Just back from the vet.

[camakazee]

Well, while watching the very end of the Lakers/Magic game I got a very unfortunate surprise.

My dog was scratching on the door to come back in and when I went to get the door she was on her ass trying to keep her balance. I let her back in and she was having problems standing up and kept falling. Her back was arched and her back legs were wobbling and bowed out. I was calling around to see what vet offices were open 24/7 or in the morning hours and she went to go down to my room and fell down the stairs

It didn't appear to worsen anything, but it was hell getting her carrier and moving her out to my car. I finally got it all together and went to an emergency clinic about 15 miles away.

Three hours and $600 later I find out she has disc problems. They need to run more tests to see if they're ruptured or not (if so, could require surgery). Anyway, she's getting shots there every two hours til 8, then I have to get her and take her to the regular vet to continue cortisone shots. Hopefully within the next two-three days her condition gets better with the shots, but there's a chance it could worsen. There's also a chance that if the pain medication makes her feel better and she chases something haphazardly, she could be paralyzed.

Does anyone else have experience with dogs that have/had bad discs? It also may be degenerative disc disease if anyone of you are familiar with that (I'm not). Sorry if this went on a little long, just wanted to ask around/vent. It's been a long/shitty night.

 

[Nicky]

I'm sorry to hear that. Just curious, what type of dig do you have?

Years ago, I had a chow/husky mix (Neko). And he fell, courtesy of the assistant to the vet, turns out he had hip displacement. There was a surgery option, but it was close to a 50/50 that it would work. Sadly, my mother decided to have him put down. :sad:

It's a difficult decision, I'd honeslty hate to have to make that decision. My mothers was based on the financial point and the fact that it wasn't certain.

I hope your dog pulls through.

 

[3 Da Hard Way]

that sucks man

hope for a full recovery....i don't have any experience with this, what kind of dog do you have? my mom is in love with Dashunds and she has 2, I know they're prone to those type of injuries and you want to try and limit their jumping from stuff as much as possible

i pray we don't have any problems....i hate to see animals sick and suffer, and we def don't have that type of money for a vet

 

[camakazee]

I'm sorry to hear that. Just curious, what type of dig do you have?

Years ago, I had a chow/husky mix (Neko). And he fell, courtesy of the assistant to the vet, turns out he had hip displacement. There was a surgery option, but it was close to a 50/50 that it would work. Sadly, my mother decided to have him put down. :sad:

It's a difficult decision, I'd honeslty hate to have to make that decision. My mothers was based on the financial point and the fact that it wasn't certain.

I hope your dog pulls through.

Thanks a lot. Sorry to hear about your dog.

Mine is mutt, not even about to pretend like I know what her mix is. Someone brought a box of about 8 puppies to my mom's work about six years ago. They found them on the side of the street abandoned. My mom has always had a big heart so she adopted one of them. She was a flea-ridden pooch, no longer than 8 inches at the time. A few vet visits later, however, she has been fine ever since. I keep thinking there's no way that she'll be paralyzed or even need surgery because she's been a soldier ever since we got her. Only time will tell.

 

[A Minnow Frenzy]

Sorry to hear that. These animals can become like children to us and they fall apart so fast on us sometimes. I read that the hundreds of breed mixing is really a disservice to the animal because theyre varying weight and structures do not go well together. My niece has a mastiff that are not commonly known to exceed eight years because their rib cage cannot with stand the weight and somehow their stomachs get turned around and they suffer. It's also very common on larger/medium breeds to have hip and spinal problems as they grow older. I hope for the best for you and your pet. They are hard to lose if you are as close to em like I am mine. I can't live without a dog personally.

 

[The Oi]

Hopefully within the next two-three days her condition gets better with the shots, but there's a chance it could worsen.

Did they suggest or have you considered crating for extended periods of time until you're assured that this won't be an issue? Two options that came to my mind immediately would be

(1) crating her while you're gone to assure she's not running around and risking it
(2) when you take her outside, take her to a very secluded place where she won't have enough stimulation to chase anything. Perhaps even driving out there if need be. Keep her leashed once you get out there to control her.
(3) If she likes to run around at home (which would be risky) when you take her out of the crate, keep her inside a room where she won't be able to move around as much.

Obviously that all sounds awful and would go against anything you'd want to do to keep a dog happy. But fact of the matter is, she doesn't know any better and protecting her from herself may be what saves her.

I'm no vet but those are things that came to mind.

 

[chiefwahoo]

Sorry to hear about this cam, but hopefully things improve. I've honestly never heard of that in a dog, but of course I'm no expert.

I have a mutt (I believe his mix is boxer and ridgeback) and he has bilateral hip dysplasia. He used to walk keeping his back legs very stiff because of the pain in his hips, but we were able to get him to lose a few pounds and walk him regularly now and he's doing much better. He still shows signs of pain every once in a great while, but he is a very active 5-year-old that shows no real effects of his condition. But I'm sure somewhere down the line we may have to look into some costly surgery and I'm not looking forward to it.

I agree with Jigo, sometimes dogs are their own worst enemies. Keeping her crated might be the only thing that works for her own well-being and recovery. My dog has created quite a few problems on his own over the years... nosing around in the middle of a bunch of bees and getting stung multiple times... ripping open his own stitches (both legs) when he had his dewclaws removed... he even fell out of the window of my Jeep (while I was driving) when he was a pup because he was so excited to be in the car. Dogs are amazing and fun and worth all the energy it requires to own them, but they are not smart when it comes to taking care of themselves. I hope everything works out for your girl because they truly are a member of the family. And painful as it is when the vet bills pile up, you have to do what you can to make sure they are healthy and pain-free.

 

[camakazee]

Thanks for all the support guys.

Today was a lot less promising than I had hoped it would be. The vet begin treating her with prednisone, but said the medication may not help at all (so far it hasn't). She suggested taking her to Pittsburgh or Akron to get a myelogram to see if the discs are ruptured. If this is the case it may require a $3,000 surgery which may or may not be completely effective. Unfortunately, if this is the case, we'll probably have to just put her down.

It just really sucks considering she's only six and hasn't had any problems before.

 

[cdt]

Thats tough man, I sympathize with you big time. I know how it feels to lose a dog...they become a member of the family. Thoughts and prayers with you and good luck with whatever decision you make.

 

[ChicagoCavFan]

Very sorry to hear of your hardship camakazee. The emotional roller coaster and the thought process you must be experiencing have to be excruciating. I love dogs, and have gone through 2 passing on in my lifetime so far. Thoughts and prayers are coming your way.

 

[camakazee]

Thanks again, guys.

I'm back to being a bit hopeful because she's finally settled down and now shes resting with her eyes closed, which is the first time she hasn't been panting heavily and trying to walk around since before it happened. I guess it will take 4-7 days to see if the medication is having an effect, so hopefully she begins walking better by then, but now it's all up her getting some much needed rest.

I forgot to tell the best part of the tale from last night when I was trying to get her upstairs to her carrier. The damn thing is huge and barely fits down the stairs so I attempted to gently lift her from the bottom to carry her upstairs (found out you're not supposed to do that anyway) and before I could even get her off the ground she Mike Tysoned my ear. She has never bit me before so I can only imagine the pain she was in. I'll try and get an update later this week if she's looking better. Thanks again.

 

[The Oi]

How big is the dog?

 

[camakazee]

How big is the dog?

48 pounds.

 

[MikeOC33]

You have no idea how much my wife and I feel your hurt and feelings of fear.... we had a similiar situation, except things did not turn out so well.

Our dog was a keeshound, in good shape but 14 years old and with diabetes. I don't think the diabetes had anything to do with her ailment. Anyway, one morning while my wife was getting ready for work, I heard her let out a wail. I hurried into the front room and she was laying on the floor. I don't know what, but obviously I thought something happened to her til I saw she was laying over the dog, holding the dog and sobbing.

The dog had similiar symptoms as yours... her back legs wouldn't work right, she was very wobbly, and had major difficulties just standing. We thought she had a diabetic reaction, so we gave her some pancake syrup (fyi- for a diabetic dog, just rub it on their gums... they will swallow it and it has enough sugar to snap them back in just a few minutes). Anyway, no effect. She wasn't in obvious discomfort, hadn't thrown up or lost her bowels, so I took her outside and helped her try to walk around a bit. One of the many sad things that day was, even in her condition, since I had her leash on, she thought we were going for a walk and she was 100% ready to roll... even tho she couldn't walk two steps in a row without staggering. Leash means walk... let's GO!

My wife called the vet, but they didn't open for another hour.... so we kept the dog lying easy, and got to the vet as soon as they opened.

The vet did a really interesting test, which unfortunately had very bad results that were obvious to us both... while the vet asst. help support the dog standing up, the vet flipped the dogs back paws one at a time backwards.... so that the dog's weight was on the back of the paw and not the pad. Obviously a dog would immediately flip its paw right side up so the pads were on the floor... our dog didn't. Neither back paw. It just stood there resting on its upside down paw. As soon as I saw that, I knew it was a bad situation gone terrible.

The vet did other tests but her conclusion was that something "broke" between her little doggie brain and her hindquarters... and it seemed to be progressing forward. Maybe a stroke. She wasn't sure. She said that they could try other tests, and other treatments, but she was not optimistic. We knew the other choice. She gave us time to talk, cry and hold the dog... you know the rest.

We'll never know what really happened, but I'm glad your doggie is starting to maybe respond to treatment. Many pet owners know that pets aren't the same as children... but when you have a good house pet for a long time... you become very in tune with the pets needs and timing and quirks. My wife still breaks down crying when she comes home and opens the door and the silly little thing isn't there overjoyed to see her. I still catch myself looking for dog poop to dodge when I mow the back yard. We'll get another pooch at some point... when its right, but for now, I wish you good luck with your poochie. Dogs are amazing companions. I often tell my wife that I am the most stable person in her life.... after the doggie died, she said (not in a mean way), that actually Kaley was the most stable creature in her life. The doggie was always there, always happy to see her... no matter what her mood or how bad her day was, she knew the doggie would greet her with a dancing, tale wagging, barking, I-sure-am-glad-to-see-you greeting. And I had to admit, that's more than I can say for myself. Good luck, I really hope things turn out for you and the poochie.

 

[theSwayze]

rough stuff Cama, I realy hope it all turns out alright... my Bulldog (Boris) has done something similar to his back twice now (slipped a disk/enflamed cartilage) and has fully recovered both times. The Pregnazone can take awhile to take effect, took Boris about 2 days to be up and about again and he was still stiff for a week. I'll toast to better canine spinal health tonight for you and your friend.