My dog is hurt

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

In July of 2000, we went to visit my husband’s brother and wife, and left with two little Dachshund puppies. They had already named them Shadow and Piss-&-Vineager, but as I couldn’t picture myself yelling that out the window when I wanted her to come in, I changed her name to Pretzel. Do you remember that book?

I DID NOT WANT THESE DOGS. We had just built a new house and I was upset about the puppy messes. They made all of the little messes one would expect, barked at the neighbors, chewed my shoes, the carpet, and Kleenex, tipped over trash baskets, and so on.

After a while I noticed Pretzel followed me around a lot. She seemed to like me. I supposed these silly little dogs were sort of cute.

Time went on, as it does. Pretzel’s favorite spot was wherever I was. They played together, growling and snapping, then curled up together and slept. Shadow snored. Pretzel opened her eyes every now and again to make sure I hadn’t gone anywhere. I decided that I loved them, even though they both liked to poop behind the living room chair.

My computer time was Pretzel’s computer time. She kept me warm many nights as I E-Bayed and caught lots of tears on the top of her head when I felt sad. She didn’t mind. Shadow kept my feet warm. She snored even louder and ran in her sleep. I didn’t mind.

Pretzel died this last April and broke my heart. I never understood the strong bond that exists between people and dogs until then. Her back went out, and we found out too late that in this particular doxie family that is all too common. We tried everything and in the end had to let her go.

I still cry over Pretzel.

Shadow’s back went out this past Thursday. It takes so little. We still don’t know what happened to Pretzel, but with Shadow, she was playing with our puppy (also a dachshund) and yelped. I held her and talked to her, and after looking into her eyes I insisted we go to the vet’s. We spent Thursday evening there, and the x-rays don’t look great. There are calcium deposits between four of the vertebrae in her back, giving her a good potential to have bulging disks. She is limping and drags her left hind foot. We have steroids, muscle relaxers, and Pepcid to give her. She’s on bed rest so that’s where we put her - in our bed. One of us is with her 24/7.

I’m not letting this one go without a fight! If anyone knows of a good therapy or treatment for a doxie dog, let me know. I’m applying a heating pad to her back for 20 minutes at a time and she’s on total bed rest. My bed LOL.

Thank you for reading this.

hugs,
Karen

2

I don’t have any medical advice for you but I will say I’m sorry you’re having to go through this. Here’s hoping Shadow-wennie gets better.

3

I don’t know anything about doxies or dog spines or therapy but Dolly and I say best wishes to little Shadow.

4

Best wishes for you and yours.
Strength and courage.

5

I am sorry to hear your news. Sending supporting thoughts your way.

6

Hope things go well. It is amazing how furry things can make a home in your heart.

{{{purple haze}}}

and very gentle hugs to Shadow.

7

My kitties and I wish you the very best, and they’ve promised to stop dog-hating for 10 minutes a day in Shadow’s honor. We’ll see how long that lasts.

Best of luck to you and your baby.

8

Do you have a vet school near you? They’ll have a neurologist who can examine your pup and advise you. The neurologist at the vet school near us says that dachshunds are ‘frequent flyers’ there - ‘a doxie a day,’ she says. So it’s very likely the one near you will have lots of experience in treating that breed.

9

hugs you and your dog and sends best thoughts and wishes your way

10

I wish I had some miracle words of wisdom for you and Shadow, but all I can say is I am truly sorry to hear about this , and I hope with all my heart that you can find a way for your baby to remain comfortable with you.

I know the bond shared between dog and owner is a wonderful, magical thing. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers, and please keep us updated.

11

Shadow kept getting worse, so we took her to the vet’s Tuesday and they admitted her to their little hospital. She was given IV steroids and vitamin C (DH and I had read that that might be helpful). We finally got to take her home tonight. They said that she needs surgery, but the cost will be at least $4,000 and there are no guarantees. :frowning:

I can’t tell you how many times I wanted to go and visit but I think it was best to stay away. It’s too upsetting to stop by and have to leave again. You can’t explain to a dog that you’re trying to do what’s best.

It’s already cost us over $700 for checkups, medication, and her stay at the vet. We’re falling behind on the bills. :frowning: I’m going to look around the house and find things to sell on E-Bay.

Anyhow, she’s home now and we need to keep her in her kennel for two weeks, not moving. Her back legs are completely useless and it’s so sad. Two good things - she can wag her tail a little bit, and she still can go to the bathroom. You should see me trying to help her go outside! I hold her back torso up and her front legs walk along a few paces until she finds a good spot. Then she “goes for it”. Last night it was dark and I wasn’t sure if she was going because she can’t squat, so I put my hand under her.

Yep, she was going. :smack:

I’ve found a web site called the Dachshund back digest and it has some good information. Right now she needs to rest and then we can try some therapies. I hope this is worth it and we get some movement back. Pretzel (her sister) had to be euthanized and I want to give Shadow a chance to have some sort of meaningful life. She was overjoyed to be home, and it was mutual. My husband and I and our two kids all loved on her and she made her happy noises.

I don’t know if this even interests anyone but I feel better to vent. Please go and hug your dog, cat, rat, etc. But not your fish or porcupine or snapping turtle, or anything.

Keep your fingers crossed and send a prayer out for my girl. I hope to come back with better news in time.

12

It interests me. I have been wondering how she was doing, so I thank you for the update.

I am still praying for a full recovery for your baby. It really sucks when we are so helpless to make them feel better. ((((hugs))))

13

Our little doxie had the same problem about 18 months ago. We took her in and they prescribed crate rest for 6 weeks. We weren’t that diligent about it because she was doing better, but then one day she couldn’t move her legs anymore. We took her back to the vet, and they said the surgery was the only option, with about a 50% chance of success.

While we could not really afford the surgery, we were fortunate enough that it was an option. We went ahead and had it done. For the next six months or so, whe really didn’t have any control of her bowels or bladder. Then it started to come back, very slowly. It was a long, hard recovery period, and if my wife was not a stay at home mom, it would not have been possible.

She had a lot of trouble with skin abrasions and infections from dragging herself around, and also soiling herself. She has a pretty much permanent urinary tract infection, the can be controlled with one antibiotic, but not eradicated. This is because she cannot fully empty her bladder on her own. We have to press on her belly when she pees to help get it all out.

We had to do water therapy 3x a week, and lots of towel walking (supporting her back half with a towel while she learned to move her legs again) for about the first 9 months.

Now that it’s been about 18 months, she can mostly walk, and control her bodily functions. I love her to death, but I am still not sure it was the right choice, mostly for the effects it had on her.

14

I’ve been hearing about a lot of success stories with hydrotherapy. A lot of veterinarians are adding physical therapy to their practices. It might be worth a try.