Amos – January 2010

Dachshunds and their back issues, it’s a matter of WHEN, not IF – Canine Intervertebral Disk Disease is serious business and it has affected one of ours. This is Amos. One of our sweet little boys who is very active (was our ‘racer’) and out of the three he is the one that is in the best shape. His weight is around 12 pounds, but he is also our jumper. His vertical leap is the dining room table, which is part of the problem.

His first signs of back problems came last September (2009), you can read his story here. After all the crate rest and drugs he had been good until last week. I immediately noticed the symptoms before they got worse and went to the vet. As the vet and many people told me, this was going to be an on going issue for Type II herniation (where the disc has not slipped yet). He recommended acupuncture right away and told me about Dr. Aimee Witherspoon of IVS. Last Wednesday we had our first appt and I am happy to report that Amos is doing very well! She said that she does aggressive treatment and typically has 90$% success in healing the back. I am hoping that we are on our way…after the first day of treatment she had me take him off all the drugs and see how he reacted and he was much better than when he was on them.

As part of his treatment she would like him to lose a pound by cutting back on his diet, exercise and doggie yoga. Right now his exercise is limited to on leash walks in stead of off leash runs. The doggie yoga is really just neck stretches, but I thought doggie yoga sounded better.

This was the first time I have really seen the acupuncture process and for someone who does NOT like needles I have to say I did pretty good. I think it was because I was so interested and was amazed that Amos didn’t seem to mind too much. There were a few times he tried to escape but for most of the treatment he could barely keep his little eyes open. I wish I had my camera – I will be sure to take it next time so I can show you all the little needles in his back!

I touch base with her tomorrow to give her a status update and we are probably looking at a couple more treatments and then hopefully only once a year maintenance. Will keep you posted!

dog kisses -

pw