APRIL - update and a beware!

Oh no! I missed your earlier thread and I am so sorry.

I wish April and you the best and I hope this all works out.

OK, nice deep breath because this can still be ok.  Rusty also had disc degeneration and when he was hurting steroids and bed rest would do the trick.

That had to be terrifying for both of you and I'm so sorry it happened.  I'd be giving the groomer a VERY large piece of my mind and knowing me, probably the darned bill for the Emergency vet.  Blaster groomer!

Steroids are going to make her thirsty as heck so be sure she's getting enough water, and of course she'll need to pee more.  She may experience a faster than normal heartbeat too.  Use care when you lift her, and if possible, have her WALK out to potty.

You and April will continue to be in our thoughts and prayers.

Thank you, I need all the help I can get!

Feel free to email me anytime.  I sent you my actual email addy. 

Rusty was a cocker, so not quite so tiny as your little peanut, but backs are backs, so any support I can offer, I'll be happy to.  Callie also has incredible resources for dealing with off the wall stuff.  You might want to email her as well.  And, she ALWAYS, welcomes email and is willing to help.

Oh poor April, and my heart goes out to both of you.   You seem to have found an excellent facility to take care of her.   I'll continue to keep you both in my thoughts and prayers.

 Just want to give you a little hope by saying Biscotti had disc surgery maybe 8 years ago, and it was very successful.  It took a while to recover, but she has led a very normal, active life since.  Now that she is 13, she is getting arthritis in her back legs, but that may have happened anyway.  You may want to consider a second opinion from a Vet school at a University...it might even be less expensive than an emergency clinic. 

I also wouldn't be too quick to blame the groomer.  They may have aggravated it, but it is a pre-existing condition and was going to happen at some time anyway.  We found Biscotti in the backyard one morning crying because she couldn't move.  Yes, I was terrified!

One thing you can do for now to help, if she needs to walk a bit, roll up a bath towel and put the center under her tummy.  You can hold the ends and support her as she walks.

Good luck, and feel free to contact me if you need more help! 

sorry you have to experience all of this!! i'm glad she is doing ok, my dog didnt do as well on the prednizone and what nots... thirsty yes, but knocked out? nope. she handled the pain well though. couldnt tell she was hurt except for being paralyzed!

So i'm glad she is doing better than Kaydee. we'll keep you guys in our prayers that she will recover swiftly and with no pain

auburn - I haven`t been on the forum for a few days so I missed your first thread. Words can`t express the sadness that I feel about what has happened to sweet little April. We will be praying each and everyday for April to get better. Comforting prayers for you also. April has a very special Mommy who loves her very much.

So sorry to ear this----that poor thing. Hope things get better for you and April.Take care.

Oh bless your hearts -- a groomer can do more damage than you can believe.  Good warning!!

A couple of things -- you might want to give her milk thistle to help detox the liver from the pred.  It's benign - it won't hurt in any way (in fact this year the AKC is paying to have studies done on the effects of "silymarin" - which is the latin name for milk thistle - on how well it mitigates the damage some drugs can do).  The capsules can be opened and it's virtually tasteless so you can mix it right in to her food.

I'd do two caps twice a day - just go to a good health store and buy their *best* brand of milk thistle.  Most vets are aware that the AKC is encouraging this and the benefits of milk thistle are huge. 

Also you might want to consider *adding* a holistic vet who does acupuncture -- acupuncture can help aid healing such problems and it is INCREDIBLE for pain.  If you go to the http://www.tcvm.com website on the left hand side there is a "locator" -- use by state or zip code and it will tell you the nearest vets to you.  Probably where you are - probably will be within 50 miles.

You don't have to do acupuncture a zillion times a week or anything -- but it can be SO beneficial in healing.  We had disc degeneration with Foxy and Muffin both and it really helped enormously.  It was also a side effect of the cyclosporine that Billy took and it helped so much.

You might also want to try the Knox Nutra Joint -- it's just a supplement, NOT a pain reliever.  But it puts the building blocks at the body's disposal to actually re-build cartilage material   It takes months -- and for April's size probably 1/2 to 1 teaspoon once a day will be sufficient.  You just add it to their food - -there's calcium and plain gelatin in it so it's not at all unpleasant.  Just make it a habit and I think you'll find some true improvement in just 2-3 months.

(Me, the lady who has had all the dogs with back problems) The other thing I'd recommend is massage.  Now you can do a LOT yourself -- Dr. Fox's books on pet massage are all super.  Or you can go to http://www.petmassage.com -- they have videos you can get for yourself, OR they can recommend a professional/certified pet massage therapist -- again, the help with pain and healing is INCREDIBLE. 

good luck -- and I'm glad they identified the problem!!!!

 I too, am so sorry for what April is going through!  Just take it one step at a time, and maybe things won't seem so bleak.  You are all in our thoughts and prayers, good luck!

Poor April! Teenie has degenerative disc disease, too.

It would be *very* hard to groom a dog in a harness, if not impossible. It would be much better and easier to teach her to stand still for grooming, whether she likes what's being done or not. I groom both of my dogs without a noose, but I cannot groom most clients' dogs without some form of restraint. 

I do groom April at home in between times when she goes for a good cut, I bathe her and clip her and she stands right still for me, the only thing is when I do the cutting around her eyes she does turn her head back and forth and I guess this is why they had the noose on.  But no thanks, she is not going to a groomer again, she is never going to be out of my sight at one of those places again.  I'll groom her as best I can and get her nails done at the vet's.  I'm not blaming the groomer, I know the condition was existing.  I am a bit ticked because I know darn well that did not happen the minute I went to pick her up and before they always walked her out to me on her least, this time they handed her to me, so I'm sure they were aware that something was wrong that is my only complaint with them.