6 year old doxie 2 weeks out of IVDD surgery
My beloved 6-year-old long-haired dachshund (who is the bestest boy ever) had the same story so many people on here do - suddenly lost the use of his back legs. He went from being active, my hiking partner, and a complete maniac to being completely disabled. We live in Seattle, and the emergency vet told us that he needed an 8k MRI and a 15K surgery right away. This was beyond what we could afford, so we called around to some local emergency animal hospitals and found one that had a neurologist on staff that could see him right away for a second opinion. This animal hospital confirmed the diagnosis and offered the diagnostic CT scan, surgery and follow up laser treatments for 11K. This was difficult to afford but we could do it. I wanted to let people know that calling around can significantly impact prices. And the other animal hospital is very kind and competent, we have been pleased with their care.
I don't know what stage my little guy was in, but he was dragging both his legs, but still had deep pain sensation. He had the surgery, they removed much of the debris from two discs, and we have been doing near daily laser treatments since (we have just been upgraded to every other day). The one downside of the cheaper animal hospital is that it is 45 minutes away, so we have been sharing the responsibility of driving our little guy to the hospital between the several adults in our family (we have several young adult/college aged children living with us).
Progress? apparently pretty good. He's starting to bear weight on one of his legs, he's started to wag his tail, and he's feeling a lot better. The doctor said it would take probably 2 months before he's recovered.
I know we are still relatively new at this, but I wanted to share what I've learned so far. Here's a few things I wanted to share, in case others are looking on here for info:
My low point: Two of them, actually. One, when I found out the price of the surgery and had a panic attack. Second, the first night we had my doggie home after the surgery and he was in pain and seemed so fragile that I was worried we'd spent a ton of money and he was just in pain and suffering.
Best thing so far: The first tail wag; honestly, I felt like I was going to just burst with how happy I was.
Best thing we bought: the post-surgical cone was pretty uncomfortable, so I bought some onesies and pajamas to cover the surgical incision to prevent him picking at it. None of the onesies fit him right, even the ones that were designed for dachshunds. But, what worked best, was a silly tshirt I bought for him at Lowe's hardware. He can pee and poo and it and it covers his scar. We bought a sling to walk him with, but one I made from an old tshirt and some scrap fabric works better, to be honest.
This is a list I wish I had known before I had brought him home, I didn't know. Essential supplies post-surgery: pee pads, soft, orthopedic bed for crate, bigger crate than you probably already have, soft fleece blanket to cover the pee pads over the mattress, dog tshirts, wipes, method for helping him take pills (we found soft cheese a better method than peanut butter), etc. We also bought a large plastic box from Home Depot to make a second sleeping area in our bedroom for him that he couldn't get out of so he could sleep right by us with my hand in his box, as that was the hardest time for him to not be with us.
Biggest truth I've learned so far: this whole thing is emotionally exhausting. Besides worrying so much about your little doggie child, you also won't get good sleep as the dog doesn't, you have hours in your routine you didn't have before, and it's so hard to see the little creature you love so much in pain. I hope in a few months I will say it's worth it. I'm glad to be on a sub with you guys who are in it too.
edit to add: I have owned dachshunds my whole life. I've had ones that need prednisone and crate rest before. The only other one that had IVDD this bad was a 5 year old male one that suddenly became paralyzed and had it so bad that the doctor recommended that we put him down. He was in a great deal of pain, it was bad enough that surgery wasn't an option, and it was affecting his body working in basic ways. So this probably contributed to my panic when this first happened, thinking of my other little dog so long ago.