Ruptured disk

[Missyreed1970]

Our daschound is currently at the Vet. He went in yesterday due to losing feeling in his back legs. He is paralyzed due to a ruptured disk. He is currently on steroids, and has slightly improved. The vet doesn't give us much hope. He thinks putting him down will be the best thing to do. This is breaking our hearts! My question is, if he isnt going to the bathroom can we save him? I know about the wheelchairs and I'm willing to get one but what if he cant go to the bathroom? Please help! We don't have much time.

Thank you so much!
Missy

[CarolC]

Hi and welcome,

There is no need to put a dog down due to temporary or even permanent loss of bladder control. You can help a paralyzed dog urinate by expressing the bladder. Basically, you squeeze his tummy and he urinates. Here is a webpage to illustrate it.

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

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhXQdKzAdN0

There are more tips and many videos at the end of this article as well.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=16027

Your dog may recover bladder control with rest and medication. If he dribbles, he can wear a male wrap, which is a wide belt that goes around the waist and holds an absorbent pad over the male area to catch any moisture, some dogs need them, some do not. Malewraps are wonderful.


There is a lot of information on care of a disabled dachshund at http://www.dodgerslist.com. Hopefully he will improve, but if he does not, you can join the huge group of people literally around the world caring for their disabled pets, and perhaps you will end up teaching your vet something about loving a dog and providing a good quality of life in spite of one of life's setbacks. Your dog will still be the same dog you have always loved. The daily care does not take much time and is not hard to do. For example, once you learn how to express the bladder, it takes maybe 5 minutes, 3 to 4 times a day. There is some stress at first while you are getting your routine established, but after that it becomes easier. The first weeks are the hardest. You really do need a more supportive vet, is there another vet who would have a more positive attitude that you could go to? The attitude of your vet it pretty outdated. I used to hear that response a lot, but not so much any more, times have changed thank goodness. I'm sorry he said that to you. I think you may need another vet.

[Missyreed1970]

Thank you for your quick response. What about pooping? Can this be achieved as well? I'm assuming it can.

[CarolC]

Yes, absolutely. Give me a minute to post some links, I'll look them up right now.

[CarolC]

http://www.dodgerslist.com/literature/E ... g.htm#poop

Many videos at the end of this article.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=18586

Hope this helps.

[Missyreed1970]

Thank you for the information! I've read that our dog will need to be crated for a while due to resting may relieve some pressure on his spine. How long do you recommend he be crated?

[CarolC]

Well, I'm not a vet, but I refer to the recommendations on Dodgerslist that are reviewed by a vet. They recommend 8 weeks, and that means strict crating for the full 8 weeks. It is easy to be tempted to start giving the dog more freedom as you begin to see improvement, but you risk a relapse if you do that, undoing all the progress that was made. It is also tempting not to be really strict when you are crating because you feel sorry for the dog. My dog whined a lot the first week, for example. People will sometimes ease up and let the dog sit on the sofa with them or things like that, but that doesn't help the dog and it isn't proper crate rest, I wouldn't do it. Crating really does mean in the crate 24/7, only out to potty. For pottying, either you express them or if they can still potty by themselves you carry them to the grass and ensure they walk as few steps as possible to do their pottying, then carry them back inside. It isn't fun for the dog, but it requires tough love because too much is at stake here. Anyway, here are some guidelines for crate rest. Hope this helps.

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

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

[Missyreed1970]

Thank you so much for all the helpful information! You've made our decision so much easier! Im Happy to report our baby is home and resting in his crate. He doesn't understand why he's in there but we are making it just fine! I'm so happy I joined this forum! The information and videos were so easy to get to! I appreciate all the time you took answering my questions! I'll keep you updated on our baby's progress! Thank you again!

[CarolC]

OK, good news. If you have any questions about anything at all, please don't hesitate to ask. Very often getting the little things sorted out makes a big difference, nothing is too small to ask about! Chances are someone here has already had the same issue or knows someone who has.

[critters]

Expressing pee takes a little time to learn, but it's generally not that hard. You just have to learn to play "Tiptoe Through the Guts" and what you're feeling in there. Vets typically think regular people can't learn to do it, but remember--THEY weren't born knowing how to do it either!!!! I couldn't agree more about checking out other vets. In my experience, not every vet is willing to deal with a handicapper, but others seem to enjoy the challenge. You might have to kiss some toads along the way, but it's well worth it if you can find one of the latter!