Looking for advice for Jack Ryan

[JackRyan]

Firstly this message board has helped so much.

Our beautiful 4 year old 32lb Pit/terrier mix lost the use of both hind legs October 2nd. He was walking one minute and then was dragging both hind legs the next. He had spinal surgery October 3rd - IVDD with severe bruising and bleeding on his spinal cord, prognosis 50/50 chance he'll walk again. He's been on crate rest since then until last week when we move him to a pen. He's a very anxious dog and up until today we have been hand feeding him as he's been resistant to eat from his dog bowl (he's always been a fussy eater). We've been hand feeding him as he's been taking antibiotics for a UTI and a staph infection that our vet discovered. He's incontinent right now, we're expressing him regularly but haven't been able to time his bowel movements so he's been going during the night sometimes and it's a messy scene in the morning (as you can imagine). He has an area in his pen when we've put down pee pads so he could drag himself over there (which he hasn't done yet).

I'm just looking for advice I suppose. We take him to PT on Dec 3rd (that was the 1st appointment we could get). I'm hoping that once he gets into a wheelie things may take an upturn. We do PT 2/3 times a day on our own. He has, what the neurologist thinks, it deep pain sensation but she has kept saying that he's a difficult case as sometimes she thinks he feels it and then other times she doesn't. Thank you for your time - we've had some dark days coming to grips with this.

[CarolC]

Hi JackRyan,



Have you tried expressing his bowel? There are a number of techniques you can try to stimulate the dog to eliminate his stool at a time and place of your choosing. Here we have come to call it "poop on demand". You can read about them in this article. I really like the ice cube method or the pinch method. A lot of people like the q-tip method. You don't have to take him outdoors, just put a potty pad under his hips and then wrap up the waste when he's done. It helps when doing this indoors to have a box of kleenex handy and drop tissues over it as he goes. That reduces the smell a lot. Expressing his bowel will probably not eliminate the mess 100% but it should reduce the amount of mess.

I cannot tell whether he has feeling in his bottom or not. My golden retriever who had feeling (he was down from old age) did not especially like it I don't think, but it beat the alternative of a mess. If your dog has no feeling he probably won't react much. If he seems uneasy, it may help to be in a position where he can see what you are doing. Here is an example from elderly pit whose dog was uneasy about expressing the bladder (not bowel).

The quality of the stools is a big factor, too. If he produces firm, well-formed, low odor stools, it is much less of a mess, even if he doodles in his bed and it rolls under his hip. I agree, you don't want to keep having to do major clean-up every morning, and he probably isn't crazy about it either. If your dog is on antibiotics, they may be affecting his stool quality. I'm sure you have a mental picture of how firm his stools were before his surgery and antibiotics. If they were not firm and dry-ish, you might consider adjusting his diet to produce firmer, dryer stools. I've had really good results with Science Diet w/d dry (not the canned) with several disabled dogs. I understand if he is a finicky eater you have enough of a task to get him to eat at all, never mind changing his diet suddenly. I am just passing this tip along in case it might be something that would help, if not now then maybe later.

[JackRyan]

Hi CarolC - thank you so much for your reply - I truly appreciate it.

I've tried the Q tip method a few times with no results. I will try the others as the last thing I want is for Jack to be more anxious because he's in a "mess" literally. We are feeding him Science Diet wet food along with a dry dog food & a little mashed sweet potato, twice a day. That's about all he'll eat apart from chicken and turkey baby food that we have weened him off of.

Our vet has checked his bowel strength and said he has good feeling. About how long after I feed him should I try and express his bowel?

Thanks again.

[critters]

I second the thought of expressing poop. You may have to try several ideas until you find one that works for y'all and for him.

[CarolC]

About how long after I feed him should I try and express his bowel?

To know how long it takes for your dachsie to process food, put a few small pieces of raw carrot or kernels of frozen corn in with dinner. The veggie pieces don't digest — watch for the stool with veggies and you'll know your pup's digesting time. Often you will be able to park your pup's butt over the toilet and then flush away…. How easy is that!!

That being said, I would also try right after he eats. There something called the gastrocolic reflex that is triggered when the dog eats.

A wave of rhythmic contractions along the length of the digestive tract (the gastrocolic reflex) begins when food or water is swallowed. The contractions are particularly strong after eating, which explains why a bowel movement is so likely after a puppy eats.

Turkey baby food is great but it's up to 95 cents a jar I think. We'll do anything to get them to eat. You might also try frying some lean hamburger and see what he thinks (pat it dry of grease).

If the q-tip or other methods don't work, the pinch method has never failed for me.

He's been taught all his life not to go in the house, I think sometimes they just hold it...

[JackRyan]

Tried the ice cube method yesterday morning and it worked brilliantly. Tried again last night and early this morning without luck (maybe a little early for him). Thank you again for all your advice - it's been so helpful.

[CarolC]

Woohoo!!! That's good news. Joe (Murphy's Dad) did that with Murphy (beagle) and he's the one who posted the tip.