Recovery after surgery

[Judi O]

Our 12 year old dachshund underwent surgery for a ruptured disc 2 weeks and 3 days ago. This is her 2nd time having the surgery (she had it 5 years ago and recovered very well.. she had one leg back within a couple of days and was really doing well within a couple of weeks).

This time, we're only noticing very slight improvement and I'm so discouraged. I pray she gets better.

She has no bladder or bowel control either and you can tell she feels awful when she has an accident... by the way, does anyone have any ideas as to how to handle this?

So, my main question is... how long is it going to take for her to walk again? Or do you think she won't??

Please help!
Thanks Judi

[dutchman]

Hi Judi,

I'm afraid I can't give a lot of information since my little girl never made it out of the hospital following her surgery but I know other members here have had first had experiences. Each case is individual and I do know recovery times can very greatly. Try not to get discouraged. I'm including a link for another web site and mailing list that you may find very helpful.
http://www.abledogs.net/

Best wishes and dachsie rays,

Tom and the boys (Frank and Tanner)

[nancy]

dear Judi
my little guy Norman had back surgury last march..the recovery was rough on all of us..be very patient and follow the doctors instructions carfully. Norman had bladder problems thru his recovery because of the predisone he was on.he drank a lot of water during this time. I cleaned an awful lot!!He is fine now..his back leg sometimes is a little weak,but he seems to know his limits. One thing we bought that made all the difference was a snuggle ball fom Foster&Smith catalog.We got him the removable berber cover. He practically lives in it. Normans loves it so much he lost interest in jumping on the bed to sleep with us,or the couch. We keep a blanket on it forhim and heat it up in the dryer for a few minutes. Norman loves to be warm. I Let me know how your little one is doing.Good luck

[MARTHA]

This is the web site for Murphy. He is a beagle that had back surgery. His was a long recovery. It is a very interesting and informative site. Please don't give up hope and remember that sometimes the recovery time will be longer due to the acutal damage, age, etc.. I'm sure that some of the others that have had back problems with alsow recovery will be glad to offer you some tips

Good luck and keepus updated on your progress.
http://geocities.com/murphys_world/
(Murphys Dad is a member of this board)

[Murphy's Dad]

Judi,

Sorry for the slow response. I was away for awhile.

If she has no bowel or bladder control (yet), you need to express her bladder manually. It is very important that this be done to prevent bladder infections. Have you vet show you how. Buy puppy pads for the time being. They are about 2 ft. square and work well. Murphy still gets expressed 3 times a day minimum. As for expressing the bowel, you usually don't need to, it takes care of itself. You just need to keep an eye on her and clean up. I have figured out how to make Murphy "go" if necessary.

Once the vet/surgeon give you the OK, get her swimming. Find a pool or horse training facility with a therapy pool. Most allow dogs to use their facilities. Even a paralyzed dog can swim.

Don't forget to excersize her legs everyday. Up & down, back & forth, abd bicycle motions. This is to slow atrophy of the muscles.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.

Good Luck,
Murphy's Dad - murphys_world@yahoo.com
http://geocities.com/murphys_world

<FONT COLOR="#00FFFF" SIZE="1" FACE="Verdana, Arial">This message has been edited by Murphy's Dad on January 17, 2002 at 04:43 PM</font>

[HawaiiDoxieLover]

It's hard to say because each case is different. Just like people. Our progress, after 4 months, is still painfully slow. She has a lot of tail movement when I express her bladder. Her bark is getting stronger. Accidents will be less frequent once the vet lowers the medicine. Sukoshi can now sleep all through the night without barking to wake me up (I still sleep by her pen on the floor in case she needs me because I'm afraid with her muted bark and my sleeping through anything I'd never hear her. She never has puddles in the cage, so we're not using p.p.pads. I'm now an Expressing Pro. The bloating is gone too. Think positively.
We wish everybody well...

[dutchman]

I can't remember for sure but think it may have been in another thread here that as a cheaper alternative to puppy pads you can buy adult human bed pads. I believe they stated you could usually find them near the depends in the grocery or drug stores.

Good luck,

Tom

[HawaiiDoxieLover]

You can also buy "Pooch Pads" that are machine washable cloth pads that you reuse.
I bought these in the beginning because at the time I was going through the p.p. pads at
an unbelievable rate, so invested in these things. I don't know how cheap everything is on the mainland, but I had no choice-bought one large Pooch Pad here for $35 in a petshop, then ordered a pack of TWO from Jeffers...for LESS than what I paid for the one! But they work very well. They don't leak
through to carpet, and don't slide around. Plus they're nice and cushiony. http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/sleep.gif

[HawaiiDoxieLover]

Judi
How is your baby doing?? http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/angel.gif

[Tina]

I have not been to this board often recently, so my answer is a little bit late, but better late than never. My dachsie Little Princess was hit by a car in August last year. Many bones were broken and she got a herniated disc and a fracture in her back. Her back was operated (among other things),but two weeks later when I got her home, she had no strength in her hind legs, she could not stand or move her tail and she had to be expressed several times a day. I was so discouraged but started to excercise her by stretching and flexing carefully all the joints (toes, hocks, knees etc.) at least twice a day. I understood that the broken bones slowed down her recovery but after another two weeks she was able to stand when I placed her feet correctly, although she was very wobbly. I gave her B-multivitamin and chondroitinsulphate regularly. Little by little she started to get on her feet by herself and in January she took her first steps, 2-3 at a time, hurrah! She is still making slow progress and I hope that she will be able to walk almost normally one day. She has now learned the "bunny-hopping" which helps her to get around faster,but I have heard that you must not let her practice it too much or she will lose her interest in learning to walk again. I use a scarf to support her, when we go for a walk. Swimming would be fine, but we don´t have any facilities in this part of Finlan, so I have to wait until summer...My message is: recovery can be slow, but don´t lose hope.<IMG SRC="http://dachsie.org/ubb/cwmsmilies/cwm38.gif" border=0>

[HawaiiDoxieLover]

Tina: Congratulations on the progress!http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/walking.gif We don't have any facilities here either, so I swim mine in the bathtub. I bought a floatie vest for her and put the water about up to her chest. It's a lot easier to do the exercises in the water because you can do both sides at the same time. It's been almost 5 months now, but I will never lose hope. I see progress, which the Dr. said was "substantial improvement, and there is hope". I knew that all along! We wish you and Little Princess all the best and a full and speedy recovery! http://dachsie.org/ubb/smilies/angel.gif

[HawaiiDoxieLover]

hydrotherapy...getting a good luck kiss from baby <img src="http://imagem.webphotos.iwon.com/1000008214/1000008214_212200231224PM0.1011927.jpg" alt="" />