I have a young dog that, for the last 2 years, we have not been able to figure out why she is not able to control her bladder or bowels. We have a fenced in yard with a dog igloo that she stays in. However, with winter coming and temperatures dropping below freezing, does anyone have any advice on having her indoors or making an outdoor shelter suitable for dogs in below freezing temps? Diapers seem to just make her UTIS flair up and she poops through the tail hole, anyway (TMI, but it’s always diarrhea). She compulsively spins after pooping, so puppy pads aren’t a great option. She either tears them or moves them out of the way with her circles. (the spinning is intense). I’m just trying to figure out the best solution for both of us.

Hi! I've never had a reddit before so excuse me if I do anything wrong, but I'm at a loss and would really appreciate some advice. Basically, someone close to me has a mother who constantly fosters animals. This sounds great on paper, but she never takes care of them, and always locks them away in a room or a cage for the entirety of the day unless its a dog who has to go to the restroom. Most of the animals she fosters get adopted pretty quickly, so it hasn't been an issue for too long, but I became greatly concerned when it was found out that one of the puppies she was fostering was disabled. We don't know the exact thing he's diagnosed with, but I suspect its cerebellar hypoplasia. As a result, he's been locked in a cage in a dark room for months only going out occasionally. The person I'm close to has tried asking their mom to give this dog to another foster home, and she says she's tried asking around and can't give him back to the shelter or else they'll put him down. I've done some research and this dog, if he has cerebellar hypoplasia, needs to be swimming in a pool (which they have) for exercise daily it seems, meanwhile hes barely even leaving his cage. Please please help! Is there someone well known online whose notorious for taking in disabled animals that I should look into? I just want him out of there.

Extra details:

We don't know the breed of the dog. He's a mutt and the mom was a stray I guess, but he's gotten pretty big, around the size or a little smaller than a Pitbull

This person's mom, at the moment, is also fostering two other able bodied puppies, dog sitting another dog for their neighbor, and owns a dog herself. The person I'm close to owns two cats, and takes care of both themselves.

The disabled puppy has not been to an adoption event in months. Meanwhile the two able bodied puppies, which are both younger than him, are consistently going.

Lastly, I've never owned a dog myself before in my life, but I don't think a dog of his size should be in a cage at all (please correct me if I'm wrong).

Edit: We are in the SoCal area

Poor thing lost an eye and a leg in 2 separate incidents. most expensive dog we've ever owned. But she gets around faster than she did with 4 legs.

Two days ago my dog went missing from the sitter’s house. We immediately rushed to search for her all night and into the next day. A maintenance team found her on the train tracks about two miles away with injuries from being hit by a train. She will be getting surgeries to address a broken spine and paws, and also as injuries to her heart, head (concussion), face, and teeth - these will be addressed after the main concern of the spine. My dog is expected to be fecal/urinary incontinent and will not be able to use her back legs so she will need a wheelchair.

Could you please give advice about what I need to know or do to prepare for life with my newly disabled puppy? We would appreciate recommendations about diapers, potty pads, wheelchairs, modes of transportation while she needs to remain immobile, vitamins and meds to prevent uti, foods, and honestly anything else I can’t think of right now. Thanks in advance.

Hello,

We’re hoping to get some input on our dog, Bindi and some new behavior. She’s a 13-year-old border collie mix.

For background (long story short): She has osteoarthritis, and generally has achy joints, as well as decreased muscle mass and strength in her hind legs/hips.

We’ve had her on medication to try and help take the edge off during the day and overnight. We have also had her in physical therapy for a bit — and recently got her situated with wheels and a Help Em Up harness.

That brings us to the last few days.

She’s started hopping using her front legs. She’ll do this 2-3 (sometimes 4) times consecutively, before taking a few steps — only to do it again.

Is this a sign of more discomfort? What could be causing her to do this?

We really appreciate any and all feedback on her conditions (and our general setup of her in the wheels)!

I figure this is a long shot but I’m grasping at straws to save my heart dog, Lincoln. Has anyone had recurrent minor injuries or abrasions that quickly turn into hard to fight infections in a paralyzed dog?

Lincoln is paralyzed from the waist down due to severe IVDD (degenerative disk disease). He will be paralyzed 4 years in January and is 8 years old. He started with what we think was an injury on his tail (although we couldn’t pinpoint how or why it happened), that due to the tissue dying would not heal. His vet said it was due to poor blood flow and performed a tail amputation. 4 weeks later he somehow (again we didn’t see anything that would have caused this) tore the top layer of the pad off one of his toes. Because he has no feeling in the area, it was already infected when I discovered it had happened. He has been getting 2x a week wound care and antibiotics (based on a blood culture) and it has spread to his adjacent toe and center foot pad. The vet said she doesn’t see any evidence of blood flow issues severe enough to cause this in his foot. On top of that, his tail didn’t fully heal and we are treating it as well.

We are now looking at having to let him go if the current course of antibiotics (the third in 2 months) doesn’t work. Which is even more heartbreaking because he is happy and pain free and completely normal and healthy from the waist up. But I’m terrified of letting this go to a point where it does become painful or leads to a blood infection.

Has anyone gone through something similar with a paralyzed pet? Did you find a course of treatment that worked? Thank you if you made it this far. Please send my Lincoln healing light and love!

My dog has a missing hind limb. He sometimes has an itch on that side, that I have no idea where to scratch. I try to help, but I can't read his mind. I'm looking for advice on a scratcher. I've seen some for cows. That's kind of what I'm thinking. What do other disabled dog owners do?

Hello, I'm not sure where else to ask for this type of advice, so if I'm in the wrong place please point me to the correct one! Also forgive any typos.. it's been a long day.

So our shih-tzu (Fluffernutter, Fluffer/Fluff/Fluffy/Poopoo for short) has been completely blind since this past May. After a couple of consultations, we decided it would be best to fully remove both eyes due to reasons that no longer matter. Other than her eye issues she is healthy as can be at 12 yo. We just got home from her surgery, and she's obviously still coming off of anesthesia and very sore.

It's my first disability, much less major surgery, for a pet, so I was wondering if anyone who has dealt with something similar had any advice on recovery going forward. Poor thing will get worse before she gets better, so whatever advice or positive vibes you can send our way will be greatly appreciated, as we are somewhat struggling this new reality.

Thank you for your time and hug your pets extra tight❤

5-6 months ago my 1.5yr old Bernese has an FCE and it has caused her to have both fecal and urinary incontinence. We try our best to keep her as clean as possible but it is certainly a lot of work. Basically I’m just curious if anyone has experience with this sort of situation and if they’ve ever seen of they can take their dog to a groomer to clean them? We have called our groomer we went to before this happened but they are away for a few days. Thanks in advance!

Hi, last September 27 my dog Booboo who always goes up our flight of stairs (about 15 steps) to wake me up in my room suddenly was unable to go up the stairs. She cried when she tried to jump, but unfortunately i thought it was nothing since she was still able to walk.

On September 30 I noticed her right hind leg limping and she was having trouble getting up by herself, that's when i took her to the vet. She was able to walk so the vet said it might be due to her weight (Booboo isn't overweight though) or a minor injury to her leg. After a blood exam which turned out okay, she was prescribed co-amoxiclav, b complex, and previcox. Basically antibiotics and anti-inflammatory.

On October 1, Booboo couldn't move her hind legs and even her front legs. We also noticed that she hasn't pooped since September 28. Alarmed, we called the vet and they ordered an xray, fecalysis, and ear sample collection. All turned out okay. The vet concluded Booboo was experiencing severe nerve damage but could not pinpoint the reason since her labs all checked out.

On October 2, still not pooping, Booboo took in a suppository and was given IV fluids since she was a bit dehydrated. We left her overnight in the vet's and finally she pooped. But her mobility still did not come back.

It is now October 9, and Booboo has started taking Prednisolone for the suspected nerve damage. I've cried countless times for her because all the things she used to love doing, she cannot do anymore. I come from a third world country so the vets here haven't had a lot of cases like Booboo's, so I am wondering if any of you have had similar cases?

What was the prognosis and treatment? Did your furbaby get better? I do not want to lose hope and want to keep fighting for my Booboo but things are getting harder each day.

I have a 13 year old border terrier mix. Last 2 months we've been noticing his leg strength decreasing.

Took him to the vet 2 weeks ago and took x rays.

They said he might have degenerative back issue, with no treatment. Looked like 2 of his back bones are damaged or fused.

Also mentioned possible heart issue, but mostly observation.

They gave use pain medication while they examine x rays. We should get a call soon.

Over past 2 weeks he has gotten worse. He can usually walk in the morning for couple minutes, but then can't walk. Just drags his feet around.

We bought him some dog wheels, so he can get around and pee while we get the results. They kind of help, but he gets tired in a couple minutes and front legs give out. He can't hold himself up long.

He still likes eating and gets excited for food, but cant stay up to eat comfortably. We usually put his wheels on and let him walk around and eat before he gets tired.

We're thinking of discussing putting him down, on our next visit. Still waiting for results to be sure.

If he was younger, he might be able to manage. At 13 years old, don't want to put him through this if he's in pain.

Any tips while we wait for results?

My dog was diagnosed about a week ago with diabetes and she has really bad cataracts to the point where I think she’s completely blind now. She’s bumping into stuff sometimes, not really all the time. She’s taking her insulin well but does not like her eye drops. What are some things we could do that could help with her blindness? I’ve seen stuff online like using a halo but I’m not sure if my parents would use that on her (I sadly live 40 minutes away and am only currently visiting). She’s been barking a lot at night and we are not sure why. She doesn’t want to go outside to go to the bathroom or anything. Any advice for helping my dog adjust or what I should expect with a recently diagnosed dog would be appreciated (she’s been taking insulin for about a week now as well)

We have a 14 year old poodle, shih tzu mix rescue. We’ve had him for years and he’s a weird little thing but typically very good and easy. Rarely barked. He has retinal disease that can’t be fixed and is now 100% blind. We have done everything we know to do regarding keeping a routine, never moving his things etc. He has shown zero capacity for adapting. He’s constantly crashing into things. We’ve tried the halo. We’ve tried putting down runners for him to orient himself to his usual paths. Nothing has worked. He has never been willing to sleep with us so he’s always roamed free at night. But now that he’s blind we are up and down all night because he’ll get stuck somewhere and start crying until we came to rescue him. For his own safety we bought a kennel and put him in it when we go to bed. It’s plenty big enough. But he barks ALL NIGHT. I’m talking every single minute. We’ve tried rewarding him when he’s quiet. Didn’t work. We tried the stuffed dog with a heartbeat. No. We have tried anxiety beds and shirts. No help. We’ve taken him to the vet who did a full work up and he’s in perfect health other than being blind. She gave us two types of anti-anxiety meds. They didn’t help at all. We added some expensive CBD oil. We bought a stupid little dog boombox with music “scientifically proven” to reduce anxiety and barking. If anything he barks more. After 3 months we tried just letting him roam again and it was a disaster. He’s now back in the kennel at night so we know he’s safe. But we are at our wits end and running on NO sleep because of his incessant barking. You’d think he’d wear himself out but he doesn’t. We’ve tried keeping him awake during the day but that doesn’t seem to help plus when we are at work we can’t stop him from sleeping. I’ve even resorted to talking to him remotely over our cameras to try to make him wake up. Does anyone have experience with this? We will try just about anything at this point. We need sleep! Plus we want him to calm down for his own sake. We will take any suggestion that we haven’t tried!

Where might I find the back wheels of a disabled pet wheelchair? I need a 4-inch wheel but can’t find any. Can’t even find the right style of wheel. Hoping you could give me some key words to search, I’d really like to be able to finish this wheelchair tomorrow so I’m hoping I can find them at a Home Depot or Lowe’s

Our rescue has both of her front elbow tendons disconnected. We don't know if it's congenital or from an accident. She has no real paw control but does hop around OK. however, she does show signs of discomfort at the end of the day and she's going to have a lot of pain later in life.

TYIA!

My ≈70lb potato of a lab recently lost one of her hind legs to cancer. While she's been a champ and has been making an impressive recovery, she gets tired out more easily. While lazy, she has always loved going on long hikes and spending hours in the woods. Sadly that is not realistic at the moment. While she can get around the yard fine on three legs, she can't hike. We are hoping to change this with a wheelchair for our hikes. I've been narrowing it down but would love some input from those with experience. The chair would be used for (mostly) mild trails here in the Midwest, on dirt, gravel, and grass.

My top contenders are currently Eddie's Wheels, Ruff Rollin, and Doggon' Wheels. The step-in saddle on the Eddie's wheelchair seems the best. I also like how it can be upgraded to change the balance of the cart and they seem highly recommended. Ruff Rollin's wheels seem better (esp for trails); I like the hybrid sling and its easy attachment system. Finally, the Doggon caught my attention as it has adjustable weight distribution, and its sling can be easily detachable/become a support harness.

If anyone here has any experience with these chairs, I would really appreciate your insight!

I have a Chihuahua named Raava who was bitten a few months ago by a much larger dog. We thought her neck was broken, but fortunately we were wrong. We have since taken care of her and she's mostly okay. I see a lot worse things dogs here are going through- paralasys, blindness, etc- so I'm wondering if the things she does still struggle with are still relevant for this sub?

• She spins when walking or waiting for things because she's still trying to orient herself. She can walk straight, but she still has her spinny days and sometimes runs into things because she doesn't realize how close she is to them.
• She and her sister (littermate, bonded pair) are terrified of bigger dogs because of the incident.
• She has a habit of something similar to playing dead whenever she gets noticed (going limp/laying out of reach even though she wanted attention.)
• She sometimes struggles to look in a way that makes her turn her head toward the side her bite was on.
• She struggles to eat treats and pills that are too big because she can't break them down with her teeth.
• She struggles to find food/toys she's dropped or that was placed in front of her.
• She has severe separation anxiety.
• She barely reacts when I move her legs or paws.
• Sometimes she gets extremely lethargic for no reason.

It's all mild but I'm still sometimes very worried for her. Is this the right place for me to talk about her?

Any recommendations or blue prints on building a front and back wheelchair for a male large dog (he’s only 53 pounds but is a husky lab border collie mix)? He isn’t supposed to use his back legs (specifically just one but eventually he will become paralyzed in both legs) so I want a wheelchair that will adjust to his condition. At lowes an employee recommended getting 1/2 inch metal conduit bc it wouldn’t be more stable. But I’m worried about the weight (and it’s more costly). What size pvc would be stable for him? I have a 1 inch and 3/4 in the basement, could I build the chair in the 1inch and use the front two legs wheels in 3/4 or is that too wobbly? The front is supposed to be just for extra balance/stability. How do I keep him in without him urinating on the straps? That’s our biggest struggle at the moment with the back end harnesses we’ve been testing out.

So my dog had a surgical complication that left him paralyzed and we are hopeful that he will regain some function with intensive physical therapy. This is a rather recent development (last 6weeks). In the meantime, I’ve been using a wheelchair for his walks and he hates getting into it. Like he freezes, salivates, tries to escape. Once he’s in the wheelchair and we’re walking he does ok. I give him high value treats as we’re getting in but I feel so bad for him hating it. Any suggestions on getting them used to it and making it a better experience for him?

I brought in a pup who was born blind and deaf from the start. Initially I was told she was only blind and learned afterwards at the vet that she was also deaf. Since then she’s turned out to be a fairly regular dog aside from some things to consider.

Right now the main issue I have is trying to keep her entertained at home alone when I’m off at work. She’s starting to lick her arm compulsively that’s it turning pink/red and her fur is fading in that area. She’s starting to just sleep a lot and I get the sense she’s depressed because of the lack of stimulation. What can I do to keep her stimulated and entertained at home while I’m away?