Maria Chiaia
,@mchiaia
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IVDD – Beagle.
Hi, I reached out a few weeks ago because my dog was diagnosed with IVDD but could not use the bathroom on his own and it was next to impossible to express him. After a couple of weeks of manually catheterizing him, he started to use the bathroom on his own regularly. He also started to regain a lot of strength back, especially in his back legs. The problem area is in his neck but he is able to wag his tail and turn his neck all around. He still cannot walk, he can hold his backend up but his front two paws continue to knuckle and go under him when he tries to walk. I watched the videos on Hank and I know he had a similar issue but you did not go into depth as one video his front paws didn’t work and then the next video all of a sudden he was walking. Is there anything I can do to speed up this process or help him? I’m so proud of how hard he’s come and I don’t want to give up now.
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My beagle was diagnosed with IVDD in his neck. He is unable to pee on his own and will not let us express his bladder. The vet has been catheterizing him but told us we need to think about putting him down. Is there anything I can do to help him pee? I feel like he is holding it because he has never had an accident before and even crawls out of his bed to do number 2. I’ve read online about VetriDisc. Is this a legitimate option for him?
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Krista Magnifico Hello,
This is one that I feel needs a diagnosis for the reason he can’t, or isn’t urinating, It would be helpful to know a whole lot more about your dog and the details of his condition. In general I find that most of these guys aren’t urinating because they are painful,, too painful to posture to urinate, and too painful for their owners to manually express.. If you are within the first week of this condition ask about more pain meds., like gabapentin, methocarbamol or even a fentanyl patch. Then ask about a drug to reduce the issues that might be ib or around the bladder like phenoxybenzamine.. my point is that there are options left to try. If your vet doesnt have any options seek the help of a veterinary neurologist. -
Maria Chiaia Post author The first part got deleted but basically the vet said he had a slipped disc in his neck last Friday and put him on Vetprofen. He was getting worse so we took him to a neurologist.
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Krista Magnifico Ok. What did the neurologist say? If you need help keep calling the people you have already paid to help your pup. That’s what they are there for. To keep helping you and your dog. These cases are often very intense on the caregivers and the first few week are hard emotionally and physically. Please read my blogs on this subject. I talk about it a lot. Also my YouTube channel has lots of advice. I hope this helps.
Hello,
I’m so glad to hear that your dog is still with us and improving. I also think that your question is wonderful! Here’s what I did with Hank. I did lots and lots and more lots of massage and passive range of motion. I also placed him with support and encouraged him to just stand. I would hold his sternum and place his back legs (a little wider than normal) and just try to hold him there. Like teaching a baby to walk. I did this all the time. I know people are afraid of hurting them but the problem with paralysis is muscle atrophy. Which happens really really quick. Like in days. So I pushed him hard to keep trying and to wake his brain up to talk to his muscles. I hope this helps. Good luck. Keep us posted.
Great news! So happy and thankful to report that after three long, tough months, my dog is walking again!! The only thing that really helped was putting him in a pool and doing water therapy with him every day.