Welcome to Dodgerslist. My name's Marjorie - what's yours?
On what date did CoCo have her surgery? There is no timetable anyone can give you when to expect nerve repair to happen. In fact, there is no time limit for nerves to heal...it can take weeks, months or even a year or longer. However, it is known that neurological function usually returns in the reverse order of the damage. The first big sign you want to look for is that wonderful tail wag!
1. Deep Pain Sensation (Only correctly identified by a specialist.)
2. Tail wagging with joy at seeing you, getting a treat or due to your happy talk.
3. Bladder and bowel control proved by passing the "sniff and pee" test.
Take your dog out to an old pee spot in the grass. Let him sniff and then observe for release of urine.
4. Leg movement, and then ability to move up into a standing position, and then wobbly walking.
5. Being able to walk with more steadiness and properly placed paws.
6. Ability to walk unassisted and perhaps even run.
It's not too late to start physical therapy and/or hydrotherapy and/or acupuncture treatments to help the nerve regeneration along. We have had reports of dogs showing improvement 2-3 years after surgery. So don't give up hope!
You haven't let her down. You did get her the surgery that was recommended and you were just following poor advice afterwards. What you need to do now is become an expert on IVDD yourself, read, read and then read some more, so if you are given any incorrect advice in the future, you'll recognize it and know what to do. Here's the best place to start your education:
www.dodgerslist.com/healingindex.htmMy Jeremy had surgery three years ago and it took about 6 months for him to stand up and move his legs, even with acupuncture, PT and hydrotherapy. He's walking fairly well now, though still has some coordination problems. His legs also still shake. The shaking that you're seeing with CoCo's hind legs could be from weakness or nerve damage.
Is CoCo still on any medication such as pain meds or anti-inflammatories? If she isn't on any meds, you can start therapy. If she is on any meds, let us know why. She would need to be weaned off of all meds to ensure that there is no swelling around the spine before starting any therapy.
It sounds as though you've already seen our PT page but here's the link again. I found these exercises to be very helpful for my Jeremy.
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/massagepassiveexercises.htmHere's our page on hydrotherapy. Some of these exercises can be done in the bathtub or in a small swimming pool:
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/watertherapy.htmAnd here's info on acupuncture and laser therapy:
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingacupuncture.htmIs your cart the type where the hind legs can be brought up off the ground and also adjusts so the legs can touch the ground? When Jeremy was in his cart, I let his hind feet just skim the ground and it seemed to give him the urge to start moving his legs.
We're here for you and CoCo. Please keep us updated.
