Chiefy's hurt his back

[Meemoo]

Chief has not been acting quite "right" the past few days. He has been sleeping a lot and not being his usually bubbly happy self. The weather here in NYC last weekend was wet, rainy and miserable. We attributed his state to the weather as you all know dachsies hate the rain. He would take a few steps and resist and return home. Well...the sun came out yesterday but Chief was still acting not well. He was shivering and occasionally a small weak grunt if you picked him up :( Our vet is not located in our neighborhood (long story-he usually makes housecalls) so today I took the day off to take the Chief for a check-up. The ride was lousy..Chief got sick and threw up in the cab. UGH! This was not good. We got out and the vet's office was very kind and cleaned him up and the crate out for me. We waited patiently until the doctor showed up as we came in on an emergency basis. Chief was put on the table, and a few tests, and the doc said, the three most dreaded words for a dachsie owner to have "It's his back." :( My heart sunk and I got a pit in my stomach. My worst nightmare had come true. Fortunately for us, the vets wife who is also a vet is a homeopathic doc who does accupuncture. We waited some more until she came and he got accupuncture treatment and a warm heating lamp to activate circulation. Accupuncture has been known to be quite successful in back injuries so we have our paws crossed. He is on strict crate rest and will go back again on Saturday for another accupuncture treatment.

I'd really appreciate all the rays and best wishes for my boy. He's only 3 and he's been through a lot for the short 2 years we've had him.


Thanks for listening.:crying:

[willsana]

Hello Loren,
Hugs to you and to Chief! I hope he feels better soon. Be sure and keep us updated. This is such a worry for a dachsie's person.

My female, Duffy, had a similar problem. She was about 6 or 7 years old. I took her to a great neurologist. He sat me down in his office and told me she had two bad discs. I braced myself for the doctor to say she would need surgery.

He did not! He said it could be handled with proper care. He said no more jumping, of course. But the main thing was to keep her very thin. Duffy was a very athletic and playful dog so it was pretty easy to keep her in shape. I used exercise more than diet with her. I soon learned to tell when she was at her perfect weight by feeling her waist and ribcage. A little too thin and she had less energy, a little too heavy and she had a bit of pain. She lived passed her 14th birthday with very little trouble. Nothing a baby asprin and a good night's sleep couldn't fix.

Keeping you in our thoughts.
:o)-willsana & Willow

[TessieMom]

OH NO! Tell the MisChiefmeister that he has gigatons of rays and prayers for a speedy recovery coming from Stinker and her pack (Tess, Lucy, Kibby and the foster boys: Teddy and Rocket).

[Meemoo]

Thanks for the wishes.

Chiefy is on the "lean side" and has been since we got him. Actually we were once reported by a "nosy" neighbor to the animal cruelty for Chiefy being thin. Our vets laughed it off and said they only know of dachshunds as being "chubby" and that he is in GREAT shape. We have him on many different back supplements before this happened hoping that perhaps they would help in aiding is discs so no damage would occur. No such luck. Genetics..genetics..genetics.... We usually walk him 4 times a day for several miles a day. He is on strict crate rest now and for the most part is being okay with it, with the exception of the occasional cry, bark, whine when we are in the house and not with him. We hope to solve this problem as I purchased a travel crate where we can then move it from room to room so he can be with us. We do have him on baby aspirin too. I think it helps him be a little more comfortable. He still only takes a few steps and then stops so he must still be in a great deal of pain. :( Poor guy. He goes back on Saturday for more accupuncture.

Keep those rayz coming!

:crying:

[dutchman]

Hi Loren,

So they aren't doing any steroid (Prednisone) therapy in addition to the crate rest and acupuncture? If Chiefy shows any increase in symptoms at all I would urge you to get him on the steroids ASAP. It's very important that the pressure the inflammation at the site of the injury is reduced. The sooner the pressure the inflammation is putting on the spinal column is relieved and not allowed to increase. The degree of any long term damage is directly related to the level of pressure at the injury site and the length of time that pressure is being exerted on the column.

I have no problems with acupuncture being used as a supplemental treatment and know it can produce good results for many different conditions. I do hate to see proven conventional treatments being overlooked in favor of methods without a proven track record for the treatment of IDD problems. Short term high level use of Prednisone has very few potential negatives and has proven itself to be of a major benefit in treating cases that are not severe enough to require surgery.

One of the dachshunds we had when I was growing up went down in her back (complete hind end paralysis and fully recovered after about a month of confinement and Prednisone treatment. You should also be aware that once a course of Prednisone is started the patient (human, dog, what ever) must be weaned off of the drug by decreasing it's dosage over a period of time. The introduction of the initial high levels of steroids causes the body to reduce or stop production os certain necessary components and to allow the body to realize it needs be given time to sense that the levels of those componets are dropping and that it needs to resume production of needed elements.

Good luck and rays,

Toa and the boys (Frank, Tanner and Dexter)

[Frzframe]

Mitzi and I are sending you rays and lots of doggie kisses.

Mitzi and Shonda

[Mark]

Hi Loren,

I apologize for not responding sooner . . . it's been a crazy few days.

It sounds like you're being a great Dachsie Mommy and doing all the right things. Like you, we hope for the best for Chiefy. Hang in there and please keep us posted.

We're sending you Mega Michigan Dachsie Healing RAYZ X6 . . . :rayz: :rayz: :rayz: :rayz: :rayz:

[Mark]

Loren . . . how is Chiefy doing? Better we hope.

[minicooper]

We are sending heaps of rayz :rayz: :rayz: :rayz: from Australia for a full recovery!

[Augie Dog]

Did they say what is wrong with his back?

disk, strain, sprain, spazum?


Mega rayz!

[dachsiefriend]

How is he???? Is he ok?? I'm so sorry this happened. I know how it feels to have a dachsie with a back injury. Oscar had surgery on his back but I'm glad you found an acuppunctioner ( sorry for the bad English). Sending TONS of rayz!!!!!!!!:rayz: :rayz: :rayz: :rayz: :rayz: :rayz: :rayz:

[Meemoo]

Chiefy can still walk but you can tell he is in some pain. He has had some vitamin C injections as well as accupuncture. It's only been not even a week so we are crossing our fingers, toes, paws, eyes and whatever else we can cross. It's heartbreaking to see him in his cage whimpering from time to time to want to be with us but hubby and I take turns going in there and lying with him. Thanks for thinking of us and keep the rays. We are both real nut jobs about him and have been freaking out ever since. We don't want to lose our baby. :crying:

[Mark]

Hi Loren,.

We're sorry to hear that there has been little (if any) improvement in Chiefy's condition. Is the Vet OK with his lack of progress?

We are continuing to send Mega Michigan RAYZ for poor Chiefy . . . :rayz: :rayz: :rayz: :rayz: :rayz: :rayz:

[TessieMom]

More rays are coming from Texas to Chiefy! We are praying for a speedy recovery for the Chief! Rena, the 4 girls and 2 foster boys

[dutchman]

Our rays are on their way.

Tom and the boys (Frank, Tanner and Dexter)

[Frzframe]

How is Chiefy doing?? More rayz from Mitzi and me.

Shonda & Moo(ster)

[Meemoo]

Chiefy for the first time yesterday seems to be better. Of course we are still going to have him on strict crate rest for several more weeks. He is such a good boy and only cries if we are not in the room with him, otherwise he handles the crate well. We are also going for a second opinion over the weekend just for peace of mind that we are doing the right thing. Thanks for all your wishes and thoughts. Keep those rays coming. We want to be able to do therapy work with Chief.

[TessieMom]

So glad to hear that he is doing better... even though I know that crates are not popular ... take care, Rena and the pack

[blazeman]

How is Chiefy doing? I haven't seen an update was wondering!

[Meemoo]

Thanks for asking :)

I'm happy to report Chiefy is doing well. Hooray! We are still limiting his activity but he is not in pain. He has gotten some new pills called "back relief" that are made specifically for spinal problems in dogs. They are via prescription only. He is also getting injections of Vitamin C which have been documented as being helpful.

So far so good..keep the paws crossed.

[Mark]

Hi Loren,

Just checking back to see if Chiefy is still doing OK? Hope so!

And we read in another source that he and a chicken bone gave you quite a scare recently . . . he's OK about that too we hope.

Dachsie healing RAYZ for Chiefy - :rayz: :rayz: :rayz: :rayz: :rayz: :rayz: :rayz:

[Meemoo]

Thanks for asking Mark :)

He has been continuing to get back supplements and hasn't had another incident..*knock wood*

Yes.. a chicken bone. Can't watch these dogs carefully enough. I swear, I'm old before my time. Now where did you see this, you've been spying on me :)

Thanks for your concern.

[Augie Dog]

cooked or raw chicken bone?

[Meemoo]

and oh what a nightmare it was...I thought we lost him!

[Augie Dog]

ahhhh, cooking changes the chemical compisition of the bone making it brittle and it will break into sharp shreads.

raw on the otherhand, is ok. my guys crunch on the occasional chicken leg or wing.

[Meemoo]

I got home to take him for his pre-dinner walk and he snatched
up something from the street. Not unusual for him. I couldn't get
to it in time and so I thought, well, this has happened before, no
biggie. Well...to my surprise..30 seconds later he starts foaming at the mouth lying on the street, wouldn't move gasping for air. I
thought for sure he had been poisoned. I carried him back home all the while he's foaming and gasping. I tried to get my fingers down his throat but nothing came up. I called hubby on cell and he told me to get to AMC and he'd meet me there. Meanwhile Chief is laying there motionless, his eyes are glazed an I thought he was dead. I was panicked. I called a cab and got ready to take him when all of a sudden he heaved up a BIG hunk of chicken bone. YIKES! I knew he had gotten something big, and my mind thought perhaps he still had some in him. I got him outside and I could tell he was feeling better, no foaming, gasping but was very quiet. (Wouldn't you be...?) I took the bone in a plastic bag to the hospital to show them. They did an exam and everything was normal but suggested an x-ray of his throatand stomach to be sure nothing was still there. We
didn't hesitate...DO IT! He came back and they said he was fine.
He was fine, *we* were a mess! I thought my dog was a goner for sure

BTW..I watch him like a hawk and go out at night with a FLASHLIGHT..so you know he's gotta be quick...

Always something with these guys!

[Augie Dog]

Oh, yes. At night I watch. It amazes me on how quick they can down garbage.

[Mark]

heh-heh . . . we have our sources . . . :cool: :lol:

We're so glad to hear that the misCHIEFmeister is OK . . . on both counts. How scary that must have been! :yikes:

Thanks for the updates . . . more Dachsie Healing RAYZ for Chiefy . . . just in case.

:rayz: :rayz: :rayz: :rayz: