Disc disease paralysis

[LillyBellesMom]

Hello everyone,

I am looking for some advice on what to do. I rescued a Chihuahua in August. She is 14 years old, 3 pounds. She has a indent in her right hip which we are guessing she may have been born with. She has been overcompensating for her whole life. She is now having disc disease issues and she seems to be in the last stage before possible paralysis. My doctors want to just right into surgery, but I personally probably cannot afford it and this isn't her only medical issue. She is so small and old, I don't really know that's the best option for her. I was wondering if you have any insight on how to help her most before she does go into paralysis and if she does... Can she still go potty? How does that work? Would she be in pain? She is already dragging a leg kind of and not walking very correctly. She still is wagging her tail so far. She sleeps about 23 hours a day, she is an old lady. I have never had to deal with anything like this before and I am kind of confused at how to handle it.

Thank you!

[CarolC]

You could try conservative treatment, which I will describe and it may sound overly strict, but...crate rest is STRICT STRICT STRICT rest in a small crate, plus medication (usually prednisone or another anti-inflammatory) to get the swelling down around the affected disk. Crate rest is in a crate 24/7, only out to potty or change her bed, then right back in she goes. No sitting on your lap to watch TV, no sleeping on the foot of the bed, just in the crate all day every day until sometime in July if she starts now. It takes a minimum of 6 weeks for a disk to heal, and that is provided it is not being aggravated through activity. Carry her out to potty and have her potty on a leash (harness not collar) with the fewest steps possible, no sniffing all the corners of the yard. No playtime. If it isn't strict, it does not have a chance to work properly. Crate rest would continue for the full 6-8 weeks even if she starts to seem perfectly fine. Conservative treatment has the best chance when the dog is like yours, not fully paralyzed yet. After she improves, you want to be sure she is not going up and down stairs, jumping off the sofa, or anything like that. Also, when you go to pick her up, I would verbally cue her, tell her you are going to pick her up, so she is ready. Something like "Up-up-up" and then you pick her up.

Here is a good explanation of crate rest.
http://www.dodgerslist.com/literature/conservative.htm

If she does lose the ability to urinate, you can help her by expressing her bladder. That means you squeeze her little tummy in a certain way to make her urinate. Having such a petite dog will make it easier. You express about every 8 hours, or every 6-8 depending on your schedule. Do you work outside the home?

Here is a video showing expressing the bladder.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoYWs6OEfJI

Extensive information here:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=16027

I'm a little curious about the sleeping 23 hours a day. I wonder if she might be older than they told you. It is not easy to tell the age on a chihuahua, they are notorious for poor teeth. You may have to try to judge that yourself by experience with dogs and just gut feeling. There are many things that might explain the sleeping all the time but Chihuahuas do get heart disease so that would be one possibility. So it does sound like she acts like a older gal, but while 14 is getting kind of old it isn't really super old for a chihuahua...? Did you get her from an experienced rescue who would definitely get her age about right, or was it someone who really knew her age, or did you have little background? It makes me wonder...

My other question is, do you have a really good vet? There are other things that could cause her to drag a paw, for example a hip problem. Possibly even severe arthritis. If you are sure it is disk related, if it was my dog I would try the crating. Here is a photo of a small crate with a water bowl. If you put the crate in a good location where she can see out a window, it will help keep her occupied. If you have 2 crates, one in the main house and one in the bedroom, then she can still sleep near you at night.

If she is having pain or discomfort, it should gradually resolve with the crating plus medication. If it does not, or if she has repeated episodes, you may want to consider the surgery, but I would have them do an ultrasound of her heart and senior bloodwork first, considering that she sleeps so much. Loans for emergency veterinary care are available from http://www.carecredit.com, or ask your vet hospital about Care Credit. Would love to hear more about her or see a photo.

When I first read your post, my first impression was you were talking about her neck, but it doesn't say that. Do you know what area the disk is in?

[critters]

Is she taking any meds for the inflammation?