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Post by Amanda & Delilah on Jun 21, 2020 12:47:35 GMT -7
 Hi everyone, I found this forum when looking for resources pertaining to my dog’s (Delilah) condition. Delilah is a 4-year-old long-haired miniature dachshund who is normally extremely active and very healthy. She recently suffered from an acutely herniated T11-T12 disc with significant spinal cord compression. A T11-T12 Hemilaminectomy and Fenestration from T11-L2 was performed as an emergency surgery on 5/26/2020. She had a follow up appointment with the surgeon on 6/15/2020 and as of this date that I am writing this post, we are coming up on 4 weeks since her surgery. She has returned to her normal self (demeanor wise) but she is still not moving her rear legs. At her follow-up appointment the [6/15/2020 ]surgeon indicated that Delilah has no deep pain present bilaterally in her rear legs. Her recommendations to me for moving forward was to order her a rear-wheeled cart ( I ordered the cart this past week), continue exercise for range of motion, weight shifting, aqua-exercise (I have a doggie pool and I bought a little life vest for her), and she sent me a video of how to promote spinal walking. I have not been very successful in the spinal walking exercises because Delilah “freaks out” when I elicit her reflex. I do not know if this is a good or bad sign? I also ordered a ginger-lead so I can work with her stumpy legs a little easier and she absolutely loves being able to move around a little more normally. I am just curious if anyone else has had a similar experience to this or could give me any additional advice now that Delilah is moving out of the strict crate rest phase. I am also going to begin acupuncture with her after 6 weeks post-op, which is what the acupuncture vet accepts. Any help would be great! Thank you! Amanda ☀︎1-- Long-haired Miniature Dachshund, Pup’s name: Delilah, My name: Amanda ☀︎2--Delilah weighs 9 lbs. ☀︎3-- The surgeon is a specialist surgeon (DACVIM). ☀︎4-- Delilah had surgery on 5/26/2020 and had her post-op follow up visit on 6/15/2020. After the post-op visit the surgeon upgraded her activity level to being able to take baths and to be a little more active outside in the yard such as army-crawling in the grass. ☀︎5-- When I brought Delilah home on 5/29/2020 I was instructed to complete several repetitions of passive range of motion to both rear limbs throughout each day as well as to let her nose around in the grass. ☀︎6-- The surgeon has recommended that I continue with range of motion exercises and that I now can integrate aquatherapy into her exercise routine. She wants Delilah to continue to be away from my other dogs (while she is on the floor) until at least 6 weeks post-op. ☀︎7--Delilah is currently experiencing no pain or discomfort with rest or with movement. She tolerates movement very well and wants to be active. ☀︎8-- Delilah was taking 5mg of Diazepam, 50mg of Gabapentin (as needed for pain) and had a Fentanyl patch on her rear leg when she came home on 5/29/2020. She is currently not taking any medications as of this date.☀︎9-- Delilah is not currently able to walk. She extends her legs when I put her in a standing position and moves her toes in a gripping manner. She does not wag her tail at this point. A few days after I brought her home (on 6/1/2020) she began to wag her tail, but not in response to happy talk. I know that there is a reflex tail wag when going to the bathroom, but she was wagging her tail intermittently during that week. Now, it seems that she is not doing this any longer (as of 6/21/2020). ☀︎10-- Delilah is able to have better bladder control now. When I brought her home she was having some leaks when I lifted her up, but now she is able to wait until we go outside (or to a pee pad). I am still having to express her bladder to fully empty it, but she also goes some on her own. The surgeon instructed me to express her bladder after she goes to ensure that it is emptying to decrease risk for UTIs. ☀︎11-- Eating and drinking OK? Poops OK - normal color no dark or bright red blood? Delilah is eating and drinking well and has resumed her normal dietary routine. No problems with stool color and she is having bowel movements regularly. |
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PaulaM
Moderator. 
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,540
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Post by PaulaM on Jun 21, 2020 19:23:16 GMT -7
Amanda, welcome to the Forum. It is still quite early in the nerve healing department. It can take more like months rather than days/weeks for this slowest part of the body to self heal the nerves.
IF a dog has no DPS, then some dogs have been able to learn spinal walking.
Please confirm for us now that it is 7 days past the 6/15 neuro check up about bladder control.
Can you give Delilah the Sniff and Pee test and let us know what you observe?
The only way for humans to know if there is bladder control is with the “sniff and pee test.” Carry outdoors, set them on an old pee spot to sniff. Make sure the sling or your hands are not on the tummy area as that can press on the bladder. See if they will release urine on the old urine area. If urine comes out after sniffing, bladder control is returning. You should continue to do a quick express check to verify there is full voiding until you are certain it is consistently happening. Let us know what you observe.
If there is truly bladder control, then by definition she now would have to have had deep pain sensation (DPS) returned and functioning.
Also will she wag her tail specifically if you do some happy talk to her. Or if you show her a yummy treat is coming? Let us know what you observe.
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Post by Amanda & Delilah on Jun 22, 2020 6:58:22 GMT -7
Hello Paula!
I will do the sniff-and-pee test today and will let you know what I find out. Delilah is able to hold her tail up slightly (when not going potty), but she is not wagging it in response to treats or happy related things. She raises her tail more when she goes potty, but I assume that this is reflexive when going potty. I will update when I observe her behaviors outside.
Thank you!
- Amanda
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Post by Amanda & Delilah on Jun 28, 2020 14:24:14 GMT -7
Good evening everyone,
I just wanted to give an update after observing Delilah's behaviors this past week and now that she is approaching 5 weeks post-op (on Tuesday 6/30).
The sniff-and-pee test has been challenging mainly because of how "picky" she was prior to surgery. Her potty habits included quite a few messes on the throw rugs in a particular area of the house for whatever reason. She also took a while to find a spot to go pee or poop when she was outside as well. I have been trying to allow her more time outside to sniff extra and to take whatever time she needs, but I have not had success with her actually starting to pee when she is outside. She sometimes will find a spot and act like she is going to do something and then gets distracted by something (squirrels, butterflies etc.). There was one instance where I was trying to untangle her harness from the hook in the laundry room where she sniffed the throw rug (one that she used to pee on sometimes if I didn't let her out quick enough or she was angry at me) and she peed and completely voided her bladder. I don't know if this was just coincidence and have not been able to duplicate it since. I have her on a pretty good potty routine since her surgery.
I also wanted to ask another question in regards to foot movement. She will grip her toes on both of her back feet when I barely touch them and sometimes when she is laying on the floor awake. She has also been getting into her scratching position like she would to use her hind leg to scratch her neck or ear. The back leg does not move when she does this, but the toes do a gripping motion sometimes and she usually flips on her back or turns and will bite the back foot (almost like she is angry at it for not moving). She also will lay flipped upside-down in her dog bed and play bite her back feet while she wiggles scratching her back.
I am continuing with the exercises that the surgeon recommended and I have been doing these exercises in the pool with her as well. In the pool she will bring both of her back legs through full range of motion when I elicit her reflex by putting my finger in between the pads of her feet.
I appreciate all of the help!
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,540
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Post by PaulaM on Jun 28, 2020 18:54:08 GMT -7
Amanda, it is still early in the nerve healing department. Tell me, is the surgeon still wanting 6 weeks post op rest. Where she does all the PT he directs and then she is back in her recovery suite to rest the surgical site? Monitoring for neuro functions, for us humans, means we must see some sort of head level involvement with something happening lower down the spinal cord such as leg movement, bladder control, tail wagging, etc Do keep up as part of your daily PT the excellent tickling between the paw pads to elicit reflex firing of those back legs See if there are any more exercises you could add in to keep the back leg muscles in condition and the joints flexing. Post-op PT for the paralyzed IVDD dog:
Be watchful of that biting at the back legs. Is it play or is it neuropathic phantom pain? 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. These are abnormal signals explaining why a paralyzed dog can feel this neuropathic pain. You would need to stay on top of observing for any more signs of biting leading to chewing on body parts as this can lead to death. Immediately put an e-collar on or a lengthwise folded towel and secured closed with duct tape to prevent reaching nether parts. Get to a vet for a medicine that can help to control these very painful sensations. The name of the drug is called gabapentin. More on neuropathy: www.dodgerslist.com/literature/neuropathy.pdfAs time approaches to be graduated from post-op rest scheduled for July 7, we'll have lot of information to share with you. Tips on introducing Delilah back to family life and activities. |
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Post by Amanda & Delilah on Jun 29, 2020 11:51:14 GMT -7
Hello Paula,
At Delilah's follow up appointment with the surgeon on 6/15/2020 she instructed me to continue doing the range of motion exercises, weight shifting exercises and sniffing in the grass. After this appointment she said that Delilah could now go in water for baths and aquatic exercise and that her surgical site was all healed and looked good. She said to allow Delilah to army crawl in the grass and work on eliciting the reflexes in her back feet to work toward spinal walking. I am going to make her an appointment with the acupuncture vet (which happens to be Delilah's regular vet) and see how she responds to that.
As far as the biting, she just playfully nips/grabs at her back feet, almost like a dog chasing their tail. She tilts her head like she would do to itch her ear with her back foot and then takes a look at her back leg wondering why it isn't scratching. I don't think she is having a pain response to this. This morning when I took her to potty I scratched her tummy and she brought her right leg up when I did that.
Thank you for your help!
- Amanda
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Post by Amanda & Delilah on Jul 16, 2020 13:37:56 GMT -7
Delilah is now a little past 7 weeks post-op. She is doing really well and has settled into a new routine of how to do her usual activities. She r eceived her cart from Eddie's Wheels and she loves using her wheels. **  She is still not sniffing and peeing voluntarily, but she seems to be gaining more movement in both rear legs. When she goes potty she draws both legs up into a "squatting" position and she lifts her tail straight up as well. She had an acupuncture visit with our vet last week and did pretty good, but she gets very anxious from riding in the car and going to the vet for her appointment. I am on a vacation with my family and brought all of her supplies with me and I continue to do her rehab daily. Today, she was in the pool and she took some steps! I was so excited to see this happen and I have been very vigilant in doing at home aquatherapy and other strengthening and range of motion exercises with her. These movements seem to be more of a kick out toward the back instead of her bringing her leg through full range of motion. She also seems to becoming more aware of her rear legs instead of having a neglect in that area. I just wanted to post an update here to see if there was any additional feedback as well! Thank you for your help! |
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Post by Romy & Frankie on Jul 16, 2020 13:49:02 GMT -7
Good news that Delilah's legs are getting stronger, and she is moving her legs in a walking movement. Seven weeks post-surgery is still early in the recovery process.
Continuing the water therapy should be very helpful to her,
Some acupuncturists will make home visits, although in this time of coronavirus it may not be possible.
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Post by Amanda & Delilah on Aug 13, 2020 13:46:27 GMT -7
Hello! Delilah has been making more improvements over the past several weeks. She is still not walking on her own yet, but we have been steadily continuing her rehab at home. I do have a question regarding her skin on her back legs. She currently has patches of dry skin on both of her hind legs from the positioning of her legs being backwards. I do lots of different exercises for ROM so that she does not form contractures and she is now able to take some full baby steps with support of her gingerlead or wheels. I was just wondering if there was anything that I could put on her skin on those legs such as lotion or something else? If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know! ![]()  |
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Post by Romy & Frankie on Aug 13, 2020 13:58:09 GMT -7
When you say her legs are backwards are you referring to her moving with her lags dragging behind her? If so, a protective garment can help. We have some information on different types of protective garments. You can make some of these with no sewing or minimal sewing. dodgerslist.com/2020/06/13/garment-skin-uti-protection/Aquaphor and Bayer's A+D are creams that can be used on her dry skin. These creams do not contain zinc. Zinc can be harmful to dogs. |
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Post by Amanda & Delilah on Aug 15, 2020 10:14:18 GMT -7
Hello! Yes these spots on her back legs just seem to be from the position that her legs are in when she drags them behind her. She is not having any dry skin/irritations from the friction of the floor, but just the way her legs sit when she drags them. I will look into all of these suggestions and thank you for the heads up on the zinc! Thank you!
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Post by Amanda & Delilah on Feb 17, 2021 14:34:10 GMT -7
Hello friends! I have a question, I'm not sure if it is a stupid one or not but... I was wondering if anyone knew if there is any sort of designation that I can make for Delilah when travelling. I have to travel for school/work on occasion and it is difficult to find hotels/lodging sometimes that will allow a dog. Delilah does not bark, make accidents or gets left unattended wherever I stay, but there are a lot of no pet policies. I didn't know if there was some sort of designation that I could get for her for this purpose?
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Post by Romy & Frankie on Feb 17, 2021 15:03:23 GMT -7
I sympathize as I travel with my dog sometimes also. I have used a site called bringfido to point me towards some pet friendly hotels.
Perhaps Delilah would meet the definition of an emotional support animal. The definition seems very broad. In Florida an emotional support animal "... provides assistance or therapeutic emotional support to its owner by its mere presence. Documentation is required from a licensed health care professional though. Not sure how it would work in your state.
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Post by Amanda & Delilah on Feb 18, 2021 8:22:52 GMT -7
Thank you! We are from Florida as well, so this is something that I can look into! Thank you for the advice!
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