I have a 7 year old mini dachshund 10 Lbs who has developed a lower back problem. Feb, couldn't walk, treated with steroids for a few weeks, became better. Than July same problem, steroids again. I have limited all her jumping (furniture) and try to keep her quite on the floor level. My question is: Has anyone used a chiropractor (back adjustment) or holistic vet to help aid in this problem. I really don't want to adbuse this drug because of possible side effects in the future.

I have a dachshund with back problems.I gave it a 1/2 advil. Will that hurt him?

Yes. None of the modern pain remedies are safe for dogs. The only OTC thing you can give is aspirin, buffered aspirin is best. Give 5 mg per pound of body weight every 8 hours. You may want to start with baby or low dose aspirin with a smaller dog. The standard 325 mg tablet is about right for a Lab.

The vets have more effective remedies.

This information is for anyone who is searching for information on feeding miniature dachsunds in order to keep them from back problems.

We had an 8 year old mini who started having intense back problems and pain to the point that we were contemplating either surgery or euthanasia. We were very upset and did some research online. I came across a site that recommended giving them vitamin C on a daily basis. We figured it was worth a try and so we started her on a vitamin C supplement. We simply used the vitamin C tablets (500mg) that we ourselves took - we crushed them and then mixed it in with about a tablespoon of soft food. Within a week her swelling was gone and she no longer was in pain. She is now 13 and has no back problems, she even can jump up on things and runs around like a puppy. We have continued the practise of a pill mixed in with her food every morning and truly believe it was what has saved her as it is the only thing we changed. We have two other minis ( a 3 yr old and a 1 yr old) that we give the Vitamin C to daily and we anticipate it will keep them from developing any problems.

I hope this information will help someone to keep their beloved pet for a long healthy life.

I took my mini dachshund to the vet because he was whimpering when I picked him up and I noticed he wasn't getting up on things like usual. He received x-rays and we found that he had a bad disc. He was given muscle relaxers and pain medicine. Then 3 days later he cannot walk on his hindlegs. After several phone calls to neurologist we found that we cannot afford to have him treated other than with our local vet. Is there anything we can do? Surgery isn't an option since we cannot afford it. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

One thing I would STRONGLY urge you to discuss with your vet is treatment with Adequan. Adequan is a medication that rebuilds damaged cartiledge. The dog gets a series of injections--two a week for two weeks and then after a month another series of two injections per week for two weeks. I have used this with two dogs and had absolutely amazing results. Some vets don't know about it yet, so you may have to encourage your vet to do a little digging. Both of my dogs who had this treatment would otherwise have required surgery. The medication worked so well that surgery wasn't needed and their quality of life improved dramatically.

The injections aren't cheap. Each is about $30, but this is far far less expensive than surgery. The whole treatment would cost approximately $250 over two months or so. And the treatment can be repeated if you and your vet think it would be good for your dog.

I can't promise that it will work, of course, but I have been astonished by the results. Vets in my area are now using it more and more, as a better alternative to certain kinds of surgery. We've had no problems with side-effects and both dogs began responding to the Adequan within a week or two. At the very least, please look into it.

my dachshund woke up in server pain. Never had back problem before. He is 11 a long haired one. Took to vet. Gave pain meds and steroids. Only be a couple of days some better, but not normal. The x-rays really didn't show any problem with his back and i also had complete blood work done. Nothing there either. Any suggestions.

I have a dachsund who will be 4 next month and woke up a week ago in severe pain also. Had bloodwork, urinanalysis & back x-ray done & nothing came up. Was given anti-inflammatory/pain med for a week & told if not better, to see an ortho dr. He's not getting better. Seemed OK for two days but now doesn't seem to want to put pressure on his lower back/hind legs. I was just wondering if anyone had any recommendations. I'm going to try the Vitamin C after reading the above answer.

I have recently discovered that dachshunds are prone to back problems that result in a paralysis of hind legs at the very least , and sometimes even worse. I have a six year old doxie myself, and my neighbor has two. My neighbors male was rolled one day last summer while playing with his other dog, and he developed the same problem. The dog was taken to the vet several times, given pain meds and muscle relaxers with no significant resolution, and the owner was talking of putting him down if he got any worse. I told him to bring the dog to me, and I treated him by manipulating the spine as a chiropractor does, and within a few days the dog was back to walking normally. My ex father in law is a retired Chiropractor, and has always treated animals that need it, along with his human clients, and I never made the connection until presented with my neighbors doxie. Dachshunds, in my opinion, should be treated with chiropractic manipulation as well as conventional medicine including anti-inflammatory meds, muscle relaxers, and pain meds if needed, along with lots of rest and even massaging the inflamed muscles while recovering. I have personally suffered with back problems for over 15 years, and myself needed spine surgery at one point, but with eight months of chiropractic care, I was told that I no longer needed surgery, and the doctor would not do surgery. I believe that while chiropractic care cannot resolve all problems, it can be useful, along with conventional medicine, to resolve a majority of the back problems that dachshunds are prone to suffer due to their long spines, and short legs. Please feel free to contact me if needed. There are several chiropractors out there that can and do treat smaller animals, just call them and ask if they do, or if they know of one that does.

When our dachshund, Buster came into the house unable to use his back legs, we rushed him to our vet. A X-ray was taken but didn't show the problem. He said X-rays aren't that clear. If we could not afford surgery
the next best treatment was crate rest with meds. He might come back
about 85% or not at all.
I searched the web, and came upon the letter from Akoue recommended Adequin. I took the letter to our Vet.
He didn't give the treatement himself
but located a vet within 20 miles who
did. It will be three months in two more days. Buster had 2 shots a week for one month along with crate rest, then one a month since then.
He is almost 90% recovered now and
will jump off the sofa or chair and go
down the front steps eagerly but still
lets us pick him up on chairs and steps, until today when the postman
was outside and he flew onto the sofa
to bark, bark,bark at him. We consider this a great treatment and thanks to Akoue for the recommendation.

I am treating my 4 year old dachshund with steroids and Glucosamine msm complex (with vitamin C). 250mg x 2 per day. We have crate rested her for about 3 weeks and she is gradually getting better. She didn't have bladder continence for the first few days, and got UTI, our vet treated with antibiotics. She has regained continence and is walking a few steps everyday. She wants to run, but we keep her from running as much as possible, just walking right now. We only let her out of the kennel for a few minutes twice a day. This will probably take months to resolve, but we cannot afford $3000.00-$5000.00 surgery right now. We will also do the Adaquan after a few weeks of steroids and confinement. We will keep using the Glucosamine Chondroitin MSM everyday from now on.

Hi Meigan, do you have a question, or were you just commenting on the original Posters question? This thread is from 2006, and it looks like the OP has not returned.

So, if you have a question, please start a new thread, with as much detail as possible, and state what your question is.

Thanks! :)

Or because we hadn't given him the tablets for the past 3 days. He hasn't eaten today too. Any suggestions will be much appreciated. Thanks.