Donna's Woody 8/31 surgery

This sounds like what I saw in my Polly months before she went down and required surgery. If I had known then what I know now, I would have crated her immediately and perhaps saved us a traumatic and expensive surgery.

Well Woody is not a happy camper as he is now in the dreaded 'back rest' crate. We have a collaspable crate that we use whenever any of the crew have back episodes/surgery. He is scratching at the sides, crying as he wants out.

We put several of his chew toys in with him and I am going to give him a Pepcid along with something for pain. Not sure if he is in pain but want to be sure.

Don't know if I should take him to his regular vet or the neurologist. Will have to mull it over as to which way to go. 

For those that do not know, Woody, as well as my other two, are dachshunds. I was fearing it might be his back but really hope not. Need prayers as surgery is not an option.

Thanks to all.

Donna, generally it is best not to give pain meds prior to having a vet examine the dog as it can prevent an accurate diagnosis since the dogs reactions will be blunted. If Woody were in severe pain I might say give him one tonight just to get him through but if he's feeling good enough to be scratching at the crate he'll get through the night ok.

Tomorrow morning I plan to call his regular vet to see if they ill squeeze us in. Woody doesn't seem to be in any pain so I am not giving him any more Tramadol. I have been giving him some aspirin for inflammation along with a PepcidAC to protect his stomach.

He has calmed down and has accepted being in the crate - at least he isn't scratching or crying as much. We carry him outside to potty but let him walk to potty. He starts off really wobbly and then straightens up a bit after he potties.

There is so much going on with Stella and Buddy's health that I haven't paid attention to Woody's weight so he has gotten heavier. I am sure that is really contributing to his back issue.

I hope and pray that it isn't his back and if it is that crate rest will be the answer. Surgery is not an option as we are stretched too far and can not even afford an MRI much less surgery. So I do not know what we will do if it surgery is needed.

Will have to cross that bridge when we come to it but I hope and pray we do not come to it. My husband is saying no surgery as there isn't anyway to pay for it. After 3 surgeries I can't imagine he even has anything in his back to even work on.

Many prayers are need as well as fingers crossed. Right now Woody's future isn't looking too promising.

Thanks

You are right about the aspirin! I totally forgot about the waiting period for switching NSAIDs and steriods of which I should have remembered. Went thru this with a different issue a few months back. I only have given him a total of two so far and will not give him anymore.

Once we see the vet I will post what he thinks. Hoping we can get this fixed without surgery. Husband said no surgery that he will put Woody down. If it comes to that as much a I hate to I will have to surrender him to a rescue as he has too much spirit in him to put him down. Just hate to do that as he is a big part of my life and don't want to let him go.

Right now I have to first find out what is wrong and see what options we have.

Thanks for reminding me about the aspirin.

Hi, yes, putting him in a pen is fine, just make sure he doesn't have too much room in there where he would be able to walk around. Also be sure he won't be able to escape or chew through it when you aren't around. The most important part of crate rest is limiting movement of the spine for 8 weeks so that the disc can fully heal. If the dog moves too much, the disc may keep bulging or herniating. You can use an ex-pen, a playpen, and while you're at home, a pet stroller is a wonderful tool. You can put him in the stroller and zipper it up, then easily move him from room to room to keep him involved in family activities. When he is off all meds, you can take him for stroller rides on smooth surfaces in quiet areas. You'd be amazed how much mental stimulations dogs get our of stroller rides. I still use mine to this day: dodgerslist.com/literature/strollers.htm

Have you ever thought of expressing his poop so that he doesn't have accidents? I've done that for my dog for 5 years. It is easy, convenient, and clean. Here is a video on how to express poop: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/Expressing.htm#poop Basically all I do is hold my dog's tail up with one hand, and with my other hand, I place my thumb and middle finger on either side of the SKIN around the anus (not on the anus itself). Then I massage in a puckering motion until I feel a harden start to rise. That is the poop. The anus opens and the poop comes right out. :-) I do this first thing every morning and then again right before bedtime. Easy breezy and no accidents. Do give it a try!

We look forward to your next update. Best wishes, ~Lisa

We went to a general DVM as I already know what the neurologist would say - surgery. We have been down that path several times with him, twice with Woody and twice with Stella. He is a firm believer in surgery 1st and right now there aren’t any funds or credit cards that will cover the cost of an MRI and surgery.

We only give it to him before his medicine and not spaced out every 12 hours. We have been giving him 10mg, not 5mg of the famotidine (Pepcid) - should I cut back on the dose? Usually we try to give it to him at least 30 minutes before any other medicine. I am a bit rushed in the morning even though I get up at 12:30 AM. So it is more like 20 minutes before he gets any medicine. I feel rushed trying to get myself together and tend to all of the dogs various needs, Woody’s needs and out the door to work by no later than 2:30 AM. With Woody’s back issues I am trying to pull in extra hours for money in case he needs surgery.

Tonight we will start the Rimadyl and were told to give it to him with a meal. He hasn’t had any aspirin since Monday and the vet seemed to think that as long as we give him the Rimadyl with food and famotidine he will be ok. The Tramadol is 25mg and we have been giving it 3x’s a day but are wondering if we ought to cut it back to 2x’s. It is difficult to tell when Woody is in a lot of pain as he hides it very well. The Tramadol keeps him a bit calm but I do not want to overdose him with a lot of medicines nor too high a dose of whatever medicines we do give him.

Even though the vet is saying 4 weeks I already told my husband we are going for 8 weeks. Just not sure if I should keep him in the smallest crate for the entire time or just for 4 weeks and then let him in one that is a tad bigger. Went shopping last night looking for a narrow crate/kennel cab but Woody is too long for more narrow crate, one that will not allow him to turn around. The 24” (fits a 22” dog) is too short and the 26” (fits a 24” dog) is too wide. Tonight we are going to jury rig the crate we currently have so that he will not be able to move about. I am assuming that we don’t want him moving around in his crate.

Currently we carry him outside/inside to potty though we do put him down so that he can potty. Tried using the sling we made for Stella but it seems to deter him from urinating. I ordered a sling made for males and am suppose to have it by tomorrow or Saturday. Will see if we really get it that fast.

Haven’t tried to express his poop as of yet. Being I am not used to doing it I find it very difficult to hold him while trying to express him. Hoping when the sling comes in that I can jury rig something to hold the sling up, giving him support, while I try to express him.

Hate to admit but we did let his weight get a bit out of control, which I know is truly bad for him and also makes it difficult holding him. I usually look down at the dog’s backs and if I see a well defined waist I feel they are ok. When I picked him up on Sunday to go outside I felt how heavy he is. He has a very broad chest, much broader than the other doxies, which mislead me to think his weight was okay. Even feeling his ribs - they felt okay when I compared them to Stella. From now one I will also weigh him to make sure his weight goes along with the visual for his weight. While he isn’t hugely overweight, it is about 5 lbs, but I know with a small dog, especially with back issues, 1 lb is a lot heavier more like 15 lbs on a human..

Sorry to ramble on like I have. Again I thank everyone for the help and guidance.

My husband rigged the crate so that Woody can't move. He claims the vet said to do that though I don't think he said that. I do remember him saying to immobilize Woody, which sounds too strict to me. I do know he didn't seem to like what we were doing, penning Woody in a tight area.He, Dr. shrank, is not in today so I will call him tomorrow to see just how tight we are to confine Woody.

Last night I was baking cookies and felt sorry for Woody. After his potty break I placed him in one of his beds and penned him in. Actually we use a fire screen as I gave my dog pen away years ago to someone that needed it more than I did. It was positioned so that it tiotally blocked himin against the cabinet. He had room if he wanted to stand and turn around in the bed but no room to walk anywhere. When I put him back into the crate he was much more relaxed about it.

I worked my schedule out with my husband and my boss so that I can swing home after being at work for a few hours to take Woody out for a potty break. Then my husband will come home at lunch to take him out and will give him the 2nd dose of Pepcid about 30 minutes before feeding the pups. We mix the Rimadyl in with his food. Itis a chewable and he will chew it but I just like to be sure he is getting food with it.

He is already moving a bit better as on Monday morning he couldn't stand and was walking on his knuckles. Even though he is 'acting' better we know that 8 weeks is the minimum he will be on crate rest. We do not plan to let him out before then. As you said - it takes a long time to get it to heal. It is not something to play around with.

Thanks!!

I had mentioned to the vet that we had Woody confined in a very small area using our fire screen as a pen. He must have thought that we had him in a large area and wanted Woody in a smaller space. Since my husband and I knew just how small of an area we had Woody confined to, my husband thought the vet wanted Woody in even a smaller area.

So I called the vet and explained to him exactly how large the area was and how he put my husband under the impression we were to put Woody in a real tight spot. One so tight he couldn't even turn around. When the vet realized that I have experienced people helping me with this and I was better at explaining exactly what I was doing, before the visit, he said what we had been doing was correct. That he did not mean for us to keep Woody from moving at all.

So now I have Woody where he ought to be. In a crate that allows him room to lay comfortablely, stand, turn around and drink water when he wants it. He is much more comfortable and, while he will whine on occasion, he is in a better mood while in the crate. He has good days and weaker days. He really had us upset yesterday as when we put him on the floor so we could re-position his crate bed he took off running. Did not make us happy so now one of us holds him while the other fluffs his bed.

I am determined he will not do that again as well as WILL stay in the crate for the full 8 weeks. He is doing well with the Rimadyl and the Pepcid AC. So keep your fingers crossed that this works for Woody. He is not showing any signs of pain so we will see how well he does. As of today he has been crated for one week.

I truly appreciate all the help and advice. I knew some of it but in some cases wasn't feeling too sure of myself as well as panic mode with all of this. If he needs surgery it will be his fourth one. My husband was talking of putting him down instead. So I cried, worried and cried some more as money is extremely tight. Finally I grew upset and told my husband we are trying the crate rest. If it doesn't work we will take Woody to the neurologist and if he says surgery - Woody WILL have surgery.

We are getting busy at work, my manager is okay with me putting in extra time and I work with a group of animal lovers that do not mind my taking some of the extra time. So I am back to working 7 days a week, 80 hours a week as I need to keep up with living expenses and bills. If I can save some money, I will do so. If not, then I will just have to add it to the credit card bills.

Besides his back and the fact that Woody has never had bowel control, he is healthly and so full of spunk that I can not give up on him. As of today he has been crated for a week so only 7 more to go. He is doing well with the Rimadyl and Pepcid AC. We are in work at 2:30 am, I come home at 8:00 to let him potty, my husband comes home at 11:00 to,check on him. My husband is home from work by 2:00 and I am home anywhere from 3:30 to 4:30.

Keep fingers crossed that the crate rest works.

Again-Thanks.
Ps forgive spelling errors as I am trying to type as I balance my iPad on my lap.

Donna, so glad to hear that Woody's recovery suite is back to being the right size for him. Are you still giving Tramadol along with the Pepicd AC and the Rimadyl? The two of you really do have a very full schedule and doing a good job of caring for Woody too!

Jeesh…. our dogs always do the unexpected…it is a challenge to keep one step ahead of them. The best way is just to assume they will do something in a blink of any eye and be prepared as you are now doing with one holding on to him while the other fixes his bed. Woody may just have dodged the bullet with that escape yesterday, since you are not reporting any signs of pain surfacing today.

Great update!

Donna, I would just avoid touching or running your hand down his back while he is on conservative treatment. Instead look with your eyes for signs of pain of shivering, unwilling to move much, tight tense tummy or vocalizing of yelps to tell you there is swelling going on in the spinal cord.

Is he now off of all medications?

There really isn't any "should by now" regarding nerve repair. We might see more steadiness during the 8 weeks of crate rest and we might not. Nerves can continue to heal well beyond crate rest time and extend into even to 1 or more years after the spinal cord injury. Patience on our part is needed but not easy! LOL

Dentals for Woody definately need to wait till all 8 weeks of crate rest have been completed. You want the 8 weeks to ensure the disc has formed good secure scar tissue. Procedures such as dentals that require anesthesia need to be done with caution. You can read more about that here: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/IVDDcourse/precautions.html

I wonder if the licking could be neuropathic pains? Everyone has experienced numbness or pins and needles tingling in your legs when sitting in a bad position for too long a time.  Your dog can be feeling abnormal nerve sensations that are mild pins and needles to quite painful burning, on-fire feeling that makes them bite to stop the pain.

You would need to stay on top of observing for any more signs of chewing on body parts as this can lead to death if this is neurpathic pain.  Immediately put a e-collar on or a lengthwise folded towel and secured closed with duct tape.  Get to a vet for a medicine that can help to control these very painful sensations.  The name of the drug is called gabapentin.

Have you changed his food, could the licking be an allergy to chicken, beef, grains, or something else?

Let us know how the stop of rimadyl goes…we hope to hear there are no signs of pain reappearing.