Paralysed Dachshund

[KKDD]

Last Sunday my 9 year old mini dachshund Valentino slipped a disk in his spine. One of my other dachshy's, Toasty, has had 3 slipped discs requiring surgery each time so I imediately knew what was happening. Anyway, Valentinos was pretty bad, he had quickly lost all function below the slip (legs, bowels, bladder) but I took him to the specialist and he underwent major surgery on Monday, to releive the pressure on his spinal cord - which was causing the paralysis. It cost nearly $4000 but his prognosis was apparently good. Its now 6 days post surgery, and Valentino doesnt appear to have improved at all. He still has no use at all in the hind legs, no control of his bowels and Im having to manually empty his bladder. I dont think hes in much discomfort though and his appetite is good.

When Toasty had her surgery, each time she had bladder control and was beginning to gain the use of her legs again after 3 or 4 days, and while I understand hers was excellent progress, im wondering if others have had dogs with similar surgery, who took a while to show any response to it at all?

Im giving Valentino physiotherapy for about 30 minutes on each leg each day - stretching and retracting them, and taking him for 'walks' holding his body up in a sling so his forelegs can trundle along, to encourage him to get his back legs involved. Does anyone have any other sorts of exersises or activities I can do with Valentino to promote healing? He really wants to walk - drags himself around at every opportunity (and has given himself a pressure sore on his bottom as a result).

[Dogsfevr]

My dachy had this surgery many years ago.It took 9 months for him to start rewalking.Her never fully regained full toilet control.

We wrapped his back hocks to give more strength & did the physio & walked him as much as possible using a sheet made with leg cut outs.We did have a cart which he hated but it still exercised his front which he needed.

Personally i would never have done the surgery & it was done without our permission(long story there)

[KKDD]

Thanks settrlvr - thats encouraging. I too wouldnt undertake such dramatic surgery if the prognosis for recovery hadnt been so good - and if I hadbnt seen such excellent results with my other dachsys surgery. She too never regained full bowel control but shes mostly pretty good and has a happy healthy active life, so I can live with cleaning up the odd poo.

Its now 8 days since Valentino's surgery and he is beginning to take weight on his hind legs. No coordination or awareness at all yet but if yours took 9 months to walk, I know there is plenty of time fro improvement.

I hadnt thought of cutting the leg holes out of the sling. Thanks for the tip.

What sort of physio did you do?

[Miss Helena]

I know with humans the spinal cord/sciatic nerve takes a few months to get function back after being compressed by a bulging disc.

Sounds like your Valentino had a pretty bad problem (3 discs!) Poor thing, such a shame that daccies are prone to this...

Still early days - I'm sure he will get better. What does your vet say about things?

[KKDD]

Vet is pleased he is taking some weight on his legs. I was just worried becaseu my other dachy Toasty had major surgery to releive full paralysis on 3 seperate occasions (she has the worst spine the vet had ever seen) and each time, was beginning to walk within a week of the surgery. Valentino's recovery is looking much slower so I was worried - which is why I posted in the palliative care section. But Im less worried now that i hear others experiences with the recovery taking months.

It is a shame the breed has this problem. I have three dachshunds and all of them have had serious spinal problems. Iv been lucky in being able to fork out thousands of dollars each time its happened (mind you, we dont eat, lol) but Im sure for many dachshund owners, paralysis from a slipped disk means the end of the dog. I would think that it was possible to breed such a serious defect out.

[Sheridan]

I understand from an email list I'm on that dachshunds are often still used for hunting in Germany. It's unlikely that they'd be able to do so if they were constantly prone to putting their backs out. Since the problem appears to be largely hereditary, what are breeders doing to breed it out?

[Dogsfevr]

I have been associated through daccies in the ring for nearly 20 years.

With my boy i put it down to being around entire girls .

Whilst my boy took a long time to recover if he wasnt so fit the chances of him getting to where he did would have been zilch.

Sadly in our case the unauthorized surgery was also stuffed up

The problem isnt major as in breeding BUT the main problem is daccies who are overweight,not fit,jumping up & down things they shouldnt.

You will find very few showies with daccies that go down but lots of pets do.

The same applies to corgis aswell.To many overweight,not fit & things crash quickly.

As there long in back they need to be fit so there back muscles are strong to carry them

[KKDD]

All my dachies are fit and active, but my home is multi level so they do go up and down a fair bit. Wouldnt be any more challenging than hunting though - and surely a breed should be able to withstand an active lifestyle? The breeder I got one of my dogs from said she never gets spinal problems cos she keeps her dogs crated most of the time. That probably should have rung alarm bells for me...

Anyway, Id love to see the problem bred out as this is my favourite breed but atm Ill be reluctant to ever get another one and face the expense, worry and potential heartbreak yet again.

[Dogsfevr]

Going up & down stairs is very different to going to ground.There is w whole different type of pressure on the body

Active lifestyle yes BUT one also has to appreciate the breeds unique structure & no matter what there are activities that will place them at higher risk & thats where precautions are taken.

Stairs can affect manys breeds ,Giant breed in early development can havea an increase in joint issues from stairs.

[longdogs]

I have had dachies for over 30 years, and have had 2 with back problems. The first was my own fault, she used to go up and down a full flight of stairs many times a day. I didn't realise at the time that it was damaging her spine.

The second was my boy Basil, who I lost to heart failure earlier this year at 10 years of age.

He had 3 back episodes, none requiring surgery. Cortisone, vitamin c and crate rest got him back on his feet each time.

When a dachie descends stairs they tend to bounce down 1 step at a time because their legs are too short to be able to walk down.

This constant jarring is what does the damage.

The three major contributors to IVDD, commonly known as slipped disk, are:

#1 - It is hereditary

#2 - Being overweight

#3 - Jumping down and descending stairs

Slipped disk is an incorrect term for IVDD, the disk actually ruptures, and it is the swelling around the rupture that compresses the spinal cord to cause paralysis.

Settrlvr, you said very few showies have back problems in their dogs. Wrong, I know of heaps, all registered breeders and showies, yes they are registered breeders, but in my opinion not ethical when they knowingly breed from a bitch or use a dog at stud when they know for a fact that they carry the defective gene.

Yes, it can be bred out with very select breeding, a handful of us are trying, but when you have a large number of "breeders" who don't give a rat's, we are fighting a losing battle.

I did have it behind my dogs 12 to 15 years ago, but with very careful breeding, I am now 99% certain I have bred out the defective gene.

KKKD you said you were reluctant to get another dachie, because all 3 of yours have gone down.

It could well be that your 3 came from lines that carry the defective gene or it is because of the stairs.

If you consider getting another one, do your homework, ask plenty of questions, although some breeders are great liars, so it does make it hard.

However if you do want another one, i am more than willing to steer you towards some reputable breeders, you only have to ask.

[KKDD]

Thank you Longdogs, I will certainly contact you if I get another dachie. I do love the breed so much.

Its great to know there are breeders working towards making them healthier.

Mine very rarely go down a full flight of steps - I carry them. They do walk up them though which I thought would be ok becasue its not jarring. But our house has a lots of little changes in level so they do go down single steps several times a day unfortunately.

Valentino is going ok - still no sign of any leg control but he can empty his own bladder now and can stand, as long as I prevent him from toppling sideways. And he still thinks hes the toughest dog in the neighbourhood, even with his mum walking behind him holding his rear end up.

[longdogs]

Thank you Longdogs, I will certainly contact you if I get another dachie. I do love the breed so much.

Its great to know there are breeders working towards making them healthier.

Mine very rarely go down a full flight of steps - I carry them. They do walk up them though which I thought would be ok becasue its not jarring. But our house has a lots of little changes in level so they do go down single steps several times a day unfortunately.

Valentino is going ok - still no sign of any leg control but he can empty his own bladder now and can stand, as long as I prevent him from toppling sideways. And he still thinks hes the toughest dog in the neighbourhood, even with his mum walking behind him holding his rear end up.

That is great news about Valentino. Sounds like he will walk again if he is already able to wee and stand. It may take months, but I think he will get there.

Keep up his physio and if you are able to get him to swim, do it. It doesn't have to be a pool, the bathtub will do. Make it deep enough so he can't quite reach the bottom.

You will have to support his rear to start with, but because there is no pressure on his legs, you should find he will start to use them sooner than he would on a hard surface. It will help to build up his muscle tone.

Also give him some vitamin c daily, I recommend Ester C. Keep him on it for life, and give it to your others too. It helps to strengthen the ligaments around the spine.

If he is a mini give him 500mg daily, for a standard give 1000mg daily.

I wish you and Valentino all the best for a complete recovery.

[Rottifan]

Tips for all paralysis - keep off stairs, keep off slippery floors, keep away from other dogs knocking around....until properly fixed by a canine chiropractor

[KKDD]

Valentino has just started to move his hind legs tonight! Im soooo happy - I was beginning to doubt he would recover - its been almost 3 weeks since his surgery. But tonight he made a definite attempt to walk. Totally failed of course, but at least he doesnt have jelly legs anymore. Theres definitely light on the horizon.

yay yay yay

Edited November 6, 2008 by KKDD

[TeamSnag]

Good news!!!

[Missymoo]

I popped into this thread as long ago my families maltese (badlybackyard bred) fell of a bed onto her back and did the same thing.. ruptured disk causing parplysis.

Your story of recovery is so similer. Im so glad he is moving his back legs now, and from what I saw with our little sophie, its a long road! A wee by himself and now his back legs working in 3 monthsish, Wow fantastic! Keep up his treatment and he will improve day by day, and Longdogs, a big pat on the back to you and other breeders for doing the right thing by the breed!

Edited December 3, 2008 by Missymoo

[Mooper]

How is Valentino now?

Friends are just starting to notice that their dachshund is pulling up sore, so after reading this thread, I've suggested they carry him up and down the stairs from now on.

[KKDD]

Hi Mooper

I would strongly advise anyone with a dachshund 'pulling up sore' to limit its movement for a little while. Often the tenderness is the first sign of a much larger problem, but short term imobilisation can see the problem settle down without progressing. If one of mine looks sore I crate it for a week when im not around to supervise. Have avoided a couple of major surgeries that way I think. Carrying dachshunds down stairs is always a good idea. The problem is cumulative so its never too late to start.

Valentino is going from strength to strength. He walks everywhere himself now and has rather a unique gait these days - wobbly and very pigeon toed - but Im just delighted his legs work at all. He is back to his favourite old trick of wandering off into the garden during 'last wees before bed' and laying low and silent when i call him back in, then search and search.... Still very little power in his back end, but he has developed new strategies for movements which used to rely on strong hindquarters. Digs his toenails in for leverage, that sort of thing. Hes a very stoic, very adaptable little man.

k

[morgan]

What would you classify as "pulling up sore"? I have recently acquired an elderly dachie who has unfortunately put on too much weight despite having a very restricted diet ( she will even eat scraps out of the compost heap if someone leaves the gate to it open)

She sometimes favours one front leg and doesn't lift the foot properly, as evidenced by 2 toenails wearing badly. Is this a concern with her back? There are no stairs here and she gets a fair amount of exercise while looking for food.

Good to hear that Valentino is doing so much better!

[KKDD]

A sore front end or forelegs in a dachshy is probably not of so much concern in terms of possible spinal damage, than a sore back end or hind legs. If a spinal disk ruptures or partially ruptures, you may see see anything from a little reluctance to move around, to slight loss of coordination or strength in the hind legs, right to full paralysis of the hind legs - which will often include loss of bowel and bladder function. It shouldnt affect the front end of the dachshund because the parts of the spine serving this part of the animal, is higher up than the areas most usually damaged.

Spinal damage is usually cumulative so best to take seriously any soreness or incapacity in a dachshund even if it doesnt look very serious. With rest, the damage can often be reversed or at least stopped in its tracks if paralysis hasnt yet resulted. If a dog with an unstable or partially ruptured disk is left to move around normally, the damage from the disk can progress to paralysis.