My disabled dachshund, Part Two

[nullnor]

it's good to hear. i don't really know about dachshund back injuries. i looked it up quickly when you posted in the last thread. it could be a slipped disk. in addition, it could be a pinched nerve. it could be the fluid leaking out of the disk and damaging the spinal cord. it could be all three messing around with the spinal cord.

it's hard to tell what to do sometimes because animals are really good at healing themselves. most vets don't want to intervene unless they have too. just spend some time on the net familiarizing yourself with this specific type of injury in these dogs. there's lots of different treatment options. i even remember seeing one option to put them in a cage alot so they can't hurt themselves more while they heal. like being real careful with him for 5 months. not that he can jump but don't let him jump off anything or put too much pressure on his front legs. and if you don't have a fence, don't leave him outside where a coyote or something can get him.

i don't know why im good with animals. ..everyones born with something. there's not much i wouldn't do for them.

heyelander would know and have more experience than me with dachshunds. but sooner or later you'll end up being the expert on them. sometimes love is the best medicine while they do their thing.

there's a million articles on this stuff. http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-art...le-558405.html

Treatment almost always includes using an anti-inflammatory medicine. You'll hear the term "conservative treatment", this means a less radical approach or non surgical. Conservative treatments can include rest and medication, injections (Adequan is a medication said to promote healing of disc cartilage) and even chiropractic or acupuncture treatments.

[nullnor]

i suspect the reason Willie didn't take to the harnesses and stuff is because he doesn't want to admit or doesn't think he needs them. my cat is the same way. i remember when the receptionist said something and i said 'she seems to think she'll get better'. of course they thought i was referring to the female veterinarian, with a slight puzzled look that i might be referring to my cats thoughts. and the only thing i've ever seen her negative about her spinal cord injury was when she looked at a tree once and thought 'i used to be able to climb that'.

edit: my best guess is that what ever happened eventually was taken care of by Willies white blood cells. there could very well be a piched nerve in there also, but his immune system eventually broke down the disk matter immediately affecting his spinal cord. then the brain goes about the process of rewiring everything. and that takes time. and there could still be matter in there waiting to move again or not. and if it does the brain will have to start over again. the good thing about my cat was that she obliterated the disk so it took less time to break down. and also the fact she's a cat, their vertebrae are elastic and more resilient.

the original x-ray will tell you where the compression and what vertebrae spot is affected. the compression could be less, or the space between the spot wider now (i don't know if thats possible, maybe in cats) which would be good. the danger after they get better is if another, different disk, slips or leaks. but an x-ray will tell you if another spot becomes compressed. but after he starts walking, and it's safe, i would think the best thing would be to try to prevent anymore disks from becoming a problem. so it's a catch 22. if there is medicine that can strengthen the other disks, perhaps look into it after the original problematic matter has already been broken down by Willies immune system. i would think one disk problem is hopefully manageable, but not so much two.

i've had off and on feelings about veterinarians, but until proven otherwise, you have to trust them. they do know their stuff. but they are trained because the information is daunting. i don't think i'd trust a doggie chiropractor tho.

[nullnor]

As I recall, he said among other things that Willie would take his cues from me.

The Two Invalids

Suspense

A Special Pleader

[nullnor]

Off To School

Trust

The Serenade

Compulsory Education

[nullnor]

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[Lucky]

Nice images, nullie.

Everything you told me about Willie, and what would happen over time, was absolutely true. He is not 100%, but he now gets along very well, and even runs with the big Lab out in the yard. His favorite resting place, though, is still right here in the recliner with me.

I really appreciate your advice and analysis and predictions. Willie did in fact take his cues from us, and seems to be as happy as ever.

[nullnor]

yes, animals are like that.

ps. thanks, i put the images together like a story for you.

[johnnya24]

Are we sure there isn't a simpler answer to this?

[nullnor]

the moral of the story is, we sometimes suffer or endure momentary monumental bad luck before moving to good luck and mitigation or miracle. but thats only if your lucky.

[nullnor]

i do have a dilemma. and im not off my meds. do i let ppl maybe think i think im freaking Jesus Christ. or do i go off. because im kind of pissed about a few things.

johnny: congratulations. you managed to (ruin a beautiful thread) get two insults in at once. religion and politics. your really just an anti-religious troll. and not even a very smart one. europeans have no real politics so they have to get in ours. europeans like you actually give ppl like Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin some semblence of validity in their ranting. your ***** ass would be speaking german if we hadn't been around to babysit your military.

Lucky. it's not images it's art dude. i put that together from nothing in less than an hour, and most of the time was spent just pasting the links. it's genius. an idea that would win an award at an art gallery. and enough with the Dennis Miller crap. not that im going all Daniel@RJ (where, im throwing my hat in with an anti-immigrant piece of **** like ST) but when i criticize Obama and democrats im really complaining that the battle is lost. america doesn't just lean right, it's full blown conservative. we may win some battles but the framework of the argument has been obliterated. thus i decided to try to understand them. and as a result get called a defector of the motherland. do you know what bipartisan means? it means conservative democrats getting together with uber-conservative republicans and making a deal.

ST, you deserve any crap you get in real life. not that you have anything to do with this or the Bush thread but while im going off i might as well take some liberties. your freaking DR Smith in Lost in Space.

im actually tired of the anti-republican and anti-religious stuff on here. sure im a huge offender but im trying to grow up. even if it means anarchy, i don't prefer.

i don't want ppl to think im insane... whatever. that Bush picture in this thread really set me off. i wouldn't have typed this otherwise.

[nullnor]

...and ppl that cite a clown like Stephen Hawking on theology.

Rees launched another attack on his Cambridge colleague Stephen Hawking, who in the week his latest book hit the shelves last year declared there was no need for a creator God. "I know Stephen Hawking well enough to know that he has read little philosophy and less theology, so I don't think his views should be taken with any special weight," Rees said.

[Lucky]

Yeah, I thought the Bush picture was pretty offensive, too, but it doesn't change my belief that apologizing to Bush for anything at this point is laughable. Regardless party affiliation, he hurt us as a country in ways from which we can never recover. Never again will we hold the high ground on torture and human rights. Even John McCain spoke the other day about how torture was wrong, as well as ineffective, and he has some first hand experience with the subject. So, indignation noted, but anyone who plays the Bush apologist opens themselves up to the same sort of critique.