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Post by Dona & Wrigley on Jan 24, 2021 6:57:44 GMT -7
Wrigley is my 3 yr old mini longhaired dachshund. She is 11-12 lbs. Extremely active and brings us so much joy. The beginning of November, she just started acting off. I had her to our vet twice in 3 days and nothing was caught. 3 days after her 2nd trip her hind legs stopped working. We then made an emergency trip to th University of Illinois Vet Med ER. After a long evening sitting in the parking lot, it was recommended she have an MRI the following day and then be taken straight to surgery depending on those results. We agreed to this and were prepared for the worst. The following day she had regained use of her legs with pain meds and anti inflammatories. She was bumped from her scheduled MRI due to an emergency case. It was rescheduled for Monday. Over that weekend, she continued to make amazing progress to that point we, along with the neurologist, decided to go the conservative route. She came home and has been in her kennel 100% except for trips outside for 10 weeks now. She has been off all meds [Dec 27, 2020] for 4 weeks. She is probably 80-85% of what she was. How do you start introducing them back to the world outside their kennel? We've tried letting her out to walk around the house, but she is super nosy and just won't settle down. She also tries to play and run. We're terrified and so nervous to let her do anything. Any advice on how to navigate this part of her recovery would be very welcome.
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Post by Ann Brittain on Jan 24, 2021 7:23:06 GMT -7
Welcome to Dodgerslist. Thanks for the information about Mr. Wrigley. Could you tell us your name?
It sounds like you've already made great strides toward getting your pup back to his normal life. It can be difficult to keep a dog, who wants to be active, contained. But it's important that Mr. Wrigley doesn't over do activity which could result in a re-injury.
Although exercise will help him get stronger, strenuous activity, like jumping, rough play with other dogs or humans, tug of war type games should not be allowed. If you don't already have them, you should check into getting ramps to help him avoid jumping on furniture, climbing stairs, etc.
To help keep Mr. Wrigley from overdoing activity, you could try to distract him with physical therapy. Check with the neurologist for recommended exercises. If able you could check into water therapy which will keep him busy and help regenerate the muscles that have been inactive during crate rest.
Because water therapy wasn't and option for us when Buster was recovering, I filled the bathtub and did a version of swim therapy on my own. I tailored the physical exercises we'd been doing with him to the tub time. They really helped him regain muscle tone.
Here is a link that discusses ramps and other options to help avoid situations that could cause another disc episode.
Others here on Dodgerslist will comment with ideas to help you keep your dog on track.
Good luck and keep us posted on how Mr. Wrigley is progressing.
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Post by Dona & Wrigley on Jan 24, 2021 7:32:02 GMT -7
So sorry...my name is Dona Simpson.
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PaulaM
Moderator. 
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,528
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Post by PaulaM on Jan 24, 2021 13:28:05 GMT -7
Welcome Dona! Can you tell us more about Wrigley's neuro abilities are so we know what this means: she is back about 80%' means? --- Does she knuckle under her back paws?
--- Is she wobbly walking or walking a normal gait?
-- what is the other 20% nerve function betterment you are hopeful to see?
-- does she want to scoot on her butt ever?
-- Was there a particular reason she was kept on strict rest past the 8 weeks it takes a disc to heal on Dec 27?
Not being aware of what Wrigley's neuro functions are, it can be said in general a slow and gradual release back to family life and PT is the best way to go. GRADUATION, A SLOW RE-INTRODUCTION Determine how you are going to ease back into more normal activity at graduation. The idea is to gradually give more freedom under controlled conditions. Not free riegn of the house and yard immediately! LOL Take a look at our information and then come up with a plan to gradually increase activity over about a month's time following the end of crate rest. Here is a sample schedule to slowly introduce your dog back to family life and physical activity: dodgerslist.com/2020/06/15/back-friendly/?highlight=sample%20scheduleLots more ideas and tips for living many happy years ahead with your IVDD dog in including training her to use a ramp, setting up appropriate furniture blocker to keep her back safe: dodgerslist.com/living-with-ivdd-tipsINSTINCT For dogs the inborn instinct about weakness is for survival protection of the pack as a whole. There are two things that can happen in pack dynamics when a dog has been or is sick. 1. The healthy one may try to eliminate the weaker in the pack. 2. For the sick one, now the weaker in the pack to become more protective and aggressive because they know they are weaker now and may be subject to being attacked. Make sure that Wrigley feels protected from her best buds when home alone... the crate will be that source of protection. Whenever you leave the house and they are not supervised, it is a good idea to crate Wrigley for her own safety. We have had many instances where a deadly attack among best buds could have been avoided by crating. One I recall is of two sisters who had grown up together and never showed any signs of aggression to one another. The two dogs were put in the kitchen while their owners went out to dinner. They came home to find the IVDD dog almost dead from the vicious attacks of the other. |
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Post by Dona & Wrigley on Jan 24, 2021 16:25:02 GMT -7
Wrigley was kept on extended crate rest as the vet she saw at the U of I liked to be very conservative. She walks well, but she is still wobbly at times especially on her left side. The foot tends to drag sometimes. That is why I say she is 80-85%. She shows no sign of pain and has her spunky loving personality.
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,528
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Post by PaulaM on Jan 25, 2021 11:07:15 GMT -7
Dona, did the 10 weeks of STRICT rest end on Jan 24, 2021? Use of dates would be very helpful so we do not misinterpret things.
Nearing the end of the 10 weeks, did the U of I ER vet or the Neuro, indicate you could allow some very gradual incorporation of some walking? OR were those trips outside only for potty time and only for a very few footsteps to take care of business right up to 1/24 graduation day?
Expectation is with time the neuro diminishment you describe will self heal to bring back a more normal gait.
Graduation is like release from a couch potato to allowing a bit of supervised physical activity, not free range of the house. Slowly increasing physical activity over the course of a couple of months after graduation is for the purpose of strengthening the core muscles that support the spine and discs. During the strict rest period it is expected there can be some muscle weakness. A slow intro back to family life means you are supervising and monitoring while you proceed each day with a bit more activity. You will want to be able to rule out if discomfort or pain appears it would not likely be do to over doing exercise, but may be suspicious of a disc episode that needs immediate strict rest and alerting your vet.
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