Trying to come to terms with this...

Neurological Disorders Resources. Treatment and care for pets having pain or trouble walking or standing due to spinal injuries or neurological disorders like IVDD, FCE and DM.
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D33injpn
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Joined: Sun Sep 30, 2018 10:52 am

Trying to come to terms with this...

Post by D33injpn »

Hello everyone, I’m Dee I’m 27 and I have been living in japan for 6 years. 2 years into my time here I felt like it was time for me to get a best bud to help me through the hard times. I found a lovely little dachshund who I named alfie and let’s just say he has brought so much joy to mine and my wife’s life.

He is now 4 years old and is always full of beans, we have always been aware that herniated discs could be a big problem in dachshunds so we have always been cautious. That being said on Thursday night we came home from having a meal to find out boy dragging his back legs and let’s just say my heart broke... I have been a mess since then. We took him to the vets early in the morning and the vet has said he has a herniated disc but as he is still able to go to the bathroom by himself and his back legs have a slight reflex we have been prescribed injections.


We are going to try for a month and see how things go and obviously we want to help as much as we can.

I’m finding it hard coming to terms with this more than my wife, she is very strong and is also pregnant XD

I don’t know why but I feel like it is my fault, if we didn’t go out for dinner this wouldn’t have happened.

How did you guys come to terms with the fact your pets might never walk again?
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CarolC
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Re: Trying to come to terms with this...

Post by CarolC »

No doubt it was very unexpected, but it was certainly not in any way your fault for going out to dinner. Please don't feel you are in any way to blame...

Once you start to get over the shock the thing you come to find out is, surprisingly dogs do not moan and think, "Why me?" They just get on about life, on 4 legs or 2. If by chance he does not recover with rest and treatment, he can still have a great quality of life, and he will still be the same dog you have loved ever since you got him. Here is a video of a doxie that you may enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Saf_kZvwClE

Here is a video of one of my dogs who is paralyzed (birth defect).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oQ09GdVuuKE

In both cases, you can see the personality and spirit are still 110%. They don't care if they are paralyzed. They care if they get love and attention and treats and all the stuff they have always loved. If he does not recover the ability to walk (too soon to tell) you can always get him a little cart so he can run and feel the wind in his face again. :) He won't need it in the house, though, as you can see from the videos.

You may want to check out http://www.dodgerslist.com, which was created to help doxies with back problems have a great life. I would absolutely give him more than one week to see how he does, and not make any irreversible decisions. Please try not to worry (as much as you can), this is probably going to turn out better than you think right now, and even if by chance you do not see the improvement you hope for, dogs are so good at accepting the new normal, and he can still be a happy dog however it turns out. Wheelchair dogs can still go for walks, compete in agility, go camping, and climb mountains. Life is still good.

https://www.handicappedpets.com/dog-whe ... ashington/

You may want to have a look at the information about conservative (non surgical) treatment, which you are doing right now. Here is a link for that.

http://www.dodgerslist.com/literature/I ... tment.html
http://www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingpage.htm

:group:
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critters
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Re: Trying to come to terms with this...

Post by critters »

:strobe: I expect it would've happened even if you'd been home, but Carol's right--critters don't worry about such things. They usually find a way to keep keeping on!
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