Is my pitty regressing?

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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NursicoRN23
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Joined: Fri Feb 26, 2021 4:48 pm

Is my pitty regressing?

Post by NursicoRN23 »

Hello all!

I have been silently stalking this forum since my dog went down on 1/19.
Quick back story: Harvey is a 8 year old pit mix who has always had an awkward gait and hip dysplasia. On the morning of the 19th, my husband got him up as he always does but he could barely walk. He was tripping over his paws, knuckling, and couldn’t hold himself up for very long.
We rushed him to an emergency vet who had us go immediately to a neurologist and, long story short, an MRI showed he had a herniated disc at T13/L1. He had deep pain sensation, so the doctor was optimistic that he would respond well to surgery.
It’s been just under 5 weeks since he came home. The doctor had originally quoted 4 weeks for him to walk, but I felt like that was slightly unrealistic.
Anyway, Harvey never lost bowel control and we only needed to express his bladder for 4 days before he regained the ability to pee on his own. He’s able to stand unassisted while eating and drinking, and he wags his tail with no issues. Most importantly, he’s his happy, derpy self.
Here is where I am having an issue, though. Up until this week, Harvey hadn’t had any accidents. However, in the last 3 days he’s pooped in his crate twice and on our living room rug once. He also peed in his crate once.
Could he be regressing?
The majority of this week we would take him outside to do his business and he would either go with no problem or we would be out there forever and he would have no desire to urinate or defecate. It was these times we would bring him back in and within 20 minutes he would have an accident.
The doctor is still optimistic that Harvey will walk, especially since he will be starting PT soon. So, how worried should I be about these recent accidents?
Thank you I’m advance to anyone who reads my rambling insanity.
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CarolC
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Re: Is my pitty regressing?

Post by CarolC »

:welcome:
Hi,

That sounds really good about the standing and wagging. And really good that he had bowel and bladder control so soon after surgery. I cannot think of an explanation for the recent accidents. A guess would be that it isn't neurological (like a set-back), but that is only a guess. Since this is so soon after surgery, his bowel and bladder control may still be kind of borderline, he will lock it in better as time goes on. This soon after surgery it might take only something slight to affect his control. Figuring out what that is, is the mystery.

If he was on steroids after the surgery, that can affect the GI tract. Often the dog is given famotidine while taking steroids, to protect the GI tract. If he was on antibiotics, that could affect the digestive system, too. You might ask the vet if it would do any harm to give him some probiotics. I'm just wondering if something is making him slightly gassy or something. I don't think I've ever seen it reported where a dog had bowel and bladder control and then lost it afterward.

Has he started any new meds that he was not on before? Or has he finished any meds that he was on previously? Has there been any change of diet, or any reformulation of his usual food? Is his stool quality the same?

If he is going to have issues with number two, even temporarily, then it is helpful to address stool quality. You want stools that are firm, well formed, low odor, and not sticky. I've had really good luck with Science Diet w/d dry kibbles with several incontinent dogs. If he doodles on the rug you can pick up after him with a Kleenex and they don't leave a trace, no need to use carpet spray. If the dog doodles in bed and a stool rolls under his hip, it will not gum up his fur. It's just an idea, in case the issue doesn't clear up right away.

Was anyone observing him when it happened? Perhaps after he came indoors and laid down, he was exerting himself to stand up (trying to learn to get up again) or to roll over to the other side and reposition himself, and the exertion caused it.

An equally big mystery is why he didn't go when he was outside. It is kind of off the subject, but someone I know has a normal, teenaged dog who was refusing to do his business recently. It was the same problem, she would take him out and could not get him to do his business, then he would come in and go on the rug. She finally tried throwing a ball for him and it worked, he then completed all his business while outside.

There are several tricks you can use to get the dog to "poop on demand". If you stimulate his rear, it may encourage him to empty while you are outside. Since he apparently has feeling, he may not appreciate it, though, so you'll want to use your judgment about how you think he will respond. It works well with paralyzed dogs. Here is an article.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=18586

I wish I could be more help. I'm sorry, this is not a common issue that I have heard. If you find out what it is, I hope you will post back, in case someone else ever has this same situation. :)
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critters
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Re: Is my pitty regressing?

Post by critters »

:whale: With spinal cord injuries it's pretty common to do a two steps forward, one step back kind of thing; ie, recovery isn't usually linear. I wonder if that may be what you're seeing here?
NursicoRN23
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Re: Is my pitty regressing?

Post by NursicoRN23 »

Thank you both for your comments! I have to keep reminding myself that this is still so new and setbacks are possible. I think Harvey's vet set an unrealistic expectation for his recovery. The doctor expected to see him walking when we brought him back for the staple removal 12 days after surgery. When that didn't happen, he said Harvey should be walking by his follow-up two weeks later. When neither of these things happened, I started looking at every little negative thing as a sign of a bigger problem.
Meanwhile, since writing my initial post, Harvey has started standing up on his own and is even taking steps. He's wobbly and falls, but he's really trying. He's also been doing really well at standing in one place for a while without his legs giving out. When they do finally give out, he's pulling them under him as opposed to sitting on his sacrum with his legs straight out.
The best improvement I saw yesterday when he lifted his back leg to scratch behind his ear!
He goes for a PT consult on Wednesday and will hopefully start soon after. I just need to be patient and appreciate the little wins.
I am so glad this board exists. Thank you again!
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critters
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Re: Is my pitty regressing?

Post by critters »

That's all VERY positive!! :wub:
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