Wiener Writings

Hi All...

I was prompted to start this poll from reading Krista's posts the last couple of days. My heart goes out to all of you who have had to face the surgery and back problems that can come with being owned by a dachshund. Feel free to post any comments as well about how you have dealt with this or any suggestions you may have!

Clifford has had 3 surgeries for ruptured disks.  The 1st was the worst, physically for him and emotionally for me.  When you see your 'kid go down, it's the most helpless feeling in the world.  I was lucky in that Clifford still had deep tissue pain in his back toes.  The 2nd and 3rd (both cervical) really had the surgeon stumped.  He had never had a repeat, much less a 3-peat.  Still after 4 years, he still has some spinal issues about every 10 months, i.e.: pinched nerve.  We can deal with that and move on.  I know that his recovery time continues to decay as he ages (now 11.5 yrs).  But every day is a plus as I had almost given him up as crossing the Bridge 6 yrs ago.  The $6K total is more than it cost my parents to put me through college, but much less than one year in today's private school market.  I was lucky that I could just afford the surgeries, but the 3rd only 6 weeks after the 2nd was tough to cover with only a small pension and working part time.  But, there was NEVER any decision to be made.  In for a penny, in for a pound (or 15 lbs) as the saying goes.

Rudy has had 3 episodes with his back and does have a calcified disk (I think - I need to go back and review).  With crate rest, prednisone and muscle relaxers he is ok.  I will never forget the first time as I watched him creeping down the hall, shivering, with tail tucked tightly.  My heart went to my throat and I freaked out.  I grabbed him up and held him close as he whimpered.  Luckily I was able to get into the vets very soon after.  Like Mike said - you feel absolutely helpless.   Rudy's last episode has been about 8 months ago....(fingers and paws crossed  :xfinger: ) - but you just never know.  The last episode, they took another x-ray and compared to the first (2 yrs ago) and it still looked the same.  You just do the best you can to keep them from aggrevating anything.  The majority of the time, it is not related to an accident -'tis hereditary and is going to happen no matter how much you do.  My heart goes out to those who have had to suffer through the surgery.....and more so for those with multiples. 

Two out of Three at my house have experienced IVDD flare-ups. 

Rudy had an episode at about 3 1/2 years old.  He was treated with Dexamethasone Shots, Dexamethasone pills, Rimadyl, Glyco-Flex and crated for 4 weeks.  He made a full recovery.  As he has gotten older, he does seem to have some arthritis in his spine and moves more slowly than when he was younger - particularly early in the morning and in colder months of the year.

Roscoe has had 2 episodes.  The first was when he was about 4 1/2.  He was treated with Dexamethasone Shots, Dexamethasone pills, Glyco-Flex and crated for 4 weeks  (same as Rudy except no Rimadyl because they discovered it causes bad stomach problems when mixed with steroids).  He also made a full recovery and showed no signs of problems until over a year later this past Sunday.  He had surgery Tuesday for a badly ruptured disk at T12 and T13.  His X-rays also showed numerous calcifications, but the surgeon believes it would be more unusual to see a dachshund without some calcifications than it would be to see one with some.  He said that is not really a good indication of whether they will have back problems though.  We'll have to wait and see how Roscoe's recovery progresses.  He did have good deep pain sensation in both rear feet before and after surgery.

For comparison sake and for those trying to get prepared in the event of your dog needing surgery, the total care at the specialists (including the office visit, tests, supplies, surgery, hospitalization for 3 days, meds...etc) was about $2,300.  Seeing the other vet, getting his first meds, and buying supplies needed to bring him home has been about $300 additional so far.  I'm still coming up with things we need though, and of course he'll go back to the surgeons for several follow-up visits over the next 2 months.

From what I've read, about 25% of dachshunds will have an IVDD flare-up at some point in their life (most commonly from 4 -7 years old).   Some research suggests that in certain family lines more like 60% of the dachshunds from that line will be affected.  Rudy and Roscoe are distantly related and came from the same breeder.  Gwen is now 5 and her full-blooded sister Sassie is 6 (Jen is owned by her) and so far niether of them have faced any back problems.  I hope that trend continues for the girls.

My last girl, Jessie (standard longhair) had surgery at the age of 4. I have read that approx. 25% of dachshunds will have back problems at some point in their life, but I believe that percentage to be WAY higher than that. I know very few that don't. The sad thing is we have the means to reduce the incidence since it's largely genetic but not enough people research before breeding or are even aware.

My only male, Fritz, had back issues at age 9, and had to be pts.  He was competing with my parents' poodle for heisting his leg on a tree, and he slipped on ice and fell.  Heidi had issues, but rimadyl and prednisone, plus rest, helped her live to almost 14.  Gretl had surgery at age 10, and to the tune of $3850, plus original diagnosis and x-rays.  Her recovery took a long time, and it was 14 months before she got her tail wag back.  She passed away in her sleep at the age of almost 14 1/2.  No one else had back troubles, but Sorcha had brain cancer, and my sweet Siglen drowned in the hot tub.  Keep those darn things covered!  I gave it away to the Geek Squad guy who straightens out our computer woes!  Brekke continues to be healthy - except for a day or so of puniness after her shots!

Since BOTH my kids have been diagnosed in the last 6 weeks--and both were treated with meds and rest--I can only conclude that their problems are behavior related.  They are not related individuals, but  have had shared experiences for the last 4 years. I find it ironic that a year after moving into a house with no stairs that they start to display their problems.  Letting them rip around the living room and get up the stairs in the old house is completely my fault.  :verdict: I heard everything everyone ever told me about this breed and their backs, but simply could not believe that these two young healthy dogs were damaging their spines each time they experieinced a concussive event. 

IVDD is the result of genetics --they have been bred to be mutants--but and I cannot stress this enough: REPEATED CONCUSSIVE EVENTS (jumping!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) PRODUCE A CUMULATIVE EFFECT ON THEIR ALREADY QUESTIONABLE SPINES.  DON'T LET THEM DO IT.

It is still hard for me to understand this whole back problem issue.  My lil guy, Boogey (4) had back surgery TWICE.   :BangHead: :BangHead:  He had them about 6 months apart.  He's doing fine now, but he has a little tiny bit of a limp and he drags a bit of his right foot from time to time when he runs...sorta like if he forgets he has his right leg sometimes.  We finally got VPI for him, but it excludes his back problems.  We're almost done paying off his 2nd surgery.  Thanks to CareCredit...we had 1 year free of interest to pay off each surgery.  So for anyone who is  looking into some financial help in the future for any kind of care for you lil babies, look into CareCredit. 

Well, until tonight my answer would have been "no" to the poll.  But had to take Bax to the emergency vet tonight for back problems.  He's got two weeks of crate rest and meds.  Hopefully it won't lead to surgery, but if it does I'll do it.  My husband had a doxie that had to be pts when his back went out.  His mom made that decision, but I know we would exhaust all other avenues first.

And I think I'll look into the glyco-flex for my guys!  I wouldn't know anything about that if it weren't for joining this board just a week ago!  I just out of the blue decided to look into a doxie message board.... and now I'm already needing this info.  So weird!

I think one of Max's truly remarkable feats is that he is nearly 17 and never has had any back problems (knocking on wood!).   Arthritis seems to be his problem these days.   Max's strong suit is that he never tries to "force" himself to do things when he is hurt or things he cannot physically accomplish.  For instance, he no longer attempts to jump on or off furniture, nor does he go down stairs (going upstairs is fine).  When he is hurt or sore, he simply curls up into a ball until he feels better...and he's done that his entire life.  Perhaps that is way he has been able to avoid the back problems

Rudy never had a back problem, but he used to suffer from pinched nerves in his neck.

Lowriders:

You might want to look into joining DODGER's List.  http://www.dodgerslist.com  - Lots of helpful information for dog owners facing disk disease.

Also, I've never heard of crate rest for only 2 weeks.  It seems that the instructions are always 4 - 8 weeks.  You might want to consider crate rest for a longer time period.  Good Luck!  I sure hope the meds and rest take care of things. :bandaid:  Rays coming your way!

Conrad had two surgeries for ruptured lumbar disks - approximately 10 months apart. Finnious had surgery for a ruptured cervical disk a few months ago.

Conrad recovered to 100% after the first surgery, and is at about 85-90% now, almost a year after his second. Finnious was at 100% immediately following his cervical surgery, but neck surgery tends to be much less difficult for them to recover from.

Two of my four had back episodes.

Simson went completely down at age 5 and I will never forget that sinking feeling - it felt like everythin has come to a stand still.  After rushing him to Duncan, he referred me to the surgeon in Pretoria.  I had to organise with Bettie to come and stay with the others, pack, check my car and fill up, see that Simson was comfy, getting his stuff together - all within 1 hour - geesh, what a wild goos chase it had been!  They were waiting for us at the hospital (we got royalty treatment)  and the specialist immediately examined him.   He had a fenestration done on T5 - T12.  He made a full recovery.  A year after surgery he had a relapse and I rushed him back to the surgeon (a 5 hour drive).  He did a myelogram and luckily no calcification were detected.  What caused the discomfort was a narrowing of disks between T13 and T14, and it is unlikely that it'll cause major problems.  Simson was put on Eco-Lame for 3 weeks, Rimadyl for 10 days and rest.  He made a full recovery and runs around like a silly dog  :heart:

Pooping on his own 20 hours post surgery
(http://static.flickr.com/28/63134028_a823e3c84a.jpg)

Visiting my boy at the hospital
(http://static.flickr.com/28/63134266_a3b28caae3.jpg)

48 hours post surgery
(http://static.flickr.com/27/63135315_5ba98490c2.jpg?v=0)
Home at last 5 days post surgery
(http://static.flickr.com/30/63134029_dab89d0e83.jpg)


Tommie had severe spasms in his lower body episode at age 5 and after taking X-rays, Duncan said there is no calcification, but only narrowing between the disks.  So it was bad news, but also "good" news.  The narrowing seems like it's not really bothering him, and the vet also said that it's most unlikely that he would develop any severe back issues other than discomfort. He was also treated with Eco-Lame and Rimadyl and rest.  He had a slight issue 2 months after that, but with the same treatment he made a full recovery.  :heart:

The pack are now all on daily glucosamine and Vit C supplement and they've learned to use all the ramps in my house  :thumb:

My Timmy angel had three back episodes. Two of them we went with surgery and the last one we did acupuncture and Springtime vitamins, Fresh Factors and Joint Health. He was worth every penny and I would have spent tens of thousands on him if his cancer hadn't been so advanced. You can't measure your love of them by money that's for sure. I had a foster go down 6 weeks after placement and instead of calling me the woman put him down. I would have took him back and went through surgery with him in a heartbeat given the chance. Another foster was put down do to back problems this last year also but the owner exhausted every possibility. I also had Peaches who was down. We got her to late to have surgery and she was put down after her demons caused her to start attacking another foster.

I have had two that had major back episodes.  One had surgery and on the other I used crate rest, chiropractic and healing touch therapy.  I've also had two with minor back "issues".  Those I treated with chiropractic and rest.  I don't do standard veterinary and don't use drugs so we used supplements and homeopathic remedies for them.  That means that over my life I've had 8 dachshunds (not counting Scooter who I've only had for 6 months) and 4 have had some back problems.  I think that this rate is higher than 25%.  They probably only considered major problems like paralysis or major pain in the study.  Bogart and Sweetums both had minor soreness which I probably wouldn't have realized was a back problem if I hadn't been through the problems with the other two. 

I totally agree that the incidence is probably higher than 25%.  A lot of it doesn't get recognized or reported.  For awhile it seemed to me like it was a LOT higher (check out results of this poll :icon_pale: :confused: ) but then it occurred to me that most of the dachshund owners I know are from Internet boards and back injury is what brings a lot of people to these sites (looking for information and people with the same experiences).  I am not sure if Tristan had any problems; looking back I kind of wonder if he had a little cervical discomfort.  The girls are still very young, but Mom worries a lot anyway.  I hate IVDD!!!