Banh Mi and the Scary Weekend: A Dachshund's Back

Banh Mi is a red smooth-haired Dachshund who walks down Silom like he owns the pavement, wears a blue argyle sweater even in thirty-three degrees and has never, in five years, shown me a sign of pain. So when he yelped on Saturday morning while jumping off the sofa and then stood very still with his head low, my stomach dropped.

Dachshund owners know that long backs are fragile. I had read about it many times, but reading is different from watching your dog refuse to move. He would not eat his breakfast, which for a dog named after a sandwich is a crisis. He walked a few steps with his back arched, and he trembled when I touched his lower back. I did not try to examine him myself. I picked him up with one hand under his chest and one under his hips, so that his spine stayed straight, and put him in a carrier.

The clinic in Silom was open that morning, and a vet saw us within half an hour. She tested his reflexes, watched him walk and said that, thankfully, he still had good feeling in his legs. She explained that for this kind of problem the treatment depends on how serious it is, and that in his case the first step was strict rest: a small crate or pen for several weeks, no stairs, no jumping, only short toilet trips on a lead, with medicines she prescribed. She told me to come back at once if he lost strength in his legs or could not pass urine. I wrote everything down and followed it to the letter.

Those weeks tested us both. I carried him to the garden, slept next to the crate, and hid the sweater so he would not be tempted to dress up for the street. A friend lent me a ramp for the sofa. Every day he got a little better. By the second week he was walking normally in the flat, and the vet, after a check-up, allowed slow, short walks.

He is fine now, but we have new rules. No jumping from furniture, a harness instead of a collar, a healthy weight and gentle exercise. I also learned to lift him correctly, which every Dachshund owner should practise. If your dog suddenly yelps, will not walk or hides, please go to the vet immediately and do not wait. It might save you a lot of worry.