My 2 year old mini Daschund injured somehow?

[Kylah-Ann]

Hello. My name is Kylah-Ann.
The other day I was at my dads place visiting with my daschund Shyloh. My dad has a 9 year old border colie lab mix and a 7 month old collie/lab/shepard puppy who is the size of a pony! The puppy always jumps all over Shyloh and he gets very upset and he growls at her, so we usualy carry him when we are there. I lived there with Shyloh for the first year of his life and it is still "home" to him. Yesterday when we were there he was excited to be visting and ran up the stairs to go see my dad. The big puppy ran after him...and we didn't see or hear if anything happend. Then Shyloh was trying to come back to us and seemed to be stuck on the stairs. He didn't want to move. So I went and picked him up. He seemed motionless. We put him on the couch and he seemed like he didn't want to move. All he wanted to do after that was sleep. We kept are eye on him and then his supper time came around. He loves to eat, he never turns down the chance to eat his food. (and he's not over weight, he's a very lean dog.) But when we gave him his food he just stared at it. Then he attempted to eat some and gave up and just lay beside his bowl. We were really worried now. My dad said he may of just pulled something and to wait it out till morning before taking him to the vet. So, this morning he woke up and went to go stretch and couldn't. It hurt him to stretch. and he couldn't shake like dogs normaly do.(from head to tail) But he did eat ALL his breakfast so his hunger is back. We tried a few minor tests to see where he was hurting...he dosn't cry or wimper if you touch him anywhere, but he seems to not want to put any presure on his back left leg and he walks a little funny...he kind of arches his back near the rear. And all he wants to do is sleep. I know that daschunds can get very serious back injuries and hip problems. But he is so young. We can't decide if we should wait to see if he improves, if it is a pulled muscle or something...or if we should take him in a.s.a.p. Vet bills are pricey. But i'd rather be safe then sorry. Can anyone help me out? Does it sound like something really serious?

[lucyk]

Hi,

I strongly urge you to see your vet immediately. Degenerative disc is a very serious problem with your breed of dog. I am in the same situation but mine is a different breed but small dog. Ask for an x-ray, it's expensive but worth it, get 1-2 x-rays. If there's a disc problem especially with small dogs it's called type 1 which is potentially dangerous because the disc can rupture anytime and the worst case scenario cause paralysis. I'm in the process of seeing a nuerologist at south Emergency clinic. If it requires surgery, it's thousands of dollars. Your dog might be in pain if it doesn't want to move at least get some meds for it. Good luck.

Bye,
Lucy

[bendyfoot]

I think the "vet asap" is the smartest thing at this point. With doxies, age doesn't really matter when it comes to their backs. If they're down, the faster you can start treatment, the better the likelihood of full recovery. The longer you wait the more likely that paralysis will be permanent. Keep in mind that xrays won't always be able to diagnose soft tissue injury or disc problems, you may want to ask your vet about a neuro specialist if nothing turns up in the leg itself and back injury is suspected.

[Kylah-Ann]

Hello! Thanks to those who replied. We took him to the vet. The vet said that he has injured his hind left leg were it connects to his hip. Nothing serious though, thank goodness. He was given a needle to help with the pain and relax his muscles. We just have to keep an eye on him and prevent him from any strain, jumping or climbing. He should recover 100% within the next week hopefully. If not we were told to take him in again.

[bendyfoot]

Very good news, indeed! You were wise to take him in, even if it "only" turned out to be a leg injury...with doxies you just don't want to take the chance. Wishes for a speedy recovery

[SnowDancer]

Good news, but please keep an eye on him. I am assuming that your vet did an X-Ray, if not, he/she will not know if there are calcified discs which may or many not be pressing on spine (all Dachshunds seem to have some form of calcified discs - it is the pressing on spinal cord that causes the paralysis). As far as age goes, my first guy had his first event at age 1 1/2 - every disc in his body - and then his neck discs started pressing as well. Note that neck disc problem presents with a limp in front paw - which can be misdiagnosed - but surgery is necessary. My guy had 3 events - requiring hospitalization for 2 weeks each time, on steroids - and being moved to increasingly smaller cages as movement returned. At age 3 he had full body surgery - this was 1989 - surgery was still new in Toronto. Jump forward to 2003, my second soulmate Dachshund also had full body surgery - this time Stage II which does not present in same way. So please be careful and keep an eye on your dog.

[smile4spike]

We had to put our 3 year old Dachshund to sleep last week. We were totally uninformed. He appeared to have an obstruction to me - he likes to chew on toys and blankets. His tummy was full and tight and was not himself. The vet took x-rays and said he had calcificaton on 3 disks at the last rib. Gave him 2 shots and sent home with antibiotics and predisone - said if not better in 1 week bring him back or call that his tummy was really gassy because of his back pain. He perked up a bit - the next morning he ate and rested. Around noon he was in so much pain and was bitting us - would not let us near him - he could not move - not even for his beloved treats. Took him to the emergency animal hospital and they said we could do more test but that we would have to commit ($3,000) before the test could be run. We did not have the money and we could not take him home in the shape that he was in - our other alternative was to put him to sleep. So we did. Had we known then what we know today we would not have put him to sleep. We were not told to crate him, rest him or what to do for his pain - the day before they acted like this was no big deal. We are very sad and of course questioning what we did. I know they say no guarantees - but what if?? He was such a great puppy.