Need moral support and help

rtaylor0830, praying for you.

My good friends and neighbors have had 3 weiner dogs. She spoils the******out of them. They get hand fed from a spoon (if that helps any). They adore me when I come visit. Anyway, she travels a few hundred miles to Kansas State for that back deal. Apparently they have some sort of program down there that's worth the trip and priced right. Looks like that'd be a little bit of a commute for you though. Just thought I'd mention it.

Sparky my (9 yo) Chihuahua did the same. Nothing was broke, but hurt really bad trying to jump on the couch. It took weeks but slowly he has gained strength and is walking on his own and I caught him making the darn jump up on the couch again, I got to watch him closer. The vet's talked about surgery but we waited and it is getting better.

Concur with Dr. Doug, if he still has some feeling then there is some hope. We have had two with the same scenario. One is mobile again though somewhat limited and the other did not recover and we ended up helping her to the bridge.
Our experience is that the next few weeks are critical and you need to keep him in a limited movement environment so that he can be quiet and heal. We used rymadil for the pain and inflammation.
I hope that yours can recover and we wish you both well with the process but you need to remain objective as taking care of a disabled dog is a great deal of work.

I know what I would do, but that's me.

We had a similar scenario. Raised 7 doxies....they are our favorite.

Medical management takes time and effort to help restore function.

Two of our doxies had back injuries and had medications and water therapy every day. They were carried outside to potty including being carried to the potty pads down the hall.

Keeping pain under control and limiting activity helped the healing process. Pain meds and prednisone were the primary choice by our veterinarian.

Don't give up and don't start with surgery.

Best of luck!!!

rtaylor0830 wrote:
... He has lost almost all feeling in his back legs ...
Caring for a paralyzed dog is very troublesome but I don't know what to do

If there is not total loss of feeling, there is hope. I've had dozens of patients with a similar problems and some do recover, not always completely but sufficient to walk. The next week or two are pretty critical in determining prognosis.

Caring for them is NOT just getting a cart and putting on a diaper. Many with total loss (a functionally severed spinal cord) cannot eliminate without external aid. These dogs are more prone to developing serious urinary tract/kidney infections.

There are serious skin issues due to trauma to the non-functional limbs.

Some dogs adapt to carts better than other, some not at all.

You need to weigh all these things when making a decision.

Doug, DVM

I have a friend in Pennsylvania that raises doxies. She has this sweet little girl named Charli Angel, she had a similar fate. She did the rehab, acupuncture, Chiropractic and Charli never has regained her hind legs.
She has a cart that she does very well with but she also like to scoot around on the floor by herself.
She always has a diaper on and my friend Bonnie says she would not put her to sleep for this. She's a very happy and well adjusted dog that just loves people and gets along really well with my dogs.
It's really an individual decision. If she's not in pain and you think she can do better in time then try it.
Bonnie and her DH still RV with the dogs and Charli loves to go too!

Sher

First question to you is what is the state of your health?
Do you think you will be able to care for him for about 6 years?
Will taking care of him lessen the quality of your life?

Answer these questions to yourself no need to post the answer. JUST be honest with yourself.