Full time work and caring for paralyzed pet

For those seeking advice on caring for incontinent pets and animals with kidney-related problems.
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lovelifeand7
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Joined: Thu Jul 30, 2015 12:39 pm

Full time work and caring for paralyzed pet

Post by lovelifeand7 »

Hello. My 7year old rottie camed down with a calcified disk problem, docs gave me bad prognosis since she's lost complete feeling in her back legs, doc said it's time to put her to sleep but we don't want to give up on her yet...I've been trying to express her bladder and keeping her clean. Our whole life and hers has change dramatically. She will go from being outdoor n inside dog to just and inside dog to keep her safe. I am going back to my full time job in less than two weeks and there is no way I can drive home to express her bladder...please advice in how to take good care of her ... I'm going cra,u thinking of solutions but need lots of help...not ready to give up :(
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CarolC
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Re: Full time work and caring for paralyzed pet

Post by CarolC »

If you express her right before you leave for work, how long would it be till the next time you express? If she is used to waiting 9 hours between when you let her out in the yard in the morning and when you come home at night, she may be able to go that long between expressing, if you express her well.

Does she dribble, or is she one of the dogs who does not urinate unless you express her? If she dribbles, she should probably wear a diaper while you are gone and that would take care of most of the problem. If you do not want her in a diaper, then I would recommend at least getting some kind of bedding that will allow her to not be lying in wetness, for example Palace Bedding.

http://www.usaknit.us.com/category-s/75.htm

Putting a disposable incontinent pad (like the 23" x 36" ones similar to puppy training pads) under her is not going to be absorbent enough and is asking for problems. The main thing would be to keep her dry, that is your main goal. If she is allowed to get wet, she will get a urine burn that will be hard to deal with, especially since she is a large dog. If she wets the bedding under her body, she is likely to get a pressure sore that starts with the wetness under her hip.

Is she on any kind of anti-inflammatory or prednisone or anything? I would not assume she is not going to get any function back. It is still possible she might gradually improve somewhat with several weeks of rest and medication.
lovelifeand7
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Joined: Thu Jul 30, 2015 12:39 pm

Re: Full time work and caring for paralyzed pet

Post by lovelifeand7 »

Thanks for the hope...she would have to go around 9hrs before I get home. She was dribbling in the beginning but now she just stays dry untill I can empty her. She is also drinking very little water. I think it's because she know she has to wait long time. She's taking anti-inflammatory and pain medication.
lovelifeand7
Posts: 3
Joined: Thu Jul 30, 2015 12:39 pm

Re: Full time work and caring for paralyzed pet

Post by lovelifeand7 »

Also. I've found very little information on her condition....doc really made it seem like there is nothing else we can do to help her...he said of there is no improvement with the medication and laser therapy they gave her the first 24-48hrs then in peer words , all hope is lost with her walking again. He said to look at her quality of life and management of pain. Is he wrong??
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CarolC
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Re: Full time work and caring for paralyzed pet

Post by CarolC »

I don't know the exact dog and I'm not a vet, but from what you've said it is probably true that for example, surgery, will not be very helpful. With the large breed older dogs the neurological signs can come on as a result of years of calcification, a degenerative problem, which is what he diagnosed. But she must have done something to aggravate it, since you did not describe a situation where she was losing her ability to get up from lying down, or a situation where she had been dragging her toes for a while. (However I had a dog with extensive calcification and no symptoms, she was fine, so calcification does not always cause problems.)

You sometimes hear of dachsunds, for example, becoming paralyzed and having surgery and improving, but that is a different kind of disk problem, one where the injured disk began bulging or ruptured suddenly, putting pressure on the nerves of the spine. In a case like that they can do surgery to clean up the problem and take the pressure off the nerves in the spine and you will often see improvement. With calcification, there is still hope that the anti-inflammatories will do some good but I would give it some time, 2 days seems like a very short time for swelling to completely go down. If there is improvement, I would expect to see it gradually. If she is on any kind of steroids I would give her something to protect her stomach, such as Pepcid a/c (ask the vet about dosing).
http://sturgisvet.com/smallanimalclinic/faqsaboutdiskdisease.html wrote:14. How does IVDD in large breed dogs differ from that in small chondrodystrophic breeds?

Large breed dogs rarely have disk extrusions (pushing of the nucleus through the annulus and into the spinal canal) that are common in small chondrodystrophic breeds. Disk extrusions in small breeds are classified as Hansen Type 1 Disk Disease. Large breed dogs more frequently have a build up of scar tissue over the outer layer of the disk (the annulus) that pushes up on the spinal cord and gradually causes pain and weakness. This condition is classified as Hansen Type 2 Disk Disease. Hansen Type 2 Disk Disease causes slowly progressive neurologic impairment. These dogs are usually older and may not be as painful as the small breeds with Type 1 disease. Surgical therapy for Type 2 disease may not be as successful for large breed dogs and recovery commonly takes longer than for small dogs. Hansen Type 2 Disk Disease must be differentiated from other causes of neurologic dysfunction that also affects principally large breed dogs such as Degenerative Myelopathy, Diskospondylitis or Fibrocartilaginous Emboli. Myelography can be used to help distinguish Hansen Type 2 Disk Disease from these other similarly appearing neurologic conditions of large breed dogs but MRI or CT are generally preferred because these exams are noninvasive and are less likely to make the dog’s condition worse
If your dog is holding her urine now, that already sounds like improvement to me. In the beginning she had more swelling and could not control the dribbling. She is not dribbling now. That seems encouraging. It sounds like now she has improved to the point where she has bladder control. Whether she will be walking again is another question. With a catastrophic disk problem (like the dachshund described above) they recommend absolute strict crate rest. With a large dog like this, I would try to get her up (assuming you can do it in a controlled manner) and let her stand or take a few steps when she is able. If you could arrange it, in a case like this a wheelchair is helpful. You've got a larger size dog, it will let her be in a standing position without you having to hold her. You can set it so the hind feet are in a walking position where she can take steps with her hind feet but does not have to fully support her weight. They offer rentals for cases like this, though you usually have to put a large deposit for most of the rental programs. Another option would be a good sling/harness. It would help you stand her up and walk her in a controlled manner. Here is an example.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7J3hCOk_M0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-s6B5YZwfKo
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