Hind end paralysis recovery through crate rest

[rescuemom95]

I usually don't post on these things but this site helped me so much when my five year old beagle became paralyzed after a slipped disc. On July 8,2017 I woke up to my dog hunched over and not able to walk. I immediately called the vet and made him an appointment. The day before he did seem a little "off"- he didn't want to walk up the stairs to our third floor apartment, he wasn't active at our daily trip to the dog park, and he slept most of the day. I figured he was tired and stressed from the town's fireworks the night before.

The vet immediately said he ruptured a disc and kept him to take X-rays and start doses of steroids. He was boarded at the vet for four days, with no improvement. He lost deep tissue feeling in both hind legs, had no bladder control, and couldn't move. The vet called and suggested euthanasia and that surgery wasn't even an option. I decided to take him home to spend time with him and noticed that while I was wiping his paws with a warm rag, i was getting a reflex or slight movement. I decided to get another check-up the same day I brought him home and he had regained deep tissue feeling!

We decided to try crate rest, as surgery was not an option for financial reasons (I'm a broke college student). I'm not going to glamorize our journey, crate rest was miserable for the both of us. Crate rest consisted of- my very active dog being confined to a crate (i never crate trained him before, as he was an extremely well behaved beagle) , he wore diapers that had to be constantly changed (it took us awhile to find a brand where he didn't leak), had to be bathed when he had a BM, had a strict med schedule (prednisone, pepcid, methocarbamol). It was hard.

I told myself if he kept making improvements (even tiny ones) I had to give him a chance. We had weekly vet appointments and each visit there was improvement. Slow at first. By the first week of August we was standing, second week of August HE STARTED WALKING. Now mid-september, he's running, playing, jumping on me (no furniture), no stairs yet, well little stairs that go outside, bladder is almost recovered- he wears a diaper when i'm gone and car rides. Other than that he only goes outside, sometimes he leaks when hes excited or on our way out the door, its like he can't quite hold it for too long.

During this whole process, i used this site to search for answers to everything. And i wanted to share my story so others know there is hope. I am not sure how my dog got injured, the vet said he could have jumped off the furniture wrong. This had been the worst and best three months- my dog went from full hind end paralysis not expected to recover to now he is walking and happy. There is hope, don't give up too soon.


Here are some tips/things i used for anyone going through similar:
Pill containers for meds are great and keep it organized
dry shampoo does wonders for between washes- i used No-Rinse from WAHL from amazon, i think like $3
My little guy got a pressure sore (or giant hole on his bottom) - keep it covered with diaper, spray with hydrogen peroxide and use neosporin, his healed by itself after a month. Also, call your vet so they can give them an oral antibiotic.
I kept blankets down from him to lay on (make sure they are changed when soiled)
Diapers- pampers work great but they are expensive and i used a size 7 for my 30lb beagle and that size is very hard to find. I tried DG brand diaper size 7- they work great or Parent's choice brand from walmart size 7.
At first i put his tail through the leg hole with a leg while he was still immobile then when he started standing i cut a hole for his tail and put the diaper on backwards so it can be fastened on his back- still holds urine and makes life easy
I put AD ointment on at every change
I used pee pads on bedding
I changed him every 2 hours at first then once he was off the steroid he peed less
Thankfully i had friends who helped so much, but my dog needed constant care, he was never alone the first two weeks. After that i gradually left him (once he peed less and needed changed less)
I bought wipes in bulk from amazon (their brand) they come in handy for cleaning dog
Keep dog clean! so important and to prevent urine scalds
I searched physical therapy for dogs and started with him once he was standing
Once he was active I bought diaper cover ups from pet smart
After the two weeks, he wanted to be active and move around (he was quick with only two legs- he'd escape while i was changing his bedding) i gave him bones bought new special toys just sat with him so he wouldn't get bored
He ate more than usual while on crate (steroids) rest but did not gain any weight

It's took all the effort and love I have for my little guy, but now here we are and it makes all that hard work so worth it. He is a little miracle dog.

[critters]

and congrats! for posting your hints for others!!