12 year old Scottie Paralysed in back legs

[Sue]

I live in South Africa and a week ago out Scottie became paralysed in her back legs. She underwent spinal surgery but the vet said she only has a 50% chance of recovery. At the moment they say she has no deep pain reflex. He has said we must wait 3 weeks to see happens. Does anyone know of a dog recovering after a longer period then 3 weeks?

We do not want to put our dog down but we both work and I am not sure how people cope with paralysed dogs if they are not home. We work nearby our house so we can visit her during the day but I don't know if this would be ok. We would like to get her a dog cart so that she can excercise before we go to work and after we return home. Because of her age she was not very active even when she could walk basically she just slept all day .

[ems736336]

Hi Sue, welcome to the forum. Please go a bit further down in this Forum (paralysis: nuero and IVDD) and see all the information in a thread with the topic of "What is the longest a dog has taken to regain walk ability". There is tons of discussion there about this very subject.
Also, I wrote some information (also in this Forum) to someone else this morning about their dog Sammie which I have included here.

If you had surgery a month ago, Sammie should still be confined so he gets a chance to heal. He needs to be crated at least six weeks if not eight. He should be carried out to go potty and carried back in.
Are you doing any range of motion exercises? There are instructions about this. If you do not have any I will find them for you.
Many dogs take much longer than a month to start coming back. While you sit and watch TV in the evenings, sit and massage his toes and legs.
Are you doing any supplements like gluscosamine and chondroitin? These could help some too.
Just rememeber, this was really major surgery and Sammie is still recovering.
There are many of us here and you might go look at Dodger's List which is a site about IVDD. Mostly dachshunds but they will not turn you away.

There is a lot to absorb and I know very well how you are feeling. Above all, stay positive and upbeat for your dog because your attitude about this will help your dog immensely.
Personally I think it is to early to be thinking of getting a cart when it is highly recommended that dogs that have IVDD need six to eight weeks of crate rest when they have surgery or go down and are using conventional medicine to recover.
Take care and it would be perfectly acceptable to come home at lunch or break and do what your dog needs.

****This is very important****IVDD dogs should not be dragging themselves around while they are on crate rest or while recovering from the surgery.

[Sue]

Thank you we will keep trying. We have employed a T Touch therapist to work with her twice a week and the vet is also doing physio and hydro therapy with her. Do you think this is ok

[ems736336]

Absolutely. If the vet has approved the physio and hydro therapy that is wonderful. The T Touch is amazing stuff also so you should be in great shape as far as all of the Therapy. Just keep the faith for yourselves and your dog too. If your vet does acupuncture or does Adequan shots, you might ask about those. Lots of people use one or the other. They seem to do good things also.

[puremutt]

Patience/love and rest.
It took mine 2 months and he is 80% better.
Some of the people here took months or years, but your dog has many more years to live for sure!

[CarolC]

I live in South Africa and a week ago out Scottie became paralysed in her back legs. She underwent spinal surgery but the vet said she only has a 50% chance of recovery. At the moment they say she has no deep pain reflex. He has said we must wait 3 weeks to see happens. Does anyone know of a dog recovering after a longer period then 3 weeks?

Absolutely! I always say "drop dead" dates are unrealistic. Your dog will heal on her schedule and not the vet's. My dog had a very severe injury (spinal fracture, a complete break in which the two parts of the spine separated and one part tried to leapfrog over the other, pinching the spinal cord in between). She took much longer than 3 weeks to walk again. It was 149 days before they found deep pain response.

We do not want to put our dog down but we both work and I am not sure how people cope with paralysed dogs if they are not home. We work nearby our house so we can visit her during the day but I don't know if this would be ok.

There are many of us doing just that. I am single and work full time and have been caring for my paralyzed dog since 2003. I come home at lunch to care for her. There is no doubt it IS stressful at first, but eventually it becomes routine. The first few weeks are the hardest, and the whole first 6 months was an adjustment period.

We would like to get her a dog cart so that she can excercise before we go to work and after we return home. Because of her age she was not very active even when she could walk basically she just slept all day .

That would be a good idea, but your dog may never need a wheelchair so you might want to wait to order one. The cart company I dealt with did not recommend putting a dog into a cart until at least 6 weeks post injury. My dog can walk, but I crate her when I am not home because sometimes she also drags and I don't want her getting rug burns. She exercises when I am home where I can watch her.

You can definitely do this. Just realize you are going to feel under stress for a while, both you and your husband, as with any new routine. Just expect it. You spend a lot of the first few weeks working out the fine points, figuring out the best way to arrange the crate, etc., etc.

Does your dog have bladder control?

[Sue]

Hi

Thanks to everyone for all their help. Dimple, that our Scotties name, seemed to lift her tail slightly from the base a few times whne we visited her at first I thought she was having a BM but she didn't. Also she has started turning her head around and chewing lightly on her left foot, something which is saying to me that she must be feeling something as she never noticed it a week ago. I don't know if we are being overly optemistic but I think maybe she is getting some periodic feeling.

She does not have bladder control and they are expressing her , so I guess we will have to learn. Unfortunately this is Africa so I think the vet may think we are slightly mad not to put her down but we are determined not to. How often do we need to express her. Fotunately for me my husband is 100% behind me.[/quote]

[jojo]

Thanks for the info to help Sammie recuperate; it's been 5 wks now. He's due back at the vet (to see the surgeon) next week.
When you say "crate rest" - we have a crate for Sammie that is really small; we tried this at first when he came home from surgery, but he couldn't drag himself away from the poop in the middle of the night.
We now have him confined to a larger crated area (3ft X 5 ft); he can move around but not far.

Should I move him back into the very restricted area? (18 " X 23") This was the crate that he was used to sleeping in before the surgery.
I hope we haven't done him any harm.

JoJo

[connie]

hi sue, welcome,
my cricket a yorkie mix had a rupture disk in nov. 2005. he had surgery, went in with no deep pain, was given 30% chance.
they told me to completely crate rest him for 6 weeks, whcih i did. only out to potty and range of motion on back legs.
he has amazed all his vets and me. it took 10 months for him to improve, but he now runs all over yard and house. it is called spinal walking. he is healthy and very happy. i empty his bladder about 3 times a day and at bedtime. he has control of poop. give your baby time, 3 weeks is not enough. cricket is slowly getting his deep pain back, just this week vet checked him and was thrilled. some improve faster than others, some never do, but give it time. crate rest is most important, no dragging at all. let me know if i can help, there is lots of us here rasing paralyzed dogs. might doesn't even need a cart, nothing slows him down.
your in our prayers,
hugs, connie and cricket

[CarolC]

She does not have bladder control and they are expressing her , so I guess we will have to learn. Unfortunately this is Africa so I think the vet may think we are slightly mad not to put her down but we are determined not to. How often do we need to express her. Fotunately for me my husband is 100% behind me.

The bladder should be completely emptied (expressed) every 8 hours. I express my dog 4 times a day because it works out better with my lunch schedule. There are still vets in the US who think the same thing as your vet, don't feel bad. You are going to help educate your vet.

Here is some information on expressing.

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

[CarolC]

When you say "crate rest" - we have a crate for Sammie that is really small; we tried this at first when he came home from surgery, but he couldn't drag himself away from the poop in the middle of the night.
We now have him confined to a larger crated area (3ft X 5 ft); he can move around but not far.

Should I move him back into the very restricted area? (18 " X 23") This was the crate that he was used to sleeping in before the surgery.
I hope we haven't done him any harm.

People sometimes use a baby crib or playpen for crate rest, which is not too different from what you've got. Did you have any luck with the bowel management? It really helps. You should be able to avoid surprises that way.

[Sue]

Hi

We were able to take Whisky our male scottie to visit Dimple today. I was a mazing to see them together. He was so gentle with her it was as if he knew that the could not walk. At the vet we met a lady who was taking her dashund home afer 2 months. He had also had spinal surgery and had now regained the use of one leg, so maybe I am misjudging our vet. We are going to purchase a camping cot for Dimple as dogs in South Africa do not normally have crates. She does drag herself a little when she is in her kennel at the vet , I hope this is OK. We don't let her drag herself when she is out of her kennel. She is really looking good even though she cannot walk. Thanks for all your support
Sue

[Bobbie]

Keep an eye on that chewing on the foot. Paralyzed dogs sometimes start chewing on their feet because they cannot feel it when it hurts.

I'd do some research on carts now as you may take awhile to get one if you have to order it from out of the country. And it would help with rehab even if she does not need it long term.