Frannie

[Frannie's Mom]

I am so thankful I found you! Our Frannie is a 7 year-old German shepherd who had emergency surgery Friday night after she became paralyzed. She has been diagnosed with discospondylitis. We are waiting for the culture to learn if it is bacterial or fungal in origin. She came through surgery well but she is still paralyzed, though she does have deep pain sensation. Your post was the first good news I've had! Any advice or suggestions any of you who have gone through this before will be greatly appreciated. I'm SO happy for you and Buddy!!

[critters]

Frannie's mom. Make sure you see the comprehensive sticky at the top of the bb.

[Frannie's Mom]

HI Critters, thank you for your suggestion. I admit I'm not sure what sticky you are referring to. In the interest of full disclosure, I'm in my sixties and not web savvy at all. This board had made me a believer, though. It is a Godsend.

One question I hope someone can help with--I see a tiny little foot (right foot only) and tail movement, but I'm not sure how to tell if these movements are reflexive. If the ARE reflexive, is it still a good sign?

[critters]

This post. viewtopic.php?f=4&t=10626

[Frannie's Mom]

Thank you very much. I hope you are having a happy Thanksgiving.

[CarolC]

HI Critters, thank you for your suggestion. I admit I'm not sure what sticky you are referring to. In the interest of full disclosure, I'm in my sixties and not web savvy at all. This board had made me a believer, though. It is a Godsend.

One question I hope someone can help with--I see a tiny little foot (right foot only) and tail movement, but I'm not sure how to tell if these movements are reflexive. If the ARE reflexive, is it still a good sign?

Hi Frannie's Mom,

Many of the regulars here are 50's to 60's (including me) and can appreciate the prospect of caring for a heavy dog while having back problems, heart problems, a poor T-score, etc, you are not alone. I currently have a small paralyzed dog and my golden retriever went down in August and I can't lift him. It isn't necessarily easy, but there are ways to manage daily care of a completely down dog single-handed if you are determined. My main questions right now are how much does Frannie weigh, and do you have any plans yet as far as how long to leave her at the vet or when she might come home? Is she able to urinate by herself? And do you work?

If your dog has deep pain sensation, that is very encouraging!

[Frannie's Mom]

Hi Carol--

Thank you for the pep talk--I admit my husband and I are exhausted. Frannie came home Tuesday. Both my husband and I work full time, but with the long holiday weekend we are able to spend full time with her. My husband has a fairly flexible schedule, and I'm trying to figure out how to work from home when he can't be here after this weekend.

I'm SO fortunate to have help! I would be very grateful for any suggestions you have for how to manage on my own, though, as my husband has a very bad back, and I'm worried that he won't be able to keep this up.

Frannie weights about 69 pounds. She lost a LOT of weight when our vet was trying to diagnose what her problem was. Keeping her dry is a major issue as she does not urinate on her own but seems to pass urine more or less continuously even though we have learned to express her bladder. She is on two egg crate mattresses with a plastic cover and a soft blanket over them. Then we have a disposable pad like used for babies' cribs and then I had a brain storm and cut large Depends in half and slip a half under her hindquarters. That way I can more easily change them when they get wet. The are wonderfully absorbent and do seem to keep the wet away better than other things we've tried. I dust her inner legs and bottom with corn starch to help keep them dry. My mother said that's what people used to do to keep babies bottoms dry when she was growing up.

Frannie is a wonderful patient and we are so grateful to have her home. She's dozing now after having had her pain medication an hour ago.

[CarolC]

I am happy to say your situation is sounding a lot better than I expected. I am glad she is 69 lbs and not 109. I am glad you have help, but I am going to take your husband's back problem very seriously. I am glad there is a possibility of flexing your schedule. I am amazed that you have learned to express her already, that is the best news ever. I want to give you several articles to read when you have time. The first one is on diapering. It sounds like she would benefit from diapering, and you may want to stick the Depends into the diaper if added absorbency is needed. They do sell tailored pet diapers here at http://www.petdiapers.com, or here is a link with a size chart showing human brands people have used for different breeds and sizes of dogs.

https://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawiki/index.php/Diapers_and_male_wraps

Here is some information on expressing. Some dogs do dribble, but generally they will stay dry for several hours if expressed. Either she has a very loose sphincter, or perhaps you are not getting her quite empty. Expressing is surely an acquired skill. With a loose sphincter she will be easier to express, you are fortunate there. I would recommend shaving her bottom if you can? It will make clean-up easier and less urine will be trapped in her fur. The vet can shave her for you if at a follow-up appointment if you don't have any clippers. It's called a "sanitary clip". Baby wipes are helpful. I am using Huggies wipes with shea butter, they don't smell too bad. If she is dribbling that much, you will have to see how well the corn starch works. I imagine you may end up having to use ointment. You can try original old-fashioned A&D ointment, I started out with that, it is safe for dogs. Vaseline is also safe. If that doesn't work, I am personally using Desitin and find it works better. You need to be careful with any ointment that contains zinc oxide, like Desitin, as zinc is poisonous to pets if licked. If you put on ointment and then put on a diaper, and your dog does not take off the diaper or lick the area, you are OK. I would keep an eye on her to see how she behaves regarding diapers and ointment, just to be safe.

http://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Express_a_dog_or_cat

You did not mention any problems with going potty number two, but we talk about everything here. If you would like tips on caring for the bowel, this may help you. Many of us deal with this, my dog is incontinent both ways but it does not affect her quality of life or mine.

https://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawiki/?title=Bowel_management_in_incontinent_pets

They recommend turning a down dog every few hours. It sounds like you have a really good, soft bed for her, about as good as it can be. Here is a website showing how to turn a down dog. Considering that she has had surgery, of course you'll want to be careful. You (or your husband) will also need to be careful with the turning. My golden retriever has a large bed, so if I roll him over he is still on the bed. With the standard dog bed, by the time you roll the dog, your dog is off the bed. One good tip to keep in mind is not to let your dog lie on any wrinkles, that will make a pressure sore more likely. I love this webpage!

http://www.mzjf.com/turn-dog.htm

Here are 2 more links that you may enjoy. One shows an easy way to elevate your dog's hips for diaper changes using a rolling pin and cutting board. It is written with a male dog in mind, but may give you and your husband an idea on lifting your female dog as well.

http://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawik ... a_down_dog

The other shows the use of an engine hoist for lifting a heavy dog.

http://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Engine_hoist_for_a_heavy_dog

Gosh, it's going to take you all weekend just to look through these, but maybe you can just glance at them so you'll at least know the information is available.

Glad you are here!!!

EDIT TO ADD: I realized I should have asked, can she stand on her front legs if you hold her up? Do you have a rear harness for lifting her?

I also wanted to add a note to your husband. I have never put this into words exactly, but I think he will know what I mean. When you have a back problem, often people will tell you that you will be fine as long as you use correct body mechanics. Well, that is only partly true to begin with, in some cases you can still mess up your back even if you lift correctly. But also, you quickly find out that when dealing with lifting a live animal, there are a lot of wildcards in the lift. You start out to use proper body mechanics and then the dog moves a foot or flounders or something, and you yourself are thrown off. Therefore even if you intend to lift properly, your dog does not exactly know what sort of cooperation is required on their part and may very well do something that puts your back at risk. Therefore, I would advise your husband to be careful, and do a lot of thinking on how to lift. Really think it through.

I have an upper back problem, which is different than usual--most people have lower back problems. I have found that one way I can get my dog up without straining myself is to half kneel, with one knee on the floor and the other bent. I rest my forearm on the bent knee (which serves as a table) and lift the dog by grabbing the rear harness he is wearing and doing a curl with my biceps. My elbow never leaves my knee, and I do not use my back at all. Please tell your husband that the average dog carries 60% of the weight on the front feet and 40% on the hind feet. So if your dog weighs 70 lbs that is 42 lbs on the front feet, and 28 lbs on the hind feet, which is how much you must lift to raise the dog's rear end. If your husband's doctor has told him he should not lift 30 lbs, then maybe he'd better not actually heft the dog up, but either try a mechnical lifting device, or find a way (such as the biceps curl I just described) to lift without using his back. And always watch for that unexpected movement, the wildcard in the lift. I'll be thinking about him! It is so important to keep ourselves healthy, or we will be unable to continue to care for the pet. [EDIT: This method of lifting was bad advice, I later dislocated a rib after doing this a couple of months.]

[Frannie's Mom]

Thanks, again, Carol. I will read everything in between my puppy tasks. Frannie can give some help with front legs, but since it is so soon since surgery the vet told us just to turn her for now and not get her up.

She has had one bowel movement each day she has been home (two). It seems to sort of surprise her. I've been right with her each time so I could clean her up immediately. Desitin worked a charm when my kids were babies but I was worried about the zinc. But, you're right! A diaper solves that problem. I used the old-fashioned corn starch since I was sure it wasn't toxic.

The wrinkles in the blanket are a constant concern. It's really hard to keep everything smooth. What kind of bed do you have for your golden? I'm thinking I could get more egg crate foam and make her bed a double wide so we can roll her more easily. I'm so afraid we hurt her when we turn her, but she is absolutely uncomplaining.

Thank goodness her appetite is good. She let's me hand feed her every couple of hours. Just a bit, but she seems to enjoy it. She has also shown a little interest in her tennis ball from time to time. She LOVES her tennis balls in normal times.

[CarolC]

The bed is kind of hard to describe. It is a foam fold-up bed. If you fold it out it looks like a lounge chair. The foam is about 6" thick and the bed is maybe 7' long folded out. I have seen cheap versions of this sort of thing but this one is different, the foam is really good quality. It is covered with real upholstery fabric like a La-Z-Boy, not cotton broadcloth. Sorry, I've never seen another quite like it anywhere. The idea of a double-wide egg crate foam bed would probably give plenty of room.

[Frannie's Mom]

Good morning, Carol. I haven't written because I've been so busy with Frannie. It is like having a newborn. She had a very good day yesterday. She was very alert and involved mentally in everything that was going on. Unfortunately, my success with expressing her bladder seems to have been beginner's luck. She was dry all night which was VERY unusual and frightening, but we finally had some success this morning, though I doubt we emptied her bladder. She is on 500 mg of ciprofloxacin and 250 mg of metronidzole every 12 hours in hopes the discospondylitis is bacterial in origin (no cultures back yet) and I'm thinking that might keep a UTI at bay (I"m learning what all the abbreviations mean little by little. UTI=urinary tract infection I figured out). Our success at turning her seems to vary from one time to the other. We are trying your suggestions and I'm sure practice will make us more successful.

She had a terrible night. Pawing and thrashing every hour. We gave her water--she is on prednisone because of disc problems in discs other than the one operated on so she's always thirsty. That would calm her for a bit, but the thrashing would start again. Finally, I just rolled her over and she fell asleep for 3 hours, so I guess she was in an uncomfortable position.

The vet explained that the prednisone lowers her immune system even as we area fighting infection with antibiotics, but Frannie has multiple problems, so our vet is doing sort of a balancing act. She's also taking famotidine to protect her tummy

She has also stopped taking her pills altogether hidden in tasty treats. She is on six meds and now either refuses the treat altogether or somehow sorts out the pill in her mouth and spits it out while swallowing the pill. When we put them down her throat she can refuse to swallow for a long time. Finally, now my husband opens her jaws and I put the pill so far back she kind of gags, but it works.

One or two bowel movements a day. She has no movement in her hindquarters but she does have reflex movement, especially in her tail. We're grateful for small blessings.

I am filled with awe that you are handing the challenges by yourself. You are an inspiration.

[CarolC]

Good morning, Carol. I haven't written because I've been so busy with Frannie. It is like having a newborn. She had a very good day yesterday. She was very alert and involved mentally in everything that was going on. Unfortunately, my success with expressing her bladder seems to have been beginner's luck. She was dry all night which was VERY unusual and frightening, but we finally had some success this morning, though I doubt we emptied her bladder. She is on 500 mg of ciprofloxacin and 250 mg of metronidzole every 12 hours in hopes the discospondylitis is bacterial in origin (no cultures back yet) and I'm thinking that might keep a UTI at bay (I"m learning what all the abbreviations mean little by little. UTI=urinary tract infection I figured out). Our success at turning her seems to vary from one time to the other. We are trying your suggestions and I'm sure practice will make us more successful.

I don't actually know if either of those antibiotics is helpful to prevent UTI, but like you I would hope so.

She had a terrible night. Pawing and thrashing every hour. We gave her water--she is on prednisone because of disc problems in discs other than the one operated on so she's always thirsty. That would calm her for a bit, but the thrashing would start again. Finally, I just rolled her over and she fell asleep for 3 hours, so I guess she was in an uncomfortable position.

It is hard on YOU to see her uncomfortable, I'm glad you figured out what it was. As they always say, "If only they could talk".

The vet explained that the prednisone lowers her immune system even as we area fighting infection with antibiotics, but Frannie has multiple problems, so our vet is doing sort of a balancing act. She's also taking famotidine to protect her tummy

That's good about the GI protectant. I seem to remember metronidzole is terrible-tasting, enough to cause gagging and vomiting. I wonder if that is what she is trying to avoid. Some of the other meds, like the famotidine, would be unlikely to bother her. Possibly you could give them in treats such as bread, cheese, peanut butter, or Pill Pockets, and only have to put the metronidazole down her throat. Perhaps you can determine if it is really one med such as metro she objects to, or all of them?

She has also stopped taking her pills altogether hidden in tasty treats. She is on six meds and now either refuses the treat altogether or somehow sorts out the pill in her mouth and spits it out while swallowing the pill. When we put them down her throat she can refuse to swallow for a long time. Finally, now my husband opens her jaws and I put the pill so far back she kind of gags, but it works.

One or two bowel movements a day. She has no movement in her hindquarters but she does have reflex movement, especially in her tail. We're grateful for small blessings.

In addition, the metronidazole is great for diarrhea, so you are covered there.

I am filled with awe that you are handing the challenges by yourself. You are an inspiration.

You are experiencing the hard part right now. The first weeks are the most stressful, but it gets better. Better days are coming.

[Frannie's Mom]

We had to have Frannie euthanized this morning. She had several affected discs and a problematic one in her neck somehow gave out during the night and she was paralyzed from the neck down. The culture from her original surgery showed signs of fungal growth. Thank you for your support, it meant a lot. She went through a great deal, but we always had hope until the very end. She was such a lovely dog.

I wish you all the best with your pups. Take care of yourself and your back.

[CarolC]

Oh, I'm so sorry! I don't know what to say. Poor thing. I'm glad she had the comfort and support of her family during her illness. I am very sorry you lost her. She knew she was loved.

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

Oh, Frannie's mom, as I revisited your posts here, and saw the love and good humor shining through, the courage and faith in your Frannie just shines. I am so very sorry for your loss. No one could have loved more or tried harder. Your Frannie was so lucky to have you. Tears for your family today.