LisaCC Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 (edited) I'm looking after my partners dog as he has gone away for the week. The poor darling got bitten by a snake but has had some strange reactions, possibly not related, her story is near the end of the "Bloody Snakes" thread. At the moment she is kinda paralysed in all four legs. She can feel her legs if you pinch them, they twitch in her sleep but she just can't move them or put weight on them. She is getting bored and I need some ideas to keep her occupied. She was enjoying her Kong with a bit of peanut butter in it but as kongs are round and she couldn't get a proper grip on them unless I held it. Any ideas for something that she only needs her mouth to use? She's a smallish Cattle Dog if that helps. Edited March 29, 2013 by LisaCC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Karge ice blocks she can lick , and discover frozen liver treats etc ..? Do you have a baby pram or something she can be propped up in to go out & about? drag her around the house on a beanbag /thick bed ..... Roll her around on the carpet/lawn .. help keep her muscles a bit alive and improve circulation that way , as well as giiving her brain some sensation of movevment :) Make sure she is often changed from side to side and has those legs massaged - this will give her something to think about ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted March 17, 2013 Author Share Posted March 17, 2013 Karge ice blocks she can lick , and discover frozen liver treats etc ..? Do you have a baby pram or something she can be propped up in to go out & about? drag her around the house on a beanbag /thick bed ..... Roll her around on the carpet/lawn .. help keep her muscles a bit alive and improve circulation that way , as well as giiving her brain some sensation of movevment :) Make sure she is often changed from side to side and has those legs massaged - this will give her something to think about ;) Both the bolded parts are already being done. I don't have anything I can take her out in. I might be able to take her for a car ride, but could be useless if she can't see out the window. I do have a beanbag! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 (edited) What strange reactions is she having? Paralysis, unfortunately is one symptom ....and hopefully with time, will improve. Keep her quiet ..... feed the best possible food ..maybe with some paraffin oil to aid in defecation (hopefully those muscles are not badly damaged ) and I advise phoning Robert McDowell Herbal LINK thinking of you ... Edited March 17, 2013 by persephone Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted March 17, 2013 Author Share Posted March 17, 2013 What strange reactions is she having? Paralysis, unfortunately is one symptom ....and hopefully with time, will improve. Keep her quiet ..... feed the best possible food ..maybe with some paraffin oil to aid in defecation (hopefully those muscles are not badly damaged ) and I advise phoning Robert McDowell Herbal LINK thinking of you ... According to the vet, the reactions she displayed after the bite (did not see it happen, it was just before I got her) was more along the way a cat reacts to toxins. I took her to the vet as she was high stepping with stiff legs and breathing abnormally. I did not personally see the rest of the reactions through out her vet stay, just told they were very abnormal. About 5 vets observing her and didn't know what was going on until later in the day, they were literally just about to call the specialists when she started displaying snake bite reactions. Blood tests for snake bites kept being negative but to begin with they though it was unlikely anyway. Can I get paraffin oil at the supermarket? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted March 17, 2013 Author Share Posted March 17, 2013 Just took her outside for a little roll around as she woke up again. A little improvement! I put her in a standard drop position and she worked her legs a little and moved a tiny bit forward and then fell to the side. Small but great to see! A lot of effort on her part, straight back to sleep she went. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-j Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Good on you for undertaking the care of this dog poor little girl. Is she lying in a crate or something that you could secure an egg carton that has some food in it or some food rolled in layers of paper or in a cardboard box or anything that is safe for her to chew up or at, to side of her crate so she can tear at it to get the food. You could put her food in several so that she occupied for longer. Place items upside down with food under neath that she has to manipulate them with her nose to get the food. Squeaky toys is another thing that may interest her they have chew to make it squeak, this may drive you nuts though :) Does she like playing tug you could tie a toy to the side of the crate with a short bungee cord with a piece of hose over the top (harder to get caught up on) so she can pick it up and tug, if that's possible for her to do. hth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted March 17, 2013 Author Share Posted March 17, 2013 They are great ideas m-j. She has a crate but it is a soft crate and I'm only putting her in it at night. Its much too hard on myself to keep pulling her out of the crate all day to move her around and/or take her outside. I might try putting her food in an egg carton though. We finally got a poo! Helped massage it out to begin with but then her muscles kicked in. Good small improvements today :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m-j Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 They are great ideas m-j. She has a crate but it is a soft crate and I'm only putting her in it at night. Its much too hard on myself to keep pulling her out of the crate all day to move her around and/or take her outside. I might try putting her food in an egg carton though. We finally got a poo! Helped massage it out to begin with but then her muscles kicked in. Good small improvements today :) That's good. I hope she keeps improving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tikira Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Good luck with this Lisa. It must be so hard with your partner away, it is the one thing I am grateful for, is that Wayne is here to help me through our loss. Bloody snakes ! I hope to see more posts showing improvement. We are thinking of you. Di Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dame Aussie Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Good to hear shes had some improvements :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted March 17, 2013 Author Share Posted March 17, 2013 (edited) Thank you everyone, Great DOL community support here :) I have a big wheelie office chair I was able to lay her up on so we had a little roll around the house and back yard this afternoon. Tail wagging the whole time :) I'm thinking that holding her in some water (say the bathtub) may get her legs kicking, as this afternoon when I was rolling her on her back and giving her a tummy rub she started paddling her legs. I'll be doing all my uni lectures online this week and only going to a few hours of compulsory pracs so I'll be able to keep nursing her back to health. So if anyone has any more tips keep them coming. I'll keep updating her progress and will talk to the vet tomorrow morning and see if he still recommends the Specialist consult and get the referral sent over. Edited March 17, 2013 by LisaCC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 :) Tail wagging sounds good. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chocolatelover Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 I give the beef soup bones from Coles (I think they are beef backbone). They seem to be the only ones that my lab can't actually "crunch up" and will chew on for almost an hour. There is not much fat on them either - might keep her occupied for a while? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
disintegratus Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Yep, a good big marrow bone (frozen if it gets warm) will keep her occupied for ages! Maybe take her to a secluded beach (so she doesn't get harassed by other dogs) and hold her out in the water to "swim", plus that should mentally exert her for a while as well, just with the combination of sights and smells. A harness would make life easier for that too I reckon. If you've got a bit of spare cash (probably not if she's had massive vet bills ) you could try one of those fandangled mental stimulation toys they have. I can't think of any off the top of my head, but most of them look a bit like toddler toys, with sections you hide food in, and they have to push the partitions around to be able to get at it. Another one that might be alright would be a Busy Buddy, kind of like a kong, but it's flatter, so shouldn't get away from her too much. You could try maybe tying a knot in a short piece of rope and threading it into the kong so you can attach it somewhere so it can't get away from her. I hope she gets better, and good on you for being so dedicated. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raz Posted March 17, 2013 Share Posted March 17, 2013 Good work lisa. How long is your oh away? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted March 18, 2013 Author Share Posted March 18, 2013 I will get her a marrow bone today :) I've had a lovely offer from a wonderful DOLer to borrow one of those fancy mental stimulation food toys, so I will be picking that up tomorrow. The rope through the kong is a great simple idea too! Unfortunately I don't live anywhere near the coast, and the river here is probably getting a bit too cold to get into. We had a bad night, at about 3am she was in a lot of pain and straining to urinate, but after a massage she was finally able to release. Off to the specialist this afternoon so we will see what they have to say about everything. Raz OH comes back Wednesday night/Thursday morning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aphra Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 Many years ago I used to babysit a neighbour's children. They had a beautiful Dobe who was bitten by a snake with the same result. She was paralysed for quite a few weeks from memory, but eventually came good. Would television help? I know we had one of our rescues who loved watching nature shows. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted March 18, 2013 Author Share Posted March 18, 2013 (edited) Just got back from the specialist, been there for about 3 hrs. Ruby is staying there for a minimum for 3 days for intensive care. I had the option of taking her home but what they would need me to do is out of my physical limit. Interestingly the specialists have another dog in their care with the exact same symptoms! What we now know: Not a Brown snake bite. A muscular-neurological disorder that I can't remember the name of was ruled out with a small test as well. One option is a Death Adder bite, which should not be anywhere near this area, but apparently there has been possible sightings and the symptoms fit. Other option is Coonhound Paralysis (Acute canine idiopathic polyradiculoneuritis), if its this they don't know how either dog could have contracted it, but there is generally a few cases seen each year. Both involve nursing slowly back to health. She needs to be made kept upright and made sure she is not falling over every 15 mins, needs to be lifted completely and 'walked' around every 2 hours including moving her at night. They want to put her on a drip as she became dehydrated while at the centre. Also a little worried about her getting a urinary tract infection so they will be able to make sure that doesn't happen. Edited March 18, 2013 by LisaCC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted March 18, 2013 Share Posted March 18, 2013 :) I'm glad she is now in the best of care ...it would be very difficult indeed to do it all at home!. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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