HELP !! New @ All of This

[dutchie3]

Hi Everyone

I'm hoping for some advice, support, ideas anything to make this easier. My cocker spaniel was a rescue puppy at 8 wks, h'll be four in April. In October of this year he had an episode were he was severely limping and would not do the stairs etc. I had no idea what was going on - I took him to the vet, thinking lymes disease only to find out he "broke " a disc near the siatic nerve area. I was told this was the beginning of IVDD. I took him home with meds & rest he recovered quickly like a week or so with only an occasional limp till now ... I rescued yet another 8 week old puppy two weeks ago, brought her home -Dutchie (cocker) was slightly annoyed but it was fine. We did leave him overnight outside of the cage to pick up the puppy, I do not know if he did something during that period (him and the puppy really did not play at all to cause any injury). A day or so in to being home he starts gradually limping then one morning boom- he appears totally paralyzed, dragging his back legs completely. We get him to the vet, they were talking a 6000 dollar surgery right away which is not guaranteed to work !! The Vet gave us an option to see if an overnight stay would get him back on his feet since the last disc healed nicely. It did, two nights, I dediced to care for him at home bc he was not happy there. I am and he is standing now but tipping, he can prob take 7 steps bf hes done again, he is not dragging at all anymore. He does not have full control of his bladder or rectum & he can not fully hold a squat to poop. So here I am two kids 5 & 7, a 8 week old puppy, a disabled cocker spaniel and Im worried.. Is he ever going to recover fully ? How long is too long to wait. I read 6 weeks cage confinement.. the surgery is not an option for us, unfortuanetly. We are really holding out hope he has a recovery and can resume normal activity soon. I dont know what to do at this point. Help

[CarolC]

Well, if surgery is not an option then crate rest is your best option. There is no guarantee with surgery but there is no guarantee with crate rest either. The most important thing (emphasis) is to really do the crate rest right. You have to be strict, which is hard to do, especially when you have 2 little kids who want to take the dog out, and it is easy for the adult owner to "cave in" to whining and let the dog out, too. You are also going to feel bad when he sees everybody playing with the new puppy and he is locked up, and that is going to really play on your sense of guilt about having him "locked up", but you must be strict. You are going to feel really bad, but you have to do it. If you are going to try crate rest, he needs to be in the crate 24/7, only out to potty.

You are fortunate he improved so quickly last time. It takes longer than that for a disk to heal, though it may not take that long to begin to see improvement. This article explains how long it takes for a disk to physically heal.

A typical IVDD case requires up to 6 weeks of confinement. This time frame is based on the time it takes the annulus to heal by scar formation. Fibrous scar tissue takes 3 weeks to begin to be laid down and scar formation reaches its peak at 6 weeks. So strict cage rest is followed for the initial 3 weeks. After a recheck exam that shows improvement, slightly more freedom is granted. At 4 weeks more freedom is allowed if the recheck exam shows substantial improvement. After 6 weeks have passed, healing should be well underway and the recheck exam should show a more nearly normal neurologic status. Then cage rest can be discontinued, but lifestyle changes designed to help prevent a recurrence should be followed – that is weight control, limited stairs and jumping.

http://sites.google.com/site/sturgisvet ... sk-disease

Here is an article explaining exactly how to do crate rest and why the strictness and long confinement are necessary.

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

Remember, 6-8 weeks in a crate is a small price to pay for a lifetime of walking, and a lifetime of paralysis is a HUGE price to pay for one little play session out of the crate when he's supposed to be on bedrest.

If he is not urinating, you will need to express his bladder. The vet should show you how to do this. Here is an article with video links at the end, describing bladder care.

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

If it was my dog, I would want him on prednisone. When you give prednisone, you want to add a stomach protectant such as Pepcid a/c. If he is still uncomfortable, he may need pain meds for a while as well.

Gosh, I wish there was something I could say to make you feel better. Yes, you difinitely have a situation, but you can handle it. It is a panic the first few weeks after a dog goes down, for sure. The advantage of crate rest is, it is free, and other than the guilt you feel (especially if he whines like my dog did), it is easy to do. I would have a very serious talk with the kids, because they need to understand he has to stay in the crate no matter what. It would be very sad for a small child to let the dog out, and he gets worse, and they might have to live their whole life afraid it was their fault the dog did not recover or was put down (as some people would do).

If you are someplace where they offer animal acupuncture, it might be worth considering. I have not tried it, but there have been so many reports here of it helping, by people I respect, that it must help some dogs with IVDD.

[dutchie3]

THANK U SO SO MUCH for your advice, information and support I appreciate it greatly. We are doing well with the crate training thus far, he does whine when the puppy is out and it does play on that guilt but I know its most important for his healing. the kids are quite distracted with the puppy so that is a plus keeping the older dog in crate. He is on prednisone and a muscle relaxer type med but they will be over with in a few days. Im hopeful he will make a full recovery in the near future its just a waiting game now. I just could not in a million years imagined this would happen while introducing a new pet to the home its sad because clearly its not how I envisioned the dogs lives together. Well life is what happens when making other plans .. right its just a few weeks, not a lifetime. Thank you again. I'll keep you posted on progress

[jazzybaby]

I too have a cocker spaniel who has IVDD, she had just turned 4 herself when she had her first issue. She was outside going potty and flopped down in the snow and would not come back to me. I went to pick her up and she was in pain and whinning. I rush her to the vets where they told me it was the start of IVDD and let her rest they sent her home with meds and they told me she could go the rest of her life without any issues or she could go 2 weeks have another issue. Well she she went a little over 2 months and she went down hill in a matter of hours at first she would not do the stairs, or jump on the couch, then she started falling over and then she went down and was dragging her back end. We did do the surgery which she was given a 50/50 chance of recovery, two weeks post surgery we were told no it had not worked and to get her a set of wheels because she would never stand let alone walk again. I was crushed, so I came home and found this site and got in touch with her normal vet and she told me give it time 2 weeks post surgery was to soon to tell and that she would need to rest for 4 more weeks and then we would start laser treatment and the 2 weeks later we would have to start PT. And with in a month we started seeing huge improvements first it was a wag of her tail, then she stood and then came the walking it is a very wobbly walk almost looks like she has been drinking. It took months and months to get her where she is now, she is now just about 2 years post surgery and she can not pee on her own we have to express her, she does know when she is pooping, she has a wheelchair for going on walks outside but in the house she either walks when she takes her time still a very wobbly walk she trips over her feet a lot and when she wants to get somewhere fast she still drags her back legs. She is still playful and the happy dog she has always been. The best advice I can give you is do the create rest, and if he recovers don't let him jump on the couch or bed this can cause issues, and watch for signs of him having issues and get him back on the meds right away. And at somepoint he may need wheels but they do really well in them. I think it is part of their breed cockers are happy dogs wanting to please. Just give it time, only time will tell. Good luck

[dutchie3]

THANKS .. def appreciate your cocker story, makes me feel less alone. We are two weeks in with this episode & he has shown a lot of improvement he can stand for periods of time and walk with the occassional tip over.. he walks like crossing his back legs now. However, the hardest part has been the bathroom issues -- he seems to have control enough to go outside when we take him out but then he comes and and just goes randomly. Having a 10 week old puppy in training and a four year old cocker pooping all over the house has been a challenge to say the least. At this point we are going into it with the 6 week healing as our basis and revisit everything after that point ie: carts surgery etc.

Thanks again

[Shaz]

Hi!

If you haven't already done so have a look at this Link which should help, sounds as though your Dog isn't emptying completely...

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

My Dog can stand to eat and drink but not walk but moves in that crossed back leg position or side saddle. Perhaps you could take the advice of one of the more experienced Members here on if your Dog should be moving around so much? I didn't have the knowledge of crate rest when mine went down so have no experience.

All the best to you all:)

[dutchie3]

Thank You ! We do have him in the crate 90 % of the time. When I return from work he goes to the yard then back in crate & at dinner time he eats in the crate then yard and I let him lay next to us on the couch which he does with no problem. I witness his mobility mostly in the yard and on his way back to the crate. He doesnt seem to be in pain anymore though. His spunk is back attitude wise so its looking hopeful for now

[CarolC]

The most important thing (emphasis) is to really do the crate rest right. <snip> you must be strict. You are going to feel really bad, but you have to do it. If you are going to try crate rest, he needs to be in the crate 24/7, only out to potty.

If he goes out to the yard, they stress the dog should be on a leash and not walking any farther than necessary. I am not trying to be overly dramatic, but if someone told you keeping your dog on a leash when going out to potty, and in a crate the rest of the time for 6 weeks, was a matter of life and death, would you do it? I think crate rest is harder for optimistic people, they assume things are going to work out. But his disk could get worse, he could develop more pain, lose bowel and bladder ability, need you to be home to express his bladder 3 times a day for the next 10 years, spend the rest of his life in diapers, create extra laundry, have to be carried everywhere, lots of daily lifting, require the purchase of a wheelchair...you already have plenty of work to do with the kids...why risk it...?

[sueandphil1945]

Hi,

Sorry to hear about your little one, but u are on the best websites and great u will receive great advise.

We have 3 little ones. clyde our 3 year was boarded at a pethotel with his brother and sister xmas eve and we had a phone call xmas day to say he was paralized on his back legs. So where he damaged 3 discs and his chest bone under the rib cage is out of line.

Like u their vets said $6,000 for surgery. We took him to a neurologist who was supper good. He said there was no deep pain.

We purchased wheels for him, he was not enthusiastic with them but now he runs etc with them

We were told about chiropracter so we took him there. He now does a couple of shuffles on his butt and then gets up and runs and walks. He goes a far distance before he flops but he has improved so much. He does this at home on the carpet.

dont give up, you may feel like why my little one, but just keep going.

Also l massage Clyde three times a day and l put my hand under is tummy with the other hand at the very back and apply a little pressure and he stretches his back legs out and know he likes that as l can feel him relax, try that also but first check with the chirporactor too.

Good luck.

Sue and Clyde