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On Friday my 6yr old mutt Carlito went “down” with IVDD. Back legs paralyzed. Dr Krista’s YouTube vids with the beagle were helpful but they started on day 10. Day 17 was a success to see him walking, I’ve been crying a lot but that gave me hope.
My dog Carlito and I are on day 3, start of day 4. Went to emergency vet immediately on Friday they diagnosed but didn’t prescribe- I called on Saturday morning because he was in much pain and the vet I talked to said she would have prescribed and wondered why I didn’t get anything. had to go back the next day for gabapentin and codine. So- got a late start on meds. Saturday afternoon started meds. Carlito only wanted to be in a “sit” position, which was rough on his two front legs which are curved and a bit -let’s be honest-malformed. I had a scarf I would hold under his armpits to relieve his legs and take the weight. Made a traction thing in his cage for a bit but I stopped keeping him in the cage as moving him was painful (for him) and difficult for me. He weighs 45lbs. He looks like a mini pit bull in the face and chest, but with a long body and short legs. He’s athletic usually. Fetching maniac. Chasing all wildlife. This is extremely upsetting.
I used banfield vets for first 3yrs, then moved so I just got his annual shots from the humane society. I don’t have a relationship with a vet. I can’t move him so I called a house call vet service and have one coming today.
Carlito is drinking a little water and urinating, but won’t eat food and hasn’t pooped since Friday when I found him.
I’m worried he hasn’t pooped, but he only ate once, I believe early Saturday (1am).
His penis is exposed and I’m worried about that. Pain? Infection?
I am mostly worried about him walking again.
He slept in a laying down position last night. Maybe that’s progress?
He cried out and bit me when I moved him Saturday morning so when I moved him once Sunday I put a muzzle on him and moved him from the floor to a bedding situation. I am hesitant to move him but I worry about his back legs and circulation?
He tenses up when I attempt to put my arms underneath him and resists my lifting him. I saw on the vid that you touched the place where -butch? The beagle- disc was out. Carlito has a mid back disc injury. Should I be patting him there? To send him the message that I will be conscious of this injury spot? I’ve been avoiding this because I though it would cause pain.
Also, should he be prescribed a stool softener? Steroids? Anti-inflammatory? I only have the gabapentin and codine.
What should I be doing at this stage for his back legs? Please advise. I have not really slept. I can’t afford surgery. I will put any and all vet bills and supplies on credit cards to get my good boy better. I just want to know what to do.
My 6 year old Bijon Shih Tzu is a very active dog and has been running, jumping, and using her long legs her whole life. Just a couple of days ago she was about to push off her hind legs to run up the stairs as she has done thousands of times before and immediately screeched and ran off limping and then ultimately losing control of her hind legs. After a few minutes of resting she was hobbling along but was able to stand on all four. However the morning after she could not stand any longer on all four and los control of her hind legs. The Vet says she has IVDD and gave us options of surgery, treatments or putting her down. I couldn’t fathom that idea since she isn’t in pain, still wags her tail, still drinks, eats, and goes to the bathroom. I’m in desperate need of some support and help. She is a trooper and I know this cannot be the end. She is currently on meds from the vet and going in today for acupuncture treatment. She is left in her cage and we try to keep her resting as much as we can. I have watched Krista Magnifico’a videos on this subject and hoping my dog can recover as the beagle she cared for did.
Hello.
I’m sorry to hear about your pup. I have a lot of information on my YouTube channel and blog.
Please go there, read everything,and explain to your vet how you feel and if they aren’t supportive find one who is. These cases take a lot of time and TLC but many can recover if given the chance.
Heres the link to my blog; go to it and search “IVDD” https://kmdvm.blogspot.com/
and use YouTube too,,, my channel has lots on Hank,
Very best of luck!
Krista
Can you help me with my case please
Hey, I had a 10 year old beagle who was suffering from ivdd in the neck and was paralyzed on all four legs. All of the vets I brought him too told me he needed surgery or he may never walk again. So I paid around $7500 for the ct scan and surgery. After the surgery my beagle couldn’t fully wake up and was having trouble breathing he was placed on oxygen. I left the hospital around midnight and received a call around 4am that my beagle was not breathing and they had to perform cpr, by the time I arrived at the hospital he passed away. Is this normal for this to happen after surgery? And what could have caused this? I feel like I should have just let him heal on his own after watching videos of other beagles with ivdd getting better with out surgery.
Hello,
I’m so sorry for your loss. This is not an common consequence of your pets condition or surgery but death from surgery is always a risk. Did you speak to the veterinarians? Did you ask for, or, did they offer a necropsy to try to identify the cause of death? You certainly should ask for help in understanding what happened and they should be willing and ready to assuage any questions or concerns that you may have. You are also able to ask for a copy of the medical records and ask your vet to help you comprehend them. There are also other options available to you like use and inquiry from the state medical board. I hope this helps and I am so sorry for your loss.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
Could it maybe be caused by a tick-bourne illness? Erlichia, etc? Were any labs run? Tick PCR, etc? Or even a foxtail, maybe?
Hello, a couple months ago my home became a multi-dog household, with the newest addition being a now 10 month old GS/lab mix, and our resident dog, a 3 year old beagle/rottie mix, both males. They are both very well behaved and have never fought. However, they were not socialized properly as puppies—or at least we did not adequately socialize our beagle mix when he was a puppy, and GS mix was already 6 months old when we got him and we don’t know if or how his previous owners socialized him.
The results of their poor socialization: resident dog does not seem to recognize playful behavior from new dog and thus becomes uncomfortable, clearly cares for new dog (acts to protect new dog if anyone is playing rough with him) but won’t play with new dog, and seems to sometimes even avoid new dog.
New dog is a little better with socialization, but his main fault is that it seems he doesn’t know how to recognize resident dog’s “corrections” to him and to back off (even if most of the time he simply wants to play with resident dog), and he also has some bullying tendencies, some intentional and others not (wants to play with whoever resident dog is playing with, sometimes bugs resident dog to move if new dog wants to lay down in that spot, etc; though never has shown any physical aggression).
Resident dog is, personally, my dog, and I love him dearly, though I love new dog too, and would love to see them bond and play together, only I don’t know the best course of action to achieve that.
I would greatly appreciate any help with ideas on how to adjust these behaviors of theirs, as well as weigh in on the idea of setting up a doggie-play-date with a friend (with a stable and model dog, of course) so that maybe visitor dog can teach them how they should behave.
Hello,
Is everyone spayed or neutered? Have you seen your vet about any of this? Can you reach out to a local trainer for help? I would start with these and remember exercise and training are super important for all cases of behavioral problems. I hope this helps. Please keep us posted
There are are small (smaller than the size of pea) bumps on my dogs head, that were not there yesterday. She’s a 5 year old beagle. They seem to be underneath the skin with no redness or any other noticeable protrusion above the skin. They don’t seem to be bothering her. She’s up to date on all vaccines and flea/tick treatment. I wiped the top of her head off with a wash cloth with dawn dish soap on it and they gown down significantly. I’m not sure what it might be and what caused it
Hello,
Based on the acute onset my guess would be allergies or hives/uticaria. But this is a guess. Your best bet for a better answer is at your vets office. Call them and ask for help. If it is allergies you might need help with a medication like a steroid or antihistamine to stop and/or reverse them. I have seen some dogs start with a few bumps to develop a whole body reaction over a few days or even hours. It’s always better to address an issue in the early stages then to have it get worse
Hello
I have information on ivdd on my YouTube channel and my blog kmdvm.blogspot.com. Search hank or ivdd. I also think that it is super important to have a vet available daily for the first week or two. If you have been happy with your housecall vet use them. But you need help this first week dusky
If your dog isn’t eating regularly they won’t defecate regularly. . So I think you need to get the pain under control first. I also always recommend wet food. It’s easier to eat and softer to pass. Ask about option for pain and even a referral to a neurologist. I also always advocate for the Facebook group called dodgers list. They are super helpful.
Hi-
So sorry that you are going through all of this. I would start with the house vet that you have coming over, since you do not yet have a regular vet. Ask them and share your concerns with them. I would mention the research that you have already done online as far as treatment options go. See what information and knowledge they have to share. I would also start asking around for opinions on local vets who are close to you… in case your visit with the vet you have making the house call does t work out. Dr. Magnifico has many videos on this and she also has a blog that you can look up for advice. I would definitely discuss pain management with the vet, options for how to help maneuver Carlito, stool softeners and possibly vitamin supplement until he is eating better….. I hope this helps. There are many knowledgeable friends on this sight. I am hoping someone that has had more experience with your situation logs on. Best ofluck to you and carlito!!
Thank you for the replies. I really like my visiting vet. She prescribed prednisone and I’m adding Pepcid. Carlito is on Gabapentin and codine. So hopefully the steroid helps calm the inflammation. This is Day 5. He pooped a little yesterday. I’m getting better at expressing his bladder on a schedule. I put a muzzle on to move him so he doesn’t bite, and while that helps me confidently pick him up for pee/poop check I wonder if it silences his pain cries so maybe I can’t know as well as before if what I’m doing is causing pain. I have a pretty good idea of what positions are painful for him but this positions seem to be changing as the pain meds kick in. He seems more depressed than scared now, but that could also be the meds.
He also seems weaker, he seem less able to “stand” or support himself in a sit position on his two front legs but again, maybe it’s the pills.
I have a rear leg sling coming on Thursday. (Day 7) and think if I put that on I can have Carlito start “standing” and possibly walking on his front legs again. WHEN is it ok to start that movement? How regular should that be? I’m going to research PT that I can start at home.