Frenchie with neurological problem

[mud99]

Hi all, new member here unfortunately

Mid day Friday our 3 year old French bulldog started acting funny - wobbling when he was walking, can't balance himself on hind legs.

We brought him right away to the hospital, they diagnosed him with a neurological issue, possibly a slipped disc, and instructed us to put him on strict crate rest, along with anti inflammatory and pain meds.

We scheduled an appointment with a neurologist, but the soonest appointment is on Tuesday. Meanwhile, we are kind of freaking out, feeling like he should see someone sooner, worried that his condition could get worse, etc.

Is their anything more we can do? Tuesday seems like an eternity, the waiting is driving us nuts, he is the love of our life, want to make sure we do the best for him.

Still in shock that it could happen so suddenly, he did not have any trauma and never gave us any indication of any pain or weakness, in fact he seemed very healthy, I don't understand how this could happen so quickly.

[Bobbie]

If surgery is an option (cost $2500-$7500 roughly) then you should probably go to an ER vet now. As long as your dog has pain sensation surgery can still work, but sooner is better than later.

It's called IVDD, or intervertebral disk disease. Type I. It is common in dwarf dogs. The vertebrae in the back are separated by little disks, kind of gel packs. In these breeds, the material inside the disk can turn brittle and crumble, and then the disk is just like an eggshell, waiting to break. It can happen with something traumatic, but just as often, the dog is just walking around, or goes to bed normal and wakes paralyzed. It isn't anything you did or didn't do.

When the disk ruptures, it propels material and debris into the spinal cord, causing the problem. With surgery, they will open up and clean out the disk, and any bad disks nearby (Often there are more than one) and this gives the best chance of full recovery. If he is still in pain he has a very good chance of recovery with surgery.

When surgery isn't done, restricted activity and medication MAY allow the spinal cord to heal. If the dog has no ability to move his back legs and no deep pain (no reaction to a hard pinch to his toes, for example) then non-surgical treatment probably won't work. Chances of recovery in general are lower without surgery.

Sometimes surgery just isn't an option - and sometimes it doesn't work- in which case you might end up with a paraplegic dog. I had one who had surgery but it didn't work and he lived nine and a half years as a healthy, happy paraplegic. I have another (corgi) right now who didn't have surgery and can stand up but not walk, he's 3 1/2 years post injury and also happy and healthy. They get along in carts and you learn to care for them, which isn't hard, especially with a small breed.

[mud99]

He still has deep pain sensation and can move his legs/stand upright, but is weak and falls over easily, and doesn't have any bladder issues, we would definitely do surgery if given the option.

I called again and talked to the emergency vet and they set up an earlier appointment, 8 AM on Monday, that might be the best we can do, unless someone knows a Neurologist that works on Sunday in the Bay Area? I tried a few other places and that seems to be the earliest option, since he probably needs to get an MRI or other imaging.

If he ends up in a cart that is fine, we will make the best of it, but right now I'm just trying to do everything I can to avoid that.

[mud99]

Also thank you for your help, it is very much appreciated.

[CarolC]

If he is truly resting, not moving around, not being taken out of his crate, and kept on anti-inflammatories, he may be OK until Monday. But if you want to see about getting him surgery sooner, I will tell you how they do it here, and it seems likely they would do the same thing there. I am in a large city in Texas. Here we have a regional referral hospital where regular vet practices all over the city and in outlying towns refer clients who need more advanced services than they ordinarily provide. The referral hospital has all board certified specialists, including several board certified surgeons. They are not on duty all the time, they normally work the day shift. The emergency hospital operates in the same building during the hours the referral hospital is closed, and if they get something like a dachshund who has just gone down in the back and needs immediate surgery, the vet who is working in the emergency hospital calls whichever surgeon is on call, and the surgeon will drive to the hospital and do the surgery any time of the night or weekend.

I am not familiar with the Bay area, but your weekend emergency hospitals will be familiar with each other and what is available on the weekend. So you could probably call around (if you have not already done so) and see if there is a facility that has a board certified surgeon "on call". Assuming you find one, the next thing would be to talk to the vet on duty and explain your situation, see if they advise you to bring your dog in, and they will take it from there. They will examine the dog and determine if the dog is stable enough to wait till sometime tomorrow or even Monday, or they will admit the dog and observe him for any change, and call the surgeon if he seems to be losing deep pain. Or possibly they may examine your dog's neurological signs and send you back home for continued rest.

I don't think you are being hysterical, and I think it would be a good idea to make as many calls as necessary to see what is available in your area. You can also tell them that you are prepared to pay for immediate surgery if indicated. Surgery is never guaranteed, but having it done by a board certified surgeon should give you a better chance of a successful outcome. A facility that has board certified surgeons is likely to have an MRI, too.

Here is a link about crate rest. Note that it says you must carry him out to potty, he can't sleep with you no matter what he's used to, and he needs to be in the crate 24/7 even if you feel sorry for him or if he whines...this is a time for tough love...

http://www.dodgerslist.com/literature/CrateRRP.htm

[Bobbie]

I can't imagine someone in the Bay area doesn't have a neurosurgeon on call. The ER hospitals SHOULD know who does. Scouts House is great for rehab when you get to that point; there is also one in Walnut Creek that is supposed to be good, don't know about the rest.

As long as your dog hasn't suddenly lost deep pain the chances of recovery with surgery are excellent, even if by tomorrow morning he's lost it.

[mud99]

Just as an update, we noticed a bit more weakness in our boys legs this morning, so we checked him in to the emergency vet (same place he has an appointment tomorrow), they will likely do surgery tomorrow morning depending on the results of the imaging. It is probably best he is there, we were having trouble keeping him confined and happy since he always wants to be around us, and they will be monitoring him and trying to get him fixed up ASAP.

We feel like this is the best option available to us right now, and we are hoping for a good outcome, fingers crossed.

[Bobbie]

Sounds good, and I think he has an excellent chance for a good outcome. Let us know!

[mud99]

Latest update - our boy spent the night at the ER, and got an MRI first thing this morning. He still has deep pain and they felt he may have even improved a little since last night.

He has one slipped disc and an unrelated/minor spinal defect in a different portion of his spine (a "butterfly") which does not appear to be an issue at this time.

He is being prepped for surgery right now, his odds look really good and hopefully we get some good news in the next few hours.

[CarolC]

It sounds good. Just want to give you a little heads up that people naturally hope their dog will be walking right after surgery, but don't be surprised if he is not...? In reality surgery causes swelling and the dog may come out even less able to walk that he went in...in the short term. It will take time for the swelling to go down and the surgical site to heal, so don't panic if he is not walking right away. Recovery is a process. You will have some bedrest, some nursing care, and perhaps later some physical therapy, much as you would with a human patient who had spinal surgery. If you have any questions regarding his at home care, chances are someone here will have experience with it.

I hope you will keep updating, and possibly even post a picture of your dog.

Do you have everything ready for his homecoming in a couple of days? Have you started to think about that?

[mud99]

So surgery went well - the surgeon says he was able to relieve a good amount of material, no complications, and he woke up quickly from anesthesia, so his chances of regaining control of his legs seem very very good right now.

Here is a photo of our boy just before he went in to surgery, catheter and all...he's a real heartbreaker...but always smiling even when we were crying...

[mud99]

We are still working on getting things set up for him when he gets home. He has a couple of crates, an X pen?, and my mother does animal rescue and has a lot of supplies. and timing wise it should work well for us since we have some time off for the holidays, so the first week or two I think we have a handle on. Both my Wife and I have fairly flexible schedules and can also bring him to work with us, so I think it will work out without too many problems.

I'm going to talk to the doctor today and get some recommendations as far as preparing for his care, also I will go check out Scout's House and talk to them. My mother also recommended them; they did great work with two of her rescue Huskies that had back issues.

[critters]

That's really a cute pic!

[mud99]

Yes, he is quite adorable and special to us...even more of a sweetheart than you could imagine.

This year we started beekeeping and had our first harvest of honey in September. My wife and I had joked with one of our friends that we should call ourselves "Tanks Bees" honey company, since he was always curious about what was going on with the hive.

Our friend took this to heart and made us our first set of labels for our honey, which we are giving out as christmas gifts this year to friends and family. He's going to have a special place in all our hearts this Christmas.

[mud99]

Hey everyone, thought I would give you an update on Tank's condition.

Surgery went well, and after a lot of crate rest and sling time Tank started walking on his own again. At this point we have done 5 sessions of physical therapy, he still has a bit of knuckling but he has been definitely made tons of improvement.

The process has been long and exhausting, but worth it to see how happy he has become. He's actually more energetic than before the whole thing started.

We noticed the past few days that he has had a small setback, he's just a little more wobbly than last week, the physical therapist noticed it as well. They think he might have a bit of inflammation, so he is back on strict crate rest for a bit.

Is it common to have flare ups like this during recovery? He's been quite active the past two weeks, hopefully we haven't pushed him too hard.