Royal Veterinary College researchers have shown that three-legged dogs use different gait strategies at different speeds, giving veterinary teams new evidence on how canine amputees load and move after limb loss.

The study1 was led by Dr Zoe Davies, a former Postdoctoral Researcher at the RVC, supervised by Jim Usherwood, Professor in Locomotor Biomechanics at the RVC, and co-authored by Aimee Savage, who was an RVC undergraduate at the time.

It involved six dogs with forelimb amputations and six with hindlimb amputations recruited from across the UK through the RVC's social media channels.

Using a 3D motion capture system and force plates in the RVC's Structure and Motion Laboratory, researchers analysed how the dogs adapted their bodies at different speeds.

At higher speeds, the dogs used a gallop-like gait similar to that seen in four-legged dogs.

At slower speeds, the dogs adopted two different movement strategies.

One involved a slowed-down version of the gallop.

The other involved a gait in which the pair of remaining limbs moved in a walking pattern, while the single remaining limb contacted the ground more than once during each stride.

When analysing forces acting on the limbs, the researchers found that forelimb amputee dogs placed around 50% of their bodyweight through their single remaining front limb, whereas weight in hindlimb amputee dogs was distributed more evenly across their three remaining limbs.

The RVC said the research provides a foundation for future work into rehabilitation and mobility support for canine amputees and may also inform the development of adaptive legged robots capable of responding to limb loss.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article/293/2069/20253159/481426/Locomotion-on-three-legs-the-tripedal-gaits-of

Reference 

  1. Zoe T. Self Davies, Aimee L. Savage, James R. Usherwood; Locomotion on three legs: the tripedal gaits of canine amputees. Proc Biol Sci 1 April 2026; 293 (2069): 20253159. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2025.3159