Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
Hi everyone!! (need advice!)
I haven't written since i think june when i got back from my honeymoon!!
Hope all is well for everyone!!!
Well..i just had to take my 1.5 year old puppy to the vet this morning, and found out he has a slipped disc in his back... :-/... He is on pain medicine, muscle relaxers..and the vet told me to give him *medical therapy at home* which consists of...cage time.. for 4-6 weeks.
Now, my puppy loves his cage, and sleeps in there 70% of the day. ( door open so dont think he is neglected!!!) .however..he isn't TOLD to... now with his back all out of whack, the vet doesnt want him to jump on the bed, walk up/down stairs..and when we take him outside she wants him on a short leash so he doesnt run.
Has anyone ever dealt with this? What should i expect, how do i keep an active dog..NOT active for the next few weeks...:-( he is just a puppy...he still has bundles of energy....:-(
I feel like im neglecting him keeping him inside and laying down..:-( he use to play ball 3-4 times a day..if not more...now he hasnt played in 1 week cuz he hasnt been feeling well and now he has to wiat another 6 weeks!!
And has anyone ever done back surgery on a dog? The vet said a couple years down the road he MAY need it....soo how much do i need to save??
Any advice?
Re: Hi everyone!! (need advice!)
I work as a licensed veterinary technician so I can tell you that you want to stick with the cage rest/limited activity as much as possible. Back injuries in dogs are very serious and doing too much too soon can be incredibly harmful to your pet later on. I know it's hard to keep him quit for so long and you feel like you aren't treating him right but I promise it will not be the end of the world and he'll still love you at the end of this.
When you are at home with him and just lounging around the house, keep him on a short leash so he can still be right next to you. Pick him up (if he's allowed on the furniture) so he can still be with you. The main thing is to not let him run, jump or use stairs, basically anything that is going to put more stress on his back.
If you are having a hard time keeping him calm at home, there are mild tranquilizers that come in pill form that you can get from your vet (as long as your puppy doesn't have a history with seizures). These aren't going to knock him out completely or change him in anyway, they are just going to take the edge off of him so he will want to relax more. Keep in mind that some dogs can override them so they may not work on your dog but it might be worth a try if he is being really crazy. Especially something to keep in mind once he starts feeling better because he is going to think that it's OK to run, jump and be playful again.
Something else to think about or look into is V.O.M. (Veterinary Orthopedic Manipulation), it's kind of hard to explain how all of it works but it's along the lines of laser therapy (which is a part of the treatment). Anytime we have a dog or cat in with a sore neck, back, leg, hip, elbow etc, we highly, highly suggest that they make an appointment with the woman in our area that does the treatments. For us, she's a licensed veterinary technician who has specialized in this treatment. It works amazingly and it would definitely be something I suggest you look into. Some vet offices office offer it in the clinic and some will refer you to somebody. Some places may also suggest cold laser therapy which is also very helpful.
As far as the back surgery goes, I don't know that I would suggest it for a dog. I think it is a lot to put an animal through and it can even make the problem worse if it doesn't work (not to mentioned you'd be out all the money). I live in Northern Michigan and I don't know any doctors in my area that would even do that type of surgery so it would require going to a specialist and if I had to ballpark a price I would think of some where between $3000-5000 for the surgery. Keep in mind that this price is going to vary depending on where you live but that will give you an idea of what it might cost to have the surgery done and there isn't a promise that it will truly recover the dog. Not to mention, you would have to go through the whole cage rest process again for probably 8-10 weeks.
You said your dog is still a puppy, so I would suggest that once he is healthy again to keep him at a lean weight, not grossly thin but dogs that are prone to back and neck problems should be slightly underweight (maybe 5 pounds under weight), less weight means less stress on the bones and joints. Make sure that he is on some type of glucosamine chondroitin supplement that is going to help protect the cartilage around his joint, giving him fish oil wouldn't be a bad idea either since it helps keep things lubricated as far as joints go. How did he hurt his back in the first place? If you have hardwood or tile floors, maybe think about getting runners and rugs to help him from slipping around on the floors.
I know this is quite the novel to read and I apologize for that but it's hard to just summarize everything sometimes
If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask, I'd love to answer anything that might be on your mind!