Pat's Wienie 4/16 surgery

Welcome to Dodgerslist. My name is Paula what is yours?

Let us know if you are also hydrating him along with the pumpkin. Pumpkin is a magical fruit - its high fiber can firm up stools and help with diarrhea or loosen the stool to help with constipation. The amount of water in the diet makes all the difference. To loosen the stool, add equal parts water to each kibble meal along with a teaspoon of plain canned pureed pumpkin 1x a day.  To firm up the stool add 1 teaspoon pumpkin to kibble and no extra water 1x a day. Note alternatives: really ripe mashed fresh pear, just take off the peel off; microwaved and mashed peeled sweet potoato.

Forgot to introduce myself - sorry! My name is Pat Kacer and I've been a member of DL for some time. I have 6 doxies - mostly rescues- and am a member of All American Dachshund Rescue for which I also foster. Wienie is my first dachshund and he's been on Dodger's List before for previous IVDD episodes. My Bella also had 1 episode and recovered with crate rest and meds. We also tried acupuncture since one of the vets in the practice we use has become certified. I'm not only a doubting Thomas but also a believer in traditional medicine so imagine my surprise when Bella displayed decreased pain and increased strength after each treatment - I think we did it 3 times/wk. I do not use chiropractics.

This was the first time our vets did not start Wienie on steroids because they felt strongly from the start he may now have to have surgery. And they were right. This morning I took Wienie out to potty and he walked a bit, sniffing, and he is much less wobbly with increased strength and better coordination to his L back leg he was dragging. He hopped once and I picked him up and took him inside. My heart STOPPED when he did that (it happened so quick) but he seems OK. Still no poop (6 days) but I'm continuing with the pumpkin and will also try pears and sweet potatoes. Thank you for all your help & advice and I will keep you informed on this journey. Pat

Forgot to mention I am increasing the water in his food

HOUSTON...WE HAVE POOP!!
I am so relieved to report that Wienie had a large normal bm! I was so worried he developed an ileus or worse. I followed the DL guidelines of pumpkin and today picked up pears and he had that for lunch. SUCCESS!!

Dr Liberwitz stepped up his activity since he is doing so well and he can take a 2-3 minute walk 2-3 minutes/day.

Again I am thankful for your continued support and advice. Pat

I'm concerned that, since Wienie's surgery was only 1 week ago today, he shouldn't be going on 2-3 minute walks 2-3 times a day. I've been reading as much as I can re:disc surgery. Since my doxies always responded to crate rest, meds & acupuncture in the past, I never looked into it. But now I'm reading the same disc can re-herniate if not on crate rest following surgery for 4 weeks. The post surgical handout I was given says to keep the pup on crate rest 4 wks following surgery. But the tech called me yesterday saying the surgeon said Wienie was doing so well he can have the mini walks. I know each case is different and I know the surgeon said she removed "a lot of disc tissue", but this has me worried. I'm keeping him crated until I know exactly what I should do.

Since our babies had surgery so close I had to see how your were doing and it looks like "Terrific"!  Isn't Dodgerslist a godsend!     Have you taken Wienie to acupuncture this time?  I am afraid to do much of anything with Daphne now, if you read my posts concerning how this episode happened you will understand.  Sure don't want to have to do this ever again.  Not because of the cost so much, more because of what our beloved pets have to go through.

Hi Ticker! Thank you so much for your input - I agree.....I will stay on strict crate rest until we go for suture removal next week and I can talk directly to the neurosurgeon. What's it going to hurt? Most of the literature I've researched and the neuro consults I googled support crate rest following surgery. Sometimes we have to wonder if 2nd hand messages can be misconstrued. Anyway, the neurosurgeon is very easy to contact and gets back to me within the hour even on her days off. I do, however, feel this is up for face to face discussion and not an email. Wienie loves his xpen and going in his pen without a disappointed look from me. He feels like a king when I praise him for going pee & poop in the house...and the rest of the pack have to go out in the rain. Keeping him on strict crate rest is definitely not a sacrifice for him.

I am very gratful for you kind thoughts and prayers - back at you for you and your furbaby!

Pat, often when a dog has the ability to walk post-op, the PT a surgeon directs IS walking and that could start even the day after surgery. 

Just to clarify there is a great deal of difference between going on walks and doing some walking as PT.

With PT the dog is under complete supervision and full control.  All of PT is a matter of doing it slowly and deliberately.  So that means you  use a harness and leash to control speed and from darting off. You  use a sling to keep Wienie's spine aligned and his butt from tipping over.  Many vets direct that the dog may do the PT by walking to and from the potty place.

Board certified neurosurgeon Dr. Isaacs helps to further explain post-op crate rest and PT.   www.dodgerslist.com/literature/surgery.htm#PT   If you have any concerns do speak directly with your own surgeon.

Thanx, Paula. I read the supplemental info and, since it's such a short time when Wienie goes in, I will keep him in the pen except to potty until his surgeon can reevaluate. I just don't want to blow it since he's come so far.But the info was great and I like feeling prepared for what may be ahead. My poor little guy is getting paranoid now! He hides his head under his blanket when he sees me coming! I'm not kidding! Since his 6 day moratorium without pooping I palpate his tummy which makes him nuts. I don't know...I guess we all do what we can to care for our loved ones. But, now, the newest problem! He hasn't voided all day and he is drinking just fine - always something.

Glad to hear the good news! Just to ease your mind about the walks, we were allowed short sling walks 2 weeks after surgery. Cooter could not use both back legs at the time but I would put his sling on for potty times and let him walk a little around the grass after he would potty. These little walks seemed to help him get feeling back. I did ask our surgeon about it because DL said strict crate-his answer was-he should be on strict crate rest but with surgery, they are no longer in pain so when they do try to walk on the sling, it actually does not hurt them but help them get the nerves working again since their feet are touching ground/difference surfaces. Hope this will help. Hugs and prayers for you all!

So, I emailed Dr Lebowitz, the neurosurgeon who did Wienie's surgery - I was going to wait until we saw her for the staple removal but decided to email. She said, given Wienies strength & ongoing progress, I can go ahead and walk him SLOWLY 2-3 x/day for 3-5 minutes without the sling. Apparently the sling is to ensure they don't fall or trip.Wienie is probably 98% of his usual ambulation. That being said...we're going out for a 3 minute stroll:) I feel so lucky..

Hi Pollysmom! I may just use the sling when walking to slow him down. Today marks 12 hours off the codeine and he's pretty chipper. Although I use a halter, I can still feel him pull a bit harder than he should and I end our walks immediately, much to his dismay. I'll use a sling to slow him down- good idea! Thanx! Pat

Hi Pat, I, too, have heard that the rabies vaccination has been linked in some way to IVDD episodes. Many IVDD owners do have their vets get titer tested because of that. Definitely something to talk to your vet about. I think our moderator Paula may know more about this. Hopefully she will chime in. I haven't heard of any threat regarding the flea/tick treatments, but if it bothers you, I guess you could try an herbal remedy. Tons of info on that on the web. Best wishes, ~Lisa

While the body is in the process of healing it doesn't need any extra stress put on it, Wienie just had a major surgery. Right on the back of the rabies vaccine bottle, it says only to be given to healthy dogs.

Googling "rabies vaccine causes demyelination" will yield a lot of reading on that topic.

Depending on where you live and how bad the flea problem is, you'll have to decide if you can hold off on. The better solution would be as Lisa and LInda said.. a herbal remedy.

Wienie went to the surgeon yesterday and had his staples removed. She is very pleased with the outcome as am I! However, Dr. Leberman  detected minimal weakness in his L back leg that is really hard to see, but said it will resolve in time. That was the leg he was dragging when all this started. I can hardly wait for his crate time to be up! With all the attention these past few weeks he cries when left alone for longer than 5 minutes. We have 2 xpens and I set one up in the tv room so he could be with us when watching tv - not good enough! I need to sit on the floor and squeeze my hand in a corner opening and rub his ears or tummy! I'm not complaining, though..I'm just happy my little guy is doing so well!