[Mikey T]

Would her back not hurt though?

not at all the disk materal ruptures ito the spinal cord so there is no pain in the back. When a basset drags a leg it is typical a back issue general with leg issue the dog will limp or hold the leg up. but pain in one area of the leg is more indicitive of a leg injury than a back issue.

In any case you are better off with complete crate rest and when the dog need to go out help her mobility by supporting the rear end with a towel swing. Till you can see the vet Also keep in mind the prognose for recovery from a back injury improves the sooner treatment is adminstered if you have an emergency vet you may want to consider it.


Also keep in mind soft tissue injuries often heal much slower and less completely than a broken bone so often times the oh it just a strain/sprain is a worse diagnose than a broken bone.

 

[Mikey T]

hopefully a trip to the vet isn't needed.

One needs to keep in mind the nature of dwarf breeds disk and how they herniated when making a decission on whether a vet vist is in order.

1. in a case of sever acute trauma a disk can ruputre caatistophically causing neary instantanious paraylisys and posible loss of deep pain.

2 in type two herniation is more of a chronic problem trauma cause a little herniation that cause some nerve damage on the scale as little as one cell at a time the dogs neverious system learns to compensate until finially there is no function left but often times with very little to no signs of a problem. In this case surgery and medical intervention is tool late. however if surgery is performed before the loss of function occurs this alloy the disk matera to escape without putting pressure on the spinal cord and prevent further loss of nerves.

The dog age become part of the deal as well in an older dog you may not want ti subject him to surgery also keep in mind if it is the back aggressive medical treatment with steriods and other medication can prevent and reduce further nerve damage the occurs over time at a trauma site

so ther are ligitimet reason to see a vet even if it appear the dog is recovering, but there are a lot of extenuating circumstances as well

see Canine Intervertebral Disk Disease

Disk herniations have been classified according to the way in which the herniation occurs. Type I herniation (see figure below) refers to a large tear in the annulus allowing a large quantity of nucleus pulposus to escape, usually in an acute and profound way. The majority of this type of herniation occurs in the chondrodystrophic breeds but can be caused in any breed by extreme physical activity or trauma. Type II herniation (see figure below) refers to small partial tears in the annulus fibrosus which allow nuclear material to escape into the annular area resulting in bulges with only occasional actual "escapes" of nuclear material outside the annulus fibrosus. Type II herniations are the most common type seen in fibroid degenerating disks but can occur in chondroid degenerating disks as well. Typically these herniations are more insidious than the type I herniation.

When injury occurs, a chain of metabolic events is set into motion which, if allowed to go unchecked, can result in irreversible damage to the spinal cord. The spinal cord is extremely sensitive to a lack of oxygen and glucose, its only energy sources, which can only be delivered by a viable vascular supply. Consequently, if vascularity is compromised by disruption or occlusion, the spinal cord starts to die. The degree and reversibility of this damage depend on the length of time the spinal cord goes without proper oxygen and glucose delivery and the degree of actual physical derangement of neurologic tissue that occurs. When the spinal cord dies it liquifies. This liquified state is called malacia. Once that occurs, nothing can reverse the process

...
Proprioceptive (position sense) nerve fibers are the largest and therefore the most susceptible to pressure. Proprioceptive losses can be seen with only slight amounts of pressure applied to the spinal cord. Clinically proprioceptive deficits are recognized as incoordination (ataxia). If proprioceptive losses are the only ones identified on the neurologic examination, the prognosis is usually good and less aggressive therapy is usually adequate.