instrument150
New member
This is part vent, and part a request for advice or prior experience, and ideas.
The TLDR is that my 10 week old CKCS puppy jumped from our bed the second day he was home with us (last Thursday) and hurt his back.
The longer version of the story is that he started displaying signs of pain the next day (yelping when touched or lifted and sometimes just when walking or laying down), and was seen by the vet for exam and x-rays. The x-ray report states “Inconsistently narrowed L3-L4 intervertebral disc space, can be caused by the angle projection, or indicate disc herniation/trauma.” and no other abnormalities. The disc narrowing was only visible on about half of the images. The vet thinks he likely had some soft tissue damage (bruising, etc). He has been on crate rest since, and we had a rough few days when his pain was higher, but he’s starting to feel better and responding well to a micro dose of anti inflammatory meds. Keeping a 10 week old puppy confined, hearing him cry in pain randomly during the night the first 2 days and not being able to hold or handle him much has been torture. But i’m so glad he’s starting to improve!
This is where I have questions and would love advice or ideas:
Any first hand experience thoughts or advice on handling weeks of crate rest for a young puppy would be greatly appreciated.
p.s. we see the vet again on friday and i’ll update how he’s doing when we see her.
p.p.s. he’s doing amazing with crating and sleeps through the night except one potty break at like 3AM. He’s in the crate or confined to a 2’x4’ area next to our bed throughout the day.
The TLDR is that my 10 week old CKCS puppy jumped from our bed the second day he was home with us (last Thursday) and hurt his back.
The longer version of the story is that he started displaying signs of pain the next day (yelping when touched or lifted and sometimes just when walking or laying down), and was seen by the vet for exam and x-rays. The x-ray report states “Inconsistently narrowed L3-L4 intervertebral disc space, can be caused by the angle projection, or indicate disc herniation/trauma.” and no other abnormalities. The disc narrowing was only visible on about half of the images. The vet thinks he likely had some soft tissue damage (bruising, etc). He has been on crate rest since, and we had a rough few days when his pain was higher, but he’s starting to feel better and responding well to a micro dose of anti inflammatory meds. Keeping a 10 week old puppy confined, hearing him cry in pain randomly during the night the first 2 days and not being able to hold or handle him much has been torture. But i’m so glad he’s starting to improve!
This is where I have questions and would love advice or ideas:
- Has anyone else had a young puppy with a similar injury? If so, how quickly did they heal? The vet said it could take up to 6 weeks
- How do you keep an energetic puppy who wants to play and jump from re-injuring themselves? He has a small crate and a space of about 2 pee pads in front next to our bed. I want to keep him entertained without causing additional strain. He’s starting to get restless as he recovers.
- Since he needs to be confined and basically constantly monitored, with little movement or handling, i’m concerned about things like separation anxiety, potty training and socialization. So far he’s been a very smart boy and hasn’t been potty-ing in his crate. He will whine and then I let him out to go on some pads right in front and then we clean up.
Any first hand experience thoughts or advice on handling weeks of crate rest for a young puppy would be greatly appreciated.
p.s. we see the vet again on friday and i’ll update how he’s doing when we see her.
p.p.s. he’s doing amazing with crating and sleeps through the night except one potty break at like 3AM. He’s in the crate or confined to a 2’x4’ area next to our bed throughout the day.