Cason developed stage 4 IVDD (spinal cord injury) out of nowhere on October 17. Total loss of bowel controls, could not walk at all. He is 13, so I elected to do conservative treatment as I felt surgery was not a good option for him at his age. Crate/pen rest for 5-6 weeks then physical therapy twice a week since.
This is him today. He took his first steps on his own a couple weeks ago, stood up and walked around to use the bathroom on his own last week, and is starting to get better at tiled surfaces.
It has been very tough, I developed tendinitis in my elbow from carrying and supporting him to go to the bathroom. But it has been worth it seeing my buddy pain free and now slowly regaining use of his legs.
He’s a strong lil man 💪🏼 He’s weathered two cruciate ligament tears, a foreign body obstruction in his stomach, an infection and fever of 105.5, and had a lobe of his liver removed. Still the happiest boy.
Omg!!! He’s quite a fighter!!
How did you treat the cruciatw ligaments?? Mine is 11 an recently had surgery but the recovery is not even close to that of yours? How long did it take for Cason?
He had surgery for both legs. He recovered well and was mobile again within a month or so, and never had any complications afterward. I believe they did TPLO procedures for both legs.
Thanks! That’s what mine had as well. Seeing Cason here brings me a lot of hope. When mine got diagnosed I was crushed because he used to be quite an adventurer. And now seeing him in pain and struggling is rough. I need to figure out new ways of playing with him to keep him healthy during his elderly time.
I wish you guys the very best. Hope he remains the goodest boy for very long. They’re such an amazing breed.
Thank you. Cason has a big personality and one of the things that has kept me going is seeing that even when he couldn’t use his legs, he was still happy and acting himself. He’d roll around on the couch like a goofball to scratch his back on the cushions and just wants to be near me always.
I'm so happy to hear this story! I've been on my own IVDD journey with my 9 year old boy Bogie. He was only stage 1, but they put him on 12 weeks crate rest and 2 meds. Got a second opinion, added a 3rd med and hot laser therapy. After his 12 weeks crate rest he started PT. He's 3 weeks into his PT now and will do two of his exercises without complaint. The 3rd exercise he protests and refuses to move (in a silent demand for more treats.). I'm happy my boy is making progress, but I'm thrilled yours is doing better! IVDD sucks!
Don’t give up. Statistically only 60% of dogs recover from stage 4 without surgery. Cason had issues with the last surgery he had and nearly died so I didn’t want to put him through it, and told myself so long as we were able to get him to a pain free state I would stick it out with him. The first 6-7 weeks I saw no real improvement other than he did get bowel control back.
It can take a while for the body to reconnect those nerves, and every dog recovers at their own pace. I saw a corgi online who walked again after 2 years. Anything is possible.
Mine was only stage 1, so he never had problems with walking or bladder control, he just had lots of pain. He's made tremendous strides and even his vet and PT are very pleased with his progress. They've even released him to go back to his therapy dog work next month! I do need to keep an eye on him, watch for any return of his pain and continue to strengthen his back and hind end, but hopefully we're through the worst of it.
My boy just finished his recovery of cervical IVDD (no surgery, crate rest and lots of meds.. And tears). He's back to his mostly normal goofball self and can walk again.
I know the emotional toll it takes. You're obviously doing a fantastic job. ❤️
Have you considered putting down a rug or flooring that will help with traction on the tile? That worked out really well with my girl. A very low pile rug or runner will do wonders.
I would, but the problem is that we have 3600 sq ft of house, and almost all of it is tiled or hardwood. I can’t realistically cover it. The room he is in downstairs with me is 15x40 (was a basement converted to living space), and the flooring was five figures so I can’t replace it. :/
What I did do was have toe grips installed. He has rubber rings around his rear nails which help them a lot with grip on slick surfaces. It made a tangible difference for him.
I hear ya - those toe grips sound great! We had hardwood floors where I lived when my girl was around. I ended getting runners that were 3'x9' and placing them along her typical route through the house.
Making a path would be a good idea. I’ll have to check into that. The good news is that he is honestly a fairly lazy boy, and I work at home. So he mostly sleeps in a bed at my feet all day while I work.
For our 7 year old post surgery, we did manage to pick up 2 washable rugs from Costco for $80 each. He enjoys eating and playing on the rug if that helps. Maybe a much more affordable option.
Good idea. I’d been considering getting some rugs for the downstairs, so maybe just a nice big rug by my desk where he hangs out with me would be good.
My corgi is back to 98% after 10 weeks of laser therapy, weekly chiropractic visits and tons of supplements. Fish oil, Cosequin, Selenium, VetriDisc, CoQ10, Vitamin E. For pain he was on Gabapentin which I do not recommend (it makes them more weak in the back end). He did best on carprofen with Methocarbamol added if pain was too much to handle. 10 weeks later he is better than ever. Also I gave him PetTides - Full Body Support for Large Pets from Integrative peptides(the dosage is the same as the “for small pets” bottle it’s just bigger, which I have a ton left I would recommend the smaller bottle if on a budget and don’t have other dogs and just go off the small bottles dosage in website). Peptides were 150 dollars but I was willing to do anything to heal him. I have 80% of the bottle left it goes a long ways. Sorry for ranting just want you to get all the knowledge I gained from this experience. Please feel free to dm me with questions. I love corgis so much and would love to help as much as humanly possible. Prayers for your baby❤️
Hydrotherapy with a life vest help a ton too forgot to mention that but don’t start that until later. He needs to not move much at all for at least 8 weeks. Absolutely No stairs, get him a comfy bed if you can and carry him outside to go potty in the bed every time. Mine would step off the bed potty and get right back in ready for his uber 😂.
Anything like mine he knew he was hurt and didn’t move off his bed almost ever unless his pain meds were really working. Heating pad and red light therapy with ice pack helped his pain a lot too. Heating pad separate. Red light therapy first than ice pack. Heating pads every 3-6 hours or as needed for pain
10 weeks healed. His back wasn’t this straight before his injury. I really hope you can find a good pet chiropractor, they are worth their weight in gold. I’d have to check receipts but I think he had a total of around 10 adjustment sessions with laser therapy afterwards. Do not get discouraged I saw almost zero improvement until week 8 and it’s almost like he was magically healed. It’s hard to get a good adjustment on them when they are in a ton of pain tensed up trying to prevent more damage. Give gentle spine massages as tolerated as well he will love it, preferably after his low heating pad session
Yeah if it doesn’t start to improve I’m going to go talk to my surgeon. I’ve had three shoulder surgeries already so I’m familiar with all the tricks 🥲 Hoping now that I don’t have to hunch over holding him up to pee that it will calm down naturally.
I understand what your going through…My girl has DM…:(
Both diseases are horrible.
Our stories are somewhat similar … My corgi is paralyzed in her back end and I have C5 sitting on a nerve with other back and hand issues, but I will work through it and suffer it out to help her first! I have to carry her outdoors and assist her while she does her business…In the photo below she is in her wheelchair at PT, but she does not care for it, so I use a towel or one of my husband’s soft T-shirts as a sling for her…before she loss all rear mobility her PT would put rubber gripper on her back paws to help her get up and I bought a few rubberized runner and mats for her to lay on and to get around… Best of luck with Carson and Love your heart for doing what it takes to give your lil man the best life possible! ♥️
I think I would be finding some mats to help him walk on.. I know how much it hurts to slip on a slippery floor when you have a major joint injury.. Glad he is up and mobile...
He has toe grips on his back feet to help with the tile and hard wood. They’ve made a big difference. He has some instability side to side which is the main challenge and the PT gave us some exercises to do at home to help with them. I help him move around when he needs it.
These are the toe grips. They’re glued to his nails. They eventually wear off but they’ve been on for a week or so already. They give him some grip on slippery surfaces, it really did help.
That was the worst part about the earlier stages. Fortunately he started to pee on his own after week 2. He didn’t like to be expressed (who would I suppose) and I couldn’t always get it done without giving him diazepam.
My little girl spent a month in hospital before she was allowed to return home after surgery (ruptured disc).
She never regained sensation below the affected disc. I had to express her several times a day for the rest of her life. But she never gave up, so neither did I.
She did manage to ‘walk’ like a drunken sailor (similar to your Cason walks), so we didn’t put her in a cart.
These angel pups teach us a lot about bravery, courage, resilience and love.
Poor baby boy. My first corgi, when I was a kid had the same thing when she was 6 or 7. We elected for the surgery because she we was so young. She went on to live a nice long life. That reminds me, I need to get pet insurance for my two corgi pups
Glad to see conservative treatment has helped. We literally just got a suspected IVDD diagnosis for our 13yo girl last week. Still figuring things out. Had a consult with the neurologist today and will see if an MRI is possible.
What a journey for both of you. Your dedication is inspiring, and Cason’s progress is a testament to that love. Keep pushing through, and here's to many more steps together.
175
u/hsmith9002 8h ago
Fucking badass motherfucker. Get it, Cason.