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Resources for disabled dogs
1. Pixel's story
Well, who would have known... Down this page, you'll see the sweet email Amy L. Robertson sent me the day she found my site. That was before Pixel's accident. Here is Pixel's story, knowing that each case is different, and should of course be suppervised by a vet.
On New Year's Eve 2005, we left the dogs home as we were going to Canada for a short vacation. A sitter was visiting them twice a day, playing in the yard, feeding ect... Pixel was in great shape, showing no sign of discomfort ; she had just had a routine vet visit ; he told me she could loose a pound or two (she had gained a bit on baby food scraps !!!), but that she was a "perfect" dachshund.
Well, that night, her back gave up. The sitter found her on the sofa. She didn't greet him at the door as she usually did. He coaxed her to go outside to pee, and she did, but he could see something was wrong. After 2 hours of close supervision, she was doing much worse, not moving at all, shaking, obviously in pain. He called us, told us he tought she had a broken leg. We immediatly knew it had to be her back, and our friend Gogo came right away and took Pixel to the Woburn Emergency Clinic, as we were driving back from Montreal...
Pixel was diagnosed with a ruptured herniated disc, caused by the infamous disc degenarative desease, so well known among dachsunds. I personnally think she also fell off, maybe from being in balance between the sofa's arm and our baby's high chair, trying to pick up scraps of food (I've seen her do it before...), well, we'll never know.
At the clinic, they observed Pixel for the night (or were they waiting for us to arrive and prepay ??). When we arrived at 6 the morning after - we drove all night from Montreal - Pixel was totally paralysed (even her tail), her condition had terribly worsen. She was shaking all over, could not stand, was in terrible pain (so hard to see) but had NOT completly lost the feelings in her legs (in other words, if the doctor pinched her, she felt the pain). He told us she was a good candidate for the operation. After an MRI ($800) they operated. It was a success, and the doctor told us she was very likely to walk again. The total cost of the operation, MRI and stay, was $3500.-
The evening of the operation, we came and visit. She could stand (dogs are amazing !!!!!) was wagging her tail, and drank and ate (what dachshund can resist chicken soup ???). She stayed a couple more days at the hospital (I don't really remember how long it was), and when I was finally able to pick her up, she actually WALKED into her crate (we did crate train her as a puppy - such a good idea !).
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Recovery was terribly slow. We followed the doctor's advise to the letter, and used all the links that you'll find hereunder for more info, in particular http://www.dodgerslist.com that was so useful. The first week, she was pretty much out of it, happy to be in her crate. But after, she wanted out, could walk OK, so I let her out a bit ; but each time I did, she pushed the limits ; ran, played with Zip (our other dog)... and the day after, you could see she was in pain. But she was so happy to be out. And she seemed fine...
7 weeks to the day after her operation (the sheet they give you says to crate for 7 weeks), there was a nice snow storm in Boston. Pixel looooooves the snow. We took a sleigh out in our very quiet street - the first time for our baby girl - and Pixel was begging me with her eyes, and since she had been doing so well, well, we let the dogs out, to enjoy a nice family moment.
Pixel ran up and down the street, chased Zip and who knows what else. We were busy pulling the sleigh, I though, "well, Pixel is a dog, she has instincts, she won't do anything that would hurt her". Sooooo wrong. The day after, and for one week, she couldn't move. We got pretty scared. And got lucky it didn't have long term effects. Well, it was a good reminder that despite her looks, she was still in recovery. So it was back to the crate, for another month.Then we progressively allowed some outside time with close suppervision - and no play. And we carried her outside to pee for almost 4 months. She wouldn't climb the 4 stairs in front of the house anyway. Then, one day, she did. So we let her. Then carried her 2 more days, then let her again. Slowly, we let her do more and more things, with still a lot of rest, limitation and supervision.
It has now been 5 full months, and you could never tell Pixel had such a big operation. Her hair totally covers the scar, she runs and jumps better than ever. Actually, writing this is good for me since it reminds me I should still keep her a bit quieter. It's so hard, since she looks so fine...
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Things I've learned;
- YOU CANNOT TRUST YOUR DOG. You have to supervise it as you would a toddler. The same way Pixel would eat a 10 pound bag of food in one serving if I let her, she would keep running and jumping with a bad back. They have no control. You have to control them.
- Any dachshund can go down. Pixel comes from a reputable breeder, is young, was never overweight, is very muscular, I would NEVER have thought it could happen to her now. I still cannot admit it actually, and still wonder if she didn't fall...
Things I've changed;
- The dogs don't go upstairs anymore. They sleep in the kitchen. I have place permanent kids gates at the bottom of the stairs, and they cannot go up.
- I've put some pretty iron railings around the small wall in the garden so that Zip doesn't jump from it ( this wall is about 2.5 feet high, Zip loves to jump, he things he can fly...)
- I keep both dogs super slim. Extra weight, even only a couple of pounds, is really hard on their back.
- when I am not home, both dogs are in the kitchen. Nothing can happen to them there.
Then, it's up to you. You have to decide of the risks you are willing to take. My dogs still run in the garden, chase each other like tornados, rumble like lions. Next year, I will let Pixel off leash in the forest again (she comes when called - amazing for a dachshund, I know, I am quite proud :-). I know it's dangerous for her back, but she is a dog, and it's one of her biggest pleasures. And yes, this is specially bad, but they both jump on and off the sofa and armchairs. We didn't have the strengh to constantly fight with them : furthermore, since they don't sleep in our bed anymore (no comment please...) it's the only time we cuddle... But think wisely before you create bad habits.
I hope this never happens to your dog, but if it does, here are some incredibly useful sites. And of course, feel free to contact me.
2. Tas' story
Amy L. Robertson contacted me with some very interesting info
sites on disabled dogs... since we, dachshunds, are unfortunately very succeptible
to this kind of injury, I thought I'd share the info with you. Feel free to
contact her for more personal info. Email
Amy.
Woof ! Pixel.
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On 9/18/2003, Amy wrote : |
| Tasselhof Burrfoot and Radar O'Reilly |
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3. links
Dewey's Wheelchairs for Dogs, Inc. http://www.wheelchairsfordogs.com
Eddie's Wheels for Pets http://www.eddieswheels.com
K9 Carts http://www.k9carts.com
A store http://www.handicappedpets.com
with plans for homemade carts: http://handicappedpets.com/KidJohnsCart.htm
Another cart company http://www.dogmobile-online.com/
AbleDogs http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AbleDogs
These are normal everyday people, dealing with special needs dogs. No vets,
just day to day help and support. I really think they saved Tas' life...in fact,
I'm sure of it.
DodgersList http://www.dodgerslist.com
This is a list to discuss ways to help inform veterinarians and humans owned
by dachshunds about both traditional and alternative treatments for disc disease.
More structured than AbleDogs. Dodgers traces specifics things about disc disease.
It's named after the sweet puppy in the pic.