need experienced owners that have or had dogs with spinal injories!

[mandymmr]

am new here/very old to dog ownership!
I am deperatly seeking advice, tips about my 10 year old rottweiler who over night couldn't walk very well. I took her to the vet 2 times and was diagnosed with ruptured disk and spine damage. They gave her cortizon shots, that worked for a day and I was amazed how she turned around. But then last night she seemed worse again! Her spriti is up and happy, she does whimper a little when laying down and getting up and partial paralasis. The vet said today that we need to wait at least another week before making a hasty decision.
I have researched wheelchairs and I think that would be really helpful for her to get the weight an pressure off her back end.
She is currently on oral cortizone pills and we are having her lay down and rest as much as possible.
I would appreciate any help from those with experience. This is my baby girl whom I have had since she was 3 months old!

[golden&hovawart]

Hello & welcome,
So sorry to hear about yr rott cos she looks adorable!.
How did she hurt herself?.
What are yr choices and what did the vet say?.
If she is,otherwise,healthy,I would think of operating her cos she could live another 2 to 4 yrs!.

[mandymmr]

she is in perfect health other than her back. The dr. said he doesn't suggest surgery! Right now she is on oral cortizone and rest as much as possible. She is very wobbly and falls when walking at times! She isn't in pain, she just can't walk well.

We have no idea how she hurt herself. She was fine on Wednesday and then thursday yelping in pain while lying down or gettingup and then the paralysis started!

[FourIsCompany]

Hi, I don't have experience, but I found an article you may want to read. I'm not sure if the waiting another week idea is such a good one. Did he do an X-ray? I think I'd take her to get a second opinion...

http://www.beagles-on-the-web.com/tinker.html

I wish you all the luck in the world!

[mandymmr]

she had an x-ray and there is more than 1 vet that works there. He had a conference with them and they all agreed!

[Cearbhaill]

First- you need a consult with a board certified neurologist.
I can't stress this enough.
A general practice vet (or even a group of them) haven't the specialized knowledge or the specialized equipment needed for a definitive diagnosis, much less treatment.
Spinal injuries are complicated.

Either get a referral from your own veterinarian or go immediately to your nearest veterinary teaching college. If you give me your location I can set you up.

Then you need to explore the several treatment options including chiropractic before you go assuming wheelchair. The longer you delay the less chance there is of a successful result.

[Tinsnips]

I would suggest that you get her on to Vit C in the way of Easter c ( less acidic ) for her size :: maybe 200 0 mls a day crate rest her and keep her queit ;; and dont elt them operate unless absolutely necessary!

[Pitbull Lover]

Hi and welcome and I would strongly suggest going to see a specialist and getting the surgery performed or atleast start with acupuncture treatment and see if this helps any. Here is information for you regarding partial of her case. I would not suggest waiting because if you continue the medication and it is not working by the sounds of it your dog is not living her life to the fullest and it is not fair for her to live this way.

Intervertebral Disk Disease (Herniations of the Disk)

Authored by: Becky Lundgren, DVM
Intervertebral disks are located between the vertebrae (bones of the spine). Each disk has two parts, a fibrous outer layer and the jelly-like interior. When disk herniation occurs, the interior either protrudes (bulges) or extrudes (ruptures) into the vertebral canal, where the spinal cord resides. The onset of herniations can be either acute or chronic. When the spinal cord is compressed by this disk material, the dog or cat experiences signs ranging from mild back or neck pain to paralysis of limbs, loss of sensation, and loss of bladder and bowel control. Sometimes a disc herniation can be seen on radiographs (see below) but it may take more specialized studies of the spine (MRI or CT scan or a myelogram) to see the exact site where the disc herniated; this is especially true if surgery is part of the treatment plan because the surgeon must be sure of the exact rupture site.


Intervertebral disk disease sometimes occurs in cats, but it is not as common as it is in dogs, especially in the long, low chondrodystrophic breeds (e.g., dachshund, basset hound, beagle, Cocker spaniel, Shih Tzu, Lhasa apso, Pekingese, and corgi). In these breeds, there is a genetic predisposition for degeneration of the inside of the disk due to the animal’s conformation, which predisposes the disk to herniation. These chondrodystrophic dogs tend to get the bulging extrusions. Larger breeds of dogs are more typically affected with protrusions.
Although most disk herniations are caused by degeneration of the disk, they can also be caused by physical trauma (an accident, such as being hit by a car).
Disk herniation can occur anywhere along the spine but is commonly seen in the mid back area, the lower back area, and the neck area. Disk herniation in the mid back to lower back area may cause paralysis of the hind limbs and inability to properly urinate or defecate. Disk herniation in the neck often causes neck pain or limping on one front limb; however, it can also cause paralysis of all four limbs.

Age
In affected dogs of chondrodystrophic (long, low-slung) breeds, disk degeneration occurs within the first few months of life, but the actual herniation doesn’t occur until the dog is typically over 3 years of age. The herniation may have a very sudden in onset, i.e. suddenly extruding into the spinal canal where the spinal cord runs. In non-chondrodystrophic breeds, the disk degeneration starts later in life and the herniation may occur more slowly over time (slowly protruding or bulging disc).
Grading of Clinical Signs and Diagnosis
A neurological examination allows the severity of clinical signs to be graded as follows:
Grade 5: normal
Grade 4: ambulatory, but mildly paraparetic (weak/wobbly)
Grade 3: markedly paraparetic (weak/wobbly), but is able to get up on his/her own
Grade 2: severely paraparetic (weak/wobbly); good voluntary motion still present in hind limbs, but cannot get up without assistance
Grade 1: slight voluntary limb motion present
Grade 0: paraplegic (no voluntary motion present). This grade is further subdivided as to whether or not the patient can feel any deep pain sensation in the affected limbs.
A tentative diagnosis is based on age and breed of patient, clinical signs, and spinal radiographs. Remember, though, that disc herniations are not always as visible as the one demonstrated in the above radiograph; some are impossible to see without more specialized imaging. Therefore, a definitive diagnosis usually requires myelography, MRI, or CT scans of the spine. Myelography is a type of imaging involving the injection of a contrast agent (a liquid that x-rays don’t go through) into the spinal canal to pinpoint the compressed area of spinal cord. CT or MRI scans are also another way to see more clearly if a disk is the cause of the problems. These tests require general anesthesia, at which time the attending veterinarian may also remove some spinal fluid and have it analyzed for signs of other diseases that can mimic a disk herniation.

Treatment and Prognosis
Mild cases that are not paralyzed are often managed medically. Confinement to a crate with minimal physical activity (no jumping, no running, no going up/down stairs, no playing, etc.) is necessary for several weeks. Pain medication may be prescribed by your veterinarian during the confinement.
Surgical intervention may be recommended if medical management isn’t working, if the pain can’t be controlled, or if the patient is paralyzed. Surgery is often the quickest way to get function to return. However the success of the surgery depends on the amount of damage that the spinal cord has incurred and how long of a time period the disk has been compressing the spinal cord. The neurological examination will help to determine the degree of damage as well as estimating the prognosis for return of function. In general, more than 90% of the dogs who have the ability to sense pain in their hind limbs will walk again after surgery; this decreases to 60% or less if the patient has lost the ability to sense deep pain sensation in their limbs. Surgery to treat disk herniation requires the expertise of a veterinarian with training in disk surgery, which is usually a surgical specialist, a neurologist, or a neurosurgeon.
With either medical or surgical treatment, the pet owner will need to provide nursing care for the pet during the recovery phase. This may mean keeping the pet confined to a small space while it is recovering, keeping it calm and quiet, carrying it outdoors frequently for eliminations, assisting with urination and defecation, flexing and extending joints to keep them flexible, etc. Consult with your veterinarian as to how you can assist your pet during recovery. More intensive physical therapy may be needed in some cases. Full recovery usually takes several weeks and in some cases even several months.
The prognosis depends on how severe the clinical signs are, how long the problem has been present, which treatment is selected, and how the patient responds to treatment. Most animals respond well if veterinary advice is followed, but some patients end up with permanent paralysis and fecal/urinary incontinence despite proper treatment and management.