Annette's Kobi 2018 surgery8wks- Corgi GRAD 5/28

Welcome to Dodgerslist! We are so glad you’ve joined us all. We’ve got valuable information we’ve gleaned from the vets Dodgerslist consults with and our own experiences with IVDD since 2002 to share with you!

What is your name?  I am Romy.

All anti-inflammatories, including pred, cause excess stomach acid. This can sometimes lead to stomach damage. To help prevent stomach damage Pepcid AC is commonly used. Ask your vet if Kobi has any health issues to prevent use of Pepcid AC (famotidine)? (doesn't need it, we wait til there is problem…are NOT answers to your question!) If you get a "no health" issues answer,then go to the grocery store to purchase over the counter Pepcid AC containing one single active ingredient (famotidine).

canigivemydog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/10/can-i-give-my-dog-pepcid-ac-300x300.jpg


The usual dose in dogs is .44mg per pound, 30 mins before the anti-inflammatory and thereafter every 12 hours for as long as your dog is on the anti-inflammatory. www.1800petmeds.com/Famotidine-prod11171.html

I am unclear about the original dose of pred. Was the original dose one and a half 5mg tablets twice a day?

Post-op crate rest is to allow the surgical sites to heal.
Super tried and true tips for setting up the recovery suite, the mattress and more! —> www.dodgerslist.com/literature/CrateRRP.htm

STRICT for a post-op dog means:
◼︎no laps
◼︎no couches
◼︎no baths
◼︎no sleeping with you
◼︎no chiro therapy whys: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/chiropractic.htm
◼︎no dragging or meandering at potty times.


Post-op dogs will follow surgeon's directives for PT during post-op rest as the offending disc material was surgically removed.
Acupuncture, laser and water therapy are excellent post-op therapies, if within your budget. Check with surgeon prior to starting. My Frankie had water therapy after surgery where he walked on an underwater treadmill. Often water therapy can be performed as soon as the stitches/sutures are removed if the surgeon gives the okay. The underwater treadmill helped Frankie a lot. This shows what the therapy looks like:




Here is some other info on water therapy you can do at home
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/watertherapy

The wet bedding is an indication of an overflowing bladder and loss of bladder control. This is common for dogs who cannot walk.
Overflowing bladders need to be expressed to avoid UTIs. Review video then get a hands-on-top-of-your-hands expressing lesson. www.dodgerslist.com/literature/Expressing.htm

Pred does make dogs thirsty and therefore they have to pee more. The "Sniff and Pee" test verifies if bladder function has returned: Let the dog sniff a previous pee spot in the grass. If the dog urinates right after, that shows a message has been able to travel from the brain to the bladder! It will be necessary to manually check after urination until you are satisfied the dog can empty the bladder fully. If Kobi can sniff and pee, then taking him out often will help keep him dry. Sometimes dogs on pred have to be taken to potty as often as every 2-3 hours.

Does Kobi have bowel control? If he can wait until he is outside to poop he has control. Usually (but not always) bladder and bowel control return at about the same time.

A dog on crate rest should not be allowed to scoot. Maybe take him down frequently to avoid accidents but keep control with a leash or harness so that there is not too much movement.

Kobi being able to wag his tail bodes well for further nerve repair.

The very best thing you can do for YOU, the caregiver, and for your dog is to get up to speed on IVDD as soon as possible. Begin absorbing the must-have overall sense of meds, care and how the treatment works. Your dog will be depending on your ability to learn: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/theater.htm

--- PRINT OUT this link and tape to your fridge: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingpage.htm
--- use the printout as your roadmap to avoid dangerous detours in your dog's care
--- make notes/highlight to keep yourself on track
--- follow all the links in the next days to become the IVDD savvy pet parent your dog needs.

Use the “search box” to easily locate topics over at our Main www.dodgerslist.com website: www.dodgerslist.com/index/searchBOX.jpgeat

Yes Pepcid AC, which you can buy in any drugstore or supermarket in the US.  Check with your vet that Kobi has no kidney heart or liver issues which might mean another stomach protector would be a better choice.  It is important that the stomach be protected.  Our IVDD dogs have enough issues without stomach problems to add to it. 

I want to make sure I understand.  When you say scoots, is he dragging his legs behind?  When my Frankie was regaining bowel control he did not like to go with the sling on either.  When I could see that he wanted to go, I took the sling off and supported his back legs with my hands (otherwise he would just fall over).

Just one other suggestion that might help at potty time. Some male dogs prefer a figure 8 sling if you already aren't using one. Here are two ways of making one.

•Here's one you can make from an old sweatshirt www.lyonpuffpetsit.com/htmlslp/sling.html

•Kristen's figure 8 sling made from two leashes
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/cratesupplies/Figure8.jpg

Please let us know if Kobi can pass a sniff and pee test so there's confirmation that he has bladder control. Or if it's just a matter of having to take him out to potty more often (every 2-3 hours while on Prednisone).

The swelling from the surgery can take a couple of weeks of go down. If you see any sign of pain during the taper of the Prednisone, please do let the surgeon know so the original dosage of the Prednisone can be started again for a bit longer.

Please let us know what the surgeon prescribes for physical therapy and how long crate rest will be when you return for an evaluation on 4/15.

Healing prayers for Kobi.

How often do you take Kobi out for potty? Is he still on Prednisone? If so, you need to take him out every 2-3 hours. Do you find wet bedding in the morning or at other times of the day? If in the morning, try withholding water 2 hours before bedtime and take him outside right before bedtime. The increase in thirst and urination will go back to normal once he's off the Prednisone.

How often are you finding wet bedding? Kobi may not be able to completely empty his bladder when he goes on his own and you might need to learn how to express his bladder so you can give a quick express after he goes on his own. Speak to the vet about that when you go in on Monday. It would be a good idea for them to do a urine test, too, to be sure he doesn't have a UTI since that can cause leaking. I know he's been on Cephalxin which is an antibiotic but if he has a UTI, Cephalxin might not be an exact match for any existing bacteria.

Hopefully as the nerves heal, that movement of his legs will improve to the point where he'll be able to move them with his feet touching the ground. Try to encourage that by letting his feet just lightly touch the ground when using the sling but not so his feet drag. I found the bicycle exercises where I just gently brushed his feet against the ground very helpful in stimulating his feeling of the ground and desire to move his feet. That exercise and others can be found here under post-op exercises:
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/massagepassiveexercises.htm

Please do speak to the surgeon on Monday about starting physical therapy exercises for Kobi. Run the exercises in the above link by him to get approval for those to do at home.

Acupuncture and laser light therapy are helpful treatments that can be very beneficial to assist with re-establishment of nerve connections in the body and usually can be started right away if within your budget.
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/healingacupuncture.htm

Also water therapy can be performed after the stitches/sutures are removed. Some of these exercises can be done right in the bathtub. Please check with the surgeon before starting any of these. Also an underwater treadmill as Romy recommended can be very helpful.
www.dodgerslist.com/literature/watertherapy.htm

I hope all goes well on Monday at the follow-up exam.

Great update on Kobi! Turning over on his back is a good indication that his pain is completely under control now. And glad to hear that there are no longer accidents in his crate.

We're looking forward to hearing an update after his follow-up exam on Monday.

So glad to hear that Kobi had a good re-exam and glad to hear that PT will soon be started. Once the PT has been set up, please do let us know what exercises are being done.

Way to go, Kobi!

Hi, my name is Paula what is yours?

Graduation (GRAD) is the number of weeks the surgeon directed for crate rest which includes his directed PT)   So  8 weeks from March 27 means that on May 28, you would begin a gradual process of letting Kobi out of his recovery suite while under your supervision.  Has the vet indicated there is to be less than 8 weeks of post op rest?


Can kobi walk on his own even if  wobbly and maybe needing support of a sling to keep from tipping over?

You might try now with weather warming up, having Kobi walk with the support of water in a child's $10 blow up plastic wading pool.  Ideas for at home water therapy:  www.dodgerslist.com/literature/watertherapy.htm

Hi Annette! Kobi had a surgery to remove the offending disc material and that is why PT can begin much sooner.. Dogs on conservative treatment (medicines and STRICT rest) would definately wait all 8 weeks before beginning any PT.

Can Kobi move up into a stand position by himself?
Do you see his legs while in a sling do attempt to move in a walking motion?
Or is the sling just serving as support as the back legs don't move at all, all the work is being done by the front two legs?

Many dogs who appear to not to be able to walk, CAN WHEN water is involved. As the water provides bouyancy and support making it easier for the legs to move on their own. Underwater treadmill is the primo type of water therapy as Romy in an above post mentioned. You can use a child's wading pool to kinda simulate the underwater treadmill with just the feature of adjusting water height.

Sp glad to hear that Kobi has full bladder/bowel control, Annette. Hopefully, the vet will OK more PT including some water therapy when he examines Kobi on 5/6. The surgeon knows best what should be done with regards to PT and when it should be done. If he still doesn't want water therapy to start, be sure to get a good understanding of his reasoning.

As with any type of PT, the use of a cart must also be OK'd by the surgeon. A cart can also be used as a PT tool. We usually recommend that members hold off on buying a cart until the post-op crate rest is over and you have a better idea of what money is best spent on - a cart or PT. If you have the benefit of having a cart loaned to you, be sure that it fits Kobi properly. Here are tips on wheelchair features: www.dodgerslist.com/links/cart.htm

Orthotics such as a back brace should require an Rx from a board certified neurologist (ACVIM) who is well educated in disc disease. An ill fitting product that is not custom made can do more harm and the Rx would be for a specific reason.

Dodgerslist has consulted with several neuro and rehab specialists. The overriding concern is that owners may buy a brace on their own thinking it will be instead of strict crate rest or think it would prevent a future disc problem.

During a disc episode these are the concerns:
- Getting them on without causing any more pain or damage to the spine is on top of the list. Too much movement to get the brace on is not good for a dog that you are trying to limit movement of the back.
- Additional muscle atrophy in the spine is another big concern as muscle strength is very important to maintaining spinal health.
- Unnecessary discomfort, pain and anxiety caused by having to wear this device tight enough to limit movement… adequate limited movement is supplied with owner commitment to safe and effective 100% STRICT crate rest 24/7.
- Braces would require monitoring for pressure (rub) sores. Also, if not properly fitted (not covering from thoracic down to tail) there is the potential to create a fulcrum. It is hard to immobilize the entire back and not end up creating a fulcrum that stresses out adjacent disks.
- A brace would not be a preventative measure. Disc disease is the cause of prematurely aging discs…a disc problem happens at the point the disc has hardened too much. Any activity such as turning to lick a paw or putting on and off a brace could be the last straw for a disc that is no longer flexible.

At this time there isn’t enough research on them for Dodgerslist to support their use with an IVDD dog.

Thanks so much for the encouraging update, Annette! It sounds like Kobi is doing very well using both back legs. Sometimes it's hard to slow them down so they can learn to take slow, careful steps placing their feet correctly.

Has the vet OK'd water therapy yet? The laser, acupuncture and massage are very good post-op treatments. Here's our page on post-op exercises that can be done at home if you haven't seen it yet - be sure to run any of these by the surgeon before starting: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/massagepassiveexercises.htm

Keep up the good work with Kobi, Annette, and please do continue to keep us updated.

Update on Kobi L. Bear
He is walking in his own especially in the house!
Not quite like he did before but not dragging his feet at all

We are slowly letting him outside without a lead & with supervision so he does not chase yo many things.
Most Corgis love to run so we are cautious!

Hi This is Kobi’s Gramma. Kobi has come a long way in the past year .

I must admit that I do see some weakness/ atrophy that I did not see when he was in rehab. In the recent months we have had some family emergencies and I was not able to keep his exercises up as I should have. He still walks but seems to be pigeon toed now.

I have restarted his exercises three times a day. I am not sure we can regain what he has lost but praying I can keep him walking even if pigeon toed.

Kobi is enjoying his life playing with his sister and does not even realize he walks a little different.
Always
Kobi & his Gramma

Sorry, I did not see your question.
Stretch’s and range of motion.

I still see weakness. Now that it is getting warmer I would like to put him back in the pool