FCE

[JeanneMB]

Thank you Sean for the encouragement. It is heartbreaking and when I feel a meltdown I try to leave the room so she doesn't see me. She is getting lots of encouragement. We actually took a pretty long walk this morning.. we just let her take us where she wanted to go, but then got far enough from home that she was pretty tired on the return. My husband saw her toes on the injured leg move this morning, so this was a big deal for us today.. it's only been 6 days.. but all of the encouragement from people like yourself is a huge help for us.

Jeanne

[Sean]

Yes, I remember those meltdowns. I had him in a vet hospital 2 hours one way away. I dropped him off on a Monday and he was absolutely devastated. I felt so bad for leaving him. I went and saw him the following Wed and I just bawled with him in a private room. I was not much help thats for sure. I then went back on Friday and they put him in a wheelchair for me to see how he would be able to get around if his condition didn't improve. He was such a rock star in the wheelchair. He was so happy to get out and walk. It didn't bother him to be in the chair alot. Eventually I got him for a weekend and I was able to get him pee so I just kept him home with the wheelchair.
Let me tell you how frustrating this is. This morning I took him out with the 4-wheeler. He runs along side. I think it is one if his most favorite things to do. He used to race the 4-wheeler before his accident. He did really good. We only went maybe 1/4 mile because it was early in the day and I didn't want to tire him out right away. We came inside and he cooled down for a couple of hours. We went back out so I could mow the yard. He likes to follow the rider around the yard and he was just struggling. I was getting so frustrated with him I almost brought him in. Everytime I would get off the mower to bring him in he would start walking better. I finished mowing and we came in and made supper. I decided I needed to get some gas. I took him up with me. The way to the gas station also goes by the park. He thought we were going to the park so he got all excited. I decided the way he was walking we could stop by the park and maybe go 100 yards the way he was walking earlier. This little stinker did not trip or drag his legs for over 3/4 of a mile. We finished the whole mile. The last 10 yards he had to stop and regroup a couple of times. After that when we got home I figured he was exhausted. My neighbor stopped by and we talked outside for a good half hour. Mik had plenty of water and he was walking absolutely perfect then also. We came inside about 830pm and I don't think he has lifted his head since he passed out on the couch. Why he was walking so bad earlier. I have not idea. I love to watch him walk when he does it so good so I thought lets see how long he can go. I was all sweaty at the gas station in my blue jeans and polo (thank God I had my tennis shoes on). You just never know what's gonna happen with them. As long as he is willing to try I will keep giving him the oppurtunities. Have a good week:):)

Sean

[rubymomma]

Keep up the faith and patience. My Ruby is doing so much better. She jumps up on me when I get home (a no no but I can't scold her when she is so much better) and she is getting up on the couch and bed. She is running again! When she walks you can tell she is bit wobbly but when she runs you can't tell anything was wrong. We are at about three weeks almost four and the progress continues everyday.

[JeanneMB]

Thank you for the post. We are just on day 7. There seemed to be minor improvement yesterday, as she moved the bad leg a bit and was able to uncurl the toes.. lots of massages and passive range of motion and excercise!
I'm so glad to hear that you and Ruby are doing better, also!

[JeanneMB]

For those of you who have seen improvement over time, did or has the animal gotten away from the "toeing under". If so when during the rehabilitation stage? Payton's is toeing under on the paralyzed leg, but if I straighten it out, she will stand on it.
Thanks for any input on this..

Jeanne

[Sean]

Jeanne,

Keep working with her. Moving the leg at all is outstanding!!!!!!!!! She will get it going it just takes time for the swelling to go down.

Mik's right leg started moving first. It was moving forward but not bending completely. He would only move it in the wheelchair. That was after about 2 1/2 weeks. His left leg did not move for another 2-3 weeks. Now he moves his left leg perfect. His right leg is actually his weak leg. He doesn't always pick the leg up completely and about every 10th step he knuckles under. He typically catches the knuckling and corrects it right away. I notice outside he picks up his feet more and doesn't knuckle under. When he runs he moves the legs really good. A lot depends how excited he is. If we are at the park he moves almost perfect. He slips on the gravel when he tries to change directions. I do protect his feet when we go to the park when he slides. He still is fighting a little infection in one of his legs from me not protecting them in the past. Everytime I would take him to the vet they test his placement on both legs. She was surprised because the first time she checked them the left would knuckle almost every time. 2 weeks later when I brought him back he switched and knuckled about every 5th time. She couldn't explain it. I am just happy he can get around on his own. I am hoping he continues to improve.

It is way to early to say what is permanent. Good luck
-Sheldon

[JeanneMB]

Thanks much.. We have covered the foot, but the fabric wasn't too sturdy and tore up within two days of walking/dragging on the concrete. I am now working on a new one, made w/ heavy leather.. Know we have to keep it covered. Being a sheep dog, she has lots of hair, but still rubbing through.........
Patience...

[rubymomma]

As for "toeing under" Ruby has continued to show improvement. For the first two weeks she continually dragged the top of her left foot on the ground causing a nasty sore. When we went to the vet this last time he would put her foot down knuckles down and she would correct it. In the last week she has gotten to the point that we rarely have to put a boot on her, only when she is extra tired. The first week I thought we were going to have to put her down, but today she was running and playing with her sister and I am so glad that we took the time to let her heal.

[critters]

We're going to use http://handicappedpets.com/www/index.ph ... lints.html after Koi, my paraplegic, has surgery Sat. to release his contracture; he permanently walks on the top of his L foot.

[Sean]

I took Mik to the Vet today for his accupuncture and they want to amputate the first digit of one of his toes. Last week he was working on climbing stairs and ripped off the toe nail. I noticed it and we cleaned it. He is on Simplicef and I give him another antibiotic ointment to his other infections which are now healed thank goodness. This just hit me out of the blue. He isn't limping on it and he does lick it. I keep it covered now so his licking doesn't make it worse.

I took him to my local vet tonight to get a second opinion and she thinks it is way to early to be doing any amputations. She thinks we need to change antibiotics and give him a fighting chance to beat this since he beat the other infections. I sent an email down to the vet he had in Iowa State to see what she thinks. Have not heard back. I scheduled the surgery but I am almost to the point of deciding when is enough enough. I have done everything I could possibly do to protect those toes and one stair could cause him to loose one. I am ready to put this in Gods hands. I will give him whatever antibiotics they think would be best and lets see what happens.

The concern is if we don't react now the infection could spread to the next digit on the toe and we might have to remove the whole toe pad or worse yet the whole foot. I think I am going to wait unless I hear news from Iowa State to say different.

He is walking great. We went on our normal mile walk around the park. He does a really good job till the last 50 yards. He gets excited when he sees the car and wants to get to it

Just needed to vent.

Thanks,

Sean

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[rubymomma]

Sean,

So sorry to hear about Mik's toe. Hopefully letting the antibiotics do they're thing will be enough. Keep us informed. Mik is in our thoughts and I hope you don't have to go through an amputation at all. Dogs are so resilient. No matter what happens Mik knows you will take good care of him and he will make the best of it.

[JeanneMB]

Sean, so very sorry to hear of your latest set back with Mik's toe. I do hope it does not come down to amputation. You and he have come so far!
We were having difficulty keeping Payton's toes covered, whatever bandages I put on would come off before we made it to the end of the driveway. One day while walking I did not even hear that she was dragging the foot at all, and all of a sudden the top of her mid toes were bleeding.. just skimmed the top off. My husband came up with a small leather bootie and used velcroe. Much easier to get on and off. The last couple days I'm trying to keep her on the grass rather than the concrete, but wonder that the bootie will be a permanent fixture.
You are in our thoughts and do hope the antibiotics do the trick.. keep us posted.
Jeanne

[critters]

I took him to my local vet tonight to get a second opinion and she thinks it is way to early to be doing any amputations. She thinks we need to change antibiotics and give him a fighting chance to beat this since he beat the other infections. I sent an email down to the vet he had in Iowa State to see what she thinks. Have not heard back. I scheduled the surgery but I am almost to the point of deciding when is enough enough. I have done everything I could possibly do to protect those toes and one stair could cause him to loose one. I am ready to put this in Gods hands. I will give him whatever antibiotics they think would be best and lets see what happens.

The concern is if we don't react now the infection could spread to the next digit on the toe and we might have to remove the whole toe pad or worse yet the whole foot. I think I am going to wait unless I hear news from Iowa State to say different.

He is walking great. We went on our normal mile walk around the park. He does a really good job till the last 50 yards. He gets excited when he sees the car and wants to get to it

Just needed to vent.

Thanks,

Sean

.

We went through multiple infections in my Koi's toe because his L foot was seriously contracted under, so he walked on the top of his foot. We tried more splints, shoes, and other than you could shake a stick at, and, FINALLY, he had surgery last Sat. to cut the tendons that have contracted. The idea is that he'll now be able to use standard splints like http://handicappedpets.com/www/index.ph ... lints.html . Have you tried them? Koi hasn't used them yet since he still has the post-op splint on, but I LOVE them!

[Sean]

Mik doesn't drag or knuckle on that foot at all. He hurt it going up the stairs. Tore the whole nail right off. He does knuckle his other foot about every 10 steps when he is tired. He wears a boot to protect it. I am hoping he pops out of it. He just started getting bladder control over the weekend which is extremely exciting. I haven't had to put a wrap on him all week.

We are waiting for the results of the culture sensitivity test and then going to try the antibiotic that will work best. If it is drug resistant then we will have to remove the digits.

My luck has been changing so I am very cofident that we are going to be able to treat this and have it cleaned up next week.

He really hates the cone. The vet wants it to drain so we aren't covering it so the cone is the only option. Anyone had any great ideas on how to help your dog cope with having that big white thing over their head. I have been putting it on him for a small amount of time and gradually increasing the time. Last night he got it off. I am going to have to tighten the collar. I will keep you posted.

[coll713]

Hi,

My dog, Desmond, suffered an FCE Wednesday July 28, 2010 and it is now August 18, a little over 3 weeks since it happened. He is a black lab/shepherd mix and is or I guess was completely paralyzed in his hind legs. When it happened, it was the worst night of my life because it was so random. He is only 4 and is a very active and healthy dog. He was running around like usual excited to go on his walk. We went 2 blocks when we noticed he was knuckling under and then within a couple seconds, his left leg gave out and then his right and it was clear something was very wrong. We rushed him to vet emergency and they said it was either an FCE or protruding disc in the spinal column and that he was paralyzed in the hind legs but that he had deep pain perception which was good. They did an MRI the next day and diagnosed the FCE. He is incontinent but it's not too difficult to express his bladder and in the last few days, when we get him outside, he starts to go a little so I think that may be gradually coming back. We've been doing the bicycle exercises and tickle toes and his legs are feeling stronger and stronger. Last night, after I got him up, he actually was able to stand and drink water for a couple seconds before falling down. He does this weird thing where his back goes way up in the air and then when it comes down, he falls. We've noticed we have to really encourage him to get up and try to come to us (using peanut butter) and I think it's important to stop picking him up and wheelbarrowing him around so much as I don't want him to just get used to this and give up (plus my back is killing me from that). I got him to get himself up and kind of walk over to me with lots and lots of encouragement with the peanut butter since that is his favorite treat. It seems that his right leg is stronger than the left because he crosses it over his left to support his weight. The left paw tends to knuckle under more and his legs have been scissoring when he tries to stand or when we walk him with the sling. Although the progress is slow, there is no doubt in my mind he will walk again. I look back to those first couple days and his legs were just dead weight but now they feel much stronger and he can actually stand, although awkwardly, for a couple seconds so this definitely is improvement. I've also noticed his back legs move a little bit sometimes when he is laying like he was a having a dream where he was running, but he's awake. The muscles just seem to be flexing without his knowledge. I am looking at Christmas as my goal to have him walking again because I realize that if you don't really see this recovery process as at least a few months, you're going to get discouraged which is the last thing you or your dog needs. We will be going back to the vet for our follow up so I'm excited to hear her opinion on his progress. I used to hate reading people's stories whose dogs started walking in 2 or 3 weeks because it really seems that each person's experience is different and as long as there are tiny bits of progress happening every week or so, then I think there is no reason to think they won't walk again. I'd love to hear more stories about timelines and the different levels of progress people experienced with their dogs recovering from FCE.