My Boy Brutus

[GTarrant]

Hello All,
Last week my 8 year old doxie Brutus lost the battle of 2 herniated disks and is now paralyzed from the middle of his back down. He has no deep pain in his right leg but his left does. We were told by the neurologist that with surgery he has a 0 to 10 percent chance of reversing this paralysis, so my wife and I decided not to go that route.
We are however deeply worried about properly expressing his bladder. I have read most of the topics on this in this forum, and read the article posted on this site about it. I still feel that I am not getting everything out. During the day when we are at work, we have him in a cage that he relieves himself in. When we are home he has a male wrap with depend diapers in it. He really relieves himself in these, especially in the middle of the night. All of this happens even though we are taking him out 4 or 5 times a day.
When I express his bladder I get a little dribble and an occasional stream. I have never felt the "ball" and visited the vet twice to make sure I am applying pressure in the right place. I work with him for around 15 minutes a time to the point were nothing drips. Not 20 minutes later he will be dripping again.
I’m not getting it all out am I? What do I need to do differently in order to make sure that I completely express my doxie's bladder? Any help is greatly appreciated.

[GabrielDeafBlindPupFamily]

There will be folks along shortly who express many times a day, and at first it is nerve wracking but you will get the hang of it. The important thing is to relax... If you go to the BLUE search (not the black box up top right) button and type express, that should pop up a bunch of topics.
Paul C has several 'cart' doxies and will be able to help you as well... Welcome!

[Dianne]

Welcome,

Did anyone/the vet mention the possibility that with crate rest, and steroids Brutus may show some signs of recovery, even without the surgery?

There are a group of us who have paralyzed pets that are expressed. Cindi, Paul, Connie, CarolC, and more, have pets that are paralyzed or have recovered from IVDD. Some had surgery, and some not.

My doxie (about 8 years old) did NOT have the surgery 1 1/2 years ago when he became paralyzed. He remains paralyzed. I've expressed his bladder since then. He is now a "cart dog". Paul has 2 in wheelchairs...6 doxie's in all. Other dogs have recovered with time.

It appears that you are NOT expressing all of the urine as Brutus is leaking. Note: If Brutus is ON steroids and drinking more, you might have *some* leaking during the night. There is also the possibility of a UTI.

Using the top of the clothes dryer, I prop the rear of my male doxie against my waist. Using closed FISTS I apply steady, firm pressure. The tail will go up to indicate urination is about to start.

Included is a pic of a cat bladder that is located about the same place as a doxie bladder. I never could feel a bulb, ball, or whatever. It is just a fullness in the abdomen. You will soon learn the difference between full and empty. It is frustrating at first, but you WILL learn how to do this. If you think Brutus is NOT being emptied of urine there is the possibility of a bladder/kidney UTI. A *maintenance dose of antibiotics* might help you avoid a UTI while you are learning to express.

Pic here: http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_ca ... tails.html

Dianne
I am NOT a vet

[connie]

hello and welcome,
i know how hard expressing can be on us humans. i have a yorkie mix who was paralyzed last nov. he had surgery and is just now recovering some deep pain( after vets said he wouldn't). anyway, he never took to expressing, i cried so much it made me sick. so i had to come up with another way.
what i do is hold cricket with one arm( he is small). using the other hand, i get a dap towelette and gently rub the tip of his penis back and forth , and he pees. i have to do this a few times to get bladder completely empty, but it works. vets tested him after i did this and said i must be hitting some nerve.
this might not work for you, but thought i'd share my way.
if not, keep it up, you'll get better at expressing. i never found the ball, vets gave up on training me. lol and i work in the health field. lol. so cricket and i just worked to find his way.
it's been almost a year and thank god he never had an infection in bladder. please try to get bladder completely empty, infections can happen .
so glad you have pet in crate. i am a firm believer in crate rest. like us humans, they have to rest and heal. cricket stayed in crate 6 weeks, only out to potty and P.T.
don't give up hope of recovery, cricket and a lot of others in here beat the odds. it takes lots of P.T., love and hard work, but it is possible.
the best of luck to you, your in my prayers.
connie and cricket