I have a 8 month old male pup who was hit by a bike when only weeks old. We live in a rural part of India and I’ve had little help or good advice from the vets that are available.
We have worked at it ourselves with ideas found online and common sense.
He has been walking with support now for 3months and can at times get himself onto his feet. He is very wobbly. I have been hoping that he will improve if we work at building up the hind muscles but we seem to be at a stand still this month. I am a little sad as he has had such progress until now.
Should I be looking at getting some form of medication to help him? I have trawled the internet for answers and my mind is boggled!
Does anyone here have advice? Fingers crossed x.
I need guidance on meds for my paralysed dog
Re: I need guidance on meds for my paralysed dog
I do not really know of any medication that is commonly used after 3 months. However, there is still definitely hope for more improvement. Recovery from nerve injury is very slow, and can continue literally for years. I wonder if you have tried swimming for him? That is a great way for the dog to exercise. The water helps hold the dog up if his balance isn't too good. I would try that if you have a way to do it. I would continue doing the PT every day even if he looks much the same. Especially with him being so young, there is a lot of hope for more improvement. Assisted walking with a belly harness is also a good way to help him practice walking (or you may already be doing that).
Has the vet checked him to be sure his hip sockets and knees and pelvis are OK? I'm not sure what injuries happened when the bicycle hit him. Can he wag his tail and urinate without assistance?
Re: I need guidance on meds for my paralysed dog
I wonder if he's spinal cord injured or if he's brain damaged? It's not always easy to tell the difference, especially in a baby, and I have a brain damaged boy who's proof that vets don't always know. He was taken to 3 vets a week after the injuries, and they were ALL wrong (they said he was spinal cord injured).Re: I need guidance on meds for my paralysed dog
Thank you all so much for your fast response.
I had an xray done at around 1 month that seemed to show compaction to the tail end vertib. And I was told that this should lessen as he grew and the spine lengthened. I was doing swimming until he grew to big for our little pond.
I have fashioned two different harness for him from neck scarfs, one with loops for his hind legs and the other just goes under his belly for quickNess.
We have 5 other dogs 3 of which are ages with him. Apart from his struggle to walk he is in all ways just like them and he enjoys life as much as they do, playing, digging holes and chewing all the mats!
I have noticed he nibbles his legs no and then and have read that this could be a sigh of more feeling coming back. ?
To be honest I think sometimes he can be a bit lazy and calls to me for help over door ways and things, I'm trying to take a bit more of a back seat and let him manage, I have seen him manage more and more so I try to break his reliance on me.
Steroids have been suggested as a long term medication but I'd like to steer away from that idea. He has had spinal injections but he always seems worse for 3 or 4 days after this so I wonder about having another.
I had an xray done at around 1 month that seemed to show compaction to the tail end vertib. And I was told that this should lessen as he grew and the spine lengthened. I was doing swimming until he grew to big for our little pond.
I have fashioned two different harness for him from neck scarfs, one with loops for his hind legs and the other just goes under his belly for quickNess.
We have 5 other dogs 3 of which are ages with him. Apart from his struggle to walk he is in all ways just like them and he enjoys life as much as they do, playing, digging holes and chewing all the mats!
I have noticed he nibbles his legs no and then and have read that this could be a sigh of more feeling coming back. ?
To be honest I think sometimes he can be a bit lazy and calls to me for help over door ways and things, I'm trying to take a bit more of a back seat and let him manage, I have seen him manage more and more so I try to break his reliance on me.
Steroids have been suggested as a long term medication but I'd like to steer away from that idea. He has had spinal injections but he always seems worse for 3 or 4 days after this so I wonder about having another.
Re: I need guidance on meds for my paralysed dog
OK, likely he's spinal cord injured, then.
Yes about chewing, and it's NOT a good thing, aside from showing that the nerves are probably healing. They can do a lot of damage with that, and I'd try very hard to get gabapentin, Lyrica, or the like for him. I don't know that pred would do any good after 3 months, although I've seen it used for the first month or 2.
Yes about chewing, and it's NOT a good thing, aside from showing that the nerves are probably healing. They can do a lot of damage with that, and I'd try very hard to get gabapentin, Lyrica, or the like for him. I don't know that pred would do any good after 3 months, although I've seen it used for the first month or 2.