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Post by Kelly & Charlie on May 26, 2021 9:46:48 GMT -7
Are there car seats y’all recommend for IVDD dogs? We are hoping to take a road trip sometime this summer assuming he continues to improve and want to make sure Charlie will be safe and comfortable.
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,884
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Post by PaulaM on May 26, 2021 10:50:16 GMT -7
Kelly, I know you asked about car seats. I think you may be really wanting a crash tested car harness. Not only to avoid the dog distracting you when driving, but should there be a crash, Charlie would be protected much like a person wearing the seat belt would. Don't be fooled by marketing claims: Crash tested by harness manufacturer VS. Crash tested and passed by independent Center for Pet Safety Any car harness should follow the principals of a normal harness for an IVDD dog --- Keeps back horizontal to the ground --- The harnness restraint stress should be on the strong boney chest not higher up on the neck's soft tissue: dodgerslist.com/2020/05/20/back-support/ --- Car harness should have been crash tested AND passed an independent testing organization: www.centerforpetsafety.org Manufacturer testing of their own product is most certainly to be slanted/biased. --- Read the many available consumer reviews such as on Amazon to learn any issue with dogs (like short legged doxies) being able to wriggle out of it in the car, etc. --- Unfortunately only a handful of products earned the Center’s crash test certification. Consumer Report: www.consumerreports.org/car-safety/keep-pets-safe-in-the-car/ Center for Pet Safety with support from Subaru: www.centerforpetsafety.orgPlease let us know which car harness you chose and how it fits the Dachshund's short legs, etc. I think a lot of other members would like to know your findings.
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Post by Kelly & Charlie on May 26, 2021 14:07:09 GMT -7
Great, thanks a lot! I will look through all of this and we will likely try a couple options on short trips around town to make sure he’s comfortable before we take a longer trip. I’ll be sure to report back on what we ultimately choose. I was indeed wanting something that would keep him safe and not put unnecessary pressure on his spine in case of a quick stop or accident, and I am trying to find something that would make the back seat flatter for him (as opposed to the slight decline) in case he likes that better. Thanks again!!
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Post by Kelly & Charlie on Jun 16, 2021 20:16:37 GMT -7
I just wanted to give another update on Charlie. We are down to one Gabapentin twice a day as of last Thursday and he’s doing great.
[Moderator's note: please do not edit 20 lbs. 6 y.o. Vetprofen as of 2/25: 25mg 2x/day for 5 days; 3/2 stop bloody diarrhea as of 3/10: 25mgs 1x/day for 4 days; 3/15 stop test gabapentin ▼100mg ▼1x/day ]
No change in behavior this time so we will try to decrease dosage again to one pill once a day this weekend! Acupuncture and laser therapy is going well, he’s sleeping so well now and standing a little stronger too. Reflexes are still good. We started doing daily “swims” in our pool with Charlie - just holding him in his life jacket carefully and letting him get some paddles in for 30 seconds at a time. We’ll see what happens after a few weeks! So far his back legs don’t do much but his tail has gotten a little stronger which is fun to see.
We’re hoping to order Eddie’s Wheels for Charlie within a week. We’ve been researching them and getting an idea of how to measure. We are very excited for this upcoming milestone and hope he will love his new wheels!
Thank you again for always being such a kind and informative resource. We could not be more grateful! 🙏🏻🐶
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,884
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Post by PaulaM on Jun 16, 2021 21:19:28 GMT -7
Kelly it is such a pleasure to get your updates.
See if you can lower the water level so that if his back paws touch the pool floor & if enough nerve healing has taken place, the back legs might attempt some purposeful movement. Paddling/swimming is practicing swimming. Paws touching the floor would be an opportunity to practice moving legs in a walking motion, if you sense what I mean. At any rate include some fun stuff with the pool experience. Does he like to chase after a bobbing apple/carrot piece, a favorite toy? Good job in giving Charlie this kind of PT, building up his stamina gradually. Walking in water can be energizing and tiring...makes for good sleeping at night.
Give Leslie at Eddie's a call. She is a very good person to work with if you would have any question about getting proper measurements. We are excited to hear this upcoming news that Charlie will soon be able to feel his ears flapping again as he learns how to run in his cart.
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Post by Kelly & Charlie on Jun 17, 2021 23:28:56 GMT -7
Thank you for the ideas! We hadn’t thought of trying to make the swim more interesting for him so we will definitely give it a try with a toy or treat. And we are looking forward to Charlie *hopefully* loving this new wheels - I’ll be sure to post once we get them!
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Post by Kelly & Charlie on Sept 2, 2021 21:18:52 GMT -7
Hi there! I just wanted to give a quick update on Charlie. He has had his wheels for a little over a month now! We’ve been taking it very slowly as advised by his rehab/acupuncture vet, just a couple minutes every other day. He’s gotten strong enough to go down the driveway to sniff the fire hydrant and back, and he’s gaining confidence too! Most importantly, he seems happy! Eddie’s Wheels was fantastic to work with.
We got a PetsFit car seat for him which we liked a lot, but it was too tall in the back seat of our sedans so we had to return it. Too dangerous to try to safely get him in and out of it with not much headspace. We’ll try something similar that isn’t as tall next.
He’s still getting acupuncture and laser every couple weeks. It seems to be creating some sort of response, when he goes in his wheels his back legs kick almost the entire time which is so cool to watch. He still can’t pee on his own, and did have one infection that we had addressed with his vet, but we’re managing. Accidents of either kind are few and far between.
The only real unaddressed issue right now is I feel like he has some separation anxiety, especially at night. He doesn’t seem to show signs of pain or stress in the day, but at night he will wake up and won’t go back to sleep unless one of us holds his paw or keeps a hand on his head/back. He’s just super attached, which is sweet, but not making for consistent sleep on our part. I think we may try some CBD or a different supplement next. A family member has had luck with it, I’m just worried it’ll upset his digestion since obviously that has to be kept on schedule, but it may be worth a try at this point.
Anyway, thank you all again for the awesome support group and forum! We wouldn’t be able to give Charlie such great care without your guidance and encouragement.
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,884
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Post by PaulaM on Sept 3, 2021 8:42:03 GMT -7
Kelly, really wonderful to hear Charlie likes his Eddies cart and is gaining confidence and stamina.
If you can, would really love to see video of Charlie in action in his Eddies wheelchair.
For the at night sleeping problem, you might consider taking advantage of dog's superior smell abilities. Take one of your garments you have not washed and full of your body's "fragrance." Having that garment in his suite at night might give him comfort to smell your nearness!
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Post by Kelly & Charlie on Sept 3, 2021 19:24:16 GMT -7
I will definitely get a video linked here soon!! We’ll try to take one this weekend. Here’s a link to a picture of his crib where he sleeps at night, he’s already right next to us just separated by a flat pillow we keep between the mattress and his crib (pillow is not pictured), but that’s a great idea. I’ll put a couple of our T-shirts in there and maybe it’ll help him feel even more a part of the group. 💙 imgur.com/a/tAMkoac
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Post by Kelly & Charlie on Sept 7, 2021 6:20:51 GMT -7
Here’s a video of him this morning. This was on the way up the driveway after heading down to check out the fire hydrant. imgur.com/a/92UngtzFor anxiety and sleep, our acupuncture vet gave us a bottle of a supplement called Valerian to give him 1/2 tablet twice a day, and 1.5-2mg of melatonin at night. it seems to be helping so far!
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,884
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Post by PaulaM on Sept 7, 2021 8:25:20 GMT -7
Now that's a jaunty looking boy enjoying a morning expedition! Glad your vet found a solution for a good night's sleep.
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Post by Kelly & Charlie on Sept 26, 2023 10:26:46 GMT -7
Hi there! I haven’t posted in a while but our dog Charlie is still doing great and pain free off his meds. ☺️ The reason I’m back (and perhaps I should have started a new post?) is because we have not left him with anyone since his paralysis but we are expecting our first child at the end of the year and will need someone to care for him for a couple of days. We haven’t found anyone through our vets and we are definitely against boarding him. Does anyone know how to find someone who can care for a dog with IVDD and needs complete assistance with bathroom breaks? Thank you so much - we are stressed and at a loss for what to do!
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,884
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Post by PaulaM on Sept 26, 2023 11:47:30 GMT -7
How exciting a baby coming! And glad to hear Charlie is doing well.
How about taking a different approach to Charlie's care for those few days. Speak with your vet about hiring one of his vet techs to care for Charlie. She may be allowed to bring him to work plus caring for him at her home.
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Post by Kelly & Charlie on Sept 27, 2023 6:57:59 GMT -7
Thank you!! Yes, unfortunately that’s what we did was ask our vets if they had any vet techs that could care for Charlie and they didn’t have anyone available. Please let me know if any other ideas come to mind, we’re going to keep searching for someone with a good amount of experience.
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,884
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Post by PaulaM on Sept 27, 2023 10:34:04 GMT -7
Kelly, the hiring of a vet tech would be between you and that person if they wanted a side job. Well, since that did not work.... I had to be away for a week. What about a reliable friend? I hired my neighbor. I trained her how to express ahead of time. I also spoke with my own vet and explained about being away and having neighbor help. He said anytime the neighbor wanted an extra expressing lesson for her to come by the clinic. She never did, but it sure helped her to feel she was not alone.
There might be vet techs at another clinic in your town interested in a side job or they may know of another to refer you to.
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Post by Kelly & Charlie on Sept 27, 2023 10:58:37 GMT -7
Thank you! We will look into that!
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Post by Kelly & Charlie on May 28, 2024 1:45:25 GMT -7
Hello again, hope you all are well! I apologize as this may be a bit long, but I am struggling lately with Charlie. As a refresher, he was diagnosed just before his 5th birthday, is completely paralyzed in his back end, turned 9 this March, and seems to be pain free and generally happy without any meds.
Anyway, we welcomed our first baby at the end of 2023 and Charlie has done really well with that adjustment overall and seems to love the new baby.
However, accidents (mostly poop) have become more frequent in the last month or two and I am just trying to figure out if our situation is normal - is this just how things go with IVDD as a dog gets older?
We just had a checkup and all signs point to him being healthy with the exception of a yeast and bacterial infection on his skin (feet and tail/bottom area) that we are currently treating him for as of Friday.
We also give him a probiotic that helps his digestion (started last year), no signs of UTI or changes in eating or drinking. But we have gone from 3 bathroom outings per day with accidents happening about 1-2x per week to having to take him out 4x per day, plus right before any visitors come over, and accidents happening about 4-6x per week. Obviously it’s gotten more difficult for me with a baby and my husband working in office right now, so I’m keeping that in mind. My husband should be back to working from home in a month, so I am managing things by myself in the day until then, but I’m not sure why Charlie is having more accidents. When family or friends come over now we have to move Charlie to another room because if he gets too excited he will have an accident and it seems upsetting for him, he starts to spin and try to get away from it and hates getting a bath. If we don’t move him to another room I have to sit with him constantly to make sure I can help him if any accidents start. If he wakes up early in the morning it seems like his digestion starts up and he will sometimes poop his bed before we are up and get a chance to take him out. (He sleeps in a three sided crib I built him so he is right at bed level with us.) I wake up multiple times per night to check on him and make sure he hasn’t had an accident. When I get home from running errands and go see him that will sometimes trigger an accident as well. Again, seems like it’s happening when he gets excited or wakes up. Though sometimes I’ll go see him and realize he’s already pooped. My husband has started taking him out earlier before work and then I try to do a mid-morning and late afternoon expression and my husband does the bedtime outing, but sometimes we still get an accident when my husband gets home from work at dinner time as I guess Charlie gets excited and it triggers another. I just don’t know what to do. As far as we can tell, we are fully expressing his bladder and bowels just as we always have, but somehow even with us doing it more often we are still having accidents. It feels like there is no schedule that is helping. I know with our baby getting older she will obviously become more mobile and I’m scared that will trigger Charlie to have more accidents with the added excitement and potentially put the baby at risk of getting into contact with poop/pee. I understand many people would not have continued to care for Charlie this long so I am having so much trouble finding helpful advice on things right now. Dog diapers is the only thing I’m seeing suggested with his situation and that does not seem to be a solution as accidents would just get stuck in his fur and require a bath or make his skin infection worse and we’d still have to do laundry just like we are doing now. He does still have good, accident free days, and is always sweet and happy to see us and be part of the family. ♥️ I am just beside myself trying to figure out how to get through this and would so appreciate any advice or encouragement. 😔 Is this normal progression with dogs diagnosed with IVDD? Is it likely to get worse or do you think it’s just a phase?
Thank you so much for reading. We love Charlie so much and I want him to have a good quality of life as long as possible.
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PaulaM
Moderator.
Member since 2007: surgery, conservative . Montana, USA
Posts: 19,884
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Post by PaulaM on May 28, 2024 12:01:39 GMT -7
Kelly, I do understand bladder excitement issues, because my dog had those. I did the same just as you describe...greeting folks outside, etc. . But have not heard of bowel excitement issues or pooping so soon after you had expressed the bowels. Is this the method you use to express poop?:
POOP Are they well formed and normal. That is not too soft/loose? FOOD Has there been a change in his diet that might cause food to move thru the digestive tube faster? FIBER Could possibly trying more fiber but not adding extra water nor soaking his food help to firm up poop if it is a bit loose? Plain pureed canned pumpkin is a magical fruit - its high fiber can firm up stools and help with diarrhea or loosen the stool to help with constipation. NOTE: alternatives are really ripe mashed fresh pear, just take off the peel off; microwaved and mashed peeled sweet potato. --To loosen the stool, add equal parts water to each kibble meal and soak overnight. At mealtime add one teaspoon of plain canned pureed pumpkin 1x a day. -- To firm up the stool add 1 teaspoon plain canned pureed pumpkin 1x a day to kibble. Give a teaspoon of pumpkin for every 10 pounds of body weight,
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Post by Kelly & Charlie on May 29, 2024 8:11:00 GMT -7
Thanks for your reply! This is the method we use or the ice cube method, both have been working well for us. Last year we had to switch Charlie’s food, and I don’t think we ever got back to his normal firmness unfortunately. We tried multiple foods and he went through phases of loose stool/accidents but we finally settled on one that seemed to be helping…but perhaps we will go ahead and start with some pumpkin again to see if that improves things more. Anyway, we switched his food last November so it isn’t a recent change (as far as the more recent/frequent accidents go). That is why I was curious if it was more of him losing control of his bowels or bladder? Although the vet said he still has good rectal tone. If anything else comes to mind, please let us know. We love him and are doing everything we can think of to keep him happy and healthy.
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Post by Romy & Frankie on May 29, 2024 13:03:34 GMT -7
Do try the pumpkin again. Loose stools are harder to control so firming them up may help.
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