Jen's Sadie 6/28 Conservative Canada

Thank you so much for your reply Paulina!

She only held her front leg up that first day (however, she has been known to do this since she once had to wear a cast on that leg for 6 weeks due to a broken foot- poor little girl has gone through so much) so we can't be sure if that was an indication of pain or just her normal pose that she does every once in a while.

She doesn't cry when she pees, she just cries to indicate to us that she wants to be taken out for a potty. We thought we were doing pretty well since her first night on crate rest she didn't have any acidents, and let out a little indicator cry at 4 am where I took her for a big pee, and her crate was dry in the morning.


Last night was not as successful. After being by her side 24/7 since this happened, and both being complete wrecks over what is going on, we decided to give ourselves a little break, so left her in her crate in the bedroom alone for less than 2 hours while we visited with neighbours on the street for a Canada Day block party. We came to check on her once and took her for a medium sized pee. When we came back in for the night we noticed she had relieved herself in her crate and we both felt horrible for leaving her. Then I heard her little cry at 4:30 in the morning and when I went to take her to potty, noticed she had wet herself again. I did take her to the pad and she peed again, so we don't know how long that pee had been there. This morning when we woke up she had peed in her crate again which I think had happened quite recently because she wouldn't pee when taken to her pad.

She is peeing A LOT. Yesterday she peed a total of 10 times. We also gave her water before bed. Should we limit water intake at night? A bit of her water intake she drinks normally, the majority we mouth feed her via syringe because she refuses to drink. It doesn't seem to be a lot of water we are giving her, we just want to make sure she is hydrated with the dex. Is there an optimum amount of water she should drink everyday? Perhaps we should measure it out and make sure that's what she gets. She does also get water from food.

She isn't on any pain meds which concerned me at first, however she really doesn't seem to be in any pain. I'd like to avoid drugging her up if she doesn't need to be. Any indication of pain I will seek meds immediately though. The vet (the one I'm not that thrilled about) said he didn't think she was in pain after examining her.

She ate pumpkin the first day, and now she will not. She figured out her meds were crushed into it. I will try again today without any meds and hope I can get her to eat. She has little interest in food but will eat a treat or cheese of course. She won't touch her kibble but will eat her wet food so that's what we are giving her to make sure she's getting proper nutrition.

Our other pup seems to be doing okay, but I worry about him over this period and hope he doesn't get depressed from not being able to play with his best friend. It's heart breaking for both of them.

I hope that the tears dry up soon - this is by far the most difficult thing I've gone through beyond losing a family member, and I feel so powerless. I keep thinking "what if" I hadn't done this, or let her do that, or let this person pick her up. I also keep thinking about her favourite activity, speed running along the sand bars so fast you could barely see her! To think that she can never run that hard again just breaks my soul.

Meds she is on is just dex 0.5 mg twice a day and pepcid (vet said not to bother but we are doing it anyways) 5 mg twice a day 30 minutes prior. Should we start her on glucosamine? 

My last concern is her going potty so often. Having to take her out of her crate to go pee 10 times can't be good for her healing, but we can't not let her relieve herself. What do you think?

Thanks again for all your assistance. I don't know what I would do without the information available here. Reading and learning has been my saving grace while I sit beside her. We are lucky that I don't work for another week, and when I do go to work, my husband works from home mostly so will be with her. I can't imagine leaving her for long lengths of time.

Thanks so much Maureen! It is incredibly hard but definitely easier knowing we are not alone. Good to know about the chicken broth - will try that because she refused her wet food this morning. I could only get her to take her meds with peanut butter and bread. 

Question about H20 - should we just be letting her drink when thirsty, or is syringe feeding water okay? We want to make sure she is getting enough and she turns her nose up to it.

Happy Canada day as well! We lived in BC until a month ago when we relocated to Manitoba for my husband's job. Miss my home province already, especially since discovering there are no IVDD neuro surgeons in this province. Conservative treatment seems to be our only option unless we are able to get her on a flight quickly and safely in time for surgery if paralysis sets in.

Thank you Paulina. From her log, she seems to be needing to pee every 1.5 - 2 hours. Her night cues have stopped since the first night. We had another night with 3 pees in the cratedespite setting our alarm to take her for a potty very couple of hours. I'm not sure what this means, since she doesn't have any accidents in the day.

She is now drinking on her own and we haven't syringe fed her water since that first day. SHe does seem very thirsty. I made some broth cubes last night as well.

I spoke with a fellow doxie owner last night and was given a lot of hope. Her 9 yo doxie went down a bout 5 years ago and after insufficient vet care, she took her girl to a holistic vet where they did acupuncture and gentle chiro. The results were immediately. She went from being just as bad as my Sadie (unable to stand up) and actually worse (unable to wag tail) and within one session her dog was standing, walking, and back to normal. Her dog had a second episode a couple years later that she treated the same way, and again, same positive results. Her freind's doxie just went down a week and a bit ago and has just started treatment seeing great results as well.

Despite her positive experience, I do still believe we should continue the strict 8 week crate rest no matter how well alternative methods work. I do still want to try them though. Unfortunately she was diagnosed on the Friday before a long weekend, so I don't think they are open until tomorrow. Before I go in, I want to be properly informed. I've read on here NOT to start chiro until after 8 weeks, but have read on some holistic sites that chiro that is gentle and is only realigning areas other than the injury can be quite helpful.

Please chime in - what are your thoughts? These 3 experiences with chiro that I heard about are really making me feel like it could be beneficial. I don't want to get my hopes up, but the results sound so positive.

Thanks for your forthcoming advice! I really appreciate it!

Thanks Paula.


There seems to be so much contradictory information out there. I even just read that limiting mobility after the first few days of injury slows down healing because it limits spinal circulation from a Dachshund Rescue Organization. They also promote chiro during their healing, so I'm just very confused. I am still committed to the 8 weeks rest however.

I am trying to get an acupuncture appt today or early this week. What is the best way to transport her? Would it be best for my husband to drive and for me to hold her so I can absorb some of the shock of driving so she isn't straining her back?

Happily we had no crate accidents last night! We were able to get up and take her pee by setting an alarm every couple of hours so that she could relieve herself.

The steroids must be working as she was trying to scratch her ears with her back legs yesterday (I helped her out with that) and is now trying to take a few steps when she goes potty (her rear is still supported by a sling because she cannot stand for longer that a few seconds on her own).

Our younger dachs Max is acting weird. He won't look at her and doesn't want to get close to her (he is usually IN LOVE with her and gives her kisses every morning). I think he may suspect that she is injured and he doesn't want to hurt her. Poor little guy feels so lost without his play friend.

Should I be starting to do bicycles or moving her back legs yet? Massaging?

Thanks again everyone. I have so much more hope that I did that first day. I'm still devastated this has happened but I do have hope she will recover.

After doing some more reading, I am having some other concerns. I read on that medication link I found somewhere on here that Dex is 10x stronger that prednisone - why would the vet prescribe her dex when most everyone on here is on pred? Also, he gave us 10 day prescription with no taper - should I call the vet and ask for instructions on tapering? Is 10 days long enough for steroid treatment, or should I ask for 15 days?

Also, I finally got through to the holistic vet who does acupuncture (of course this had to happen right before a long wekend) and they book at least a month in advance. They were able to squeeze me in next Thursday, which will be 2 weeks since she went down. I did call another acupuncture vet who is open this Friday, but I don't have as much info on them. Is it worth it to get her into the acupuncturist on Friday before she goes to the holistic vet acupuncturist next Thursday (which is where we will continue treatments)?

Hi Jen,

The best way to transport Sadie to her appointments is in a travel crate/carrier that is cushioned on the bottom and sides with towels or soft light baby blankets. Rolled up on the sides. I use a a very small puffy baby quilt for Tyler's carrier. Holding her on your lap isn't something you should do during her recovery because it doesn't keep her back aligned.. Any excess movement endangers her early healing disc.

I would try to get her in to the Acupuncturist that can get you on Friday if you can and in the meantime see what else you can find out about them..Don't let go of the next  Thursday appt  until you are sure which one you want to take her to. You not only want to get her started in Acupuncture but you also want the best person for the job.

Max knows that Sadie is injured and it is instinctive in dogs to avoid or even torment the injured member of the pack. Max is choosing to avoid her but don't leave them alone together if Sadie is out of the crate just in case.

Ask your Vet about when he wants you to start the Dex taper. 

Jen, wonderful news that Sadie is feeling like perky self again.

Dex is a steroid. Most vets recognize the need for a taper off of steroid so that the body is again signaled to start making it's own steroid hormone. The hormone is critical for the adrenal glands in regulating the body's systems. Marvista vet web page says a dex taper should include an every third day dose. www.marvistavet.com/html/dexamethasone.html

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.  Note alternatives: really ripe mashed fresh pear, just take off the peel off; microwaved and mashed peeled sweet potoato.

To firm up the stool add 1 teaspoon pumpkin to kibble and no extra water 1x a day. 

If she has bladder control, she likely has bowel control too.  So she may not like you expressing for poop and just needs help with constipation.
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/Expressing.htm#poop

You might try expressing for poop, since you say you can feel the crown of it. The upward finger technique shown in the vide is what triggers the reflex to move feces through. The other finger technique is kind 0f like squeezing toothpaste out of the tube.


More details here: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/Expressing.htm#poop

Jen, what good news on the poop.

The sling is just used as backup and safety should her butt start to tip and to help keep her back aligned. At the point you are seeing that she is very stable, then you would not need to use a sling anymore.

The priority is protection of the back and the spinal cord. After crate rest has been completed, then you would address nail clipping. Nails can always be clipped, but if the spinal cord becomes too severely damaged from movement during clipping, she might be paralyzed for life.

Please help us educate more short legged breed owners and vets everywhere. Disc disease is a disease you can live with and there are TWO treatments for this disease: conservative and surgery.