Calvin had back surgery

[Yolie]

Hello everyone. It has been forever since I have logged in or even been able to read about what is going on here. Unfortunetly life as usual has gotten in the way. I was sick and had surgery (I am fine now), have been taking care of my 85 year old mother who had surgery two weeks ago and now Calvin had back surgery for two ruptured discs on Tuesday 4/5.

He was playing ball and jumped and fell. The doctor said that when he jumped he probably did it and that made him fall. This happened on Sunday afternoon and we didn't take him to emergency cause although he seemed a little sore, he was walking around, wagging his tail, eating, pooping, all the normal stuff. We didn't think he was emergent. Monday he still didn't seem quite right but was otherwise happy so we took him to the vet. We didn't get to see our normal vet since we were a fit in. The doctor examined him and was twisting and moving him around quite hard. She sent him home with pain meds and muscle relaxers since she said he didn't seem too bad.

About 2 hours later, he started walking around drunk. And then his back legs were going out on him, and then he was having problems standing. I rushed him back to the vet, she looked at him and sent us to the surgery center. The neurologist looked at him and said she wanted to keep him over night since he was still walking, had motor skills etc. She said if it got worse he would need surgery if he got better it would be crate rest. Well we got the call early the next morning that he was worse and he had surgery at noon.

He came home Thursday night, and according to today's visit is doing great. He is wagging his tail a little, is pushing off his left leg a bit, and can stand for a split second, but still no walking and he has a catheter in. He seems happy, is alert and growling at the squirrels he can see from the window. He is of course pissed that he is in a pen.

So the real question is, how do I hold it together? I am beyond stressed and I can't get the thought out of my head that he was walking and fine before his exam. I know I will get through this and will do whatever Calvin needs me to but man... when it rains it pours. I keep looking at my other kids (Scarlett and Marley) and telling them please do not get hurt for at least another 6 months as Calvin has ate through the medical fund (which I had saved up for this exact situation).

Please send good thoughts and a quick recovery to Calvin, I just pray he will be able to walk again, and thank you for justing letting me get this out (of course if this was a letter I was writing it would be all wet from my tears-I know trying to hold it together....).

yolie

[Opaleyz]

I'm so sorry about Calvin & about how stressed out & scared you must be right now. But you're taking care of him and he will be okay.

Sending lots of prayers & :bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz:

hang in there :hug99:

[Lisa]

Welcome back! I am sorry it wasn't under better circumstances.

I have been through two back traumas. Pogo had surgery and Pixel was treated with conservative care (steroids and tramadol). My real and true advice is take one day at a time. I know it seems simple, but it is so hard and you feel like crate rest will never end. You HAVE to keep him crated and only take him out for potty breaks. Surgery dogs are different than conservative treatment because the material has been removed from the spinal cord. You should have been give very specific exercises to do with him and when to start them.

Also because you have other dogs, my concern was Pogo is the alpha and was in a weaken state, so I was always cautious about protecting him from the other 3 as well.

I would ask your vet for a referral to a good rehab center in a couple of weeks. They should be able to give you lots of tips and special exercises to do with him. It is not for the disc, but for the nerves and muscles that support the back. For example, you might see some muscle loss in his butt area, once he is healed you need to work on that. Swimming, cycle exercises, leg splits will help with that. Also acupuncture is great for helping re-build the connection from the legs to the brain.

Finally, do not expect too much too soon, I thought walking was walking, but it is not. Grass and carpet come pretty quickly, but tile and ceramic are very difficult for them to master.

Most important thing is to try to get over the guilt (it has been a couple of years for Pogo and I still carry it), and just give him the time he needs to heal. Crate rest, crate rest, crate rest. Even though they don't like it, it is a safe small secure place for them to heal.

:bigrayz: :hug99: :bigrayz: :hug99: :bigrayz: :hug99:

[lotsadox]

Welcome back!

I totally agree with everything that Lisa has said. Especially one day at a time. It's the only way to keep you sanity. Don't start going the "what if" route. You don't know what might or might not have happened and it will make you crazy. Just do the very best for Calvin that you can now.

Keeping them on crate rest until fully healed so they can't reinjure themselves is crucial. I've been thru this 3 times. Once with a surgery and twice with meds and rest. All three dogs recovered even though one was 13 and one was 15 when they had problems.

The crate rest can be excruciating. Especially is the dog is very vocal about it. With Bogart, I used a stroller so that I could move him around the house with me and not have him loose where he could hurt himself. As long as he was near me, he was fine and pretty happy.

I also put his crate near the bed so he could see me at night. He was not used to be crated and wanted to be in the bed at night, but was okay with the crate next to the bed after a couple nights.

Dodger's List is an invaluable resource for anyone with a dog with back problems. http://www.dodgerslist.com/

Good luck and we're here when you need us. It can be overwhelming and I found that just knowing someone was out there who understood helped a lot. :hug99::hug99::hug99::bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz:

[HokieMom]

Sending lots of :bigrayz::bigrayz: for Calvin and couple of big :hug99::hug99: for you!

[Yolie]

Thank you everyone. I feel 100 times better today. I was falling apart yesterday and I think I got a little too overwhelmed. I knew coming back here would provide help as I don't feel so alone anymore since unfortunelty many of you have also gone through this as well.

Yes we will absolutely follow crate rest and the exercies and massage for his hind quarters. He hates being crated but I don't care how loud he screams and he will cause Calvin is such a high energy dog, its ruff and he is beyond mad. He is making his hey I am alone and sick over here bark/whine/scream whenever he can't see us. And I know it is not pain, cause he is using the same whine he used when he was well and got locked out of the bedroom :-).

I was wondering about the stroller Patrice. I was going to ask the doctor about that. We have an apt tomorrow and I have a ton of questions. All in all he is doing really well.

I know I cannot compare but how long was it before Pogo and Bogart started standing or walking on their own?

Also thank you Lisa for the alpha dog mention. Calvin is more alpha than Marley, and Marley doesnt have it in him to be alpha but they have fought twice so I will keep an eye on that to make sure nothing funny goes on.

Thank you everyone for your support. It's gonna be a long month (or more).

yolie

[Lisa]

We used a harness and sling on him for a long time. I know it was probably two weeks before he could fully support himself, but again, that is not the back, it is the muscles and nerves that support the body that need to be rebuilt. We followed the vets and his PT's advice to a T and I know his progress was fast - not compared to other dogs, just he once he started improving, we saw improvement every single day.

I know Amy put a crate on a metal utility cart so she could wheel Laika from room to room so she was always with her. If you go to the beginning of this forum (IVDD), I think Tex's Jax was first, then Amy's Laika, then Pogo, the Gunner and you can read how they progressed. We all documented our adventures with surgery.

Just an FYI, Pogo is perfect now. He is 10 and his surgery was 3 years ago December and he really is doing great. Laika is back to doing no-jump agility (which makes me teary when I think of how incredible she is)!! Every other pup mentioned above is also doing great. So don't focus so much on OMG, it is week 2 why isn't he walking...it will come and it will happen fast. You will go from having to just use a sling to using a sling and a harness because the litter bugger will be trying to take off on you :)

I did post some pictures on using a sling and harness in one of the stickies.

I would also like to recommend this (http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3093699&lmdn=Dog+Beds) type crate pad. It was recommended to me and I think made a big difference. It properly supports their weight and prevents bed sores. I put a really soft microfiber blanket on top of it.

[Yolie]

Hi Lisa, thanks for the reply. I will go to the thread and find the progress of everyone, I must say just hearing that is encouraging.

For the crate pad, I had already got him an orthopedic pad. It looks a little thicker than the one you mentioned but it is soft and supportive like the one you showed. I thought that would be better than just the flat mat the crates normally come with.

Also he is not in a "crate" yet. We took one of our 4x4 xpens and made it small, we checked with the doctor first and she said that was fine. Right now I am ok with this as me and my husband are taking turns working from home next week so we can monitor him, but my concern is of course as he feels better (and knowing Calvin) he may try and get out of it since it has no top. So I purchased a medium crate yesterday. I am hoping its not too big (he is only 10 pounds but the small looked so tiny). I will check with the doctor tomorrow morning when he goes in for his checkup to make sure it is the right size. The orthopedic mat fits in the crate :-).

I love the idea of rolling him around with us, I think the one thing that is bugging him is that he is not with "the family" all the time and he was the center of the family and went everywhere we did.

Appriciate all the ideas! Many thanks!
yolie

[LUVMYGUNNER]

Prayers and rays for your little guy.:bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz:
My hubby had dbl. hernia operation and about the same time Gunner went down..Gunner had surgery about 2 years ago, and after we brought him home 2 days later we had to take him back cause he had pneumonia...He is doing good now..
In the crate what we did he has memory foam and we covered it with a plastic garbage bag and taped it closed with duck tape then put the memory foam in a pillow case and on top of the pillow case we put a pee pee pad then his blankies---that helped save with washing everything constantly if he had an accident..which he did the first few days..

[nerdrock]

You can also attach wheels and a handle to your crate so you can bring it around with you. We did this with two crates that we have for dog shows.

The first one we did it with was a large plastic one (the one that Fynn was shipped to us in). We got the wheels at Home Depot (I think), then flipped the crate on it's top and marked where we needed to drill on the bottom. We screwed them on so that the part where you screw the nut thing is facing down, so there was nothing that the dogs could hurt themselves on on the inside. The screws are pretty flush with the bottom of the crate, and they have a pad in there. We took the handle off of a wagon that we found during spring cleaning, we attached it to the top and put the screws in the same way as for the wheels (nuts on the outside of the crate). We should have put the handle on the bottom, it was a bit too long/high, but it worked.

For the metal one, we just use zip ties to put the wheels and handle on (a lot of them) because it's the same crate that they use at home and I don't need it rolling around then.

[lotsadox]

It can be totally overwhelming at first. It takes time to absorb all of the info that's out there.

I had great luck with the stroller. Mine was a pet stroller so it was basically a crate on wheels and a bit taller so that it was easier to get him in and out of. All I had to do was put the top down and lift him out. He was perfectly happy in it as long as he could be with me. :hearts:

Since Bogart was older and having some problems with incontinence before the back problems, in his crate I used a regular foam crate pad (about 1") thick and then 2 fleece pads on top with a potty pad in between so that only one would get wet and have to be washed. That seemed to work well. The Diane's Dream fleece pads ared thick and soft but very supportive and last forever. I"m still using them. I just put a pee pad and one fleece in the stroller. I used a medium crate for Bogart and he was about 11 lbs so that should be fine.

My dog that had surgery was Amanda. She was about 9 at the time and since I was not saavy at all about back problems, I didn't get her into the neuro as soon as I would now. It took her forever to start walking again after the surgery. It wasn't until we did some swimming with her and got her back legs moving and the nerves and muscles going that she walked. Don't get discouraged some dogs take longer than others. As I remember (it was about 12 or 14 years ago), it took her about 4 weeks to walk. But she did walk and ran and did very well. She lived to be 17 years old also :)

[Alex's Mom]

Lots of great advice given, and it's been so long since I had a dog with back problems, that I've forgotten a lot, so not much help to you, excpet to say that my Maxe first went down when she was 6, and in those days (21 years ago), surgery was NOT an option in this neck of the woods. It was the conservative crate treatment all the way, and she was fine as long as she was with me when I was home. She had relapses a few times, but lived to 15 and was completely mobile up until the end. I also have to add that the washable pee pads are da bomb. They're not cheap to start with (you can get them at human medical supply stores, or really well equipped pharmacies), but I've been using the same ones for almost 10 years, so they do last (I AM an expert in pee pad usage...stupid dogs :mad4: :rolleyes: ). You have a lot on your plate, but hang in there, cuz it WILL get better! Keep us posted, ok? Tons of :bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz: and :hug99::hug99:.

[LexieLuvr]

Yes, lots of great advice given. I second going to www.dodgerslist.com -- they have run into about anything you can think of, and have advice and great suggestions. Take it ONE DAY AT A TIME!! I've had dachsies for over 25 years, and only had one other with back surgery, until my Jack went down. I was a basket case!!! Do take it one day at a time. You need lots of patience; we put Jack's crate on a "long" dolly and wheeled him from room to room so he could be where I was. He wasn't thrilled, but he was relatively satisfied. They all begin to walk at different times, so don't expect it to be a strict "2 weeks" or "4 weeks" or anything else. I kept Jack on crate rest probably 10 weeks or so, just to be safe, after his surgery. Now he's jumping around like he always could -- he is still very reticent about walking on tile and other slippery surfaces, however, so we have runners all over the place. It looks crummy, but I don't care. Hang in there and don't overreact like so many of us do! Please PM me if you have any specific questions and I'll be happy to help as much as I can.:bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz:

[Rae]

totally recommend the stroller. Duchie's sved our relationship. She has terrible separation anxiety and gets FREAKEd when she can't see her mommy. The stroller fixed all that. Cooking? roll her into the kitchen. Laundry, roll her to the utility room. yard chores or just hanging out? roll her out inthe yard.


all good.

good luck, sweetie.

[Yolie]

Wow, lots of great information. I wouldn't have thought of half of this stuff on my own, which is why I knew I needed to get my myself back here and get some support. You guys are great!

Here is Calvin's update so far. It has been 1 week since his surgery and he seems to be doing really well. Catherter came out yesterday, and it was too early so we had to take him back in today to get the catheter put back in as he is not urinating on his own yet. He is starting to wag his tail, and he can push himself up for a second or tow to get around his pen. His left leg is definetly stronger than his right. Once we position him he can stand on his own for quite some time. I have a little soft thin scarf that I use to support him and he really doesnt need it. He is making the movements in his upper back legs when he tries to walk but his little toes still drag. And today when he went poop he tried to get himself in the normal poop position and supported himself crouching with his own legs (I was there to make sure that he didn't fall in his own poop of course-which he almost did.).

He is BEYOND pissed that he is in a pen. And although most of the time he is really good, he has screamed bloody murder more than a few times like nobody's business.:rotfl:

I am amazed at how well my other two are behaving. They put thier noses up to the pen and smell Calvin and they wag their tails. We put them in their own pen when it is time to take Calvin potty and and they wait outside the bedroom door when we do his exercises and they patiently wait until we are done with him. I am trying to do my best at praising them and making sure they are not forgotten while we are getting Calvin healthy again.

[LUVMYGUNNER]

Prayers and rays for your sweet boy.:bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz:

[lotsadox]

It sounds like Calvin is doing really well :cheer3::cheer3::cheer3: And, of course, being a true dachshund (screaming :rolleyes:).

Sending more :bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz:

[bittyup]

Poor Calvin.Lots and lots of get better rayz:bigrayz::bigrayz::bigrayz:Keep us posted.:hug99: