My wife and I have 2 wonderful tweeny-dachshunds, Monty & Nigel (as we don’t have children, these guys have essentially become our boys). They weren't from the same little, but are only 2 months apart, and have been 'brothers' for almost 6 years now.
Nigel is very quiet, calm, and meek. He's also the picture of health and vigour.
Monty is very defiant, loud, and proud. He's also been health troubled, poor guy.
We keep our boys at a healthy weight (Defined waist line and the last rib visible, a belly that curves towards the spine & not the floor). We usually walk them anywhere from 1-3 Km a day, with some off-leash running (at their own pace) in a wonder fenced sports park. We feed them MediCal RoyalCanin Joint Mobility (green lipped muscles).
In September 2012, we noticed Monty (who is very food motivated) seemed less interested in eating. He would wine/whimper when I picked him up to bring him down stairs. That evening he was reluctant to move and was definitely not himself. Saturday morning, we opened his kennel (they sleep together in a kennel/crate at the foot of our bed) and he was dragging his hind legs. We were VERY scared and concerned and rushed him to our vet (45 min drive).
Our Vet (St. Claude Veterinary Clinic – Dr. Philippot & Burrard) told us about IVDD (first time every hearing of this scary disease) and that Monty had most likely ruptured a disk. (I myself have two severely {>50% loss} herniated disks S1/L5 & L5/L4 with a hairline fracture on my L5...I could only imagine his pain and discomfort)
She gave him a pretty large dose of steroids and pain killers and placed him under her watch for 5 hours. After 5 hours she noticed that his symptoms continued to deteriorate. She called and told us he needed emergency surgery ASAP. We live in a small rural town in the heart of the prairies Manitoba State. The closest vet hospital is in Saskatoon (almost a 9 HR drive). We left at 8 PM and arrived at 4:30 AM. The Saskatchewan Western College Of Veterinary Medicine- Veterinary Medical Centre Small Animal Clinic was MORE THAN WORTH THE DRIVE; they effectively saved our little Monty. I cannot give this institution enough praise and thanks – THEY’RE WONDERFUL.
The Small Animal Clinic WCVM met us at the door at 4:30 am and promptly but very empathetically took Monty and made him comfortable. They placed an IV, gave him fluids, expressed his bladder, and prepped him for an x-ray with dye (their MRI/CT-Scan) was down for maintenance. They had booked a hotel room for us and told us to get some sleep; they wanted us available to talk to the surgeon at 8 am. We received the call from Dr. Linn (bless her soul) who calmed our nerves and walked us (quickly) what her plans were, how he was doing, and the outlook. She told us of all the associated risks, and asked to proceed. He was in surgery for 3 hours and at 11:30 am we were called by Dr. Linn who told us the surgery was a success.
Dr. Linn decided to keep Monty under watch at the University for 3 days. We received a call 3 times a day (0900, 1300, and 1900) with follow-up info on Monty. On the first day he was pretty sleepy and required bladder expression. By the second day he was peeing a little on his own (Dr. Linn said he was motivated to pee because he REALLY hated having his bladder expressed), she also said he had a wonderful attitude. Whenever she walked in he was sit up, puff out his chest and defiantly claim this recovery room and all in it under his charge. By day 3 he was walking (albeit with a bit of a wobble - with the support of a harness Dr. Linn had made). Each day got progressively better with the help of his physio regime. By the time his hair grew back he was his old self.
As I’ve said, Monty hasn’t had the best luck with health. Dr. Linn was the first vet/professional to tell us why he was so bowed legged. It happens in small breeds, in particular dachshunds, where the outside of their femur grows more and more rapidly then the inside, giving their femur a twist or curve. His bowed/wobble walk had always been noticeable, however definitely more so after his surgery (+ six months).
The only issue was it seemed that he picked up an infection that presented on his nose. A scaly scab bump that would appear, turn hard, dry and then fall of, leaving a bald patch. We treated it with a cream from our vet (steroid) and it would clear. We would use the cream for a full two weeks to a month after the disappearance of the last bump. Two days after we stopped the cream, the bumps would return. They didn’t’ seem to cause him any pain. We’re still stumped…
However, last Saturday (30 June 13) my wife and I left the house for 6 hrs. We gated all the stairs however didn’t flip the cushions on the couch. When we returned I picked up Monty to put him outside to pee and he wined/winced. My first thought was, aw crap, not again. He seemed in good spirits, however a little off. I did the foot test (placed it nails down and he was slow to correct). We called our vet to give them a heads up and they told us to keep him rested as best we can and see if it deteriorates. I quickly looked at your website again to remind myself of what to look for and what to expect and what to do. By the morning, he was walking with a drunken wobble, and began to fail in his back left leg. We called our vet and rushed him in. Without delay he was on the phone with the WCVM Saskatoon and my began her 8.5 hour drive.
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Once my wife arrived (I stayed home and stewed with worry and I took care of Nigel, who was missing his big brother, I also had to work) they took Monty and essentially repeated the events of the first episode. This time their MRI/CT Scan was up and running and they got a good image of his T/L region. Last time, his T12/T13 had ruptured; now, it was his T11/T12 (about 50% ruptured on his left side). The surgery went very well, and he now 3 days post-op and already WANTS to run. We are obviously keeping him rested, crated, and relaxed. We do 3-4 bouts of physio a day with massage and he loves it.
My concern (as I’m a HUGE worrier) was is this going to happen again? Will it happen soon? Is it a ticking time-bomb?
Dr. Linn told me yes, Monty has IVDD. The scan shows some moderate calcification in his T/L region. She said that there is always a risk of more herniations, due to his lot in life (Dachshund with IVDD). She said however that she isn’t too worried. She said that typically, due to the physics of the dachshund, the typical culprits for herniation are the T11/12, T12/13, T13/L1 and L1/L2. I was told, it’s due to the fact that’s where the rib cage ends (the ribs add support to the spine) and is the natural fulcrum of the back; most mobility, least protection, most weight bearing. She said where he’s already had 2 at this location; a lot of the stress has been reduced. She said, again, it’s almost impossible to prevent and even harder to predict. We just have to keep him (which we’ve been doing) from jumping on people, furniture, and doing stairs.
After his first surgery, I built ramps on our stairs leading to our garage and back yard. We trained both dogs to take the ramps UP but they are too step to take down. We have the top of the stairs gated and we carry them down. We do allow them on the couch WITH us; however we lift them up AND down. We gate the stairs at all times and flip the cushions on the couch while were away. We keep them in their kennel/crate to sleep at night; no bed time (Sunday morning only, we lift them both up AND down). I would like to keep them out of the kennel/crate during the day while my wife and I are at work, however I’m thinking it may be safer to keep them in their kennel.
Obviously while he is post-op he is crated when not directly supervised and we’re preventing him from moving too much. Thankfully my wife is amazing and is a kindergarten teacher and is home during this time so she can be with him almost continuously helping his recovery.
My apologies for such a long post; I’ve been reading your site now for almost a year and have shared it with many of my friends. I’m just a worried dachsi dad who wants the best for his pups.
Please offer any suggestions you may have in general and in particular better ideas to make our home more dachsi safe.
I’ve read you’re post of worrying about IVDD and it helped profoundly; thank you.
Jarrett
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