Alix's Gretta Jul 2018 Conservative GRAD 8/31

It is hard to leave them alone but they do mostly sleep when we are gone.
It is common for one side to be stronger than the other.Her right side may still catch up.

A dog finishing 8 weeks of conservative treatment crate rest needs to gradually build up muscles and stamina.

We recommend you GRADUALLY reintroduce the pup back to activity
Here are some GENERAL ideas, but always check with your vet or physical therapist and follow their advice.
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/AfterCrateRest.htm

Gabapentin is mostly used for nerve pain but it does cause drowsiness. Not sure if that was what your vet was thinking.
Hopefully her results will come back quickly so you can get the right meds on board.

I am so happy to hear that Gretta stood by herself! Standing requires balance as well as muscle strength so that is a huge step forward.

Good that you caught her attempt to jail break. The visual of her climbing up the blanket is very cute but dangerous. Thankfully she did not hurt herself.

Since she is so close to graduation, think about home modifications to reduce the stress on her spine in the future. No more stairs, ramps up to furniture, or blocking furniture all together. All those ideas and more are in this link:
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/protectback.htm

Alix, there is not a clear view of Gretta's leg in those video's. Since you have observed her moving up into a stand all by herself, then money is better spent on underwater treadmill to learn the art of walking again....that is where I'd put my money over a cart that is likely to not be used for very long as she gets better and better with her back legs.

The movement of the hip joints and muscles and the changes in pressure on the paws from the underwater treadmill triggers spinal cord communication with the brain. Water bouyancy makes it easier than leg movements against gravity. There is not only the potential to regrow damaged neuronal pathyways but also for neuron to muscle re-education to learn the art of walking again.  You can also apply the same principals to water therapy at home in a small kids $10 pool...not exactly the same as the floor moving underneath their paws, but water walking is helpful at home if still warm weather where you live:   www.dodgerslist.com/literature/watertherapy.htm

Look at those little legs go! Wonderful to see. But do take it nice and slow. She's only been off of crate rest for a few days now, correct? She shouldn't be hopping like that yet. Slow and steady steps for a very short period of time and then back in the crate to rest.

Did you take a look at the schedule that Romy shared with you on how to gradually increase movement to slowly build up strength and stamina? I found it to be very helpful when my Jeremy has been released from conservative care. Here's the link again:
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/AfterCrateRest.htm

Give it some time, maybe a couple of weeks, before trying underwater treadmill or walking in a kiddie pool. Too much movement too soon and it would be difficult to determine if you see any sign of pain return whether it's from muscle soreness or another disc problem. Those muscles have been laying in a crate for two months so they need to be slowly built up again.

All the best to you and Gretta.

Since you know Gretta's personality is to fly, I agree it would be smart to crate if she isn't supervised.

They can do the darndest things.

My 13 year old shih tzu with IVDD climbed a tall baby gate while I was out!!

Oh that is wonderful. I know you are thrilled. 

Alix, sounds like a plan! The underwater treadmill has shown to be an exceptionally good therapy in helping to stimulate nerves and helping to relearn the art of walking. Look forward to further updates so we can follow along with Gretta's progress.

You may want to tuck this info in your hat for any future pictures/procedures that require anesthesia to obtain good pictures.

With any procedure that requires anesthesia, you will want to be assured your vet and all vet techs in attendance understand the risk. A dog's main defense against further disc damage is dependent upon control over the core trunk muscles – this defense is eliminated with anesthesia.

Basically during picture taking always keep the spine horizontal to the ground and back aligned straight (no twisting) ---- same idea as when lifting our dogs"
More on precautions with IVDD dogs: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/IVDDcourse/precautions.html

Thank you Paula! I will have her regular doc note it for sure. We didn't do any anesthesia for her X-rays, but she does tend to need dental work every couple of years despite regular brushing, so it'll be an important part of that conversation! (PS: I love your new photo!)

Julie - will do. ❤ 

Oh my, Alix, how wonderful to see those back legs moving so nicely!!! What a difference since 9/3.

Hey, thanks for the suggestions to help Dave's Mr. Pickles. We LOVE it when other members want to pay forward to help another.

Isn't it exciting when you see a sign of recovery like that scratch?

I still remember when my Nala was able to roll over and wiggle on her back again!!

Wow, sounds like Gretta is making great progress!! Go, Gretta, go!

gretta is still having post-IVDD urinary incontinence issues. If anyone has any insight, we would be really appreciative. I'll try to summarize it as clearly as possible.

For reference we try to get her to go 5-6 times a day, either through walks or expression - this is as many walks as we'd do before she went down, so it's how much I think she probably needs it.

The first issue is she will now urinate when she's excited/scared... anywhere but her crate or the furniture. Actually, she almost never goes in her crate overnight or when we leave her. She's not gone on the furniture since her first couple days off crate rest. She will *sometimes* go in the stroller when we put her in it to contain her because we know she needs to go but nothing is happening during expression.

Sometimes she goes fine totally on her own during walks. Other times she seems totally surprised by suddenly starting to tinkle and she'll try to get away from it, leaving a puddle and trail behind her (usually indoors).

Sometimes if I just barely press her bladder she goes fine right away - her legs will buckle suddenly and she'll lift her tail, or if i'm holding her under she'll just lift her legs up. Sometimes if I do this she won't go then, but if I try again in 5-10 minutes she goes just fine. 

This morning's example:

We went for a walk and I tried just asking her if she needed to go. When she made no indications that was in the cards, I tried a light expressive press, then we walked some more. When it was clear she was ready to go in, I tried a normal expression. Her tail lifted and I was holding her underneath, so her legs came up into a squat-type position, but nothing came out. We went in and I fed her, and as she was heading for the ramp to get back up on the chair, I redirected her and expressed her again. This time she finally went. 

We tried Proin but it a) didn't seem to help (though it's been a pretty limited trial, about 5 days), b) Proin made her nauseous, c) we'd like to avoid meds wherever possible and, d) we don't want to impede any natural muscle strengthening we're doing during rehab. 

I'm not really sure what to do. I don't mind running along behind her cleaning things up, but it's really starting to bug Michael and it does sometimes happen on the carpet, which will become a bigger problem over time. Also I don't want her to get another UTI and I'm terrified I'm messing things up somehow. 

Otherwise things seem great! Last rehab we graduated from the foam mat to the FITbone.

Proin was all my DMV suggested, and it was an afterthought after saying there really wasn't anything... but I will definitely ask the rehab vet on Friday!  

Thank you for all the suggestions! ❤ ❤ ❤ I will give the diapers a shot first. She has some PJs that might help them stay on.