EerieEyes
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Mar 2007
Location: SoCal
Posts: 341 |
Our dog JUST GOT OVER THIS - only took her about a month. She was pretty much like you said your dog was, for the entire month she was down. I said she was doing her "sea lion impression" - she would crawl around but couldn't get up on her own, she never lost her voice. Biggest thing for us is she wasn't wild about eating and lost a ton of weight - but more importantly was making sure she was getting water because she wasn't really into drinking either. That's what really kept her alive, was keeping her hydrated. We moved her inside so she was a bit better monitored.
As far as treatment, the first vet she went to prescribed her steroids - this is generally considered a no-no! After talking to my vet for a while and reading up on the condition and whatever differentials look about the same, it was determined the best you can really do for these dogs is "supportive care" - make sure you're moving it around so it doesn't get sores, not letting it sit in it's own waste, and ensure it's staying hydrated/fed. Basically, my vet said there's not much more you can do unless it starts having trouble breathing - then you have respiratory paralysis and you have to decide how much you like a dog, 'cos ventilators are expensive.
HOWEVER, it sounds like your dog is doing the same ours was - if that's the case, keep it hydrated, and it's spirits up seriously - we spent a lot of time just generally goofing around with her and the other dogs, and a month later she's running around like a crazy person.
good luck!
Edit to Add: As far as going potty goes, we a tree lead around her belly right in front of her back legs and basically supported all her weight for her between there and her collar, to make her feel like she could walk and kinda "walked"/let her stumble around like that...
totally down, but still in good spirits (howling with my "singing"):

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Katie Swales
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2010 & 2015 World Qualified
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Last edited by EerieEyes on 05-11-2010 at 09:59 AM
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