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I am so excited. I found out a few days ago the regular vet clinic we've gone to for years got ultrasound. I guess they got it 6 mos to a year ago only I never knew about it. I have wanted a way to check Dolly, and now we can. Dolly is a partially paralyzed dog whose bladder dribbles all the time, so it never fills and there is nothing to express. When I first adopted her, we checked her by xray to be sure she really was emptying completely and she was, but I still worry. I worry she could get stones or sludge because of the way her bladder functions. The problem is I don't know anyone with a dog like this that I can ask if there are any longterm problems, so I don't know if buildup could be a problem. I have seen several cases on this board of dogs that recovered bladder function and later got stones. I have read that stones can start with an infection...all these things make me want to be sure how Dolly is doing. Anyway, she is going to have an ultrasound Thursday and we will see how her bladder is doing. I have not noticed any problems, but the testing at my vet clinic is a lot cheaper than at the specialty hospital, and it will be so good to know for sure! So I know it sounds strange, but I am really excited because I have wanted to know in the back of my mind for a long time.

Happy for Dolly & you! I hate that back of the mind nag. Glad you will know for sure!
jane

My partially paralyzed dog, Dolly, needs to have her bowel expressed before going to bed and the last couple of days I have discovered a way to get things moving better. All this time I have thought she has next to no ability to go on her own, and stimulation has never accomplished much. I have found a little spot, I guess maybe it's a pressure point or something, where if I keep massaging that little spot she actually moves the stools, whereas before if they came out at all it was only because of manual squeezing unless they were lined up just right. This is exciting, I've had her since 2009.

[EDIT] I've also found it helps to change the angle I am holding her. I do the expressing with her held like a ragdoll, but if I hold her like that and lean forward or backward or at some angle, it sometimes allows me to pinch out a stool that was inaccessible in the neutral position because it reorients inside her just enough that I can get a hold of it.

Hi Carol,

Taking a moment's reprieve and getting ready for Sasha's next session, but your discovery is exactly what I've said before when I saw videos of excessively squeezing a pet's bowels. I can't emphasize enough how much easier it is to gently massage the bowels in and UP and DOWN motion, which seems to stimulate the pet's own muscles. Easier for them with no prolapsing occurring and easier on us. Granted, it may take longer, but a kinder, gentler bowel expressing is the key I found that worked.

Love,
Leah

I feel like my dog's stools have been harder to move lately and I don't want to hurt her. Where is the spot that you massage? I'd love to give it a try!

Interesting...

Maggie07 wrote:I feel like my dog's stools have been harder to move lately and I don't want to hurt her. Where is the spot that you massage? I'd love to give it a try!

The red spot is where I massage, holding her in a ragdoll position over the toilet. She has a birth defect of the lower spine called a dermoid sinus (sort of like spina bifida) that affects the nerves to the anus, I do not know if this infomation will apply to a normal dog.

Lactulose syrup (from the vet) is a good tasting safe non-habit forming stool softener that is helpful when stools are too hard.

My vet recommended canned pumpkin to help with softening the stools. I use it for Mollie for when she looks like she's starting to build up. A little bit goes a long way for us! I maybe use half a can a day during that time and stop after she goes back to softer stools.

Have you found a method of expressing her bowel that works for you? To me, that is even easier than expressing the bladder. Once you have your routines down pat on both of those, there will be fewer accidents. Does the new vet think there is a possibility than she will regain continence in the future?

ChelsTaylor27 wrote:My vet recommended canned pumpkin to help with softening the stools. I use it for Mollie for when she looks like she's starting to build up. A little bit goes a long way for us! I maybe use half a can a day during that time and stop after she goes back to softer stools.

Hi,

I noticed in a previous post you stated Mollie was about 33 pounds. A half a can of pumpkin a day is too much.

"Suggested serving size is 1 tablespoon per 10 lbs weight as a daily food supplement."
http://www.nummytumtum.com/products.html

I used 1/2 a tablespoon twice a day, for almost 2 years, for a 10 lb cat and it kept him quite regular with no ill effects. Great stuff and much better than having to give human laxatives or softeners.

Leah

The pads I put in Dolly's diaper work fine for absorbing urine, but sometimes when I try to remove one from the diaper, it is stuck so hard the thin plastic tears. Then I have part of the plastic still stuck to the diaper, which I have to peel off, and a torn pad in my hand with the wet filling making a mess.

Does anyone use a pad where this never happens?

Or if you have the same problem, please tell me your brand so I won't try them. We've been using a brand called Options.

We use Poise and it almost never happens (the plastic never sticks but sometimes it is harder to remove, and since I have the pads cut in half it can tear.) But it never sticks to the diaper and has to be scraped off.

Thank you! I'll try them next time I run out and report how it goes.

On second thought, I'll buy some tonight when I go to the store and try them, I can save the others for later.

Let me know if they work. I like Poise because you can cut them in half and as long as they aren't really, really soaked the gel stuff stays put. (Heavily soaked, it does tend to get loose.) But I don't know how the sizes go- we use the most absorbent, longest ones to cut in half for belly bands. They should have a lighter and thinner, shorter one, though.

OK, we have had 4 diaper changes and I think Poise is better. It sticks really hard and wants to tear but I have not had it really rip apart and disintegrate. I've been thinking maybe the reason we have this problem with Dolly is that she spends all day bouncing on her bottom and it is probably causing the pad to shift around a lot during impact, straining the plastic outer layer where it attaches to the diaper cover. I also noticed with Options that the tearing was worse when the pad was warm. If the Poise continues to hold up like this, I will switch. Had to buy a pack of 48 so will have several weeks of testing. Thanks!