby were a dog, much less a pig! One thing about PVC is that it's so friendly to use, and you can easily resize and redo until you find the right combo, then use the PVC cement to make it permanent. Whether a quad is a walker or a wheelchair, like a 2-wheeled one, depends on how you rig the legs. The legs can bear weight or not; if not, they're basically strung up in stirrups. Lemme see if I can find Chris Bacon on the HP site; he's a pigger on wheels, although I can't remember what his disability is.
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critters
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Re: Front leg amputation. Pet pig

Post by critters »

I'm not having any luck searching for Chris, but I'll message nbregger to see if she has it.
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critters
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Re: Front leg amputation. Pet pig

Post by critters »

PS--His full name is Chris P. Bacon, in case you have better luck.
Li5aMarie
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Re: Front leg amputation. Pet pig

Post by Li5aMarie »

critters wrote:To be honest, I don't know that they'll know for certain; I'd doubt even if your baby were a dog, much less a pig! One thing about PVC is that it's so friendly to use, and you can easily resize and redo until you find the right combo, then use the PVC cement to make it permanent. Whether a quad is a walker or a wheelchair, like a 2-wheeled one, depends on how you rig the legs. The legs can bear weight or not; if not, they're basically strung up in stirrups. Lemme see if I can find Chris Bacon on the HP site; he's a pigger on wheels, although I can't remember what his disability is.

I'm familiar with Chris P Bacon. I follow him,on several social media sites. I reached out to him. No response. I am sure he has several ppl who reach out to him. And I am not special.
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CarolC
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Re: Front leg amputation. Pet pig

Post by CarolC »

Here is an adorable video of a front amputee pig!


I am just asking because I'm not sure. Is there something about pigs that is different from dogs and cats? Because dogs and cats adjust and do fine on 3 legs. Here is a photo of a three-legged pig with a front leg missing (click to enlarge). I am not sure it would be a problem, really. When you look at the weight distribution on pigs, it is pretty evenly distributed between the front and back legs. When referring to dogs and amputation there is a saying, "Dogs are born with 3 legs and a spare." Actually, with dogs, there is 20% more weight distributed on the front legs, so it seems like logically it would be a little more challenging for them than for an animal with the weight evenly distributed. You may not need a cart. Why not see if she will adjust as she grows. If you want, you could do physical therapy to help strengthen the good front leg, such as swimming. I do not know how big she is, but a hot tub, a big stock tank, or even a pool at an equine veterinary hospital would work. If she is little and you have money, they would probably take her at the canine rehab place, they'd probably be tickled to work with her and help her get off to a good start. I would think in the future you would want to be sure she is fixed so male pigs are not mounting her, and watch her weight, and probably keep her on a veterinary formula joint supplement. Look around her living area and remove anything that looks unsafe. For example, if she has a house she likes to climb on top of and jump off, I'm not sure I would allow that, no personal experience, just some thoughts.
click to enlarge
click to enlarge
P.S. I just archived the video in case they ever take it down, here is the link.
https://web.archive.org/web/20161124170 ... kVHEaapKTA
Li5aMarie
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Re: Front leg amputation. Pet pig

Post by Li5aMarie »

Hi Carolc
Pigs and dogs are not built the same. A 150lbs pig is about the size of a bull dog. Where as a 150lb dog would be a Rottweiler or St Bernard.
In addition, pigs cannot lift their heads the way dogs can. The necks are not as flexible. They look as if they have constant stuff necks. They have stout legs and carry much mass. Because of their stature they can get arthritis as young as 2.
The video you posted was of a farm hog. That pig was only a few months old. It lives outdoors on soft surfaces. As it grows That missing leg will become an issue.
Pet pigs that live indoors (like mine) have more sway backs and pot bellies. They walk in harder surfaces. This causes more issues in hooves as a whole let alone missing a leg.
My pig is 2 and already showing stress on the good leg. In addition, we don't know why the pig in your video is missing her leg. Mine is deformity. Her whole right side is deformed. Therefore there could be more deformity on the left making it not as strong as it should/could be.
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CarolC
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Re: Front leg amputation. Pet pig

Post by CarolC »

OK, I wonder if it would help to provide support to the good leg with a brace. You mentioned a prosthetic for the amputated side, but what about the good side? Again I don't know but it might be something to ask the O & P. Here is an example of a place that does custom braces.

http://orthopets.com/brace-and-prosthet ... ifle-knee/
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