Dog's fear of outside is making her sick?

[Karen]

Never knew you'd be so excited to have a dog poop, did you! Glad she went today, and I hope it continues. Do keep up with the pumpkin, as the "smoother" we can make things for her, the better!

Prednisone is a wonderful medication, but can effect the appetite a lot. My brother and I - so two humans who share a gene pool - have the opposite reaction to the same dosage of it - I think I am hungry enough to eat the entire supermarket, whereas he has no appetite at all, and has to be reminded to eat. So that may be part of the problem as well!

[Freedom]

Good luck at the vet this morning.

Have to agree with Karen, you never knew you'd be so happy for poop!

Came back to add this: if your dog has ANY difficulty walking or standing, get to a vet / neurologist asap!

Prednisone is VERY hard on the stomach, so don't give that without making sure the dog has some food in his stomach. If he doesn't have food in his stomach and he won't eat, force him to swallow a Tums... which will help protect his stomach. If he starts showing any weakness in any of his legs or worse yet, has trouble walking or standing, get him to your Vet or a Veterinary Neurologist immediately. A GOOD Chiropractic Vet or Acupuncturist Vet may also help and maybe help you avoid surgery.

[poodlemom]

Thank you both so much! The news wasn't great this morning, she was having trouble walking after she woke up. My Vet is keeping her today for IV meds and observation and he said we are at a crossroads (my word not his). We can take her to Dallas to a specialist and probably surgery - expensive but I would mortgage my house of needed or we can treat her with lots of rest , anti-inflammatories and pain control. It could be several weeks before we see much improvement. I'm not a big advocate for surgery so I will probably just make the adjustment and learn how to mommy a chronically ill fur baby.

I love my Vet and he has been wonderful but just the same I will probably at least take her for a second opinion just t be on the safe side. He does seem to think that as long as she is eating and drinking and if we can get her to potty at least once a day that she will be okay.

Thank you again for your help with my sweet girl.

[Karen]

Thank you both so much! The news wasn't great this morning, she was having trouble walking after she woke up. My Vet is keeping her today for IV meds and observation and he said we are at a crossroads (my word not his). We can take her to Dallas to a specialist and probably surgery - expensive but I would mortgage my house of needed or we can treat her with lots of rest , anti-inflammatories and pain control. It could be several weeks before we see much improvement. I'm not a big advocate for surgery so I will probably just make the adjustment and learn how to mommy a chronically ill fur baby.

I love my Vet and he has been wonderful but just the same I will probably at least take her for a second opinion just t be on the safe side. He does seem to think that as long as she is eating and drinking and if we can get her to potty at least once a day that she will be okay.

Thank you again for your help with my sweet girl.

Aww, you're welcome! I hope the vet will be able to find something out, at least!

[Freedom]

Well, I disagree -- if she is having trouble walking this is a serious situation and needs to be addressed NOW by a specialist. The wait and see approach is not recommended once they have difficulty walking. This usually means the swelling in the discs is hitting the primary nerves and perhaps even the spinal cord. Continued contact results in death of the nerve and there is no way to recover from that.

I've seen too many dogs go this route and end up being paralysed and so, euthanized. Please call the specialist and get your dog seen asap.

[Karen]

Well, I disagree -- if she is having trouble walking this is a serious situation and needs to be addressed NOW by a specialist. The wait and see approach is not recommended once they have difficulty walking. This usually means the swelling in the discs is hitting the primary nerves and perhaps even the spinal cord. Continued contact results in death of the nerve and there is no way to recover from that.

I've seen too many dogs go this route and end up being paralysed and so, euthanized. Please call the specialist and get your dog seen asap.

Her vet is keeping her dog today for observation, so we should wait for her to find out what they find, and report back to us!

[poodlemom]

We believe that she has hurt her back, she is in pain and she doesn't want to put any weight on those back legs because it hurts. When she does try to walk you can almost see her wince and draw a leg up and almost hop toward me. I've compared it to myself or a friend who has back pain - sometimes it wrenches when you move a certain way. She know it hurts and she doesn't want to put weight down.

From everything I've read online, her symptoms fit a back injury completely down to the constipation and refusal to potty.

My concern with a surgery is the same with humans I know who've had surgery and I haven't heard a lot of good results. Right now we are cautiously watching, controlling he pain as best we can, giving anti-inflammatories and praying a lot! We have found a place we can carry her down the street a little from our house where she will potty every morning (so far). We have baby proofed our home and keeping her still and quiet.

If she doesn't show some signs of improvement by the end of the week we will see a specialist. In the meantime I am exploring holistic options for her such as massage therapy, chiropractic, natural herbs or supplements, etc. I plan to try her in her stroller for a morning walk in the morning, she has always loved our morning walks before so maybe that will make her feel better.

I'm so thankful to have a friendly place to vent. Only a true pet lover would understand the fear and frustration.