Coping With Botulism

[Nellienoodles]

I put this in the wrong section

I am hoping there is someone who has experienced this awful journey with botulism and come out the other side-

Nellie(Nelson) is an nearly 8yr old dogue de Bordeaux who crashed literally from standing a bit wobbly to paralysed In less than 2 hours, he was in ICU for 10days could not eat or drink for most of that time, raging temps up to 40.5 and initially could only breath and move his eyes.

He is now in our care and is tended to 24/7.

Now he can lift his head, squirm and wiggle, and if we put him into sternal recumbency can flomp to his side.

he was 50kg possibly 45-7 kg now and still has complete flaccid paralysis of all four legs.

He eats well, urinares and defacates by himself, we have to move him from lateral to sternal recumbency to eat, but he is "helping" now.

I guess what I would like is info on what you did to get your dog mobile, I massage and physio daily but, I am concerned he is "forgetting or unaware he can use his legs- with his sheer size and weight he is very hard to manoever.

Has any one made a sling? Or had success with a physio ball with a giant breed dog

Any help sugestions would be gratefully recieved thanks

[Jumabaar]

I suggest a harness being the first item you need. Help em up is a great option.

I do like using the peanut shaped rolls to assist in getting them standing as much as possible. They fatigue so quickly that to begin with you are only doing a minute or so at a time.

Where are you located- it would be with getting some specific advice in this situation so you can focus your efforts on exercises that are going to give you both the maximum reward.

I have recently seen a botulism case in a very over weight golden retriever (43kg). It was a matter of getting her standing as often as we could manage. Even if it were just a few seconds every few hours, making sure she didn't develop pressure sores and supportive care.

I would be worried with dogue skin about pressure sores etc so perhaps try propping him up on his chest between things and check hips and elbows regularly.

Ultimately we want to maintain muscle mass and continue to encourage weight bearing to prevent decondioning of all the connective tissue ect. Also it will be a long time to build back all the muscle before you progress past controlled exercise to make sure he doesn't injure himself.

[Willem]

sorry to say, but considering the age and the breed, the diagnose and that the dog is struggling now for nearly 2 weeks, it is not likely that it will recover.

[persephone]

sorry to say, but considering the age and the breed, the diagnose and that the dog is struggling now for nearly 2 weeks, it is not likely that it will recover.

I think the OP is asking for stories of experiences .. do you have some to share , or are you just today's prophet of doom ?

Edited December 8, 2015 by persephone

[Willem]

@ the OP: you might give these guys a call...

[Scottsmum]

sorry to say, but considering the age and the breed, the diagnose and that the dog is struggling now for nearly 2 weeks, it is not likely that it will recover.

To the op: Jumabaar is a qualified vet. Her advice is sound.

[Dogsfevr]

Smaller dog & different reason but it took 6 months of rehab before my dog could walk again ,luckily was in an easier position of picking up etc etc but keeping the muscles from wasting was the hardest thing .

Whilst my dog hated the trolley for his rears legs maybe with discussions for those more offay with giant breeds a trolley may help in getting the front going .

But i will tell you now it was very hard work,with very slow results,we had no life during this time & was for ever grateful we worked from home because we could not have done it otherwise & we had to put many things on hold until he passed as even though he had mobility he was still a part time care dog who had to adapt life big time so mentally we had to help change his life

The dogs will to succeed makes a massive difference .

I will say the vet specialist centre who stuffed up resulting in my dog walking in but not being able to walk out where off no help & suggested PTS & replacing it as its just a dog .

I don't think i would ever go through it again

[Nellienoodles]

I suggest a harness being the first item you need. Help em up is a great option.

I do like using the peanut shaped rolls to assist in getting them standing as much as possible. They fatigue so quickly that to begin with you are only doing a minute or so at a time.

Where are you located- it would be with getting some specific advice in this situation so you can focus your efforts on exercises that are going to give you both the maximum reward.

I have recently seen a botulism case in a very over weight golden retriever (43kg). It was a matter of getting her standing as often as we could manage. Even if it were just a few seconds every few hours, making sure she didn't develop pressure sores and supportive care.

I would be worried with dogue skin about pressure sores etc so perhaps try propping him up on his chest between things and check hips and elbows regularly.

Ultimately we want to maintain muscle mass and continue to encourage weight bearing to prevent decondioning of all the connective tissue ect. Also it will be a long time to build back all the muscle before you progress past controlled exercise to make sure he doesn't injure himself.

Thank you some good advise

We are up the mountains from Cairns, I don't know how to use peanut shaped rolls.

We today have just got Nellie to his feet, as you say just for a moment it obviously is exhausting for him, I understand the loss of muscle and how weight bearing is vital. We are very conscious of the risk of sores and he is on a soft but supportive mattress, he gets rolled every few hours.

[Nellienoodles]

Smaller dog & different reason but it took 6 months of rehab before my dog could walk again ,luckily was in an easier position of picking up etc etc but keeping the muscles from wasting was the hardest thing .

Whilst my dog hated the trolley for his rears legs maybe with discussions for those more offay with giant breeds a trolley may help in getting the front going .

But i will tell you now it was very hard work,with very slow results,we had no life during this time & was for ever grateful we worked from home because we could not have done it otherwise & we had to put many things on hold until he passed as even though he had mobility he was still a part time care dog who had to adapt life big time so mentally we had to help change his life

The dogs will to succeed makes a massive difference .

I will say the vet specialist centre who stuffed up resulting in my dog walking in but not being able to walk out where off no help & suggested PTS & replacing it as its just a dog .

I don't think i would ever go through it again

Thank you for sharing, We have been very fortunate with our vets the senior vet took Nellie home every night he was in ICU and gave us hope when we felt helpless and unsure if we were being cruel (at day2) we are now at day 25.

I completely understand what we are getting our selves into we both work from home and put a minimum of 15 mins up to 30 mins out of every hour into Nellie, he is fighting and we will fight with him every slow step of the way.

[Xyz]

You could make a sling out of a recycling shopping bag, even one for front and one for back. Lots of Physio/massage and passive range of motion exercise. Has the vet not recommended seeing a Physio? Mabye there are none in your area..

Good luck and good on you for giving him a go.!

[Jumabaar]

I suggest a harness being the first item you need. Help em up is a great option.

I do like using the peanut shaped rolls to assist in getting them standing as much as possible. They fatigue so quickly that to begin with you are only doing a minute or so at a time.

Where are you located- it would be with getting some specific advice in this situation so you can focus your efforts on exercises that are going to give you both the maximum reward.

I have recently seen a botulism case in a very over weight golden retriever (43kg). It was a matter of getting her standing as often as we could manage. Even if it were just a few seconds every few hours, making sure she didn't develop pressure sores and supportive care.

I would be worried with dogue skin about pressure sores etc so perhaps try propping him up on his chest between things and check hips and elbows regularly.

Ultimately we want to maintain muscle mass and continue to encourage weight bearing to prevent decondioning of all the connective tissue ect. Also it will be a long time to build back all the muscle before you progress past controlled exercise to make sure he doesn't injure himself.

Thank you some good advise

We are up the mountains from Cairns, I don't know how to use peanut shaped rolls.

We today have just got Nellie to his feet, as you say just for a moment it obviously is exhausting for him, I understand the loss of muscle and how weight bearing is vital. We are very conscious of the risk of sores and he is on a soft but supportive mattress, he gets rolled every few hours.

http://www.bu.edu/today/2012/physical-therapy-of-the-four-legged-variety/

The dog on the orange peanut is standing with the assistance of a peanut. It will save your back and give more support so he can build up some stamina.

Dogs can make amazing recoveries and their individual wellbeing, prognosis and quality of life must be determined. I am glad you have a support network who has clearly gone through this assessment process with you! Best of luck in the coming weeks. I do offer distance consults if you need some guidance and targeted exercises as Nellie progresses.

[kayla1]

Gee that's a tough situation to be in.

You've got some great advice here already. Good luck and I hope Nellie continues to improve. Sounds like he is very lucky to have you!

[J...]

Might be worth getting in contact with these guys - I know they are in Victoria but they may have some contacts and ideas. The article attached shows some of the treatments they did to help Boris the Rottie :)

http://www.thevetpractice.com.au/boris-brave-fight-to-walk-again/

Edited to say: Good luck Nellie - good on you for fighting for him!

Edited December 18, 2015 by Jess.