I am so sorry that you and poor Rudy have gone through this but that he is improving is wonderful. I have only had one dog with spine injury, in her neck. Fortunately with anti-inflammatory injections, a few chiropractor/vet appts and lifetime use of bromelain, she recovered and rarely had issues. Your dog's injury however is heart stopping. Thank goodness you and your vet acted so quickly before irreversible damage was done.
My dog had a Spinal injury!!!!
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Wednesday night we crated our Tri and later that night we hear him crying in his crate, which he never does. When we let him out, he seemed like he was in bad pain. If we touched his lower back he litterly screams in pain.
This was the night before I was going out of town for several days on business.
My wife took him to the vet and they said he has a bad pinched nerve in his spine. We have no idea how it happened. He was fine when he went to bed.
They X rayed him and said there appears no severe injury to the spine itself that they can see, but he needs to stay off his feet for two months! They also said it will reaccour through out the rest of his life and from now on we need to be very careful with him.
No jumping, running, dog walks or any stress to his back - This is going to be really hard, he's a basenji!
They have him doped up on pain meds & muscle relaxers to help settle him.
So the worst part is I get home pretty late from my trip and he normally sleeps in his crate. When I came home we was so excited to see me, he jumped up, injuring his back again, starts litterly starts screaming in pain, non stop.
We were finally able to calm him down and the pain seemed to subside.
What's worse is our other dog knows that he is bad off and is constantly trying to attack and bully him, so now we have to keep them separated for a large part. The other thing the other dog is doing is going wild at the wild when she sees a squirrel or another dog. Of coarse the injured dog has to spring up and try top run and see what's going on.
We have no idea how this could of happened, but does not matter how at this point.
While I was gone, he managed to sneak up stairs and would not leave, he was resting/waiting by my music room door. My wife tried to carry him down the steps and he bit her finger and it has swollen up huge, she thinks it's broken, she has to go to the ER this morning to get it X rayed.
Meanwhile we have to get him stronger meds as he is still in bad pain.
The wonder life of dog ownership. It's our turn to be there for him( my wife has sat up with him the last three nights without sleep (I was gone)
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Oh no! I am so sorry to hear about his injury! I hope you find a way to manage 2 months of bed rest….holy cow! It isn't unusual for the other dog to attack an injured or ill dog, so good thinking to keep them separate until he is feeling better.
Again, I am so sorry....he, and all of you will be in my thoughts.
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I used doggie massage and actupuncure sp for my dog. It does give relief, Good luck.
Hopefully, the vet can get the pain under control.
Its awful he hurt your wife.
I know he didn't mean it. -
I used doggie massage and actupuncure sp for my dog. It does give relief, Good luck.
Hopefully, the vet can get the pain under control.
Its awful he hurt your wife.
I know he didn't mean it.I agree with Sharron… you should look into it.... and yes, while it is sad, many times when one is hurt the other will go after them... and I have found it is usually the case when the two are "not" really friends...
I hope he does better soon....
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Oh I'm so sorry for your little tri fur baby! I know he's got the best chance with you and your wife to heal. I imagine you will all be going thru a learning curve figuring out how to keep him calm and rested. Healing vibes and healthy wishes for you all.
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I have a tri with a lower back injury (but not pinched nerve) and I don't know how it happened. It appeared a year ago, he is not on pain killers anymore but still gets meds for the joints and cartillage.
He was on rest for about a month, going to my vet,who his also an ostheopathe, as soon as I thought he needed it .
His back end wasn't following the front end for quite a long time when running, but it didn't stop him to chase cats, rabbits, play and I wasn't stopping him, he was happy not suffering much!
Now he is better even doing a bit of lure coursing training.Fingers cross for your boy
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This morning we decided to call the vet to tell them he was still in pain. They told us they had another Dr look at his X-rays and he thought there might be a slight spinal fracture and or a calcium deposit on one of his vertebrae.
They said in the x -ray he was uncooperative and he twisted his spine a little during the x-ray. They wanted him back in to take more X rays. If his spin was fractured they thought he might need emergency surgery!
(which they don't do)When we were leaving I tried to let the female go out first to go potty, but the injured dog runs out the door, goes potty, shakes his coat, then pulls his back out again, screaming and hobbles toward me with a help me daddy look!. The other dog runs out side, charges him, jumping on his back attacking him with him still screaming in pain while trying to battle back. She's a big girl at 26 pounds!.
I grabbed the female and get bit by the injured tri. I dragged the female back to her crate.We get to the vet who is double booked and the tri will not let them muzzle him (he bit the nurse during the last spinal exam)
We tried about 9 times to muzzle him, with him lashing out ferociously. You can't even show him a muzzle now without setting him off. They try the crocodile hunter trick where we cover his eyes with a towel then try to put a soft nylon rope around his mouth, then tighten it & double wrap it, slip the muzzle on over the rope. they could knock him out due to all the meds he is on.
The rope kept sliding off his nose and then he discovered by holding his head down between his legs we could not get it around his muzzle!
this went on for 20 minutes and we were about to give up. Finally three of us held him steady, with me holding his head, by the jowls. They make grippier noose from gauze that did not slide off.
He is a monster to restraint, he was savage, such a powerful dog. The white of his eyes and ears were bright red. He looked like those films of a Tasmanian devil!
I don't know what will happen the next time, he only falls for these tricks a couple of time, he learns real quick. Next time they will have to knock him out.
The nurse then carried him off for the X-ray, which they took many X-rays.
The bottom line is his spine looks excellent and what they saw previously in the X ray was not there. Every shot showed a very healthy spine. they showed us he previous X-rays and the area did look suspicious, but again he was off position. They had to wrestle him muzzled to get that X ray.
Im surprised they even treat him after how bad he behaves sometimes. However the nurse said they get bit a lot, she just got bit in the face by a australian Shepherd who she just saw.
My wife & myself were just shaking after the experience. Facing a savage animal is a both terrifying and embarrassing experience.
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So sorry to hear that you B is in such pain. My mom had a dog that slipped on a rug and injured her back so bad that she couldn't walk. When she took her to the vet, they recommended a animal chiropractor. It didn't take long before she was better.
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I would consider seeing an Accupuncturist. I have been seeing one for rheumatoid arthritis and it works. I know that accupuncture is used on back injuries and they do it on dogs too:)
I hope your little guy gets better soon. Paws crossed everything turns out ok and he has a speedy recovery. -
He seems better this morning but we can only go one day at a time. He's also pretty doped up.
I'm not sure he would sit still for acupuncture, although I would be willing to try it if he does not get better on his own. He seems to be getting better though.
thanks for all the support my little devil
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So sorry to hear that you B is in such pain. My mom had a dog that slipped on a rug and injured her back so bad that she couldn't walk. When she took her to the vet, they recommended a animal chiropractor. It didn't take long before she was better.
chiropractors are great for dogs… my OJ many years ago had real problems with a neck injury... four treatments with an animal chiropractor and he was good as new... and she also showed me how to do some myself at home. This all happened at a dog show and the Vet on the grounds was a chiropractor along with being a DVM
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I feel so bad for your boy (and you and your wife). He is obviously in so much physical and mental pain. It IS hard to have to deal with a dog that uses his mouth so freely. You are very strong, and committed to have kept trying with him for so long.
Did they check for other possilibities for his pain? Non-spine related, like something with his organs, or a blockage or something?
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I have also used a chiropractor when my boy started to drop his tail instead of keeping it curled as usual. He was given a full body massage as she checked him over for places where he needed adjustment. You could definately tell every time she did an adjustment though because his body language changed since it was a little uncomfortable especially compared to the very relaxing massage. After it was through he was very happy, playful and has been keeping his tail up. Like Pat's experience, I was also shown how I could help with his tail if he started dropping it again.
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OHHH,,,,,,,Im sending good thoughts your way. Hang in there and keep us updated.
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And here is another thought if you try a chiropractor… if you can get a muzzle on him at home.... then take him.. that might work....
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I'm so sorry to hear that your B hurt his back. You might want to take him to a specialist who does back surgery to make sure he's been diagnosed correctly. I found out from when Max had back trouble that there are types of injuries that should not be treated by a chiropractor. Also–maybe acupuncture could help? My vet has both a chiropractor and acupuncturist that come in regularly to treat some of his patients.
As far as keeping him still--for about the last 4 years of Max's life, my bed was on the floor, and any furniture he could jump on was blocked. He refused to use those stairs, so that was the only way I could keep him from jumping.
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I'm so sorry for your little furbaby he must be in some tremendous pain. We're keeping all of you in our thoughts & prayers.
If you want a cool trick to putting the muzzle on…using a basket muzzle...put in one end some home cooked chicken sprinkled with parmesan & he'll voluntarily stick his nose in the muzzle.
Keep doing this without actually tying it around his head. Once's he's comfortable a few times eating out of it then you can tie it & VOILA!!
Good luck to you!
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Thanks for all the kindness.
He seems to be continually doing better without have a pain attack the last two days. The big test will be once we ween him off his anti inflammatory & pain meds.
I have been thinking about a basket muzzle, The cheese idea and graduating him to it is not a bad idea. Maybe putting it on him before he goes to the vet might not be a bad idea either.
The regular one, he will not hesitate to attack if you get anywhere close top his face with it, no matter who's doing it.
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Dog is feeling much better and is full of Mr Naughtyness. I forgot what a pain he is!
The tri devil gene again- Stealing stuff from my pockets, Pulling things off the table, pawing the dvd player, trying to steal glasses & so on. That's just one day!
He has a lot to make up for- It was nice in one way to have a drugged up Basenji.
Some how I'm glad to have the little evil back!
Thank God he his crate trained!
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Just an FYI for you-my Shadow sees the chiropractor regularily - he has a pinched nerve that will never go away. At fist he was so bad he would just lie there until he had to go outside to potty. I was going to put him down he was that bad and grumpy and in pain. I took him to the chiroproactor-every two weeks at first then down to three and four-I now take him about every two months. What an improvement! People who saw him before and see him now can't believe the improvement. He runs, plays and this year for the first time I took him out to see if he would race-he did and loved it! Since you don't have any broken bones-I would see if the chiropractor can help you-I've been in your shoes literally.
