Did we wait to long to try and walk

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Ccfoss
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Joined: Mon Jan 09, 2023 2:18 am

Did we wait to long to try and walk

Post by Ccfoss »

Hello,
Our beloved Allie injured herself on the 5th of this month. She his hind leg paralysis (IVDD). The first night home she tried to walk with our help. And she attempted to walk the next morning, but she was in such pain that the last couple of days we have let her lay and rest. Because we didn't want to injure her more. Today I tried to get her up ( didn't seem to be too much pain) however she is just laying there. She won't attempt to get up or even raise her head! Were we wrong in doing this???
She hasn't eaten much, but this morning she ate to small plates of food. Drinking some water but having to syringe feed it to her. Please give us some advice?
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CarolC
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Re: Did we wait to long to try and walk

Post by CarolC »

Hi Ccfoss,

What kind of dog is Allie? How old is she?

Can you tell if the pain is in her back or in her neck?

Is she able to urinate voluntarily?

It is hard to say what to do without knowing her diagnosis. The best thing would be to carefully transport her to a vet for an exam if you can afford it. They should give you a priority appointment for this. If it is a disk problem (what some people call a "slipped disk") there are 2 treatments. One is surgery, and the sooner surgery is done the better the results are likely to be. The other is conservative treatment, where you strictly rest the dog for 6-8 weeks and give the disk a chance to heal. Neither treatment is guaranteed, but conservative treatment can work if the injury is not too bad. If she seems to have no feeling in her feet, then your best choice would probably be immediate surgery, but a vet can advise you on that.

If you are going to try to treat her with rest, she would do better with medication along with resting. It sounds like she needs a pain med right now, and usually they will give an anti-inflammatory to help the swelling around the disk go down. Conservative treament means complete rest, in a crate 24/7, only out to potty or change her blanket. Nobody likes to crate their dog for 6 or 8 weeks, but in a case like this it's for her own good. I wouldn't let her walk right now. Carry her out to potty, keep her on a leash, let her do her business, carry her back in, and right back in the crate.

If she is a small dog, a playpen works well. If she is a big dog, an ex-pen will be easier than a crate because you can open the side and walk in, and not have to try to lean inside a crate to care for her. If she's big and you don't have an ex-pen, some people here have confined their dog in a corner with furniture. Doesn't matter how you do it, just so she is in a small space and can't walk around.

If you can't afford the vet right now, a lot of vets accept Care Credit. It is a loan for emergency veterinary care and you pay it off over time. Many vets will have the application at their front desk. Care Credit has been around for years and I've only heard good things about them.

:violet:
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critters
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Re: Did we wait to long to try and walk

Post by critters »

:whale:
Ccfoss
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Re: Did we wait to long to try and walk

Post by Ccfoss »

Also Carol, we are expressing, but she also seems to be urinating on her own somewhat. She really didn't eat much at first, but this morning she seemed to be served and ate two small helpings of food.
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CarolC
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Re: Did we wait to long to try and walk

Post by CarolC »

Hi Ccfoss,

Is the IVDD in her neck or back? What kind of dog is she?

I think you're saying she has been seen by the vet already and the vet diagnosed her with IVDD? If that is the case, it sounds like the vet sent her home to rest, but she got worse? A disk is like a little cushion between 2 boney vertebrae. If it is injured, it can become kind of squished out of shape and bulge up against the spinal cord and nerves causing pain and neurological symptoms including paralysis. If it is a bad injury, the jelly inside the disk can squirt out. The way they determine the condition of the disk is with advanced imaging, an x-ray usually won't be enough. Surgery (if needed) would clean out the disk material so it is not pressing on the spinal cord.

Conservative treatment isn't working if the dog is getting worse. However she isn't getting strict conservative treatment if she is walking around. It's possible she might have made herself worse by moving around. If she is getting worse I would take her back to the vet and have her checked again. Her status may have changed. Possibly if they give her medication and you are very strict about her resting, it may work, but it will depend on what her current condition is now.

Some smaller breed dogs are prone to disk disease while some large dogs tend to develop it as they age. Her age, size, and breed makes a difference. Also, do you know what occurred before her disk started bothering her?
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FYI
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Re: Did we wait to long to try and walk

Post by FYI »

:arrow: :arrow: Crate Rest Recovery Process

:arrow: :arrow: https://dodgerslist.com/2020/02/24/emer ... nt-options

https://dodgerslist.com/2020/02/24/emergency-treatment-options/ wrote: When surgery is a consideration:
If your dog can’t walk OR with STRICT rest, neurological functions worsen and are lost (legs and bladder control)
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LisainCAN
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Re: Did we wait to long to try and walk

Post by LisainCAN »

Hi there and welcome. I hope your pup has improved. I have nothing to add other than CarolC has explained the process beautifully and is very knowledgeable.
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