Corgi Getting Better?

Neurological Disorders Resources. Treatment and care for pets having pain or trouble walking or standing due to spinal injuries or neurological disorders like IVDD, FCE and DM.
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RosasMom
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Corgi Getting Better?

Post by RosasMom »

Hi everyone!

I am new here but have been lurking for a bit. :) My corgi, Rosa Barks, had a sudden disc slip 3 weeks ago on Monday (it was 3 weeks this past Monday).

Our vet told us we could either do surgery for $7,000-$10,000 (we live in NYC) or try crate resting her and using steroids in the hope her disc would heal on its own.

She is now able to bring both of her legs up to pee when we hold her on the pee pad, can poop on her own (we were ice cubing for a bit), and sometimes looks like she is lifting herself up onto her hind legs. She shifts in her crate and her back legs move sometimes. She is in great spirits and continues to be incredibly food motivated LOL

I guess I am just looking for some assurance that these are good signs? We are planning to get her physical therapy when her round of steroids is out, as I’ve read it’s better to wait until crate rest has been going on for awhile. Does anyone have any experience with IVDD in corgis?

Thanks so much for all your thoughts! Would love any encouragement or things that you think we should be doing (if you could be nice that would be lovely because I feel a lot of stress/sadness that this happened).

Thanks for reading this novel! I’m excited to be part of this forum.
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CarolC
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Re: Corgi Getting Better?

Post by CarolC »

Hi RosasMom,

Replying in blue.


:group:

RosasMom wrote: Wed Oct 20, 2021 3:51 pm Hi everyone!

I am new here but have been lurking for a bit. :) My corgi, Rosa Barks, had a sudden disc slip 3 weeks ago on Monday (it was 3 weeks this past Monday). That's a cute name. :D

Our vet told us we could either do surgery for $7,000-$10,000 (we live in NYC) or try crate resting her and using steroids in the hope her disc would heal on its own.

She is now able to bring both of her legs up to pee when we hold her on the pee pad, can poop on her own (we were ice cubing for a bit), and sometimes looks like she is lifting herself up onto her hind legs. She shifts in her crate and her back legs move sometimes. She is in great spirits and continues to be incredibly food motivated LOL

Has she been able to urinate voluntarily this whole time? She never lost bladder control?

I guess I am just looking for some assurance that these are good signs? We are planning to get her physical therapy when her round of steroids is out, as I’ve read it’s better to wait until crate rest has been going on for awhile. Does anyone have any experience with IVDD in corgis?

Did the doctor say whether she lost deep pain sensation in her toes when she was originally examined?

If she is able to do anything now that she was unable to do before, then it is progress.

They say that when you are crate resting a dog for IVDD, it takes a full 6 weeks (minimum) for the disk to heal, and they recommend resting for 8 weeks to be safe. That is assuming she is really resting and not moving around, really in the crate 24/7, only out to potty or change her bed.

PT is not recommended for a crate resting dog until after crate rest is over. Any movement could potentially delay healing, set her back by undoing the healing that already occurred, or make her dramatically worse.

https://dodgerslist.com/2020/02/24/emer ... /%E2%80%8B

It sounds like your dog's injury was September 26, so she would be on rest till November 7 for 6 weeks, or preferably November 21 for 8 weeks. Personally, I would not start PT after the steroids are done, I would wait till the crate rest is done. It is something to discuss with a vet who really understands the crate rest process. People worry the dog will lose muscle mass from being crate rested, but it comes back later when the neurological status improves, don't worry. :)

Thanks so much for all your thoughts! Would love any encouragement or things that you think we should be doing (if you could be nice that would be lovely because I feel a lot of stress/sadness that this happened).

Yes, it can be extremely stressful, and it kind of takes over your whole world at first. Something like this is unexpected, and usually for most of us it is all new. You spend a lot of time figuring out how to manage things, and then how to do them better. It sounds like you've already got the crating and pottying under control, so you guys are in good shape.

Thanks for reading this novel! I’m excited to be part of this forum.

:banner:
RosasMom
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Re: Corgi Getting Better?

Post by RosasMom »

Hi CarolC!

Thank you so much for responding. :) I appreciate it. It’s so hard to find people to talk with about this in the “real world” LOL.

So the vet didn’t even touch her at her initial appointment when it happened. :( My husband took her as I had to work, and I guess the vet just looked at her and told him it was the slipped disc and our options.

The vet said she does have deep pain sensation (not sure if that’s the right term) now, which we kind of had gathered from the way she was moving her legs but still great to hear!

The first two days after she was hurt, we had to express her bladder and it would just come on out. She had like 2 accidents but nothing crazy. Then after that she started doing what we call her “pee pee dance” where she pulls her legs up like in her potty position by her sides and pushes her pee out with us holding up her back half. We told the vet about this at our follow up appointment and he was not super thrilled? Haha I wanted more fanfare but he is very guarded about her chances of walking again, which worries me a lot…

That’s great insight about not starting PT or anything til the crate resting is fully done. I am so scared of damaging her permanently and all the stuff I read online is contradictory and confusing!

She is in her crate 24/7 except when she eats or we take her to the potty or change out her bed. She does move around in her crate some and shifts positions, but no dragging herself around or anything like that.

Thanks again for responding! She’s definitely doing things she wasn’t doing originally, but I guess I get in my head that maybe she’s doing things because she’s actually getting worse? It’s just all very scary!
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critters
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Re: Corgi Getting Better?

Post by critters »

:whale: All this sounds pretty promising to me!
RosasMom
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Re: Corgi Getting Better?

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Thank you critters! I will post here with updates/questions if that’s ok. Thank you both so much! Here’s hoping we’ve got a walking corgi again sometime.
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CarolC
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Re: Corgi Getting Better?

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I know exactly what you mean about the "pee-pee dance". I call it a mid-air squat. :D
https://handicappedpet.net/helppets/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=2716&p=12140#p12140 wrote: The other thing she does routinely is when I express her, she raises her hind feet into a dainty mid-air squat. Tail up in a sickle, feet up in a squatting position. It's very neat.
If you have a Pemborke Corgi with no tail, then she may not be raising her tail. :wink:

I wonder about your vet if there was not much of an exam. It seems like he probably had to touch her to check the deep pain in her feet. Corgis are a breed that is prone to disk problems. I would think your vet would be excited that she was pushing out her own pee. I would be! :trophy:

You can't keep them from moving around inside the crate. Changing position is to be expected. If she starts to stand up in her crate later, you can't prevent that, either. It's just that some people start to feel sorry for the dog, especially when it seems like the dog is improving. Then it is tempting to say, "Oh, let's let her lie on the sofa with us while we watch TV." (No...) "Let's let her sleep with us like she's used to doing since she was a puppy." (No...) "Let me just hold her on my lap for a little while." (No...) "She's doing so well, surely it won't hurt to just walk around the yard a little." (No...not if her full crate rest isn't finished yet...)

There are a lot of temptations during crate rest. It takes tough love. The first week is the hardest but you are past that, and hopefully, the rest is working. You want it to be really-really-really healed, absolutely as well as possible before you relax her restrictions. I always say 8 weeks of strict crating is a small price to pay for a lifetime of walking. A lifetime of paralysis is a high price to pay for an hour of playtime before the dog is ready.

Something you may want to start thinking about is her home enviornment. They recommend an IVDD dog who has had a disk episode should not be allowed to jump up and down off of furniture anymore, and not allowed to go up and down stairs. So depending on where you live, you may want to think about blocking furniture or getting little indoor ramps (though I worry because some dogs will run up and then jump down :( ) and possibly think about a ramp if there are steps out to the back yard. But there is time to think about that, she is still resting.

What sorts of things is she doing, where you are wondering if it means she's getting better or worse? Is she chewing her feet?

It is scary, because you don't know how it's going to turn out. All you can do is do is, do the crate rest right right to the best of your ability so you won't have to kick yourself later because you wish you had been stricter. If by chance it doesn't work (hopefully it is working, but just in case...) at least you will know you gave it your best shot, while you figure out where to go from there.

And there is an assistance website for Corgis. One thing they offer is wheelchairs, if available.

https://corgiaid.com/cart-2/
coxmaria3
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Re: Corgi Getting Better?

Post by coxmaria3 »

Praying for you and your baby! Super stressful!
RosasMom
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Re: Corgi Getting Better?

Post by RosasMom »

Hi everyone! Long time, no update.

I wrote out a HUGE post a few months ago and then it deleted and I just never got back to it ha. Isn't that how it goes?

I thought people might be interested to hear how Rosa is, so here is an update.

She is now walking with a wheelchair (no slings for her back legs since she can walk with them pretty ok with the wheelchair for support, we use Ruffwear booties on her feet so she doesn't hurt them on the concrete), and is going to have her last two PT sessions next week where she does the underwater treadmill, some lasering, and strength exercises. We also do exercises with her at home and she plays with her brother A LOT. She can stand on her own and do a few halting steps before falling over.

She is currently wearing a cone because the nerves in her left foot came back in a big way and she decided it would be a good time to chew the heck out of that pesky foot!! It's healing up just fine but our stubborn girl really wants at it. :D

Overall she has been peeing and pooping on her own in the wheelchair outside, but this week she seems to be regressing. Every day this week she has peed in the apartment or in the hallway on our way to the elevator. She holds it long enough for us to get her boots and wheelchair on and then seems to "let it rip". Has anyone else experienced a regression like this? It doesn't seem to be a UTI because she is still peeing her normal amount throughout the day. The pee doesn't just leak out of her, she hikes up her legs and pees...would appreciate any advice on this! From what I've read online, it sounds like this might be due to the increased movement with PT and the wheelchair? She is just slightly regressing and we need to treat it almost like potty training again? This is our current plan. But I welcome other thoughts too!!

Thank you all for cheering on Rosa! She is slowly (so slowly) getting better, but being able to put her in her wheelchair and walk her with her brother (even if it gets lots of looks around here!) has been so great. Now if we could fix up this peeing inside thing, life would be golden!
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CarolC
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Re: Corgi Getting Better?

Post by CarolC »

Hi RosasMom,
Replying in blue...

RosasMom wrote: Fri Jan 21, 2022 10:24 am Hi everyone! Long time, no update.

I wrote out a HUGE post a few months ago and then it deleted and I just never got back to it ha. Isn't that how it goes?

Oh man, I hate it when that happens. :( It happens most on the ones you spend the longest writing. It used to happen to me so much that I started taking a copy of my post before I hit Preview or Submit, just in case the session timed out on me while I was composing. :x It hasn't happened recently (knock on wood) but I think it was because of my old Internet provider.

I thought people might be interested to hear how Rosa is, so here is an update.

She is now walking with a wheelchair (no slings for her back legs since she can walk with them pretty ok with the wheelchair for support, Whoohoo!!!!! we use Ruffwear booties on her feet so she doesn't hurt them on the concrete), and is going to have her last two PT sessions next week where she does the underwater treadmill, some lasering, and strength exercises. We also do exercises with her at home and she plays with her brother A LOT. She can stand on her own and do a few halting steps before falling over. Major Woohoo!!!!!

She is currently wearing a cone because the nerves in her left foot came back in a big way and she decided it would be a good time to chew the heck out of that pesky foot!! It's healing up just fine but our stubborn girl really wants at it. :D

Do you know there is medication for that? There are a lot of posts on this board about dogs chewing, mainly their feet or the male area. The theory is that there is a pins and needles sensation occurring as the nerves begin to wake back up, kind of like when you sleep on your arm funny so it goes numb and then starts to wake back up. Dogs can do a lot of damage pretty fast when they start licking and chewing an area to try to do something about the peculiar sensation. There are 2 medications that I'm aware of that can help. One is gabapentin (Neurontin). The other is pregabalin (Lyrica). You need the veterinary formula of gabapentin because the human formulation is not safe. I would ask the vet about getting medication, because dogs have been known to get out of the cone collar, and you can't be there to watch every minute. Glad she is healing up well.

Overall she has been peeing and pooping on her own in the wheelchair outside, but this week she seems to be regressing. Every day this week she has peed in the apartment or in the hallway on our way to the elevator. She holds it long enough for us to get her boots and wheelchair on and then seems to "let it rip". Has anyone else experienced a regression like this? It doesn't seem to be a UTI because she is still peeing her normal amount throughout the day. The pee doesn't just leak out of her, she hikes up her legs and pees...would appreciate any advice on this! From what I've read online, it sounds like this might be due to the increased movement with PT and the wheelchair? She is just slightly regressing and we need to treat it almost like potty training again? This is our current plan. But I welcome other thoughts too!!

I don't know either. No change of diet or medication? Is she drinking more water because the heating is on in the house? Is there any way for her to have a potty break earlier? What if you hold her on the pee pad like you used to before putting her into the cart? That's the best thing I can think of...

Thank you all for cheering on Rosa! She is slowly (so slowly) getting better, but being able to put her in her wheelchair and walk her with her brother (even if it gets lots of looks around here!) has been so great. Now if we could fix up this peeing inside thing, life would be golden!

She sounds like she's doing good! I hope you will post the answer if you figure out what's going on with the peeing. It may help someone else someday. :D
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