Pip diagnosis - Central cord syndrome

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.
coxmaria3
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Re: Pip diagnosis

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:wow:
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CarolC
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Re: Pip diagnosis

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:thankyou:
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critters
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Re: Pip diagnosis

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:wow:
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CarolC
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Re: Pip diagnosis

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:thankyou:
He went to acupuncture yesterday, 4th session. I'm still not sure if it helps. I think maybe (?) it does but he was recovering anyway so no way to be sure.

This morning I put him out in the grass for a potty break, and he stretched out to pee but still spritzed his ribs a little, so while he was finishing I went in to get some Kleenex. He normally scoots away when he finishes urinating. As I came back outside, I saw him get to his feet and hop hop hop hop away from the spot on all 4 feet. If you could imagine a dog doing hopscotch, that's exactly what it was. I was incredibly proud of him because he was zigzagging to correct his trajectory toward the door. Then he stood there looking confused, and sunk down to the ground *by choice*. He wasn't getting tired or weak, he wasn't losing his balance, it was a conscious decision. I saw the thought pass over his face. "Yikes, what am I doing up here, I'd better lie down for safety." I think he just still can't feel his front feet (he definitely can't) and so he doesn't have feedback to know what he's standing on, so caution dictates that he should not be up in the air like that.

That was probably a one-off. He's done a couple of other magnificent things in the past weeks but only the one time. I think (not sure, but *think*) he still doesn't have full head control yet. So even if we go outside and do nothing but walk around, if he is looking this way and that, it is exercise. He can turn his head, but craning his neck from where it meets his shoulders is a separate thing and I don't think he has all of it back yet, to do it quickly like the athlete he is. That would be important for balancing. He was born without a tail (except a cute little tuft of fur) so he has no tail for balancing, but his hind legs are pretty good, it's the front that's still recovering.
coxmaria3
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Re: Pip diagnosis

Post by coxmaria3 »

CarolC wrote: Thu Nov 11, 2021 11:15 am :thankyou:
He went to acupuncture yesterday, 4th session. I'm still not sure if it helps. I think maybe (?) it does but he was recovering anyway so no way to be sure.
The things we do for our babies! I wish we had acupuncture near to try.

This morning I put him out in the grass for a potty break, and he stretched out to pee but still spritzed his ribs a little, so while he was finishing I went in to get some Kleenex. He normally scoots away when he finishes urinating. As I came back outside, I saw him get to his feet and hop hop hop hop away from the spot on all 4 feet. If you could imagine a dog doing hopscotch, that's exactly what it was. I was incredibly proud of him because he was zigzagging to correct his trajectory toward the door. Then he stood there looking confused, and sunk down to the ground *by choice*. He wasn't getting tired or weak, he wasn't losing his balance, it was a conscious decision. I saw the thought pass over his face. "Yikes, what am I doing up here, I'd better lie down for safety." I think he just still can't feel his front feet (he definitely can't) and so he doesn't have feedback to know what he's standing on, so caution dictates that he should not be up in the air like that.
Look at him go! How exciting!

That was probably a one-off. He's done a couple of other magnificent things in the past weeks but only the one time. I think (not sure, but *think*) he still doesn't have full head control yet. So even if we go outside and do nothing but walk around, if he is looking this way and that, it is exercise. He can turn his head, but craning his neck from where it meets his shoulders is a separate thing and I don't think he has all of it back yet, to do it quickly like the athlete he is. That would be important for balancing. He was born without a tail (except a cute little tuft of fur) so he has no tail for balancing, but his hind legs are pretty good, it's the front that's still recovering.
Our golden, Trooper, had a cute little tuft when his tail had to be amputated after he was hit. We would get him shaved in the summer and it would look like a droopy nose.

Way to go Pip!
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CarolC
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Re: Pip diagnosis

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coxmaria3 wrote: Thu Nov 11, 2021 9:24 pm
CarolC wrote: Thu Nov 11, 2021 11:15 am :thankyou:
He went to acupuncture yesterday, 4th session. I'm still not sure if it helps. I think maybe (?) it does but he was recovering anyway so no way to be sure.
The things we do for our babies! I wish we had acupuncture near to try.
I probably wouldn't have done it if I could get him into PT, but that didn't work out. The neurologist recommended the acupuncture, which is why we are trying it.

This morning I put him out in the grass for a potty break, and he stretched out to pee but still spritzed his ribs a little, so while he was finishing I went in to get some Kleenex. He normally scoots away when he finishes urinating. As I came back outside, I saw him get to his feet and hop hop hop hop away from the spot on all 4 feet. If you could imagine a dog doing hopscotch, that's exactly what it was. I was incredibly proud of him because he was zigzagging to correct his trajectory toward the door. Then he stood there looking confused, and sunk down to the ground *by choice*. He wasn't getting tired or weak, he wasn't losing his balance, it was a conscious decision. I saw the thought pass over his face. "Yikes, what am I doing up here, I'd better lie down for safety." I think he just still can't feel his front feet (he definitely can't) and so he doesn't have feedback to know what he's standing on, so caution dictates that he should not be up in the air like that.
Look at him go! How exciting!
Moments to treasure.

That was probably a one-off. He's done a couple of other magnificent things in the past weeks but only the one time. I think (not sure, but *think*) he still doesn't have full head control yet. So even if we go outside and do nothing but walk around, if he is looking this way and that, it is exercise. He can turn his head, but craning his neck from where it meets his shoulders is a separate thing and I don't think he has all of it back yet, to do it quickly like the athlete he is. That would be important for balancing. He was born without a tail (except a cute little tuft of fur) so he has no tail for balancing, but his hind legs are pretty good, it's the front that's still recovering.
Our golden, Trooper, had a cute little tuft when his tail had to be amputated after he was hit. We would get him shaved in the summer and it would look like a droopy nose.

Way to go Pip!


LOL! Even that is more than Pip has, but he was born that way. :D
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CarolC
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Re: Pip diagnosis

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Pip is still knuckling on his front feet, but he is aware of it and is fixing them. This is more progress.

Strangely, and perhaps embarrassingly to say, I have had him for 4 months and just this week I am figuring out his signals when he wants to go Number Two. We figured out Number One right away. He is not obvious when he needs to go Number Two, but I have realized he stays in one place and kind of concentrates a minute. I've got it right twice now and am thrilled that I finally "get it". I look back at how many times he probably wanted to stand in one place and concentrate and I didn't realize and kept him moving with the sling, etc. :blush:

The difference is we are not using the sling right now because he has a red spot where his front leg meets his shoulder. It's tiny and it's been fainter and redder from time to time. I don't know what it is unless the harness rubs, but I didn't think it did. I was trying antibiotic cream but he licks it off. Today I got some hot spot spray (gentamicin) and he didn't bother it after I sprayed it. He does not appear to ever lick it unless I put ointment on. It is where his skin folds when he lies down, and I wonder if he got a scratch running into something, and it's not healing because of where it is. It's not a pressure sore. I wondered if he maybe got urine on it that I didn't know about, because sometimes when he urinates lying on his side he wets his belly, but that spot isn't really in the right place for that, so I just don't know. We have some weeds in the yard that Olive was allergic to, but again this is just one tiny spot and I don't know why he'd get a red spot there.

I am thinking of renaming him Skipper. It sounds like Pip, since I call him Pipper more often than Pip anyway. We'll see. :)
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critters
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Re: Pip diagnosis

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:lol: Yeah, it's like something subtle like that has to grow on you!!
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Re: Pip diagnosis

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He did something cool today. We were doing the morning Wall Treats exercise, and on his first treat, he took 2 or 3 steps, then his front legs went out ahead and his hind legs remained behind so his hind legs were stretched. I thought, "Oh, no, did he lose track of keeping his hind legs going?" No. When he was in that stretched stance, he then tensed his hindquarters to stretch his hind legs. Then he brought them back to more of a square stance, and continued on to his treat! He knew exactly what he was doing! Very, very cool! That would be some really good front leg strength, too!

I've also noticed at times recently, he'll be doing Wall Treats and using the wall for balance, and in the middle of walking to the treat he'll suddenly dart forward quickly with several smooth, flowing, perfect steps. Then he'll slow down and go back to picking his way carefully as he nears the treat. I think when he darts forward he is not using the wall.

The way he reverts to walking slowly and carefully as he approaches the treat, I think he is aware he needs extra front leg strength for braking. We've been focusing on walking, but when he runs he'll need to be able to stop. He's unusually smart though, I'm hoping he'll figure it out.

P.S. Attaching a picture so you can see what kind of stretch it was. This is not him, but the dog in the picture is tailless like he is. This is what he did!

https://puppytoob.com/a-gallery-of-dogs-who-know-how-to-stretch/
https://puppytoob.com/a-gallery-of-dogs-who-know-how-to-stretch/
coxmaria3
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Re: Pip diagnosis

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Way to go Skipper Pipper!
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critters
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Re: Pip diagnosis

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I wondered if that pic was him. :D
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CarolC
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Re: Pip diagnosis

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They're very similar except for color. Pip is black with tan markings. Here is his pic from his Petfinder listing, when he was still tetraplegic.

Pip - Petfinder.jpg
Do you see how curled up he was? It took weeks of exercises just to get him to be able to lie on his side with his spine straight like a normal dog. I asked the rescue who had him Apr 8 to July 19 if she had ever seen him lie with his back straight, EVER, and she said no, she had not. I think it was his way of making himself small, he was just afraid because he couldn't move. It also made it hard for him to get himself sternal, which he began doing in August.

We are still dealing with that tension in his belly at times. When he gets a little stressed or afraid he hunches up again. The same issue causes him to pee his rib cage or chest at times. So when he stretches and lengthens before walking, as pictured above, it's the best thing he could possibly do, and he's the one who realizes he needs a good stretch before starting his walking. His body is much more relaxed now overall. He mostly only curls up (as in the Petfinder pic) in the evening when sleeping after dinner, which would probably be normal for him.

He did the stretch again yesterday. It's so cool! He does it on his first treat, going from right-to-left along the wall. So he's done it twice now. It's interesting, because he does have kind of an issue with walking right-to-left (where he leans his right side against the wall). When I set him at the starting point, he will try to stand on his hind legs, and I'll tell him, "No, wait, four on the floor," and it will take a little doing to get him into the position so he can walk. Then when we get his front paws down and enough distance between front and back paws, he can walk, he knows he's in the right position. Why he rears ups like that I do not know. I think he's just excited. He wasn't doing it when we originally started this exercise, and he's never done it walking left-to-right. His left front leg is the one that still needs the most recovery.

We went for that single appt with the physical therapist, and the one exercise she recommended for him that was of any use was hanging traction. You hold him under his armpits and let the rest of his body hang down. I think it helped the curling a little bit. I also did a lot of exercises with his front legs, where I would hold him in a football carry under my right arm and plant his front feet in the palm of my left hand and let him bear weight in my hand, and then move his feet forward for what would be a wider stance.

When I first got him it was hard to even hold him in a football carry because you need the hindquarters to drape over your waist and the legs to hang down behind your hip, but he would have his hind legs tucked up and his belly tight like a real football! It just took time. He's good now.
:angel:
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critters
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Re: Pip diagnosis

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Interesting that he was trying to walk upright like Faith!
coxmaria3
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Re: Pip diagnosis

Post by coxmaria3 »

I love "four on the floor!" That's what we tell our kids at school when they lean back in their chairs on two legs!
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CarolC
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Re: Pip diagnosis

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So that's where that comes from! It fits perfectly. :smart:
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