spinal surgery ?

[Guelder Rose]

kizzy is 11 and last nov she yelped in the hallway and walked in shaking and trembling we took her to vet and eventually they said she had shattered a disc in her spine, we did the OP and she was in vets for a week and we had to start her walking again, we were so worried but shes running around now leaping on and off the sofa ,shes like a puppy and its hard to keep her calm, i agree totally with everything supaspaniel said,  we were a little shocked when we saw her after the op,for the first time but they recover so quickly ,feel free to ask any questions, anytime, fingers and paws crossed for 29th

Just wondering, but what did Kizzy's neurologist say about long term after care?  I ask because Rosie ruptured a disc when she was 13.5 y/o, she underwent surgery and I was later told to 'treat her as normal' .. just nine months later and she had more problems and needed further surgery.  I went to a different specialist centre and was told in no uncertain terms that I must never allow Rosie to jump or step again, only ramps were allowed.  If I had been advised of this first time around the second surgery may never have been necessary .. I also then discovered that Cocker Spaniels are prone to IVDD.  It just scares me that Kizzy is being allowed to leap around, which is exactly what I allowed Rosie to do after recuperation to her cost.

[catcmartin]

Our Charlie has IVDD and had spinal surgery 2 years ago in March.  We were also told to let him be a normal dog.  I listened to all the advice I got from the ABLEDOGS group I am in who most have dachshunds and some also have cockers and I no longer allow him to jump on or off the furniture as it was jumping off my recliner that helped the disks to explode.  He still 2 years later isnt 100% in his rear and never will be now.  I am lucky we dont have many stairs and we had built him a ramp to take him out into the garden.  Once they have IVDD they always have it and I only trying to prevent more disks from going as he is now 9y/o.  I also give him suplements to help his joints.
Omega 3
Glucosamine/condroitin.

Hope this helps
Cathy

[Guelder Rose]

Our Charlie has IVDD and had spinal surgery 2 years ago in March.  We were also told to let him be a normal dog.  I listened to all the advice I got from the ABLEDOGS group I am in who most have dachshunds and some also have cockers and I no longer allow him to jump on or off the furniture as it was jumping off my recliner that helped the disks to explode.  He still 2 years later isnt 100% in his rear and never will be now.  I am lucky we dont have many stairs and we had built him a ramp to take him out into the garden.  Once they have IVDD they always have it and I only trying to prevent more disks from going as he is now 9y/o.  I also give him suplements to help his joints.
Omega 3
Glucosamine/condroitin.

Hope this helps
Cathy

And, of course, IVDD progressively gets worse as time passes as it is a degenerative disease ... which is why it is even more important to restrict jumping that would hasten deterioration.  I was also giving Rosie a Glucosamine based supplement even though the first specialist said it would not help .. he said such supplements were for joints and the spine was not a joint .. at first I listened to him and then subsequently gave it to her anyway as I knew it would not do her any harm and might actually do her some good. 

It amazes me how some so called specialists tell you to let your dog carry on as normal .. this resulted in my Rosie needing further surgery.  I just felt really uneasy reading how Kizzy is leaping all over the place and wish someone had told me to stop Rosie doing the same. 

[catcmartin]

I know we had a member in Abledogs in the USA who got the same advice after his dog recovered from surgery and he allowed him to do all the jumping etc again and the dog went down again and had to have surgery again 6 months later.  The guy was really upset.  Personally I think not allowing them to jump on and off furniture or do lots of stairs is a small price to pay to keep them mobile.  Charlie still gets to do most things he always did but just for shorter time spans as he can be easily tired, but he doesnt have a watch so he cant tell that he only gets to walk the golf course seeking out golf balls for 2 hours max. now instead of the 3 or 4 hours he used to.
Cathy     

[Guelder Rose]

I know we had a member in Abledogs in the USA who got the same advice after his dog recovered from surgery and he allowed him to do all the jumping etc again and the dog went down again and had to have surgery again 6 months later.  The guy was really upset.  Personally I think not allowing them to jump on and off furniture or do lots of stairs is a small price to pay to keep them mobile.  Charlie still gets to do most things he always did but just for shorter time spans as he can be easily tired, but he doesnt have a watch so he cant tell that he only gets to walk the golf course seeking out golf balls for 2 hours max. now instead of the 3 or 4 hours he used to.
Cathy     

I can understand exactly how upset he was .. the second surgery was the last thing my Rosie needed at over 14 y/o .. and something she would not have needed had I been advised correctly.  I did restrict jumping on and off the bed by putting steps up to the bed (even though I was told leaping on and off the bed was okay by her surgeon!), but I didn't know that stepping was also bad .. and I didn't stop her from leaping around in excitement at meal times.  When my knowledge increased, I went back to my general vet and complained as I had told them at the time that I just wanted what was best for Rosie and referring her to a centre that did not have MRI facilities and did not have a qualified neurologist was not the best!  I chose the second centre which employed a team of neurologists and had its own MRI facility and this centre actually cost less in fees than the first!!  I can still hear them telling me that where they referred me "was the best place for her" when I picked her up to transport her to the referral centre 

It just breaks my heart that my Rosie suffered as a result of the mistakes made, and in a way the second surgery really became the beginning of the end which is something that fills me with so much guilt (she had other problems this year which would have been easier to deal with if her mobility had not been so badly affected by the second surgery).  I just did not realise when she lost the use of her legs in 2006 that I needed to do all my own research and that I could not for one moment trust what the vets told me .. and it angers me that we can't trust our vets considering how much they charge.  Rosie was so very precious and never complained, she just deserved so much better than she was given in her final months, and not being able to turn the clock back just eats away at you every single day. 

[minimoo]

thank you for telling me that , i have been uneasy about the amount of jumping about she does , i have stopped her running up and down stairs constantly, but how do you stop them jumping up on the sofa, when she has done it since she was young ,she is up and down constantly so if you have any ideas to stop it i would be grateful

[catcmartin]

Here are a few of the changes we made to try and stop Charlie from leaping about about mad as all cockers do.  It doesnt always work but we do manage to limit most of it as you know you cant keep a cocker down as it is in their nature to be excitable and exuberant.  We crate him over night and when we go out so we know he wont be leaping about when we are out.  He loves his crate and after spending 6 weeks on strict crate rest after his surgery it has gotten to be his special place.  I have a baby gate at the foot of the stairs so he cant go upstairs. in the house, and a ramp from the patio door out into the garden. 
We did a lot of work re-enforcing the sit stay command so that I could do it from across the room when I see that all too familiar bum waggle that tells me he is thinking about leaping up onto the couch.  I have covered up parts of my wooden flooring with carpet runners so he wont slip on the floor.  I have a quilt on the floor at the couch so that if he does get up before I can stop him, to cushion his landing coming down again.  Most of the time he will wait for one of us to lift him down from the couch, we use a lift we developed by putting one arm between his front legs and the other between his back legs and lifting him keeping his back supported.  Know he seems to know and actually slithers down from the couch instead of leaping down. 

He does not wear a collar we use a harness when walking him and an extending lead so he cant run full tilt as his co-ordination front legs is normal but he still has a weakness in his rear legs so they cant keep up with his front legs.  We are very strict with his diet as he also has pancreatitis so he has a low fat diet as well to keep his weight down and keep the pressure off his spine.  I know all of this might seem OTT but our priority is to keep him mobile at all costs, and still maintain a good qualty of life for him, and he has adapted well and so have we, our take on it is he is still with us, can still do most of the things he always did but just for shorter periods.

Cathy