Anyone have any experience with a dog that has injuried his spine?

I had a poodle which I gave to my brother in law and at about 2 1/2 years old he had what you described. He couldn't move his back legs at all and seemed to have no feeling.

He was taken to the vet and they did an x-ray which confirmed he had a ruptured disc pressing on his spinal cord. He was kept for 3 days at the vet and given high dose steroids by IV. He was then brought home and kept on oral steriods for 1-2 months (I cant remember but it was awhile).

He is doing very well now, runs around, jumps on furniture, and has control of his bowel and bladder. He sometimes has his toes folded under when he stands but otherwise does fine.

I know sometimes they recommend surgery for this, but he didnt have it. The vet also said it could happen again, but it has been 1 1/2 years and so far so good.

I think sometimes the prognosis is poor for this but we got lucky.

The best thing to do is follow very specific instructions from your vet. The number 1 thing they will recommend is lots of bed rest, the only time the dog should go out is to go potty and then right back in to bed (or crate). It is not like a muscle injury that needs to be worked to heal itself. It takes time and if not always a good prognosis. Watch to make sure that he can still urinate and defecate on his own. Good luck and best wishes.

Yes first you need to stabilise him when he walking this is done best by putting a towel under his stomach just in front of the hind legs this lets you take most of his weight you havent said what size ? this worked well for my rottie when he was paralysed they do adapt dogs he is now walking and running round again he has athritis of the spine and spurs have formed on his discs, there are a number of options to try , talk to your vet

What you're describing is typical of that type of injury. However, its also a common symptom of luxating patella, so be sure your vet checks for that as well.

What does the X-ray say? it would show on an X-ray...