I am in dire straits here with my little weenie dog.  The other night she jumped off the couch and probably ruptured a disk as she is now paralyzed in her hindquarters. I took her to the vet and he gave three options, surgery, steroids, or put her down.  I opted for the steroids.  Two days later now, she has had no improvement, and is actually now trying to chew on her tail.  Fortunately she has bladder control, but is constipated.  She is eating and drinking normally.  Currently movement is restricted as she is confined to a small cage.  I am wondering if anyone else has had a problem of this nature and what kind of recovery, if any, we can expect.  The vet seems to think I should put her down.  That is not an option at this point.  Any suggestions would be great.  I did read an earlier post on this subject by a lady, and was encouraged.  Thanks for any help offered :)

This is not that uncommom i'm afraid. In fact the long back makes it a really serious risk. A coleguge at work had exactly the same thing happen to his dog but he settled for surgery. The vet removed the disk and after a period of cage rest the dog is now back on it's feet.

Many years ago an English Setter living a few doors from me syffered a slipped disk running over plough. The vet manipulated this and strapped the dog up, lead exercise only (This was the days before crates were ever invented) and it did finally sort out fine.

Regards, John

I know exactly what you are going through!  I have three dachshunds, and the older two have each ruptured a disc (on has done it twice)
They have recovered with steroids and total crate rest. It may take up to 4-6 weeks. My girl was 5 years old when she ruptured her disc, and she has recovered almost 100%, with just a slight weakness in the back end. My boy was 9.5 when he ruptured his the first time, and he recovered well too. He had another rupture in February of this year and has not recovered fully, but he can get around, although he wobbles a bit. He is almost 13 years old, so his disability is not a real problem for him.
It is a good sign that she still has bladder control. To help with the constipation, you could try adding a tablespoon of All Bran cereal to her meals.
I am sending good thoughts for a speedy recovery to your girl. Also try not to worry too much, and look after yourself.
If you would like to email me, please feel free.
Pauline

Nowadays there are options for dogs that are paralyzed. Even if she does not improve at all, there are doggie carts that can be made for her. As long as she's happy and not suffering I would not consider putting her to sleep.

Give her the time to recover and lots and lots of love.

Another thing that may help a bit is TTouch. It's a form of physio that I've heard of about 3 weeks ago and used on my pup with ataxia (spinal damage; she couldn't stand, especially on her back legs) and my girl back on her feet and running at the moment. You can read about it on www.ttouchsa.co.za

I really hope it will work out for you. All the best!

I believe you chose right. My Dew ruptured three disks in his back. I took him to several vets and took him finally to an orthepedic surgent and after he did the dye thing told me he could not do anything for him.  That it was just to late for him and the surgery would not help him.  And gave me just about the same options as they did you. I read where minicooper answered your post. Please listen to everything she suggests for your dog. My hope of his recovery was just about gone and she just kept telling me to be patient and keep hope and told me what I should do, I knew nothing about all this. I just didn't want to lose my baby boy. I put him in a crate, gave him the steriods they gave me  and didnot let dew walk at all, carried him outside and held him as much as I could and loved on him and just waited. It has been six weeks or so and he went back to the orthepidic surgent today and he is finished with the crate and he is walking again, (a little wobbley) and one hind leg is still paralized a little. He said that in a month he should be as good as new. Dew is 5 years old. Just hang in there and if you email minicooper , she will get right back to you and listen to what she suggests , She will tell you right and her caring is so real. This person is wonderful. She will help you as much as she possibily can. I know she did it for me!! Keep us informed as how she is doing . The hardest was the waiting.  Diana