Kelsey's Karl 8/11 surgery4wks- hound mix

I would like to add my welcome to Paula's.

The principles of caring for an IVDD dog is the same regardless of the dog's size, but pet parents of larger dogs faces some logistical challenges.   My dog Frankie was about 60 lbs during his IVDD episode. He was paralyzed and his back end was a dead weight. I struggled to lift him.   A "Help em Up" harness" made this easier.  These type of harnesses are designed specifically for lifting dogs with mobility issues. "Help em Up" is a brand name there are other types of body lifting harnesses. Check out these types of harnesses before Karl comes home.

Frankie was incontinent when he came home and I had to express him.  Using a pee pad outside the crate was easiest.  As he became more mobile and started to regain bladder control, I used a pee pad out on the terrace of my apartment. There was no way to get him outside my apartment into the elevator and out the front door at this point in his recovery. As Paula mentioned, I was one of those who had to use a paper towel with another dog's urine on it to let him know that now it was okay to pee on the deck. 

You may want to put casters on his crate so you could push it closer to the door when he goes outside. Something like this would be easier on your back. 

I think a lot of us suspect we did something wrong when our dogs have an IVDD episode.  I did.  Prior to this I knew  nothing about IVDD either.  One day, Frankie was limping a little.  I immediately took him to a vet who said he thought it was a tendon.  Next morning, Frankie was paralyzed. Dodgerslist helped me understand this was a disease he was born with and nothing I did.  

Healing thoughts for Karl.

Kelsey so we can follow along and be able to comment better, please provide all the med details

Prednisone ?mg ?x/day
Gabapentin ?mg ?x/day
Trazodone ?mg ?x/day

Might try a fan near Kari recovery suite but not pointed at him just to give a bit of air circulation for the panting. Also maybe a frozen no salt broth ice cube to lick on .

Let us know if you are observing any signs of pain:

The pain meds are not yet right. Please contact your vet ASAP to advise of the pain that you're seeing so meds can be adjusted. Advocate that any of the pain meds be given 3x/day (every 8 hours).
—Methocarbamol works on the pain of muscle spasms.
— Tramadol is the general pain reliever.
— Gabapentin works on nerve pain.
There should be no sign of pain from one dose of meds to the next. Have no patience with pain as it does hinder healing. Look for your dog to be acting their normal, perky self when pain is fully under control round the clock.

SIGNS OF PAIN:
◻︎ shivering-trembling ◻︎ yelping when picked up or moved
◻︎ slow to move ◻︎ tight tense tummy
◻︎ arched back, ears pinned back
◻︎ restless, can't find a comfortable position
◻︎ slow or reluctant to move much in recovery suite such as shift positions
◻︎ not eating due over all pain
◻︎ not their normal perky interested in life going on around him self.

Does does sound very much like a UTI with blood in urine and odor.

Kelsey, sounds like things are going in a good direction now.

Nerve healing just can not be rushed. The body does that on it's own schedule.  Sometimes it is fast, but mostly we ought to think in terms of months rather than days/weeks for this slowest part of the body to heal.

Be aware you might be inadvertently training for unwanted behavior. To dogs rewards are: food, looking at them, talking to them, eye contact, approaching the crate, petting. So anytime you see unwanted behavior try speaking in your dog's language so he understands to calm down. Turn your body sideways, avoid eye contact until he calms and settles down.  Preferable is to start teaching what you do want before there is too much practice in doing the unwanted behavior. Anytime your dog is sitting or lying down quietly, give a reward of a calm loving "good sit/lie." Soon your dog will see they get rewards by quietly sitting, etc.


MENTAL STIMULATION
During post-op recovery time, physical activity must be restricted to let all at the surgical sites heal.  For dogs mental stimulation can be just as tiring as a romp around the yard. You can help Kari in that department.
--- Dr. Becker, DVM, explains "During your dog's mandated rest time for recovery, her movements will be restricted, but her mind will still need stimulation. Teaching her tricks and games appropriate for her temporary physical restrictions will help relieve boredom."

 Stop if your dog is getting over excited and displaying rambunctious behavior of too much post-op movement.

You can make something as simple as eye contact a very rewarding behavior that also acts as a way for your dog to “ask permission” when he wants something. When dogs have a focus and an understanding about how to behave to get what they want, they are much calmer overall. To do this, each time your dog looks at you, say, something like, “Yes!” or use a clicker to mark the second he looks at you, and then give your dog a high-value food reward. [NOTE: for crate resting dogs, shift your body a bit] .... wait for your dog to look up at you again, say, “Yes,” and reward again. Do this exercise 10 or so times and then say, “All done,” and put the treats away. Come back later and do it again until you can see that your dog is really starting to make automatic eye contact in hopes you will say, “Yes,” again and give a reward.

lip lick:



head tip:



name object:



Eating dinner out of of Kong can provide your dog with a job during crate rest.... to work at eating dinner via a kibble meal frozen into a Kong. Licking and eating will now more time & effort and it is stimulating. Be sure to subtract what's in the kong from his daily kibble allottment so as not to gain weight.

what/how to stuff and training tips:  

Let us know what the surgeon says about the check up tomorrow.  For how many more post-op weeks does he want restricted movement PLUS the PT he  has directed.

Kelsey, thanks for the update!  

A bladder infection can make them feel crummy.  Getting the antibiotic on board at last Monday visit should having him feeling better.

Excellent  news on sleeping the night thru and improvement in nerve healing with less knuckling.   As time goes by his muscles get strong again and also will learn better coordination with brain signals to be more stable on his feet.

Peanut butter is high calorie so use very little of it. A better approach is to  freeze part of his normal food serving soaked in no salt/no fat meat broth and stuffed into the Kong. It will occupy him longer in licking it all out.

Karl is doing very well. He is standing on his own and wagging his tail both of which bode well for future healing.

Dogs like to lay in the sun. Since you are there, you can prevent him from excess moving. To be even safer keep his leash and harness on while he enjoys his sun bath

Thanks you all,  
Over the past few days, I think Karl seems to be feeling really good because his energy has increased a lot and he tries to drag me and my husband around the yard a lot more on his potty breaks. He has finished with all of his medications, so this may be part of it. I've also noticed he is now attempting to lift his legs to pee again, which is a new development, but seems to be a product of his regained strength as well. He doesn't always keep it up, but he's trying. 

As for his rest schedule, the vet directed one month of crate rest, at which point we have a scheduled checkup for the vet to decide if he needs more rest, as well as any formal rehabilitation. That one month checkup is just a couple days away, on friday (9/11). I'm looking forward to hear what the vet will say. Seeing his improvement over the last ten days or so has been quite encouraging. 

I love the tip about the carpet runners. I have lots of rugs around the house, but will put some runners in the hallway and leading to the back door for him to have a better grip. Another thing on my shopping list for the future is a little ramp or staircase for my bed. Because of his size, getting on and off our low-sitting sofas is just a simple step for Karl, but I definitely don't want him jumping on or off our bed and I know those old habits won't be easy to break. 

To answer your question, Paula, the couch is about 16 inches off the floor, Karl is tall enough to step onto it one paw at a time. He probably couldn't easily get on and off in his current condition, but moving forward I don't think steps or a ramp would be very useful to him since it's already only one step for him anyway.

Well, today was Karl's one month checkup and the vet was very happy with his healing! 
She cleared him to be outside of the crate while we are home with him


, making sure he avoids stairs and jumping, of course. We are supposed to start taking him on short 10-12 minute walks with him a couple times a day, gradually increasing their length and/or frequency. She also suggested physical therapy. They have a physical therapist on site, but the UGA vet clinic is an hour and a half away, so they also recommended a few places a little closer to us. Over the next few days I'll be calling around to figure out where we will be taking him. 

One thing the vet quickly noticed was Karl's energy: he has a lot and pulls on the harness a lot acts as if nothing is wrong with him. I think the vet's exact words were: "This dog doesn't know his limits." He still attempts to jump in and out of the car and do things that he shouldn't and couldn't do. So we will have to keep a close eye on him now that he's allowed to roam the house. 

I've ordered rug runners for our hardwood floors and my husband and I are brainstorming on how to modify our backyard. I'm attaching a photo for your reference. There's a 24 inch concrete wall around the patio and Karl always liked to jump on and off of it. We've been making it a habit to always walk around it with him, but I have a feeling that when he is able to run again he will revert back to his old ways. We're thinking of planting shrubs around the perimeter. Installing a little fence or flower boxes could work, but seems a bit more expensive. Any suggestions you have would be welcome! 

Kelsey, check your hardware/garden shop for wire fencing. The kind that pokes into the ground or is staked. While shrubs are growing and filling in, the less expensive kind of fence will show Karl there is not going to be any jumping up or down from the concrete perimeter. This type of fence comes in a range of heights. 

Kelsey, what a very, very excellent report on Karl's  progress! ! !  Love your choices of bushes and glad to hear the wire fence is doing the job to protect Karl.

It would be good to make sure by ruling out there is no infection related to the anal gland secretion.  You can easily learn how to express the glands.  It's odiferous business, but not hard at all to learn to express those glands.  Have your vet show how at the exam to assess if there is any infection going on.  

Let us know what your vet says.