Hi there,
I'm new here. My 9yo cocker spaniel Moca is paralysed since yesterday. Her hind legs have zero control and she cannot hold her pee or poop.
this all happened yesterday. Since then we have been to 2 vets (one of which was a teaching hospital) and the verdict is that there is very little hope of recovery. We will work on the things we can, but it looks like we will have to quickly adjust to taking care of her as there is a good chance that this is permanent.
So obviously i have a million questions floating in my head, but here is what I can articulate:
Drinking water:
how do you guys provide water? Currently Moca seems to still be adjusting to her new condition and has not really figured out how to move about well enough to get to her water bowl. Now I THINK there is a good chance she will figure this out eventually, but in the meantime I am just offering the water to her from my side.
However, Wednesday I have to go back to work, and I am hoping to have a reasonable solution by then. I am afraid, if I leave the water too close, she might topple and "fall" in the bowl and then be wet and miserable. If I leave it on the other side of her bed in the crate, she might not be able to get over it.
am I overthinking this? Is there anyone who had similar issues? What worked for you? What didn't?
Also, just in the same post, I have made a shopping list for things we will need. Can you guys take a look and see, if I forgot something important/ obvious? Money is not an issue, we are well off and live in China, so most products are very affordable.
Here is the list:
• dog beds (3-4)
o thick and soft
o with a higher edge for her head
• Doggy wheel chair
• diapers
• pee pads
• shaver (to help with hygiene)
• baby wipes
• dry shampoo
thank you so much in advance!! <3
new to this: how do you provide water?
Re: new to this: how do you provide water?
janetz wrote:Hi there,
I'm new here. My 9yo cocker spaniel Moca is paralysed since yesterday. Her hind legs have zero control and she cannot hold her pee or poop.
this all happened yesterday. Since then we have been to 2 vets (one of which was a teaching hospital) and the verdict is that there is very little hope of recovery. We will work on the things we can, but it looks like we will have to quickly adjust to taking care of her as there is a good chance that this is permanent. I'd say there's a good chance that SOME of this will be permanent. I'd bet money there will be at least some improvement--maybe not all the way, but maybe close.
So obviously i have a million questions floating in my head, but here is what I can articulate:
Drinking water:
how do you guys provide water? Currently Moca seems to still be adjusting to her new condition and has not really figured out how to move about well enough to get to her water bowl. Now I THINK there is a good chance she will figure this out eventually, but in the meantime I am just offering the water to her from my side. Does she drink lying on her side? How about a hamster-type bottle, if not (they make such things for bigger critters, too, but they might be hard to find)? Even a bowl she can reach from her side can work.
However, Wednesday I have to go back to work, and I am hoping to have a reasonable solution by then. I am afraid, if I leave the water too close, she might topple and "fall" in the bowl and then be wet and miserable. If I leave it on the other side of her bed in the crate, she might not be able to get over it.
am I overthinking this? Is there anyone who had similar issues? What worked for you? What didn't? You could try different things while you're home. Is she taking pred or another steroid? If so, she'll be drinking a lot of water.
Also, just in the same post, I have made a shopping list for things we will need. Can you guys take a look and see, if I forgot something important/ obvious? Money is not an issue, we are well off and live in China, so most products are very affordable.
Here is the list:
• dog beds (3-4)
o thick and soft
o with a higher edge for her head
• Doggy wheel chair How big is she? If she's not too big, you might be able to wait awhile on this.
• diapers Terrific, but sizing was my biggest problem. I suggest messing around with sizes now. Expressing poop and pee will probably be your best bet, with diapers as backup.
• pee pads Not as useful as you'd think--more like protective for the bedding.
• shaver (to help with hygiene) Sometimes you can do as well, or better, with the right scissors.
• baby wipes Worth MY weight in gold.
• dry shampoo Personally, I don't use the stuff. If it's worse than a butt wipe can handle I do a bath, even a butt bath.
thank you so much in advance!! <3
Re: new to this: how do you provide water?
janetz wrote:Hi there,
I'm new here. My 9yo cocker spaniel Moca is paralysed since yesterday. Her hind legs have zero control and she cannot hold her pee or poop.
Information on expressing both are in these articles
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=16027
this all happened yesterday. Since then we have been to 2 vets (one of which was a teaching hospital) and the verdict is that there is very little hope of recovery. We will work on the things we can, but it looks like we will have to quickly adjust to taking care of her as there is a good chance that this is permanent.
So obviously i have a million questions floating in my head, but here is what I can articulate:
Drinking water:
how do you guys provide water? Currently Moca seems to still be adjusting to her new condition and has not really figured out how to move about well enough to get to her water bowl. Now I THINK there is a good chance she will figure this out eventually, but in the meantime I am just offering the water to her from my side.
However, Wednesday I have to go back to work, and I am hoping to have a reasonable solution by then. I am afraid, if I leave the water too close, she might topple and "fall" in the bowl and then be wet and miserable. If I leave it on the other side of her bed in the crate, she might not be able to get over it.
am I overthinking this? Is there anyone who had similar issues? What worked for you? What didn't?
Can you get the kind of water bowl that fastens to the side of the crate like this?
Also, just in the same post, I have made a shopping list for things we will need. Can you guys take a look and see, if I forgot something important/ obvious? Money is not an issue, we are well off and live in China, so most products are very affordable.
Here is the list:
• dog beds (3-4)
o thick and soft
o with a higher edge for her head
Just an idea to think about, but you might also like to have a baby crib for her to sleep in at night. They are easy to wipe clean, and you will not have to bend over to lift her.
• Doggy wheel chair
• diapers
• pee pads
I agree with critters, pee pads will keep the bedding dry but they won't keep the dog dry at all.
• shaver (to help with hygiene)
• baby wipes
• dry shampoo
Some kind of diaper cream. If you use the white kind (containing zinc oxide) you need to be sure she does not lick it. It is wonderful for protecting the skin, but it is toxic if they ingest enough of it. My dog never licked it so there was no problem.
extra laundry detergent
her own laundry bag or laundry hamper
enzyme cleaner for the carpet
hair dryer
vet wrap or sports wrap to protect her feet when dragging, but be very careful not to put it on too tight. You can wrap it around the foot with almost no tension, then just fold your hand around her foot and squish, and the wrap will mold itself into a boot on her foot. If you use tension when applying vetwrap, is not good for her circulation.
if the diapers do not stay on, you may want a nylon chest harness, so you can fasten the top of the diaper to the harness. critters posted a great video recently where someone kept the dog's diaper from falling down with safety pins. So simple, see it here:
thank you so much in advance!! <3
Re: new to this: how do you provide water?
Hi guys,
sorry for the super late reply, but we have been running around seeing different vets etc. We have found a very good vet (from what we can tell anyways) and she has been hospitalised there. She is on predisone (sp?) as well as antibiotics at the moment. The exact cause is not yet determined, although we have ruled out trauma. At the moment we are waiting to hear back from the head of surgery for his opinion on whether or not surgery would make any sense at all. In any case the outlook is not good, so a full recovery is unlikely, but we'll see what happens.
We just came back from visiting her. Brought her a nicer dog bed, which we had our other dog, Jason, sleep on last night for a bit of comfort smell, while she is at the vet. Other than that she seemed ok.
For the water - yes, I will likely have to play around a bit. The vet says she is already quickly gaining muscle mass in her front legs, which is good. I hope she can figure out how to get comfortable and get to her water bowl on her own in the next few days. At home, she actually does already have a hamster bottle in doggy size, which we had gotten to not have her ears in the water bowl. I will also see, if I can find her a bowl that can fasten to the side of the crate and then just see what works best for her.
Thanks also for all the feedback on the shopping list. Indeed we have already found a vendor who does doggy wheel chairs but are just holding off on that for now.
Also, the crib idea has entered our mind. I will take a look around to see what is available and in case we need that, we can act fast and get one of those.
The diaper sizing has definitely been difficult. Also, I am not a big fan of the doggy diapers in general, because it is hard to keep her clean when she empties her bowels as the little hole for the tail is a bit of a weak point there. I suspect these diapers are made more for dogs that cannot hold her bladder and not for cases like this. So baby diapers are more on my mind right now. Plus these will be much easier to find anyways, so I can get these at a moments notice. At least so far the diapers have stayed on well. hope that's also the case for the baby diapers...
As for the pee pads, I should have elaborated more: they were more meant for when I am expressing her bladder/ bowels. What do you guys use?
Hadn't thought about the diaper cream. Will add that to the list!
The dogs already have their own laundry hamper, so we are good here.
We don't have carpet, so no need for carpet cleaner, but we are considering a whole bunch of those kiddy pads that come in big puzzle pieces, so she can get around a bit easier, without slipping so much. In the mean time (before she went to the vet), we had used an oversized yoga mat, which worked well, except it was a bit narrow for her.
the vet wrap/ sports wrap would probably be difficult to find, so I will get on that, to make sure we have some available for when she is home!
Thank you also for all the links. I will go through those now to smarten up!
Thanks so much for the support! I really appreciate it!
sorry for the super late reply, but we have been running around seeing different vets etc. We have found a very good vet (from what we can tell anyways) and she has been hospitalised there. She is on predisone (sp?) as well as antibiotics at the moment. The exact cause is not yet determined, although we have ruled out trauma. At the moment we are waiting to hear back from the head of surgery for his opinion on whether or not surgery would make any sense at all. In any case the outlook is not good, so a full recovery is unlikely, but we'll see what happens.
We just came back from visiting her. Brought her a nicer dog bed, which we had our other dog, Jason, sleep on last night for a bit of comfort smell, while she is at the vet. Other than that she seemed ok.
For the water - yes, I will likely have to play around a bit. The vet says she is already quickly gaining muscle mass in her front legs, which is good. I hope she can figure out how to get comfortable and get to her water bowl on her own in the next few days. At home, she actually does already have a hamster bottle in doggy size, which we had gotten to not have her ears in the water bowl. I will also see, if I can find her a bowl that can fasten to the side of the crate and then just see what works best for her.
Thanks also for all the feedback on the shopping list. Indeed we have already found a vendor who does doggy wheel chairs but are just holding off on that for now.
Also, the crib idea has entered our mind. I will take a look around to see what is available and in case we need that, we can act fast and get one of those.
The diaper sizing has definitely been difficult. Also, I am not a big fan of the doggy diapers in general, because it is hard to keep her clean when she empties her bowels as the little hole for the tail is a bit of a weak point there. I suspect these diapers are made more for dogs that cannot hold her bladder and not for cases like this. So baby diapers are more on my mind right now. Plus these will be much easier to find anyways, so I can get these at a moments notice. At least so far the diapers have stayed on well. hope that's also the case for the baby diapers...
As for the pee pads, I should have elaborated more: they were more meant for when I am expressing her bladder/ bowels. What do you guys use?
Hadn't thought about the diaper cream. Will add that to the list!
The dogs already have their own laundry hamper, so we are good here.
We don't have carpet, so no need for carpet cleaner, but we are considering a whole bunch of those kiddy pads that come in big puzzle pieces, so she can get around a bit easier, without slipping so much. In the mean time (before she went to the vet), we had used an oversized yoga mat, which worked well, except it was a bit narrow for her.
the vet wrap/ sports wrap would probably be difficult to find, so I will get on that, to make sure we have some available for when she is home!
Thank you also for all the links. I will go through those now to smarten up!
Thanks so much for the support! I really appreciate it!
Re: new to this: how do you provide water?
janetz wrote:Hi guys,
sorry for the super late reply, but we have been running around seeing different vets etc. We have found a very good vet (from what we can tell anyways) and she has been hospitalised there. She is on predisone (sp?) as well as antibiotics at the moment. The exact cause is not yet determined, although we have ruled out trauma. At the moment we are waiting to hear back from the head of surgery for his opinion on whether or not surgery would make any sense at all. In any case the outlook is not good, so a full recovery is unlikely, but we'll see what happens.
We just came back from visiting her. Brought her a nicer dog bed, which we had our other dog, Jason, sleep on last night for a bit of comfort smell, while she is at the vet. Other than that she seemed ok.
For the water - yes, I will likely have to play around a bit. The vet says she is already quickly gaining muscle mass in her front legs, which is good. I hope she can figure out how to get comfortable and get to her water bowl on her own in the next few days. At home, she actually does already have a hamster bottle in doggy size, which we had gotten to not have her ears in the water bowl. I will also see, if I can find her a bowl that can fasten to the side of the crate and then just see what works best for her. Yes, I'd forgotten about crate bowls, and we've used them, too.
Thanks also for all the feedback on the shopping list. Indeed we have already found a vendor who does doggy wheel chairs but are just holding off on that for now.
Also, the crib idea has entered our mind. I will take a look around to see what is available and in case we need that, we can act fast and get one of those.
The diaper sizing has definitely been difficult. Also, I am not a big fan of the doggy diapers in general, because it is hard to keep her clean when she empties her bowels as the little hole for the tail is a bit of a weak point there. I suspect these diapers are made more for dogs that cannot hold her bladder typically that's trueand not for cases like this. So baby diapers are more on my mind right now. Plus these will be much easier to find anyways, so I can get these at a moments notice. At least so far the diapers have stayed on well. hope that's also the case for the baby diapers...
As for the pee pads, I should have elaborated more: they were more meant for when I am expressing her bladder/ bowels. What do you guys use?I found it most convenient to pee Buddy into baby diapers--especially the ones that were the wrong size for his butt.
Hadn't thought about the diaper cream. Will add that to the list!
The dogs already have their own laundry hamper, so we are good here.
We don't have carpet, so no need for carpet cleaner, but we are considering a whole bunch of those kiddy pads that come in big puzzle pieces, so she can get around a bit easier, without slipping so much.LOVE puzzle tiles! Most of my house is done in them these days. In the mean time (before she went to the vet), we had used an oversized yoga mat, which worked well, except it was a bit narrow for her.
the vet wrap/ sports wrap would probably be difficult to find, so I will get on that, to make sure we have some available for when she is home!Around here, anyway, vet wrap is easy to find with human bandaging supplies and is cheaper at feed stores. Dollar Tree has it sometimes, if you have one of them.
Thank you also for all the links. I will go through those now to smarten up!
Thanks so much for the support! I really appreciate it!
Re: new to this: how do you provide water?
Thanks, critters!
When you pee Buddy into diapers, how can you tell, if you are done? Or is this just a practice thing? For now, I hate the pads for this, as it is hard to control the pee (going down her legs etc) but at least I can have a feel for how much she is peeing and see, if there is any more pee...
Also great to see the puzzle tile idea confirmed! Those are easy enough to find
For vet wrap, this being China, we don't have the same kind of stores. Worst comes to worse, I am sure the vet can get me started with some, I see they are using it to secure the permanent needle in her front leg for the IV. I suspect some larger pharmacies might have these too. I haven't had a chance to scout yet. I am sure, I can find these online too though...
When you pee Buddy into diapers, how can you tell, if you are done? Or is this just a practice thing? For now, I hate the pads for this, as it is hard to control the pee (going down her legs etc) but at least I can have a feel for how much she is peeing and see, if there is any more pee...
Also great to see the puzzle tile idea confirmed! Those are easy enough to find
For vet wrap, this being China, we don't have the same kind of stores. Worst comes to worse, I am sure the vet can get me started with some, I see they are using it to secure the permanent needle in her front leg for the IV. I suspect some larger pharmacies might have these too. I haven't had a chance to scout yet. I am sure, I can find these online too though...
Re: new to this: how do you provide water?
You are sure doing amazingly well, I can hardly believe everything you've got done and how up on all of this you are. I am not a vet and your vets will be the ones to make the determination, but cocker spaniels are one of the breeds (like dachshunds) that get IVDD, which is intervertebral disk disease, so they may be trying to decide if that's what this is. At the same time, older dogs can get calcification of the spine, which sometimes causes problems and sometimes doesn't. I had a dachshund with extensive calcification and she was fine. The decision on whether to do surgery depends on if she still has deep pain sensation. If she does not have dps and it has been several days, the surgery is less likely to help, but the determination will be up to them. X-rays are not the best way to diagnose a disk problem, as they are better for showing hard things like bone, but not so good at showing a bulging disk. Sometimes a vet can guess a disk has pancaked if s/he sees that the space between 2 vertebrae is narrower than it should be. Normally the best way to diagnose a disk problem is with more advanced imaging such as an MRI (best) or CT or myelogram. The myelogram gives good images and is cheaper, but it is more invasive and has a higher degree of risk for the dog, you would want to discuss that carefully with the vet. What I'm really saying is, just because you may not see a disk problem on an x-ray, that really isn't good enough imaging to be sure.
I imagine whether she has surgery or not, you are looking at 6 weeks of crate rest, so she is not going to be needing a chair for a while (as you said, you are holding off) or vet wrap, just comfy bedding and rest. The wheelchair company I dealt with did not recommend putting a dog in a wheelchair until 6 weeks post injury.
I would shave down her legs and little bottom so you can clean her easier if she is dribbling when peeing. Good for you that you are already expressing! It is something you get better at, but it sounds like you are doing well already. Having your dog go down is kind of a five star emergency, but you guys are really handling this so well!
Vetwrap is pretty much the same thing as self adhesive sports bandage. That's another option, but no hurry.
If it was my dog, I would want her on prednisone, too. I am glad they are doing that. Who knows, you may start to see a little improvement as the swelling goes down.
How much does your dog weigh?
I totally agree, you do not want diapers with a small tail hole where waste is collecting in the diaper with a female dog. When the waste comes in contact with her female area, it is more likely she might develop a UTI. The urinary tract is a sterile tract and fecal germs must not enter it. Any time you notice she has soiled her female area, I would cleanse her, and then express her to hopefully help expel germs. My dog wears a diaper during the day and it does have a large tail hole. Perhaps you can cut a bigger hole for her tail in the existing diapers, however your idea of baby diapers sounds more convenient, and may be more absorbent, too. If you try the baby diaper and it does not seem to be a good fit, try it backward with the tapes to the rear. I think you will do best if you continue to express her bowel as you said, and get diapers with a bigger tail hole.
I agree, pee pads are perfect for expressing.
It's possible you may be able to get a stronger stream later when you and she have more practice with expressing, and less wetting of her legs. If you can get a stronger stream later, it may arc out away from her instead of dribbling down her legs. Right now, you just get an A+ for doing it at all!
I imagine whether she has surgery or not, you are looking at 6 weeks of crate rest, so she is not going to be needing a chair for a while (as you said, you are holding off) or vet wrap, just comfy bedding and rest. The wheelchair company I dealt with did not recommend putting a dog in a wheelchair until 6 weeks post injury.
I would shave down her legs and little bottom so you can clean her easier if she is dribbling when peeing. Good for you that you are already expressing! It is something you get better at, but it sounds like you are doing well already. Having your dog go down is kind of a five star emergency, but you guys are really handling this so well!
Vetwrap is pretty much the same thing as self adhesive sports bandage. That's another option, but no hurry.
If it was my dog, I would want her on prednisone, too. I am glad they are doing that. Who knows, you may start to see a little improvement as the swelling goes down.
How much does your dog weigh?
I totally agree, you do not want diapers with a small tail hole where waste is collecting in the diaper with a female dog. When the waste comes in contact with her female area, it is more likely she might develop a UTI. The urinary tract is a sterile tract and fecal germs must not enter it. Any time you notice she has soiled her female area, I would cleanse her, and then express her to hopefully help expel germs. My dog wears a diaper during the day and it does have a large tail hole. Perhaps you can cut a bigger hole for her tail in the existing diapers, however your idea of baby diapers sounds more convenient, and may be more absorbent, too. If you try the baby diaper and it does not seem to be a good fit, try it backward with the tapes to the rear. I think you will do best if you continue to express her bowel as you said, and get diapers with a bigger tail hole.
I agree, pee pads are perfect for expressing.
It's possible you may be able to get a stronger stream later when you and she have more practice with expressing, and less wetting of her legs. If you can get a stronger stream later, it may arc out away from her instead of dribbling down her legs. Right now, you just get an A+ for doing it at all! Re: new to this: how do you provide water?
janetz wrote:Thanks, critters!
When you pee Buddy into diapers, how can you tell, if you are done? Or is this just a practice thing? For now, I hate the pads for this, as it is hard to control the pee (going down her legs etc) but at least I can have a feel for how much she is peeing and see, if there is any more pee... I could just feel pee in his bladder, but I see where the misunderstanding is. The diapers weren't actually ON his butt; they were under his back and just sort of held themselves in position over his "gun." http://www.amazon.com/Buddy-Easy-Reader ... slow+buddy on that cover they were on his butt, but that was later. He had partial pee control at that point and was leaky. When I was expressing him he didn't wear his diapers; he just peed into them. I expressed him into them.
Also great to see the puzzle tile idea confirmed! Those are easy enough to find
For vet wrap, this being China, we don't have the same kind of stores. Worst comes to worse, I am sure the vet can get me started with some, I see they are using it to secure the permanent needle in her front leg for the IV. I suspect some larger pharmacies might have these too. I haven't had a chance to scout yet. I am sure, I can find these online too though..Ah, yes, that WOULD make a difference! I would be surprised if you can't find wrap somewhere, though; humans tend to like it because it doesn't pull on hair and skin, and, like you say, the vet is always a possibility as a source for it. It's critically important that the wrap isn't too tight, though..
Re: new to this: how do you provide water?
Thanks, critters, for the clarification on the peeing. That makes more sense! In this case, I think I will stick to the pee pads for now. We don't quite have the aim down at the moment... 
@CarolC: thanks also for all your input! The point of decal matter giving her a urinary tract infection hadn't even occurred to me to be honest, so thank you for pointing this issue out to me with the diapers. I will pay attention that there is no cross contamination.
as for the updates from the vet:
the vet called back today and the verdict is that they do want an MRI done first. She will be transported to a teaching hospital which has an MRI machine tomorrow afternoon. I will go with them. In the mean time they are reducing the dosage of her prednisone, as she is having heavy diarrhia and an elevated temperature.
ETA: she does not have any deep pain in her hind legs actually, so this is also the reason the vets are not too optimistic about her.
To be honest, we are just taking it one day at a time, but i am not getting my hopes up. My thinking is that, as long as she has no pain (which at the moment she seems to have some pain) we can handle everything else. She is a go-with-the-flow kinda dog, so she would surely adjust to anything quickly. If the pain cannot be controlled however, I am not really inclined to make her suffer long term.
But again - one day at a time... It's the only way to keep my sanity right now.
@CarolC: thanks also for all your input! The point of decal matter giving her a urinary tract infection hadn't even occurred to me to be honest, so thank you for pointing this issue out to me with the diapers. I will pay attention that there is no cross contamination.
as for the updates from the vet:
the vet called back today and the verdict is that they do want an MRI done first. She will be transported to a teaching hospital which has an MRI machine tomorrow afternoon. I will go with them. In the mean time they are reducing the dosage of her prednisone, as she is having heavy diarrhia and an elevated temperature.
ETA: she does not have any deep pain in her hind legs actually, so this is also the reason the vets are not too optimistic about her.
To be honest, we are just taking it one day at a time, but i am not getting my hopes up. My thinking is that, as long as she has no pain (which at the moment she seems to have some pain) we can handle everything else. She is a go-with-the-flow kinda dog, so she would surely adjust to anything quickly. If the pain cannot be controlled however, I am not really inclined to make her suffer long term.
But again - one day at a time... It's the only way to keep my sanity right now.
Last edited by janetz on Mon Sep 08, 2014 11:31 am, edited 1 time in total.
Re: new to this: how do you provide water?
Thanks, FYI, that was super useful to watch. I wasn't aware of the lying down method. That seems a bit easier, so I might try that.
So, we did the MRI today and from what I understood this was caused by a slipped disk that caused quite a bit of damage to the nerves. Surgery is not an option and so far she has not shown any improvement with the steroids. As she was put under for the MRI, she was quite out of it afterwards, so it was tough to see her that way.
She is still experiencing pain and I am not 100% sure they are giving her enough pain meds. Today was different, of course, because the trip to go to get the MRI was quite long, so it was long between getting pain relief for her. I will go again tomorrow to see how she is. The vet said, she had some panting but she thought it could be due to a full bladder. However, I kind of felt, her bladder often didn't get a chance to go full, as she would just leak quite a bit when she was home...
In any case, I will go again tomorrow and see how she is doing then.
Going forward, I don't know what's gonna happen. As there seems little hope of any kind of recovery, we are shifting focus to pain management. We'll continue the steroids of course, but the main focus is pain management. If we cannot get the pain under control though I am not inclined to let her suffer... Basically we are taking it day by day. I want to see how she feels tomorrow, especially when she is not under the influence of the anaesthesia...
thanks for all the advice again. it really helps and gives me a bit of sanity, especially since hubby is back on the job since today, so he won't be home until friday...
So, we did the MRI today and from what I understood this was caused by a slipped disk that caused quite a bit of damage to the nerves. Surgery is not an option and so far she has not shown any improvement with the steroids. As she was put under for the MRI, she was quite out of it afterwards, so it was tough to see her that way.
She is still experiencing pain and I am not 100% sure they are giving her enough pain meds. Today was different, of course, because the trip to go to get the MRI was quite long, so it was long between getting pain relief for her. I will go again tomorrow to see how she is. The vet said, she had some panting but she thought it could be due to a full bladder. However, I kind of felt, her bladder often didn't get a chance to go full, as she would just leak quite a bit when she was home...
In any case, I will go again tomorrow and see how she is doing then.
Going forward, I don't know what's gonna happen. As there seems little hope of any kind of recovery, we are shifting focus to pain management. We'll continue the steroids of course, but the main focus is pain management. If we cannot get the pain under control though I am not inclined to let her suffer... Basically we are taking it day by day. I want to see how she feels tomorrow, especially when she is not under the influence of the anaesthesia...
thanks for all the advice again. it really helps and gives me a bit of sanity, especially since hubby is back on the job since today, so he won't be home until friday...
Re: new to this: how do you provide water?
Just called the vet's office and wanted to share:
I talked to the nurse and she said Moca ran a fever this morning, likely because she was weakened from the anaesthetics yesterday.
They gave her some meds and fever went down and she has relaxed a lot this afternoon and seems very comfortable.
Best news: apparently she has regained control of her bowels and bladder! I almost cannot believe it! I will go down there after work today and see for myself. But this would be HUGE!
HAPPY DANCE!!
I talked to the nurse and she said Moca ran a fever this morning, likely because she was weakened from the anaesthetics yesterday.
They gave her some meds and fever went down and she has relaxed a lot this afternoon and seems very comfortable.
Best news: apparently she has regained control of her bowels and bladder! I almost cannot believe it! I will go down there after work today and see for myself. But this would be HUGE!
HAPPY DANCE!!
Re: new to this: how do you provide water?
Wouldn't that be wonderful if it is true?! Will you please post when you find out it is official, or if it is not? I have a number of follow-up comments either way.
How much does she weigh? Do you work full time?
How much does she weigh? Do you work full time?
Re: new to this: how do you provide water?
Ok, sorry, I didn't see the reply earlier...
So, I did go to see her at the vet's office. She did show some signs of improvement, including some bowel and bladder control, so that was good to see.
Unfortunately she was still in pain and seemed quite weak. Her poops are still quite soft, but not outright diarrhoea anymore. she has lost some weight, so they are upping her food intake. She is still inhaling her food, so it was good to see.
The main vet was off today, so I will meet her tomorrow to discuss further plans.
I work part time at an office job right now and part time from home.
So, I did go to see her at the vet's office. She did show some signs of improvement, including some bowel and bladder control, so that was good to see.
Unfortunately she was still in pain and seemed quite weak. Her poops are still quite soft, but not outright diarrhoea anymore. she has lost some weight, so they are upping her food intake. She is still inhaling her food, so it was good to see.
The main vet was off today, so I will meet her tomorrow to discuss further plans.
I work part time at an office job right now and part time from home.
Re: new to this: how do you provide water?
As far as diapers I bought three or four of the washable diapers and I buy women's panty liners as an insert. They are much much cheaper than the pet ones and the same size. If you can get her to empty her bladder without expressing try that first. Get a wet piece of toilet paper or wipe and tickle her for a few seconds. When they are puppies the mother licks both their genitals and anus to stimulate them to pee and poop so they remember this and will release. You can do this outside or over the oiler if she's small enough and is not in pain. Hope this helps.