Welcome Jo-elle! So far the prednisone tapering is yielding a very promising good proof all swelling may be gone. Proof positive comes at the final dose of pred
We, too are concerned with walking rather than the very fewest of footsteps possible at potty time. The 8 weeks of rest is to allow the disc to heal. Too much movement of the spine could set back all the good work so far if the disc re-tears. Bat would then be back at square one with meds, restarting crate rest and possibly much worse neuro damage than the mild wobbly he has.
IT'S COMPLETELY YOUR DECISION how to care for your dog.
Owner IVDD knowledge is the 🔑KEY to fighting the IVDD enemy!
🔑
The Forum's goal is to immediately expedite getting things right specifically for your dog's needs to
ensure a great outcome in disc healing on graduation day July 31! In other words— those things that make conservative treatment work for many disc episodes. Lastly the longer term, helping you to get up to speed on disc disease to live many happy years ahead with Bat.
🔑 "Vet" the information you rely on for at-home care:
-- Dodgerslist list teams up with veterinarians to teach about IVDD:
dodgerslist.com/2020/04/20/education-team-ivdd -- Owners comment about learning to care for their dog at home:
dodgerslist.com/success-storiesPREDNISONE
The prednisone taper without any blindfolding pain meds on aboard will give you a quick and accurate assessment if pred has completed its job to resolve all painful inflammation. Would be a good idea to understand how this anti-inflammatory steroid works during a disc episode. Recommend reading:
dodgerslist.com/2020/04/18/steroids-vs-nsaids/With Bat's mild neuro diminshment of wobbly walking, I doubt any neuro surgeon would call for surgery at this point in time, but instead would choose to try the least invasive method of conservative treatment. So far you are reporting conservative treatment
IS working (
possibly all inflammation is gone, nerves will heal with time, neuro status has not further declined on the taper)!
Do what you can to make sure only footsteps are taken at potty time.
Carry to and from the recovery suite to the potty place and then allow a very few limited footsteps to take care of business.
Use your sling to not only save your back but to help to keep a wobbly dog’s back aligned and butt from tipping over.
A
harness and
6 foot leash is to control speed and keep footsteps to minimum as
you stand in one spot. The 6 foot leash limits the area Bat can take some footsteps in.
An ex-pen in the grass is an excellent alternative to minimizing footsteps with the physical and visual to indicate there will be no sniff festing going on!
Check your hardware store for some of the poke-in-the grass wire garden edging fence— it is less expensive.
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That is quite a trip OK to NY. The same principals of STRICT rest for the spine would apply during a vehicle trip. You know your dog best, when you leave the car to buy gas, get goodies, potty, how will he react?
A wire crate will safety of necessary limited area as long as in the car he will be calm. Only enough room to stand on all four, easily turn around. When lying down to fully stretch out his legs.
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