# Possible pinched nerve in Rat Terrier...



## foofer (Mar 2, 2009)

Hi there. I have a 12 yr old male rat terrier who 2 weeks ago suddenly started holding his neck to the right side and somewhat looking down, because of this was also stumbling. I immediately took him to the vet as I thought he was having a stroke. The vet concluded that he was having neck pain and gave him an anti inflammatory shot, pain shot and gave me prednisone and turbutrol to give him at home. When she said it was neck pain, I remembered that he tripped on a floor grate just before this episode happened and figured that was the cause. The vet didn't seem to think it was a slipped disk because she said everything from the disk down wouldn't function. She felt him from head to toe, checked his heart and said it sounded healthy, his coloring was good. He was back to normal the next day but I continued him on the pills for a couple days. About a week and a half later, he was going up the steps outside and stumbled, again he started walking with his neck tilted and stumbled every so often. The next day he was fine, this has gone off and on until today. I have tried to keep him as still as possible but there are times that he sneaks and starts playing like nothing is wrong. I will be taking him to the vet again this week and for now have him on torbutrol, which is basically making him sleepy but doesn't seem to be helping with the pain because when walks sometimes he looks like he's in pain again. Also, when he's sleeping in bed with me and moves or I move him he cries but he doesn't do this during the day once he has moved around a bit. I was wondering if this sounds like something more serious then a pinched nerve. I would like to bring up other possible causes with the vet so we can hopefully rule them out. If anyone has any advice I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!


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## Pepper (Jan 27, 2008)

I would suggest getting a second opinion rather than going back to the same vet.

New opinions can sometimes be helpful.

He could have severely torn or ripped some neck or back muscles, it's happened to me before and it only hurt certain times of the day, and I had to walk with my head at a funny angle..

Try some gentle massage, sometimes that just helps to calm the dog down and loosen them up. If you feel any hot spots on him, like around his neck or back try and gently rub them out so he has even flow. Yes it sounds kind of "hippy" but it works on both people and dogs in therapeutic work.


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## mylittlebecky (May 27, 2008)

i definitely second a second opinion _or _a referral to a neurologist. 

if that’s not possible, i would at least try to talk to your veterinarian about a different pain medication. torb is not a great analgesic (pain reliever) but it does sedate for quite awhile. ask about tramadol OR an NSAID such as carprofen and deramaxx, possibly a combo of both since the NSAIDS will help to reduce inflammation.

if rest is necessary, you probably need to consider crating him because those little terriers can be punks who like to push themselves harder than they should  and then invest in some toys to keep him occupied (kongs). crate rest is hard on both sides of the equation! no playing, no stairs, no running, no fun... but sometimes it's the only thing to do for orthopedic/soft tissue issues.


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## foofer (Mar 2, 2009)

Thank you very much for all the responses. I guess I haven't checked back here after my first post because Peanut was doing ok, after I took him to the vet again. This time another vet in the office saw him. Now they think it's a slipped disc in his neck. At the first visit, the vet said it wouldn't be a slipped disc because he had full function in his legs. This 2nd time he turned his back foot over and there was a very slight delay in him turning it back, this is why he was diagnosed with a slipped disc. The vet told me an xray woudln't show it so it would be a waste of my money to have one done. They gave him pain and inflammation shots again, prednisone and hydrocodone pills. He was doing great. I took him in for a follow up and the first vet saw him this time, she said he's probably healed because he was doing so well. Still I didn't allow him to do anything, even hand fed and gave him water with a dropper. Then he was weaned off the Pred. and he was in pain again a day later. They wanted me to start him on Deramaxx but I read such horrible things about it so I didn't give it to him. Instead, I tried Traumeel because I heard a lot of good about it. That didn't help. So, out of desperation I gave him a Deramaxx the day before yesterday and right away decided I would not give it to him again, instead call the vet for more pain meds. But the Deramaxx did work, he was great for two days. I got some Torbutrol from the vet yesterday, 1 mg every 12 hours, he's 15 lbs. I didn't help one bit. I did discuss Tramadol with the vet and she said she had no problem prescribing it but I thought I would try the Torb. first. I just called her to see if he could get another round of Pred. He has full function of his legs, he even can scratch his head with his back foot while standing. He's just holding his neck so stiff and cries once in a while, even has slipped one time. Would he have function in his legs if this were a slipped disc in his neck? Maybe I should go ahead with the Tramadol and forget the Torb? I'm starting to worry that he is never going to get better, even though the vet said 90% of them do without surgery. The massages do give him a lot of relief, thank you for suggesting that Pepper. We don't have a neuroligist around or even an orthopedic vet, I'm sort of in the boonies. Any other opinions would be great, thanks again everyone!


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## Tricia_88 (Mar 3, 2009)

If it is a disc...he should be on strict crate rest. Disc issues are very serious. I just went through a ruptured disc with my Beagle. It was in her back tho. We had to do the surgery and she didn't make it anyway. My other Beagle has had disc pain in his neck. He got better with meds, crate rest and a visit to my chiro. Sometimes that can work. A chiro should see any x-rays and a well trained one for animals would never do any treatment before seeing x-rays. Go to this website....dodgerslist.com. There are very knowledgable people there. If he has a disc problem in his neck he should be wearing a harness any time you use a leash. We started doing that with both anyway for prevention. He shouldn't be jumping off furniture, playing tug of war or doing anything that can make things worse. 

With the symptoms you spoke of, like the delay of the foot and weakness, you should be taking this very seriously. It sounds like he is at a place where he could recover with meds and crate rest. Please, check out that website, post all the info and you will get helpful info. Go to another vet if you have to. Rest isn't good enough....it has to be strict crate rest. 

My dog suffered very badly. Her case was extreme. But left untreated properly it could get just as bad. I never want to see another dog go through that again.

Good luck, Tricia


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## ColoradoSooner (Mar 26, 2009)

My rattie slipped or herniated a disc in his back in September. It took him 3 months to recover completely. It's something they definitely don't just bounce back from immediately.

As Tricia said, you should keep him as still and quiet as possible. Crate him, especially when you're not around. Our vet prescribed prednisone for Ranger for 2 weeks. We weaned him off and he had a set-back within days. We ended up keeping him on it for over a month and then very, very slowly weaned him off. That and lots and lots of rest are the best things you can do for your little guy. You do not want to rush anything with this injury.

We also started Ranger on glucosomine to try and help prevent it from happening in the future. (1/3 of dogs with this type of injury that are treated medically, not surgically, will have another one in the future. And the next injury will likely be worse.)

Not trying to scare you but I just want to reiterate that this is a potentially serious injury and you should treat it as such.

Good luck!!


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## foofer (Mar 2, 2009)

Thanks for your help. Tricia, So sorry about your Beagle. I am going to look into a chiropractor but have a feeling there aren't any around here that work on dogs. I did get him a harness. He hasn't had to be walked on a leash until a year and a half ago because we've always had a fenced in yard until we moved. I wonder if that had something do with this, wish I got him a harness right when we moved.

Colorado - How old was Ranger when he slipped a disc? I talked to the vet again on Friday and asked to do a month of Prednisone and she had no problem with that. She thinks it's more of a buldging disc since he is walking. We are doing xrays and blood work on Tuesday. I have had him on Glucosamine for about 4 weeks now, wish I did that sooner too.

When he was first seen and the vet didn't think it was a slipped disc, I didn't have him on strict rest, I was not told to do so and since he seemed healed, I thought he was. The second visit I was told to keep him still and put him in a crate if need be. He's in a crate when needed, which is rare because I work from home and he sleeps on his bed right next to me all day. At night I pick him up to get him in bed, he stays put all night, then in the a.m. I pick him up out of bed. He isn't allowed to do anything except get up to go potty and eat/drink, which is done by me hand feeding/watering him so he doesn't strain his neck. When he goes potty I even support his body when he lifts his leg and help him when he lies down. He is doing great now that he's on the Prednisone again. I wish we had just kept him on it for a month right from the start. I can tell he's worse then when this happened the first time (when he's off meds).  So I really wish I knew this could have been a disc issue from the start, I would have done things so differently. On the bright side, he walks great so I am hoping we can get this resolved just by meds and strict rest. If he pulls through this he won't be allowed to do what he used to, I don't want this to ever happen to the poor bugger again. 

One thing I noticed and am wondering if anyone has any input about it....his pain seems to be coming from his throat area, not the back of his neck along the spine. It seems strange to me that he's in pain here, does this sound like something that happens with a disc or should we be looking into other problems? 

Thanks again!


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## ColoradoSooner (Mar 26, 2009)

Ranger was almost 5 when he injured himself. From everything I've read, smaller dogs are more prone to this type of injury and that it's not even usually caused by an experience like jumping. Ranger was just hiking his leg when it happened. I was really paranoid about letting him do stuff, too, after he healed. But aside from not letting him jump up to get treats, etc., he pretty much does everything he used to. (Because try to keep an RT from it, ya know?)

I would see how he does when you take him off the prednisone the next time. If he suffers a reoccurrence, I would start investigating other possibilities.


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## Tricia_88 (Mar 3, 2009)

Go to Dodgerslist.com . I only know from what we just went through. There are very knowledgeable people there. They would be the ones who could answer your questions the best. 

From all the research I have done, sometimes this condition actually starts from birth. Other times it can happen from an injury or just from time of usual activity. Don't feel bad, you didn't do anything wrong. I didn't know that IVDD was prevalent in Beagles. Now I do. Now I do things differently. It's considered hereditary in a few breads like Beagles, Dauschunds. Mostly dogs where they have shorter legs and longer bodies. But it can happen in any dog. I'm having a hard time keeping my Monty from jumping off furniture. I try to get to him and put him down. Everytime I see him jump I cringe. Being at a proper weight is important too. He is on a diet right now. He isn't very happy. We have stopped giving all human food and put him on a much better dog food. He is enjoying that. These are all things that if I had known about what could happen, I would have been more vigilant about. 

It sounds like you are doing things right. If he can be healed with rest and meds...it is going to take some time. Don't get impatient or discouraged. I really would go to that website and talk to them. And share any info or questions with your vet. They aren't vets there, but they are experienced. I found great info on the web too. 

Tricia


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## foofer (Mar 2, 2009)

I signed up for dodgerslist and will ask a question there asap. Thanks!

I just got Peanut back from the vet. The xray showed no space between a few of his cervical discs and his spine looked almost like an "S". The vet thinks a lot of this had to do with how tense he was, he was as stiff as a board and was shanking uncontrollably. So the vet isn't sure if they are bulging discs or if it looks that way because of how tense he was. She did say he didn't appear to be in any pain when he was walking around on his own. We will keep him on the Prednisone for a while now. However, there was something alarming in his blood work and now I am more worried about that then his disc problem. His cbc and wbc count is extremely low. She is sending his blood out to be tested for tick disease but if it's negative then she said it might be marrow related. I'm going to post about that on a new thread now. Thanks again for all your help, I'll update on his progress.


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