URGENT help, dog hit by car cant move back end

[Apricot]

Hi there
Here's an update on Belki. He has now had his cone off taken off his head and the stitches are the dissolvable kind so he is very happy to be able to bite them! Belki is now walking on a lead but not putting very much pressure on his bad leg. He desperately needs to build up muscle there and in his bum. He is also thin right now and has for the last five days only eaten one meal a day. We think his morale is down. So last night we walked him at night as well as in the morning and he wolfed his food at night. So I think maybe he's feeling left out on the walks the puppy and our Siberian Shepherd dog get. If anyone can tell me how long roughly it might take for him to be strong again or if anyone has any helpful ideas or thoughts I'd be really pleased to hear from you. It's really hard to see him like this. Thanks!

[critters]

Is there any way you could do hydrotherapy (swimming)? That's a good way to rebuild muscle without as many problems with weakness, balance, etc.

[sweetsunangel]

My cat was hit by a car 6 days ago. She can't pee or poop on her own. I'm struggling learning how to express her bladder and bowels. I'm hopeful her nerves down there will recover. I took her to church last night and they laid hands on her, anointed her with oil, and we prayed over her. I have faith that God will heal her. The first dr. told me to PTS, I said no way.

[CarolC]

These two posts have videos at the end that may help you, just scroll to the bottom.

http://handicappedpet.net/helppets/view ... =5&t=16027 (be sure to watch the whole video on Pookie )
http://handicappedpet.net/helppets/view ... =5&t=18586

[critters]

Expressing takes time to learn, but it's WELL worth it. For me, it just "clicked" all of a sudden! My Buddy never had to be specifically expressed for poop; whatever he had would always come out right before the pee.

[sweetsunangel]

Thank you. I'm still learning. I'm getting ready to go pick Pico up now from her acupuncture appt. They also did laser. I hope it will help her nerves that go to the bladder and bowels.

[CarolC]

It can take several months to see improvement in bowel and bladder. My dog's physical therapist said you need to give it at least 3 months to see if bladder control will return, and 6 months to be sure. Whatever you have at 6 months is probably pretty much what you're going to have. However, we have seen exceptions to that on this board. One person reported a dog beginning to regain bladder control at 7 months, and another person at 10 months. Anyway, I would give it time.