Old dog's spine condition

Jello, my 15 year old shih'tzu has developed a painful spine condition. He was given steroids, is on pain medication, topical application on the affected area and antibiotics. Has anyone experienced this with your senior dog? 

What are the chances that he will be cured? The vet said it often happens to aging dogs. It may get worse in so far that it will affect his urination and stuff. I just don't want Jello to be in pain. 

My experience is not full of hope, unfortunately. We lost our Andy, a 9 1/2 yo daschund mix in June 2010 to a spinal cord problem, most likely a tumor but we couldn't afford the $2,000 test. With or without the test, the end results would have been the same. 

In September of 2009 I noticed Andy wouldn't run in a straight line and would spin in circles as he ran. I took him to the vet but there was nothing he could find so I kept my eye on him. In December, I let him out and he fell over onto his side and couldn't get back up. We went to the vet again. But he was back to walking normally so again, we couldn't find anything. 

By February, I just felt that something was really off with him. One Saturday he was sitting in front of me and DH waiting for a treat and he just fell onto his face and couldn't get back up. Off again to the vet and we took X-rays again. There was shading on his C3, C4 vertebrate. Basically, the vertebra looked like they were fused, except they weren't. It was then that we started exploring other tests. We were referred to Texas A &M vet school who recommended an MRI that was $2,000 and then, based on those results, the surgery would cost upwards of $4,000 with a year of full kennel rest afterwards. 

At this point, he was on weekly steroids and pain killers. We decided to take him home, manage his pain and allow him to tell us when he was ready to go. 

By May, he was on daily steroids and multiple pain pills a day it was awful for him. He drank water constantly and we had to carry him out to use the bathroom every 45 minutes, all day, every day  DH and i had a schedule so that we would each get between 3-4 hours of continuous sleep each noght  At this point I have to admit, we were selfish. We should have let him go long before but I couldn't. I will never forgive myself for putting him through what I did, just because I couldn't let go. I will NEVER make that mistake again. 

Based on my work schedule, we planned to euthanize Andy on the following Saturday. I made plans to take Friday off to spend with him. That Friday, he couldn't walk much. We called the vet and asked if we could discontinue the steroids for his last day since they made him so thirsty and he couldn't stand to drink. I should have taken him in then, but I didn't. When we skipped that last steroid pill he went downhill so fast. I have never seen such a dramatic decline. Within a couple of hours he had lost control of his bladder and he was shaking in pain. I administered the steroids. The vet also advised me to double his pain meds. I didn't think he would live through the night. 

DH and I got up and got him to the vet as soon as they opened and let him go. 

I don't wish this pain and heartache on anyone. My only advice is to prepare yourself, know how far you are willing to go and keep your pup's heart in mind. 

I am so sorry.  

Thank you very, very much for your reply. 

I kept on asking the vet what to expect and she was not very direct with her answers. Perhaps she hated giving me the bad news. She showed me the xrays and unfortunately, like your Andy, one of Jello's vertebrates are almost fused. Jello also has Andy's early symptoms. 

The vet has given me 10 days of meds, and recommended acupuncture. She never said Jello will be cured only that what she prescribed will "help".

Thank you for being more honest than she was. You helped me more than you know. 

I have dachshunds, one of which has back problems, so I feel your pain. 

I don't know what treatment your vet has prescribed other than the meds and acupuncture. Please remember that I am NOT a vet and to discuss any treatment options with your vet first. 

I would put him on crate rest immediately if he isn't already on it for a minimum of 6 weeks. For the first few weeks, the only time he is out of the crate is to go to the bathroom and at those times you physically pick him up (supporting his back) and put him down on the ground. Try to keep him as still as you can during this time. After a few weeks you can begin manually exercising the legs and starting short walks - like walking him outside to use the bathroom and then back in, gradually increase the exercise but don't push it. No jumping at all, no pulling on the leash, no running, etc for those 6 weeks and try to keep him from jumping after that, especially down from things (puts more pressure on the spine). 

Where are you located? The surgery recommended for this condition jumps all over in price depending where you are - some places are $5000 whereas others are closer to $1000, some less. The odds, last time I checked, of recovery around roughly 50/50. 

I would suggest you join Dodger's List and post on there, the people on there are very knowledgable about back problems in enlongated breeds. I would also suggest picking up the book The Dachshund Spine. You can only order it online but it ships very fast and is a very good source of information, procedures, alternative treatments, etc for back problems and general spine maintenance. It is aplicable to many different breeds, not just dachshunds. You can also email the author of the book, I think her contact information is on the website. She has had dogs with spinal conditions and has gone through both "tradition treatment" (steroids, pain meds and crate rest) and surgery. 

If he's small, you can also get him a life jacket and fill your bathtub up with water so he can swim. It's great exercise and helps quite a bit. You just hold the handle so he's only swimming in one place. If you're going to look into acupuncture, you can also check out the electrified version - it's supposed to be much better for getting the nerves connected again. 

What is the name of the condition?

I hope the treatments help.