SPINAL INJURY TRAUMA Joanne Bibby – Fursafe®
gives enough length for the dog to be comfortable and change position, but not long enough that they can fall out the window.
Spinal cord injuries are a common problem in dogs. Injury to the spine can be as a consequence of a fall from height, road accident trauma, physical abuse trauma, infection, compression from tumour and other medical conditions.
•
Never let your dog walk on the road unless you are supervising and they are on a leash.
Although every dog is at risk of a spinal injury especially from traumas as mentioned above, breeds with long backs are at greater risk; for example, the Dachshund.
•
Keep your dog’s leash short when walking along the footpath or crossing the road.
•
If you carry your dog, always make sure you have a firm grip or that they are secured in a carrier – if they fall to the ground they are at risk of spinal injury.
•
Undertake a weekly health assessment on your dog. Inspect them from their nose to tail; look, listen, smell and feel for abnormalities.
•
Maintain regular Veterinary check-ups.
The overall outcome of such a trauma is based on the severity of the damage and the time it takes between ? the injury and getting to advanced veterinary care for surgical intervention. The spinal cord communicates to and from the brain to create movement, sensation, urination and defecation. The consequences of spinal cord injury include weakness or paralysis, pain and incontinence – a terrible existence for anyone. As dog owners we must reduce the chances of injury to our dogs. The following safety precautions are very straight forward and yet imperative to ensure our dog remains safe from such an injury.
SAFETY PRECAUTIONS
•
Always ensure your dog is secured at all times when travelling in the car. Make sure the tether
22
DOG WORLD March 2022
SIGNS & SYMPTOMS Your dog may show some or all of the following:
• • •
Unable to get up or walk.
• • • •
Appears disorientated or confused.
Weakness and shaking in legs. Walking on knuckles, even if you turn back to paw pad it quickly shifts back to knuckles. Uncontrolled bladder / Incontinence. Dog feels pain when touched along back or neck. Unable to move neck or neck appears stiff.
Pixabay
First Aid:
