basset can't use hind legs all of the sudden - Page 3

houndmomma · 06-03-2011, 12:01 PM

Quote:

Yaay, great news she is doing better. As stated above crate rest (or bathroom rest) is a good idea. I kept Bentley gated in the bathroom for a couple weeks the first time. He told me he was feeling better when he attempted to jump up on "the throne" Having throw rugs down on the floor (or if you have carpeted floors) greatly helps them get around as well. Keep us posted.

I'm so happy to hear your baby is doing better. You might want to consider getting her a special dog bed just for her so she doesn’t jump on furniture anymore. I got my girl nice big soft ones for three rooms she like to be in with sides that go all around it so she won’t fall off. I was surprised she loves them. If you would like help with the dog beds, just let me know I can post the links.

Congratulations again!

missourikatehoundmom · 12-08-2011, 02:35 PM

I joined just to tell you I had the same problem & was told to have him put down also-- I could not do that, took him to a chiropractor and after a few visits he walked out the door fine. I live in Missouri and have a wonderful chiropractor vet in Adrian,Mo. Rolling Meadows Animal Hospital. Hope I am not to late, just saw your post today.

farley baby · 12-10-2011, 10:44 PM

this is happening to my bassett whos 11 right now. Was fine on Friday at supper, by 7 that night we has having problems controlling his hind legs. toes curling under and the samw leg folding in on him. It was obvious tha he was in pain. We took him to the emergency vet clinic and was told that they expected IVDD (intervertebral disc desease) They put him on pain meds and said to confine him to a cage. My farley has never been caged so that out of the question. he does just stay on his bed and hardly moves. he's still able to go outside to go potty with help down and up the 2 stairs on the deck. he's eating and drinking still but I am having a very hard time dealing with the fact that he's in pain. I'm sleeping on the sofa beside his bed at night. the vet said he may need surgury if no improvement in 2 weeks, I just can not afford the surgery. I'm still paying off a bill at the vets for dental surgery. I cry as I type this as I think if that things don't improve with his mobility and pain that I'll have to put him down. I call him my little senoir citizen. I've had him since he's been 7 weeks old. This is my third Bassett

Mikey T · 12-11-2011, 12:33 AM

If he is not on a [corticosteroid
talk to the vet about putting him on one removing swelling and inflamation is critical to recovery while not technical a pain killer it may be one of the meds the vet has perscribed and loosely called it a such. One of the more common ones is prednisone.

FWIW surgery is best done early done latter it rarely does anything more than reduce the risk of further injury.

He needs a minimium of three weeks of very limited activity and such activity is best if assited. ie a towel under the abdomen so you help support the back when he walk, to go outside or to eat. but other than tthat you want him not moving around

see Disck Book
The Dachshund Club of America, Inc.

by

Patricia J. Luttgen, DVM, MS
Diplomate, American College of
Veterinary Internal Medicine,
Specialty of Neurology
Denver, Colorado

Quote:

When a dog starts to show mild signs of pain indicative of intervertebral disk disease but is still ambulatory, restricted activity in a cage is indicated. Allowing nature time to heal the tear in the annulus fibrosus may be all that is necessary. If cortiosteroids are simultaneously administered, restricted activity is an absolute must.. Corticosteroids will mask the pain the body is using to tell the dog to "slow down." If the nucleus pulposus has not herniated but significant weakening of the annulus fibrosus exists, one good jump off the couch is all it may take for the dog to become hopelessly paralyzed from irreversible spinal cord injury. The absolute necessity of cage rest in these animals cannot be overstressed. Failure to do so often contributes to disk herniation. Such a dog can never be hurt by too much cage rest, but certainly devastating results can occur if too little cage rest is used.

When disk disease causes motor deficits, a great deal of damage can be done to the feet and legs if the dog is not restricted from dragging across rough or had surfaces. When the owner can not directly supervise the dog's activity, it should be put in its well padded cage to avoid further injury. When outside, protective foot coverings are a great help. Once sores are allowed to form they are very difficult to clear up; preventing them is far better.
...Aggressive medical therapy is recommended in any form of spinal cord trauma. It becomes especially important in acute trauma, such as type I disk herniation, to interrupt the destructive metabolic consequences described previously. Corticosteroids are the first line of attack in handling any acute spinal cord trauma. The currently preferred corticosteroid is methylprednisolone sodium succinate (Solu-Medrol R; Upjohn). Compared to the previously favored corticosteroid dexamethasone (AziumR; Scherring), methylprednisolone sodium succinate seems to have far better sparing effects on the spinal cord while causing fewer side effects (gastrointestinal bleeding: excessive water consumption/urination). Since oxygen is so critical to the survival of nervous tissue, delivery by way of a face mask or an oxygen cage can be advantageous. Hyperosmolar agents such as mannitol or glucose do not have as much effect in spinal cord injury as brain injury because they have no effect on the compressing mass of herniated material. However, in severe cases, they can be useful in reducing some of the spinal cord swelling. Numerous other medications have been advocated for spinal trauma, such as narcotic antagonists and calcium channel blockers. Some are of most benefit when administered within minutes of the spinal cord trauma and this can not always be accomplished. Others do little to fight the primary injury but have long term sparing effects. The use of these additional medications will vary with each individual case.

...Medical therapy combined with restricted activity and physiotherapy is a good approach as long as an affected dog is only displaying ataxia and/or discomfort. However, once the line is crossed to motor deficits, more aggressive therapy is usually needed. It is true that many dogs that become paretic, or even paralyzed, given enough time can regain "normal" clinical function without surgical intervention. However, the degree of permanent pathologic changes inside the spinal cord and the time to functional recovery will be far greater than for the dog that receives surgical decompressive therapy early in the course of disease. If additional trauma is sustained in the future, the dog that has "recovered" without surgery will probably "decompensate" more easily because of greater preexisting spinal cord pathology, resulting in a much greater degree of dysfunction than the dog with similar dysfunction that was operated early.

badhatharry · 01-05-2012, 10:00 PM

I had this happen to a dachshund twice. The first time, it wasn't that drastic. We confined her to a small penned in area, and gave her steroids. She got better in a couple of weeks. The second time, she had absolutely no use of her hind quarters. We had to literally push the waste out of her. With some confinement and steroids, she came through that time as well. It just took longer. Just keep your dog immobilized and wait it out.

smimlitsch · 01-06-2012, 04:26 AM

The same thing happened to my Walter about 2 years ago. It turned out to be a tumor on his spine. surgery went well but it was very costly. Around 4,000.00. He jsut turned 12 on the 27th of december and believe it or not he has survived 2 TPLO surgeries to. If at all possible have the surgery. My 13 year old Fred just had his eye removed 3 weeks ago. So I can feel your financial pain.

smimlitsch · 01-06-2012, 04:26 AM

I hate to be a fool on this wonderful site but I can not figure out how to put my boys picture up next to my name. Can someone help me? Please

Mikey T · 01-06-2012, 09:57 AM

Quote:

I can not figure out how to put my boys picture up next to my name.

On the black bar that runs across the to click on User CP then on the left side click on edit user picture and follow instruction about upload photo

12-08-2011, 02:35 PM	#22 (permalink)
missourikatehoundmom Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 1	I joined just to tell you I had the same problem & was told to have him put down also-- I could not do that, took him to a chiropractor and after a few visits he walked out the door fine. I live in Missouri and have a wonderful chiropractor vet in Adrian,Mo. Rolling Meadows Animal Hospital. Hope I am not to late, just saw your post today.

12-10-2011, 10:44 PM	#23 (permalink)
farley baby Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Posts: 1	this is happening to my bassett whos 11 right now. Was fine on Friday at supper, by 7 that night we has having problems controlling his hind legs. toes curling under and the samw leg folding in on him. It was obvious tha he was in pain. We took him to the emergency vet clinic and was told that they expected IVDD (intervertebral disc desease) They put him on pain meds and said to confine him to a cage. My farley has never been caged so that out of the question. he does just stay on his bed and hardly moves. he's still able to go outside to go potty with help down and up the 2 stairs on the deck. he's eating and drinking still but I am having a very hard time dealing with the fact that he's in pain. I'm sleeping on the sofa beside his bed at night. the vet said he may need surgury if no improvement in 2 weeks, I just can not afford the surgery. I'm still paying off a bill at the vets for dental surgery. I cry as I type this as I think if that things don't improve with his mobility and pain that I'll have to put him down. I call him my little senoir citizen. I've had him since he's been 7 weeks old. This is my third Bassett

01-05-2012, 10:00 PM	#25 (permalink)
badhatharry Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Bakersfield CA Posts: 9	I had this happen to a dachshund twice. The first time, it wasn't that drastic. We confined her to a small penned in area, and gave her steroids. She got better in a couple of weeks. The second time, she had absolutely no use of her hind quarters. We had to literally push the waste out of her. With some confinement and steroids, she came through that time as well. It just took longer. Just keep your dog immobilized and wait it out.

01-06-2012, 04:26 AM	#26 (permalink)
smimlitsch Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 40	The same thing happened to my Walter about 2 years ago. It turned out to be a tumor on his spine. surgery went well but it was very costly. Around 4,000.00. He jsut turned 12 on the 27th of december and believe it or not he has survived 2 TPLO surgeries to. If at all possible have the surgery. My 13 year old Fred just had his eye removed 3 weeks ago. So I can feel your financial pain.

01-06-2012, 04:26 AM	#27 (permalink)
smimlitsch Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Posts: 40	I hate to be a fool on this wonderful site but I can not figure out how to put my boys picture up next to my name. Can someone help me? Please

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