vet bill

We had 2 doxie's - 1 of which had back problems. Advice - limit the amount of steps they go up and down, teach them to let you lift them on and off the sofa and bed if you allow them up and do not encourage them to stand on their hind legs as many dogs do when trained to do tricks. Make sure they get excercise to keep muscles toned to help eliminate back stress AND DO NOT ALLOW THEM TO BE OVERWEIGHT! Ours had 2 episodes where he couldn't walk , our vet immediately gave cortisone with a surgical shunt because of the small veins as it was imperative to stop the swelling so that spinal cord was not damaged. Within a week he was walking again although he had a funny gait after the 2nd time. Our vet would take us the minute we called and the minute we walked in the door if it was a back problem. If your vet doesn't seem very up to date on the conditions of these dogs where the back is involved, I would look for someone with more experience with them. Ours was a rescue who lived in a kennel for 7-8 years and the sudden exercise cause the 1st episode as his muscles and back were not used to being able to walk let alone run. The 2nd was caused by a child tackling him trying to catch him. It is very painful for them and heartbreaking for you when they have to go thru this stuff. Hope the eye heals and you have no further problems.