Almost 2 years old, diagnosed with a neurological disorder today

[Quercus]

I am so glad that it looks like you found an answer. I hope you will contact his breeder, so that he/she knows what is going on. Even if it isn't at all genetic, I would want to know if a puppy that I had bred had such a major issue going on. If nothing else, so I could help provide emotional support for my puppy buyers

I hope the steroids and rest fix the problem without sugery. Best of luck keeping him calm during the crate rest. I think there are lots of great ideas on crate entertainment on the internet if you search for such things.

[sharronhurlbut]

Glad your seeing some improvement.
Do keep us posted.

[MacPack]

So glad to hear that it is a 'mechanical' issue, and prayers that the rest and steroids help. Poor little guy!

Hugs,
Anne in Tampa

[tanza]

Glad to hear that you have an answer…. and that the treatment plan works for him.....

[agilebasenji]

Thanks for letting us know! Fingers crossed and tails curled here hoping everything goes well.

[CanisBasenjius]

I'm glad to hear Trent's problems are manageable and treatable. I do have a couple of suggestions to help keep him and you happy:

A Sensation Harness is great for walking - it won't put any pressure on his back or neck
A Molecule Ball or other "work to eat" puzzle for his meals
stuffed Kongs
Any puzzle toy that won't require neck strength to dissect.

Keeping a least one or two of his natural drives engaged will help keep him (and you) from going totally bonkers whilst on crate rest. My oldest boy has some disc problems and we used to do warm water massage and swim therapy. It helped greatly.

-Andrea

[littletrent]

Hello again everyone,

My deepest apologies for taking so long to update this thread. Thank you all for the support and the suggestions.

It ended up that, while he responded great to the high-dose steroids, as soon as we backed off on the dose he regressed back again. The neurologist was as disappointed with this as we were.

After some careful consideration, we went with the back surgery. This involved removing the top portion of one of his vertebrae to give the spinal cord some additional room (the swollen discs and birth defect were putting pressure on the spinal cord).

We were not prepared for the sheer SIZE of the incision when we picked him up. It was nearly 6 inches long, going from the top of his head straight down his entire neck. My wife had to leave the room when we first picked him up.

In the 3 months since the surgery (and our last update) he has had what the neurologist calls a "near miraculous" recovery. She said she has never seen a dog go from a procedure like this to running around like an idiot so quickly.

We now have our little boy back. He is doing his B-500's, running and jumping on and off the couches (even though we try to minimize the jumping off).

We hope to have the "easy financing" paid off by february next year (the total cost was brutal, but worth it).

We don't think he'll ever be 100% as far as his legs are concerned… he still will occasionally knuckle over, but he is much quicker to correct it now, and he has gotten a LOT more confident walking on tile floors (good for him, bad for us... he can now do naughty things in the kitchen as well as living room).

Thanks again to everyone for their support and suggestions. He was a real trooper through the entire ordeal.

[tanza]

That is wonderful to hear…. what a great Christmas present to read of his recovery!

[agilebasenji]

I'm so glad to hear he's getting better. And it does seem a little strange to be so thankful for all the "naughty" behavoirs.

[seko]

Glad to read he is going to be OK!

[MacPack]

Great news, thanks for the update.

[wizard]

What a great present! Hope he continues to get better.