Dogs: Dog Paralysis- bladder expression

[Kristy]

My dog recently became paralyzed in his rear legs. He is a large breed- German Shepherd mix weighing about 70 lbs. It was due to a freak cat chasing injury.

He is still in the hospital and they are not giving us any number to quantify what is going on. At this point though they are saying we can most likely bring him home and he will have to be in a wheelchair.

My concern right now is that they cannot express his bladder without having a catheter in him. Does anyone know what that means for me and being able to bring him home. Are there alternative ways to get him to go to the bathroom if I won't be able to express his bladder for him? I need some answers- can anyone help?

[Cindidoxiemom]

Hi Kristy and welcome to the board. I have a paralyzed dachshund named Oscar who was/is also very difficult to express because he has a lot of tone in his bladder. You might ask the Vets to put your pup on phenoxybenzamine. It relaxes the bladder's sphincter and allows you to express more easily. There are those here who cath rather than express due to difficulty expressing. Either way, it takes practice that is true. The phenoxybenzamine takes about a week to really kick in, so ask them to start it ASAP. I really owuldn't bring him home until you get the urinary issue resolved.
Cindi

[BethT]

Dear Kristy,

It feels overwhelming right now but this bladder thing is something that you will soon learn to manage. When my dog Waffles became paralyzed 2 years ago my vet taught me how to catheterize him. He was very weak and sick when I first got him home (long story) so catheterizing was much less stressful then expressing him (for both of us). Plus he was pretty hard to express. Cathetering a male is something your vet can show you pretty easily. If your dog was a female it would not be an option as females are much more complicated to do. Waffles had to be on a preventative antibiotic the whole time I was cathertering him. But short term it really buys you some time until you can learn how to express him. Haven't they talked to you about expressing him? Or cathetering him? Give us some more details about your dogs injury. Did he have surgery? Lots of people here have been told by their vets that their dog would never walk again and they were wrong so don't give up. Don't leave the hospital with your dog until they discuss with you how you should manage his bladder. Don't be afraid of cathetering him. At first it is scary but then it gets easy. You just have to be slow and gentle and very, very clean. There is a link here some place with some instruction on cathetering, I'll try to find it or someone else might post it. Make sure you come back we can help you. Some vets tend to be very negative. We have all had that experience but don't let them get you down. Keep us posted. BethT

[connie]

my boy wouldn't let me express him anymore, so i had to come up with another way. he is small so i hold him, so don't know if it will work with your big boy or not. but you could try it.
i use touch, i hold cricket and get a damp baby wipe or paper towel and rub tip of his penis gently back and forth, then he pees till bladder is empty.
since yours is big, try getting a pad under him and see if my way will work for you like that.
my vet said i must be making a nerve work, whatever it works, bladder is empty.
if you need some more info on that, just ask.
i will be making a video of how i do this very soon. good luck, god bless

connie and cricket

[FYI]

click here - How to express or catheterize

[terry]

Hi Kristy.

My dog Pugs became paralyzed and unable to urinate about 13 months ago. After his surgery the vet techs kept telling me I would have to learn how to express him, but even they were never able to do it while he was hospitalized (4 days) The day I went to pick him up they had just cathed him so his bladder was empty, even so they gave me a rather short demonstration on how to express and sent us on our way. Needless to say, I wasn't able to do it either, and my dog became so upset over the whole thing that he actually started to snap at me if I even tried to touch his stomach, something he never did before. I ended up having to cath him, the vet showed me how and it is actually quite easy. I cathed him 3 times daily until about 6 wks ago when he began to pee on his own! Just 3 days ago on the instruction of my vet, I have stopped cathing him completely. I learned alot of little tricks and some no-no"s along the way and would be happy to share them with you. You can E-mail me mompkey@aol.com. I also can tell you some money saving tips as it can become costly if you don't have some help. Please don't let this get you down, it is not very hard, and as I said, I never thought Pugs would go on his own, took almost a year but he did it, there" always hope. Please don't let them send your dog home before you have demonstrated that you can either express him or cath him. I learned the hard way going to the emerg. vet at 11:00P.M. the first day, and again for the next 2 days as I couldn't do it and the dog was so overflowing he was leaking (this is not good.) Feel fre to contact me. Terry and her recovering, amazing dog Pugs.

[BethT]

Congratulations Terry! I had no idea Pugs started urinating on his own. This is so great. It just goes to show never give up hope.
BethT

[critters]

Sometime when you've written all the dos, don'ts, etc. down you could post a copy on the bb. If you do, it might be included on the expressing Wiki for somebody else to learn from. http://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Express_a_dog_or_cat

http://www.handicappedpets.com/mediawiki/index.php?title=Express_a_dog_or_cat

[Kristy]

Thank you thank you for all your help with this.

Logan is still at the hospital. With his accident he did not break any bones- his back twisted out of place and they twisted it back in place. They have narrowed down the problem to one spot on his lower back but I honestly do not know what it is. They mentioned it could be the discs are pushed too close together.

They want to keep him 5-7 days to make sure the paralysis does not spread. Of course if it did that would mean I would have to say good-bye to my little guy so he would not suffer. So far it has not gotten any worse - thank God.

They are not going to do any surgery on him. They have not recommended anything specific to improve the problem. They act as though there is a very slight chance it could improve but not likely as he has no deep pain sensation at all. His reflexes in his legs are improving very slowly and he does have a small amount of anal reflex. However, they feel he will be permanantly paralyzed.

I was able to visit him today and they mentioned they thought I would be able to express his bladder when I got him back home in a relaxed environment. They are going to give me lessons hopefully tomorrow or Tuesday as I am ready to get him home. He is miserable in the cage there as all dogs would be.

When we get him home, we are going to have a dog chiropractor look at him. We want to explore any and all options possible to give him a shot.

I definitely welcome any tips and advice. I feel like I am flying blind. It is nice to know there are great people out there like you guys to help by sharing similar experiences.

Thank you again.

[connie]

hey don't let them tell you deep pain will never come back. it's been 9 months since cricket's surgery and he is showing deep pain signs now.
everyone is shocked. we have others here who';s dogs have reagained deep pain. it takes work, lots of P.T. but anything is possible!! let us have updates on logan.

hugs and good luck

connie and cricket

[heartscraps]

My 12 year old dachshund has recently become paralyzed due to a herniated disc in his back. We had surgery done on Friday. Before and after the surgery he had deep tissue sensation. As of yesterday he no longer has deep tissue sensation and the vets say his chances of regaining function is slim. Has anyone encountered anything like this before? The vet said it was the first time since 1975 for him that a dog had been released with his tail wagging, only to have everything shut down the next day. Any suggestions? He can not urinate so he is hospitalized right now. I do not want to put him down and am more than willing to express him if I can learn to do it successfully? Does anyone have any stories to tell about the disposition of their paralyzed dog? I am being told I am inhumane, however, I think it is inhumane to put him down just because he is paralyzed. Is there anyone out there who can honestly tell me their pet did not want to live once they became paralyzed? Any problems with depression? Please post any info or advice at all that you can give me. Anyone out there. Thanks.

[Dianne]

<snip>"Does anyone have any stories to tell about the disposition of their paralyzed dog? I am being told I am inhumane, however, I think it is inhumane to put him down just because he is paralyzed. Is there anyone out there who can honestly tell me their pet did not want to live once they became paralyzed? Any problems with depression? "

Oh dear, you are among friends here. Many of us have pets in various stages of recovery after surgery or without surgery. Cindi, Connie, and Paul may be along later to tell of their paralyzed and recovered pets. Yoo Hoo....Paul...Cindi....Connie

My doxie did NOT have surgery and remains paralyzed. He has been paralyzed 1 1/2 years. He really doesn't care that he is paralyzed. I had the hardest adjustment.

Depression: I was the only one who got depressed over it. He didn't. Dogs don't do that. If you are happy, he is happy.

Do NOT listen to the naysayers who tell you that you are cruel and inhumane. It just isn't true. DO NOT listen to anyone who tells you to put him down. YOU will know if it is time for that... and it doesn't sound like he has lost his WILL to live. We have happy paralyzed pets here. My dog can race across the backyard faster than I can catch him, when he is out of his wheel chair. IN his wheelchair, he is even faster!

I tried to move your post to the IVDD paralyzed forum where you would get more responses. Perhaps you could post there.

Some dogs DO RECOVER if given 4 to 6 weeks of CRATE REST after the surgery. Your vet DID tell you about that, didn't he/she??

Is your pup also on steroids to reduce the swelling in the spine?

Crate rest: Confinement in a small are where the dog can turn around, but NOT RUN, Not WALK, etc, only get a drink. He is taken out of the crate ONLY to go potty. NO EXCEPTIONS if you REALLY want a recovery. This is back surgery. Think about what YOU would do...rest.

Incontinence: I learned by reading the internet. If your vet doesn't teach you, we will help you. It is NOT difficult to learn but you have to do it multiple times per day to keep his bladder/kidneys clean from infection.

Someone else will come along soon with some other ideas.
Until then, try not to stress anymore than necessary. It is difficult adjustment for YOU the first 3 weeks. Try to take care of yourself.

Dianne

[connie]

hi and welcome,
no you are not inhumane. my cricket is a yorkie mix, his disk ruptured last nov. he had the surgery even tho i wasn't given much hope. now his vets are amazed, he is getting deep pain again after 10 months. but even before that, he was so happy, healthy, just couldn't jump. main thing, you need to keep your dog in a crate till his back heals. mine stayed crated for 6 weeks. i only took him out to empty bladder and do small exercises. and if your baby is paralyzed, his bladder probably won't emtpy, he'll just get overflow. if not empty, it will get an bladder infection. ask your vet to show you how to express bladder. it is realy not hard, just takes some a while to get the hang of it. paul coover that posts here has 6 dachunds, and soem are paralyzed. i will see if he can answer you, he knows more than i on that breed. but heart, our paralyzed dogs can go on to live happy full lifes.
you'll need vet to show you all the P.T. to do , but please crate dog for a few weeks, it must heal before doing a lot , no dragging itself at all.
your in my prayers,
connie and cricket

[Paul Coover]

The dog depressed? Not want to live? NO WAY!! 3 examples:

1. Our Riley. He had the same injury, a slipped disk in his back. He used a cart for a while. Read about Riley:

www.handicappedpets.com/gallery/riley11

2. Our Johanna. She is a famous girl! She was on the news 3 weeks ago. She is the happiest girl in the world! Read about Johanna & make sure you check out the news broadcast:

www.handicappedpets.com/johanna

3. Our Pork Chop. He has a slipped disk in his neck and is paralyzed. He also uses a wheelchair cart. Read more about Pork Chop:

www.dogster.com/?379380

Believe me, it's not as bad as you think. I have 6 dachshunds and I would like to think that I am an expert in this stuff. Heck, when I go to the vet they ask ME questions about it!!
Good luck!

[CarolC]

Before and after the surgery he had deep tissue sensation. As of yesterday he no longer has deep tissue sensation and the vets say his chances of regaining function is slim. Has anyone encountered anything like this before? The vet said it was the first time since 1975 for him that a dog had been released with his tail wagging, only to have everything shut down the next day.

Dear Amy,

How is he today? Any other symptoms of worsening or additional loss of function?

You might like to visit Dodger's List. It is a website especially for dogs with back problems, mostly dachshunds.

http://www.dodgerslist.com