Back problem after spaying

[Jenny33]

We recently got a 6 month old adorable little puppy and we had her spayed last week. Since she has been spayed, she has been crying out in pain, especially when going to the bathroom. Before the surgery, she was running around healthy like a normal puppy. The vet said she must have inflamed a disc after the surgery -either through wrestling with the vet, trying to get out of their cage overnight, licking at the wound... It is breaking our heart seeing her in so much pain and we are hoping it has nothing to do with her back and is just some sort of reprocussion from the surgery.

Has anyone ever experienced this and is this something that we should be concerned is just the beginning of back problems for our little puppy? Any feedback would be appreciated. Thank you

[Mickamack]

I have no medical experience with this, but my first initial reaction to your story is that I have NEVER heard of a dog developing a back problem from getting fixed!!!

Maybe someone else has, but if they are given anethesia, how could they fight the vet? I held Mickey while the vet administered the anethestic. He went limp almost instantly...no fighting from him. Mickey also licked his wound and didn't hurt his back...your vet's explanation just doesn't seem right to me.

If it is POSSIBLE for this injury to occur because of the surgery, what did your vet recommend to do to help her? Crate her to limit her movement? Xray her to see if that's really the problem? Anything?

If she has trouble peeing, could she have an infection? A possible infection from the surgery he/she did?

I'm sorry, but 2 + 2 is not adding up to 4 for me in your vet's explanation. I hope others who have more medical knowledge of these things respond to this quickly because I feel you need a second opinion.

If you puppy REALLY does have a back problem, it needs to be adressed IMMEDIATELY!!! Don't wait to do anything. You would hate to have any permanent damage if this is really her back. If the vet is not recommending any treatment, I'd seriously consider going to another vet ASAP.

There are many people on this board who do have a lot of experience with back problems, so I'm sure you will find help here. Please gang, let's help Jenny out.

[Mark]

Hi Jenny,

I'm with Karen on this one . . . nothing is adding up!

If you are in an area where you can find a specialty clinic (with Dachsie IDD experience) I would start with an appointment there. Your Vet seems to have been nonresponsive to your pupper's problem. It may not be a back problem, but the clinic should have the expertise to diagnose any problem. In my opinion & experience with back problems (if that's even what it is), it's unrelated to the surgery. I'm guessing that it's some other problem that may indeed be related to the surgery.

Bear in mind that these are just guesses based on a little information, but I would take steps to fix the problem and sort the rest out later. I'm with you in that it breaks my heart to see them suffer.

What is her name?

Please keep us posted,

Mark

PS - And welcome to the board! http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/wavey.gif

[Jenny33]

Thanks for your quick response. Just to clarify a few things - our vet gave her an anti-inflammatory injection and she is on anti-inflammatory pills now and required to have little to no movement for the next week. So with my limited knowledge of back problems, I think he gave the correct advice/treatment if it is really her back. I guess that is what we are having a hard time believing - like you said - how could it come from her surgery unless it was the day after that they required her to stay there. But also, she was fine the first day we had her back at our house-this all started the second day back.

Also, she isn't crying in pain when she is peeing, so it is only when she is straining her back (so the vet put her on a laxative for the next few days).

Her name is Dani and she is just so cute. We have another little one also-her name is Borkey and she just turned 2. Thanks for the advice and we will start looking for a second opinion.

Jenny

[Mickamack]

Jenny,

How is Dani doing? I hope that she is starting to feel better. Please keep us updated.

Karen

[Jenny33]

Thanks for everyone's responses and concern. We took the advice and got a second opinion from a specialist and he determined that it wasn't her back and pretty much gave her a clean bill of health. He told us to stop the medication she was on and to let her be herself if she felt like it(but of course watch her just in case). As I am sure you know, we were so relieved.

Well, 3 days later Dani is doing great. She is back to being energetic and is starting to play again with our other dog. The greatest news is she doesn't seem to be in any more pain and she is back to running around and going on walks...

I guess she just had a very low pain threshold from the spaying (meaning we have a whimp http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/smile.gif So we had a scare but thankfully it seemed to be nothing. Thank you for your concern and nice wishes.

Jenny

[Mark]

Hi Jenny,

That is great news! http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/bounce.gif And I am glad you went to the specialist just to make sure.

Mark

[Mickamack]

Well, I'm so glad that she got a good bill of health from the specialist and that nothing is wrong with her back. I'm sure that you're not the only person with a sensitive dachsie. When we got Mickey fixed, all of a sudden he started peeing all the time in house. We were afraid that it was an infection, but it turns out that Mickey was just a little "sensitive" and reacting the the surgery. My vet thought he was possibly "traumatized" by the whole experience....now THAT'S sensitive!

Anyway, I'm thrilled that Dani is doing better. Give her a kiss and hug from us.

Karen