Dogs 5 year old Yorkie

[Dianne]

Connie,

It's going to be alright.

Dukie can be held as much as you wish. He needs your attention. It seems to help a pet when you are are upbeat and loving. You just can't overdo it.

Some of his anxiety could have been caused by separation anxiety, or barking dogs at the vets. When you're a little Yorkie, all dogs seem big!

My dog seems to be much happier when he is held and comforted. Just keep talking to him like you normally would. You won't reinjure him by holding him.

When I held my dog, I would stimulate his feet. At first it was gentle stroking as he was completely paralyzed, with no rear movement. Now, gentle stroking will ellicit strong kicks- at 10 weeks post injury.

Move the water dish close for him to drink. I still hold the water dish for my pupper after more than 2 months of paralysis. Dukie needs you to bring the bowl closer until he actually moves himself toward it himself.

This may be a speedy or a slow recovery. It took 3 weeks until my dog had deep pain sensation. It took 5 weeks until he wagged his tail, just a little. It took all of his energy to do that. At 10 weeks, he can lock his legs if I hold him to stand, but he can't balance his rear. Nerves regrow slowly. Don't be impatient. You still have him, and can love him a lot.

You're doing all of the right things. Just make sure that he is eliminating regularly, both urine and feces, and getting enough water to drink with the prednisone.

You're on the road to recovery.

Dianne

[Connie]

Diane,

Thanks so much for the info!!!!

I appreciate the communication.

I'll keep pressing on.

Sincerely,
Connie

[CarolC]

Hi Connie,

Congratulations on welcoming him home!

> and antibiotic Baxil?

Maybe Baytril, a trusted antibiotic.

> This morning, he has been urinating quite frequently on the blue pads and once or twice with us holding him up outside in his favorite spot. He did have a bowel movement this morning. He ate well.

All good!

> But, he did not stand on his own at all. As I type this, he is laying on his side.

That's OK. Give it time. This is all very recent.

> We have literally shut everything in the house down to try and have him quiet.

Yes, I even didn't like the hum of the computer going the first week or two.

> The vet states that he should continue to show some improvement, no matter how little each day.

Well, that would be great. With my dog, I could *maybe* think I saw a little improvement about every 6 weeks if I really stretched my imagination. My dog is walking, so don't feel you have to see improvement every day, slower recoveries are still recoveries.

> I've been getting the bowl and bringing it to him. Should I be making him get it on his own?

I'm not sure, but it seems like if he has a neck injury it might be better not to force him to lean his head down to drink. I would either give him drinks or get an elevated bowl. My dog has a kennel bowl that screws onto the wires of her cage. You could maybe get one of those and set it at the right height to make it easiest for him. You may also want to elevate his food dish. I don't really have any experience with neck injuries.

> I feel like all I want to do is hold and love him. Do you think this can hurt him?

I'm sure it's good for comforting him. I don't know if it will affect his neck if you pick him up and move him around. Maybe when you hold him with your palm under his chest and his legs resting between your fingers, you could support his head gently by putting the index finger and middle finger either side of his neck under his chin.

The pillow arrangement sounded very comfortable. You may also be able to use washcloth rolls or towel rolls to prop him comfortably.

They make cervical collars for pets for "cervical stabilization". I have no idea if this is appropriate for you dog's case. I don't even know where C-7 is, close to where the neck meets the back I suppose, I would have to look it up. I just know they use collars for humans, so maybe if you got the correct fit it would help him and you wouldn't have to worry so much about jostling him when you handle him.

Best wishes to Dukie and his family.

CLICK HERE for cervical collars

[critters]

C7 is the last cervical (neck) vertebra. After that, they become Ts, for thoracic (chest).

[Connie]

Carol,

Thanks for your e-mail. I look forward to these chats as much as my morning cup of coffee.

Thanks.
Connie

[Connie]

Diane,

We made it thru the night. Not much sleep, but that's okay. Small price to pay to have him home. Yesterday I had to run out to purchase some more blue pads for Dukie and when I returned my husband, Robert had him outside, holding him and just encouraging him and letting him express his urine if he so desired. Anyway, he saw me drive up and took two steps out of my husbands arms to meet me. I'm sure as a MOM you know what that felt like.

We did "SWIMMING" thearpy as requested by the vet. It was really in the tub, him and I for about 10 minutes. He moved his front legs as if to swim several times and his back once or twice. I massaged the entire time. Will have a repeat performance tonight for 10 - 12 minutes.

Anyway, that's the update as of this morning. Have a great day. Thanks for communicating with me. I feel as though the correspondence from HandicappedPets.com has been both my life saver (and for Dukie too) and the inspiration I need for hope.

Sincerely,
Connie & Dukie Romero

[Dianne]

Yep, you're all going to get through this and laugh again soon.

The first week after my doxie became paralyzed, I was in shock. We had just moved from Memphis to Pennsylvania, and I had no vet. The first vet shook his head, gave me no hope, a vial of prednisone, and told me that I would probably come back in a week to have him put down. The second vet told me he would probably die of a bladder infection.

Anyway, I learned as much as I could from this site and the internet, and my pup is now wagging his tail, and doing much more than I ever thought possible. He is still unable to stand, walk, has very little bladder control; he is happy, and loves to be held, go for walks in an old stroller, and ride in the car. We just didn't know what the prognosis would be 11 weeks ago and still don't know how much we can expect.

CarolC and many others have been very supportive in directing me to try different physical therapy with him, and not lose hope. She and others have really helped Schnitzel progress to the place he is now.

CarolC is correct in urging you to provide neck support when you hold Dukie.

By the way, she also posted the cutest water therapy site showing a doxie swimming. It is funny!

Sleep well and try to keep a positive attitude. You've got things under control.

Dianne

http://www.abledogs.net/poppy.html

[CarolC]

Yes, indeed I do know how thrilling it is to witness those first steps. Congratulations, little guy!

[Connie]

Bless You and You and Your Messages.

We did water therapy again last night. No poop yesterday, poop today. Much love. Much, Much love.

At Granny's today with no other pups just him and Granny to love, eat and sleep. I'm very lucky my mom is retired and able to watch over him as I have to work.

Keep praying for us and we'll keep you in our prayers. Every day is one more day to try and keep a smile on our faces as we have our dogs to love.

I'll write again tomorrom.

Sincerely,
Connie & Duke Romero

[Connie]

AFter the day at Granny's Dukie was brought home by daddy. I was waiting for him and we went to the jacuzzi tub for his therapy. He would not do a thing initally. I got very few paddles out of him and just general disinterest. I did manually move the back and front legs in a paddling motion. He did stand in the water for less than 1 second on his own. But really, really not interested. He did not want to try and stand on his own to urinate outside. Just very unhappy. His little mind knew what he wanted to do but of course his legs would not move. Very restless last night.

He did however around 11pm urniate outside with my holding him. Other than that it was on the pad.

Please tell me this is not a setback that there will be days like this. I felt so helpless. All I wanted to do was cry for him.

Sincerely,
Connie Romero
Dukie's Mom

[critters]

Has he been approved for so much activity? Typically strict crate rest and steroids last from 4-8 weeks, then rehab is approved after some healing has taken place. It still doesn't sound like bad news, especially so very early in recovery.

[Connie]

His vet told us to do swimming exercises. He is not post surgery. They have him on cortisone therapy and pain/inflammation medication once a day.

Any shared advice is welcomed.

Thank you.
Connie

[Dianne]

Yep, there will be days like that. Don't be so quick to expect him to bounce back. He is adjusting to his situation.

I considered my dog to be pretty smart. He knew at least 50 plus words, and appeared to listen to more. The first few days were particularly rough on ALL of us....and the first 3 weeks was a period of real adjustment for the whole household. Everynight when I went to bed I would say, "Well, at least no one died today." Morbid, but it defined the mood of the household.

Our progress has been steady, but very sloooooow.
Each dog is different. It would appear that you also have a smart pupper that is adjusting to his situation. He probably wants to get back to bouncing with the other Yorkies in your household.

You've got to be patient with this spinal injury stuff. I'm 11 weeks ahead of you, feel impatient some days, but realize that at least I have my pup to cuddle. Try to be happy when you hold him.

Dianne

[CarolC]

No time for a long message, on break at work. Crate rest applies to surgery or medical treatment. Medical treatment would be your situation--your vet is treating him medically with steroids. Crate rest still applies.

I have heard of people starting hydrotherapy after 2 weeks, but that is with back problems. With a neck problem it might be different. The benefit of hydrotherapy is it supports the body so there is minimal stress on the back. However, hydrotherapy does not support the head so there is minimal stress on the neck.

I am not a vet or anyone medical, I am just trying to think this through. I am afraid that even though your vet approved him for hydrotherapy, it might be a little early yet.

Below I am posting a link about after care for surgery or medical treament. Crate rest either way. I think Dukie's case is one requiring a judgment call. I would prefer to err on the side of caution, but that's just my feeling.

He may be fatigued, he may have strained himself at his Granny's house. I would think that at least at Granny's, when you can't supervise him, he would be better safely crated. (Again, I'm not a professional.)



CLICK HERE for crating guidelines

[Connie]

Thanks for the encouragement, All is welcome. Sometimes we just need to be reassured that we're gonna be okay.

Good Night.
Connie & Dukie