New to Website .... my poodle had spinal surgery 3 weeks ago

[Mom2AnnaBelle]

Hello all, I am so thankful that I found this website! My 4 year old poodle (AnnaBelle) had an emergency operation 3 weeks ago for a blown disc in her spine. The neurosurgeon said that her spinal cord was so blue and bruised that he gave her very little hope of ever walking again. Her injury was halfway up her spine, so she is paralyzed from the waist down. This happened suddenly one night, she was literally fine one hour then paralyzed the next. The only thing we can think that might have happened is that she jumped off the twin bed (as she always did) and just landed the wrong way. It has been such a big shock for this to happen to our girl. What is really odd, is that we also have an 8 year old female mini dachshund, and we halfway expected something like this to happen to her ... but instead our mini poodle blows a disc!!!!

AnnaBelle has only had her stitches out a week tomorrow and her catheter as well. She is completely incontinent and I have her in baby diapers. She had lost her deep pain sensation prior to her surgery, but we still had the operation just in case. After they saw the condition of her spinal cord, the odds were that much worse. I still have hope that just maybe she will beat the odds and regain use of her back legs.

We are looking at different websites for companies to purchase a doggy cart for her. If anyone can suggest a company that they have had good experience with, I would really appreciate the input! I enjoyed reading through some of the boards here last night, and I am proud to say that the bowel expression worked like a charm for us today! It's amazing what you can learn to do when you love your pet so deeply!!!!

I will attach a picture that I took today of my AnnaBelle!

[BethT]

I am so glad that you found this website too. I have a dog named Waffles who ruptured a disk two years ago had emergency surgery but still can not use his back legs. This group saved my life. Waffles uses a cart from Eddies Wheels. He gets along great in it. I have no other experience with other carts but I can tell you that Eddie's is a great cart. My dog Waffles is unable to use his bladder at all so I have to express him. Are you expressing AnnaBelle's bladder? Also I was instructed by the vet that did the surgery that it was important to keep Waffles still for at least 6 weeks after surgery. One thing that I think a lot of people would tell you here is that most of us have heard lots of negative statistics from vets. What you will find is that these animals have an amazing ability to heal. So don't give up hope. And if the worse happens and AnnaBelle does not walk again I can tell you (as can many others on this board) that paralyzed animals can have a great quality of live. Waffles gets more attention now then he ever did when he could walk. For now please remember to keep AnnaBelle still to give her spine a chance to heal. I don't think that you would want to put her in a cart just yet. Do you have any pet rehabilitation places near you? Hydrotherapy would be very good. Some of us have done accupuncture. Please come back and ask lots of questions. There are so many people here that can help you. BethT

[Mom2AnnaBelle]

Thank you, Beth! My vet didn't say anything about waiting six weeks for anything. Of course the out of town surgeon did want to see her again in six weeks to assess her pain, etc.... but I don't think he said anything about confining her that long either. At least I was under the impression that we just had to confine her until her stitches and catheter came out at 2 weeks! I have been letting her scoot around just a little bit since then. Most of the time she is in a small puppy-gated area in my kitchen where she can only scoot a few feet to her food / water bowls and back to her bed.

We were told that we would have to express her bladder ourselves, but she has been peeing a great deal in her diaper so we haven't had to express her. It's a good thing because we have not been able to get anything out when we try it ourselves. In fact the first 24 hours after her catheter was removed, we didn't get even one drop out of her. We were so worried, we took her back to our vet. She couldn't get anything out either, so she put her on Clavamox for a possible UTI. The very next morning, she had a soaked diaper, and has every day since then. I "guess" we just got lucky? Am I right or should I be concerned? I didn't call the vet because I assumed that wet diapers were better than us not being able to get anything out ourselves. I have soooooo much to learn!!!

I don't know whether there are any rehabilitation services in our town for water therapy for doggies or not. My vet just suggested putting her in our bath tub. From what both the neurosurgeon and my regular vet have said, they lead me to think that she will never walk again. They keep pushing the idea of a cart, so I think that is the route we will take.

I truly appreciate any help you or anyone else here can give!

Thanks again!
Kim

[BethT]

Kim,

I just kept Waffles gated in a small space for those 6 weeks on an orthopedic bed. I slept with him every night for those 6 weeks and hardly left his side so he really didn't have any reason to want to move around. Of course you have to move them to go to the bathroom and eat but that is about it for a while.

I guess the thing about the bladder is I am wondering if AnnaBelle is actually peeing herself or is her bladder full and is she leaking? Waffles can not urinate on his own but on a few occassions when he was left a little too long his bladder got too full and then urine leaked out. I would take her to the vet to have the vet check and see if her bladder is full. I think you should still be trying to express her. You want to make sure that she is not leaking because that can stretch out her bladder and if control every did come back then she would be incontinent. Many people here have made multiple trips to the vet in the beginning to get expressing lessons. So don't feel badly it does take some time to get good at it. If you have a good vet they shouldn't mind you coming in repeatedly to help you help your dog. I know that it feels overwhelming right now and truly the hardest part is mastering the bladder stuff. I would get her to the vet just to make sure she is truly empty. Keep checking the board because there are a lot of people with a lot of expertise here and I am sure that they will be posting. Keep asking questions that is why we are all here. I meant to say in the last post that AnnaBelle is very cute. Also, don't let the negative vets get you down - no one really knows what is going to happen. BethT

[BethT]

kim,

Make sure you check out the incontinence and kidney problems forum. The first post has links with instructions on expressing the bladder and bowels.

[Mom2AnnaBelle]

Beth .... I do wonder about her urine ... but I always thought that if she was full then it would just dribble out ... but her diapers are soaked! I will call my vet's office though and get her opinion. I did look briefly at the bladder expression forum, but I will go back again! Thanks!

[BethT]

You could be right. It was just the first thing I thought of when I read your post but then I have a dog who's bladder does not work so that is where my head went. I'm sure you will get some other opinions but it certainly never hurts to make the call to your vet to get her opinion. Gotta go - need to express Waffles bladder so we can go to bed.

[Christine]

Dear Kim,

Your Annabelle is absolutely precious! I just want to reach into that picture and grab her up! Reading about your situation with the urine, the first thing that came to my mind was possible urine scalding. I searched back through some of the old posts and saw where Carol C suggested a product called 3M Cavilon. I, thankfully, have never had to deal with this, but have learned so much just from participating on this board. Here is a link to the product. I know the others who know more about this will have more tips on preventing this and, of course, mention to your vet. Good luck with your sweet girl.



[/url]http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/e ... nts/guide/

Love,

[karkorny]

Waffles is adorable and I feel for you. My big bullmastiff, Bully, became paralyzed less than three weeks ago in all four legs. Worst part is that he weighs 100 pounds, so handling him will be a huge issue for me. He's been in rehab, then had to have surgery on a perforated ulcer - totally unrelated, if you can believe that. But I'm bringing him home for the first time tomorrow. I share your concerns about the urine issue. I'm going to be catheterizing Bully, but I know that's easier for a male than a female, so that's not an option or a necessity for you. But I'm a nervous wreck about it all. This forum has been incredibly encouraging for me. If I had listened to my vet, who truly meant well, I probably would have believed that I needed to put Bully down! But now I know very differently. He's been my best buddy for 8 years and I surely won't abandon him because he has medical problems. We can all rise to the occasion, it's in us! Hang in there, keep educating yourself, tap into others' knowledge, and it will be okay. At least your little girl is that -- a LITTLE girl. She'll be fine. Karen

[Mom2AnnaBelle]

Christine ..... thank you for you post, I do worry about the urine scalding as well ..... just like babies get when sitting in soggy diapers!!!

Karen .... I'm so sorry to hear all that you are having to go through with your Bully! I wouldn't be able to physically handle a dog of his size! I hope everything works out for you both; I'm sure you are anxious to get your baby back home with you!!!!

Kim

[spasmo]

Kim, you have a beautiful little girl here! I love the look in her eyes... she has that look that seems to be saying that NOTHING is going to get her down or get in her way. How beautiful!

[Mom2AnnaBelle]

Kim, you have a beautiful little girl here! I love the look in her eyes... she has that look that seems to be saying that NOTHING is going to get her down or get in her way. How beautiful!

Thank you so much! I certainly love my little puppy girl, and she is only 4 years old ... had her since she was a baby, so I'm planning on her living to be a little old lady!!! ;o)

Kim

[Frosty]

Help! I'm new to this wonderful website and can't read enough. My Bichon, Frosty, had surgery last Friday night for a ruptured disk - he is paralized and came home last nite.

My questions:

For sleeping, I have him in a crate next to my bed.
During the day, I have him in a very small play yard. It is on a ceramic tile floor and I put a rug today. Should I have him on something with more padding? An orthropedic bed?

I want to make sure I'm doing everything right to aid in his recovery from the surgery.

Thanks so much! Karen

[Mom2AnnaBelle]

Help! I'm new to this wonderful website and can't read enough. My Bichon, Frosty, had surgery last Friday night for a ruptured disk - he is paralized and came home last nite.

My questions:

For sleeping, I have him in a crate next to my bed.
During the day, I have him in a very small play yard. It is on a ceramic tile floor and I put a rug today. Should I have him on something with more padding? An orthropedic bed?

I want to make sure I'm doing everything right to aid in his recovery from the surgery.

Thanks so much! Karen

Hi Karen!

That sounds very much like what I am doing with AnnaBelle. I had to find a soft bed that didn't have a lip on it though, or she had a hard time getting in and out of it. You might also try putting baby clothes on him to help guard against any sore spots from dragging!

I'm still very new to this as well, so other suggestions would have more to offer I'm sure!

Good luck!
Kim