[Original subject line: Oliver the Super Dachshund and his owner Robert ] Hey my Dodgerslist folk; Linda, Paula and all the great admins. Just wanted to give you an update on how Oliver is doing.
A little background: Oliver is a
12.5 y.o. long-haired mini dachshund, sweetest dog in the world. I first found DL when Oliver was around 4 y.o., and was Googling around for help. My vet new little about IVDD, but fortunately (here in NYC), there WAS one of the best neurologists/neurosurgeons in the country, Dr. Boaz Levitin, formerly with Blue Pearl Vet Hospital (your basic corp vet conglomerate that charges too much but provides very good care.
Anyhow, on Olivers 1st of 3 or 4 incidents; last one was about 4 years ago, since I've found that caring from your IVDD dog probably has as much or MORE to do with owner education (what to do, not to do, who NOT to listen to and WHO TO LISTEN TO (that would be here at Dodgerslist). Anyhow, it was weird, I recall it as if it was this morning, but I'm walking Oliver, as normal, and all of a sudden, I felt strong resistance on his leash and I turned around and he WOULD NOT MOVE. First time this ever happened and I had no idea what it meant. Tried to pull him, and he was being so averse to moving, I realized something was wrong. I took him to the Vet Hospital and that's when I first heard of IVDD and what it is. Oliver was diagnosed by the great BOAZ (who knew of/heard of Dodgerslist) as having IVDD, explained it on his white drawing board, gave me pain meds and anti-inflammatory meds and sent me home for "CRATE REST". WHAT? didnt know what that really was, not until I then located DL, and by the 2nd IVDD event, about a year later, I had acquired all of the pieces for a perfect IVDD bed in his crate, with towels on the side, a foam-type mattress that fits, wee wee pads, and ON TOP of the wee wee pads was a fleece blanket, which I eventually figured out was so ideal, as it would pull the pee down to the wee wee pad and the dog wasn't sleeping in his urine all night. The fleece is key for a good bed for crate rest.
Sticking to 8 weeks of crate rest was tough, and the DL folk would hear from me regularly during incidents, and be as comforting, but professional and give me proper advise, not what I wanted to hear but what was in their experience best for the dog, which we must agree is what's most important.
Anyhow, on the 3rd incident, Oliver's rear legs "went down" and he could not walk at all. I knew if he was EVER going to need the IVDD surgery, this would be the time. I was expert on the "neuro scale", being mindful and watching should he ever go down to losing DPS (Deep Pain Sensation). For any serious IVDD bout, I do suggest you go to a NEURO, not your regular vet, but either way, no matter how bad it seems in the moment, the best input I can give anyone here that's new or if you're first trying to even understand IVDD is to remember this: IT IS NOT A DEATH SENTENCE. Dogs do not dwell on their medical conditions, nor do they obsess about what's their conditions are. They are just beautiful beings and if they can move around, they're generally happy. You can see on this site, for example, those dogs who had the roughest road through IVDD and were eventually left with rear leg paralysis, they are happy as clams running around their yards in carts with wheels, so just bear that in mind. But I digress from Oliver...
So I'm going to make a point about understanding this condition AND how your particular dog reacts takes years and going through the battles. So there I am, dog is "down" in the rear, I'm with
Dr. Boaz, about the best neuro in the country (he left Blue Pearl and has his own
private practice in New Jersey now), and he's pretty much pushing me to do the surgery. Now, to be clear, money was not the issue for me, fortunately, probably would have been $10K plus at that place, but I had shown up with Oliver in the morning, we started him on strong pain meds (Tramadol and Gabapentin, then Rymadyl), and ALWAYS REMEMBER TO USE PEPCID AC to her coat the dogs stomach which gets upset from anti-inflams; doctors will not mention it unless you mention to them and they will ALWAYS say "no problem" when you pose the question properly; I would usually now just say, "you have no objection to giving him Pepcid AC to coat his stomach due to the Rymadyl" and they say good idea.
BUT, the point is to know where your dog is at, what your options are, and remember, doctors know only so much, no matter how good. As Oliver had not lost DPS at all, I was feeling very strongly that we give the meds a day or two (for starters) to kick in, PROVIDED, he did not go any further down the neuro scale and certainly provided he still always had DPS. So he agreed it was a good plan, and I agreed to spend the money for an overnight stay at the 5-star Dog Hotel, Blue Pearl Vet Hospital, where they ran neuro checks literally every 5 hours, was under constant supervision etc. Anyhow, I showed up each day, but also realized that was being a bit selfish on my part as Oliver would get all riled up and excited when he could see/smell me, so now whenever my dog needs to stay in the hospital for any reason for a day or two, I do not go, as that's just about me. To wrap this up, when I showed two days later, Oliver was fully up and walking. In other words we avoided the surgery, which is a good thing. But as I say this, let me be clear, I am definitely expert in what IVDD looks like, when things are getting better or worse, dealing with all of the side effects of the drugs, with expressing his bladder, walking him and crate rest, and as important as anything, dealing with the vets, whether a neuro or not. I very conservatively negotiated with Dr. LEvitin and only felt good about it since he agreed with my plan. Listen to your vet otherwise, if you're inexperienced, and REALLY LISTEN TO THE ADMINS here at DL.
It might seem like an initial pain but fill out their intake form if your dog should have or potentially have IVDD. The admins are so kind and giving (for free) of their time, they ALWAYS respond back the same day, and in the earlier days for me, I would ask question after question after question. And they are all dog lovers, so they do it for the love of the dog, so post your first post based on what they ask you to, they will rearrange your initial post, and either the admins or some of the members, like myself, who are familiar and can reasonably answer or respond to you, will.
Dont be lazy, take care of your previous dog. They have one life, help them make it as good as can be.
Best wishes to all, love to Linda, Paula and the rest of the crew. And her's two current pics of my baby Oliver...