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.
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CarolC
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Re: Pip diagnosis - Central cord syndrome

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Ugh, don't remind me! :lol: I don't even want to think about it! I'm going to give everybody dinner an hour late because I can't ask Pip to hold his bladder an extra hour. Though it remains to be seen whether sun coming in the window will be wake him up, and whether he'll be dry. I know my little Dolly alarm clock will go off. She's amazing, her middle name should be Seiko. I don't know HOW she knows what time it is to the minute! It would be fine with me if they'd get rid of time changes. They passed a bill (US) called the Sunshine Protection Act to make DST permanent but it isn't a law yet.
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critters
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Re: Pip diagnosis - Central cord syndrome

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:lol: Never mind that there will always and forever be only X hours of sun and they can NEVER legislate more!
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CarolC
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Re: Pip diagnosis - Central cord syndrome

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That's for sure! :lol:
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CarolC
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Re: Pip diagnosis - Central cord syndrome

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I figured out a way for Pip to urinate lying on his side without getting his chest or front leg or armpit wet. It does not seem like it should work, but it does. I lay a folded washcloth on the grass, then I lay him on it. I do not understand why his stream doesn't just go up over it and hit his chest, since he's on top of it, but it doesn't.

:arrow: :arrow: :arrow: UPDATE

Also wanted to add something else I figured out. If you look at his hind legs where they are bent, you can see above each hock on the back of the leg there is a little hollow or indent formed by the Achilles tendon. Pip has had 3 episodes that I know of where he had gotten the toe of one hind foot hooked into the hollow of the Achilles tendon of the other leg. It sounds impossible but it's true. He is a little spastic and his instinct or reaction is to push harder when it happens. So far he has not broken the skin but I worry he could damage his Achilles tendon. The way to prevent it is to keep his nails short. If there is no curl in them, they won't get hooked into that little pocket so easily, or will be easier for him to unhook. Twice I have untangled him myself. You cannot believe the panic for both of us when this happens.

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critters
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Re: Pip diagnosis - Central cord syndrome

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You might also try spandex sleeves, which might make the claw slide off more easily.
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CarolC
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Re: Pip diagnosis - Central cord syndrome

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I spent some time looking yesterday and didn't find any yet. There are a lot of brands of neoprene with velco for $20 and up, all much alike. The spandex would be more comfortable. May have to look again...
:thankyou:
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CarolC
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Re: Pip diagnosis - Central cord syndrome

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Instead of lying him on the washcloth, I decided it works best to just stuff the washcloth around his male area because he was getting some seepage under him when he was lying on it. He doesn't seem to notice or mind a washcloth tucked in his belly.

washcloth_sm.JPG

It's been cold and wet and he doesn't like having to urinate indoors on a towel spread over a puppy pad, but I don't like laying him in cold, wet grass. I was laying him on one of the bath towels I have for pets. He likes that but it's a lot of laundry. So I ordered 12 barmop towels for $9.88 from Walmart. I tried one this evening. They're a good size because they're a little bigger than he is, so he doesn't get wet from the grass. This is going to make laundry easier. One barmop is maybe 20% the size of a bath towel or less. I lay him on the bar mop towel and tuck the washcloth in his belly, and it's only a small amount of fabric, and a clean, dry dog.

We're gonna get good at this!

barmops.jpg
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critters
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Re: Pip diagnosis - Central cord syndrome

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Have you thought about peeing him into a disposable diaper, like I did Buddy? No idea if that would help, but it worked for us.
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CarolC
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Re: Pip diagnosis - Central cord syndrome

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Actually, remembering you doing that is EXACTLY what gave me the idea to use the washcloth! :lol:

:thankyou: :thankyou: :thankyou:

I do so much laundry with Dolly that throwing a few washcloths in doesn't make a difference, so I don't have to buy diapers. Also, I think stuffing a washcloth in the little 'V' or 'L' formed where his p*nis meets his abdomen is how I keep him from wetting his chest. I'm not sure a diaper would be flexible or "formable" enough to get it to stay right where it needs to be against his skin.
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critters
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Re: Pip diagnosis - Central cord syndrome

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It probably wouldn't. Buddy squirted like a fire hose, so having the diaper curve up into an arch was a good thing! :blush:
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Re: Pip diagnosis - Central cord syndrome

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:lol:

We had a small victory this morning. It's pathetic that a year and a half in, we don't have this perfected. (But things keep changing.) I took him out for his first potty at 6:30, then returned him to the playpen for breakfast. While I was getting breakfast, I heard a thump. He had "springed" or "sprung" himself in his playpen and landed on his side. Lately he has done a Number Two at unpredictable times and if I'm not there to pick it up with Kleenex immediately, he will kick his legs (it's something he does when going) and kick himself into the mess. So this morning I ran to his playpen to see if he was going, and he wasn't, but I laid him on his potty towel on the floor just in case. Success! He went and I picked up before he scooted. I'll be glad when this wet weather is gone so he can go outside several times during the day and do everything he needs.
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CarolC
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Re: Pip diagnosis - Central cord syndrome

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Here's a picture of Pip eating. I took it because he usually eats lying on his side, but he got himself sternal and was leaning against the net of the playpen, so he was able to eat more like a normal dog. :smart: The even more unusual thing is he has his head turned to the right. He always eats with his head to the left, but he did it!

Pip eating.JPG
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critters
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Re: Pip diagnosis - Central cord syndrome

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Cute pupper, cute blanket!
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Re: Pip diagnosis - Central cord syndrome

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:thankyou: It's Walmart Parents Choice. I found the first one at the thrift store for $2.98. At this house every pet has their own set of blankets, which are all this "high loft" kind. There are a lot of blankets out there that look fluffy but the pile is not dense and they wrinkle up. I always try to get this kind with the dense pile. They release anything a pet can do to them, and they dry super fast.

When I was preparing to adopt Pip during the pandemic, I was trying to find a blanket for him on eBay. I don't shop in stores anymore (I wish!) so I was trying online but wasn't having any luck. In desperation I put on my mask and went to the Thrift Store, because I needed to get his layette ready for him! :lol: I wasn't looking for a certain design or brand, just high pile, and this is what I found. So that is how the car pattern became his design. Later I was able to find 2 more for him on eBay but I had to pay shipping.

The only thing I would do differently is, if you have an incontinent pet it's better to get blankets that are light colored throughout so you can tell at a glance if there is any mess on it. Pip's have several dark cars/trucks/helicopters and I have to look carefully in his playpen to be sure there are no stray doodles. But at the time I just dashed into the store, grabbed what they had, and was relieved and grateful to find it. With Dolly's pink blankets, for example, you can tell if her bed is clean right away.

(Blanket tip: light colors for incontinent pets so you can always see if it's clean. You need at least 1 to wash and 1 to use for an incontinent pet layette. Having one extra saves you sometimes, so I like to have 3.)

Attached is a picture of the kind each pet has. The pink is Dolly. Blue duckies Libby. Blue cars Pip. Green goose Paddy. Brown goose Millie. Almost everybody has 3 of their kind, Dolly has about 6 pink bunny blankets. The goose blankets are a larger size and thick like a biederlack if you've ever seen one.

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I got Dolly's first 2 for Christmas 2014. The original ones have been washed so many times (she goes through 2-3 a day) they are getting thinner but are still good. The blue duckies were Olive's but were handed down to Libby.

I feel like if you have pets and do a lot of laundry, you are investing in making both the pet and yourself happy by getting really nice blankets. If you are doing laundry twice a day, you want something that you enjoy looking at, that cheers you up every time your fold it. And then you can put the blankets in their beds with pride, and they know! It's like self-care while doing pet care.
:wash: :laundry:
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CarolC
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Re: Pip diagnosis - Central cord syndrome

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CarolC wrote: Mon Oct 17, 2022 8:31 am I need to express his bowel.
I never mentioned it, but I tried the q-tip method, the ice cube method, and the pinch method. Absolutely no response. It might take a neurologist to answer this, but could it have something to do with his particular form of injury? Something about how the nerve pathways are affected in this type of injury?

Once in a while someone on the forum will say they tried to stimulate their dog to defecate and had no luck. I've done this successfully before, but it doesn't work on Pip.
:?
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