Bucky is 7 months old now, and more than 50 lbs! He’s happy, but he no longer has much interest in our 30-minute walks in the morning. I decided it’s just because he weighs more and that’s more exhausting. He was panting heavily and stopping to lay down/rest during the walk, so I decided to switch the routine to shorter neighborhood walks (10 to 15 minutes). We have also been going to the dog park, which is a lot of fun for him and Molly. He can run full speed, and then come by me and rest for a few minutes. Molly can run freely for a long time!
The first time we went, another dog mounted Bucky and started humping on him. He didn’t seem to mind, but I shooed the dog away. It doesn’t always happen, but today it did. This one dog was focused on Buck and kept trying to mount him and Buck was getting agitated. The other dog’s owner and I kept breaking it up, and it was kind of embarrassing for both of us. Shortly afterward, a stocky bull dog came to visit my sister and I where we were sitting on a bench. This little guy was very friendly and people-focused. When he saw Buck, he immediately mounted him, and I got him off. But then, Buck seemed to notice that this dog was shorter than he was, and Buck mounted the bull dog! The dog trotted off, and Bucky pursued him, trying to mount him again.
I thought it was an interesting dynamic. The two stories I shared happened to be instances of males mounting Buck, but females do it to him, too. One day after being at the dog park, his own “sister” Molly mounted him in our backyard. I think she learned that behavior from watching other dogs in the dog park!
I think it’s probably that other dogs see weakness and decide to dominate Buck in this way—not so likely that they count legs and decide to bully him! I didn’t see it happening to other young dogs, so I just assume they see Bucky as some sort of wounded prey by the way he moves and hobbles along.
Has anyone had similar experiences with their tripawds? I am interested in your thoughts. Thanks!
Thanks for the update! We always recommend more frequent shorter walks, along with building up core and limb muscle strength—walking doesn’t build strength, only endurance. Search the blogs and forums for “rehab” and “siblings” or check out the Tripawds Library for lots of exercise tips and how to videos, as well as posts we’ve written about pack behavior against dogs after amputation.