Dog with slipped disk

Gael23

My 11 year old cocker spaniel has a slipped disk for the last few days and is on 2 diffrent types of medication, im not exactly sure what they are. When he gets them in the morning hes in great form but come evening as they begin to wear off you can see that hes in pain, he starts trebmling and is just not himself. The vet did say to keep him rested but theres only so much of that you can enforce.
I suppose im looking to know if this will fix itself over time or are we looking at a bigger problem here? The vet did mention surgery but obviously that wouldnt be taken lightly at his age.

anniehoo

wrote:

My 11 year old cocker spaniel has a slipped disk for the last few days and is on 2 diffrent types of medication, im not exactly sure what they are.

Spinal problems are painful fullstop. Is he on Anti-inflammtories?It will say what they are on the box. Meloxicam is the most common.

wrote:

The vet did say to keep him rested but theres only so much of that you can enforce.

Rest...literally means that. Im having the same issue as you just now,except its my cat. He needs more or less complete cage rest for the next week.:eek:

The difficulty is...me...and the guilt. Try and forget about "him" for the meantime and think about the "condition", thats what im trying to do (its really hard). You need to remember that animals will do themselves more harm than good when they're injured and if allowed to do so, will continue until is irreparable.

Try and take your emotions out of the equation (its so so hard) and think of the problem. Spinal injury!!!! A human wouldnt be allowed run around the place,so your pet shouldnt either. It's a pain for the meantime, but it will be forgotten longtime.Thats what im going with anyway

Dont give in...you'll honestly do more harm than good!

mymo

Have you got a crate?
They can be a god send when dealing with injuries. Make the crate nice and cosey, put in a bed and put a blanket over the crate to make it into the dogs little den.
If he's not used to it you can leave the door open to start with, get a couple of kongs and stuff with food, give them to him in the crate. it will keep him occupied both physically and mentally.
Best of luck, don't give in to those big eyes, its for him (even though he doesn't know it).

Gael23

I think one is anti inflammatory and the other is a painkiller. Last night he started to get a bit distressed so we took him back in and the vet gave him an injection. That made him sleep for a few hours and did seem to work.

No we dont have a crate but I dont think we could get him to settle in there, at the moment were just trying to keep him confined to one room, no climbing up the stairs, only letting him outside when he really needs to etc. I dont think, even with the best of intentions we could get him to settle in a crate.
So all we can do now is wait and see.

tk123

Just to echo what others have said a crate is the best way to go. The more rest he gets the quicker he'll get better. You just have to be tough - they will settle eventually even if they cry at first. Give plenty of treats, kongs, nylabones to keep them happy, a blanet off my bed worked really well for my guy. It seems like a nightmare at first but once you get into a routine with him in the crate he'll snooze most of the the time. My dog was on crate rest for 6 weeks last year - he cried to get out at first but settled after a day or two and then he was fine. He was 16 months old though - i really think an 11 year old would be calmer and settle in to it ok if you try it? A crate for a dog the size of a cocker will only set you back around €50 at most which is nothing compared to vets fees if they have to take him in. Www.jebtoools.ie have great prices on crates and do next day delivery.

mdd

ryanf1 wrote: »

My 11 year old cocker spaniel has a slipped disk for the last few days and is on 2 diffrent types of medication, im not exactly sure what they are. When he gets them in the morning hes in great form but come evening as they begin to wear off you can see that hes in pain, he starts trebmling and is just not himself. The vet did say to keep him rested but theres only so much of that you can enforce.
I suppose im looking to know if this will fix itself over time or are we looking at a bigger problem here? The vet did mention surgery but obviously that wouldnt be taken lightly at his age.

My cocker has a similar problem since today - overnighting in vets at present
How is it working out for you - any improvement ?

Gael23

mdd wrote: »

My cocker has a similar problem since today - overnighting in vets at present
How is it working out for you - any improvement ?

Its not easy but he has improved slightly. At his age the obvious aim is to avoid surgery.
The vets kept him for a few days and when we got him home we wernt being strict enough with resting him so he went downhill a little which led to him twice being given an injection of painkillers and eventually another few days in the vets.
Now weve bought a baby gate for the stairs so we can control movements better which is working- he still does go up but not near as often as before. We have to stop him standing on his hind legs which means no jumping on people, after 11.5 years that is the hardest one.
It looks likehe will permanently be on a half tablet of painkiller daily in order to avoid the surgery but I took him for a short walk last weekend for the first time and he was fne so thats a step forward

mdd

ryanf1 wrote: »

Its not easy but he has improved slightly. At his age the obvious aim is to avoid surgery.
The vets kept him for a few days and when we got him home we wernt being strict enough with resting him so he went downhill a little which led to him twice being given an injection of painkillers and eventually another few days in the vets.
Now weve bought a baby gate for the stairs so we can control movements better which is working- he still does go up but not near as often as before. We have to stop him standing on his hind legs which means no jumping on people, after 11.5 years that is the hardest one.
It looks likehe will permanently be on a half tablet of painkiller daily in order to avoid the surgery but I took him for a short walk last weekend for the first time and he was fne so thats a step forward

Thanks for the reply:
The vet pretty much said the only hope was surgery
So we brought her to Dan O'Neill - a bonesetter in Myschel in Carlow. He said he felt 2 slipped discs and popped them back in - A remarkable difference, she is not 100% but not far off - I would highly recommend trying it

ISDW

ryanf1 wrote: »

Its not easy but he has improved slightly. At his age the obvious aim is to avoid surgery.
The vets kept him for a few days and when we got him home we wernt being strict enough with resting him so he went downhill a little which led to him twice being given an injection of painkillers and eventually another few days in the vets.
Now weve bought a baby gate for the stairs so we can control movements better which is working- he still does go up but not near as often as before. We have to stop him standing on his hind legs which means no jumping on people, after 11.5 years that is the hardest one.
It looks likehe will permanently be on a half tablet of painkiller daily in order to avoid the surgery but I took him for a short walk last weekend for the first time and he was fne so thats a step forward

Sorry, I know that your reply is a few days old, but if your dog is still going up the stairs, even just sometimes, then I really, really would recommend a crate. How did the vets contain him in the surgery when he had to stay there? I bet it was a crate or a small pen, so it definitely is doable. Lots of stuffed kongs to keep him occupied in there, also wears the dogs out, using their brain, and the endorphins that are released through the chewing helps to relax them.