Husband sat on Daschund, worried sick about spinal injury

[aluminiumwaterbottle]

This happened at 11pm. Husband is just back from a long trip and exhausted and basically sat on the sofa not noticing our 2 year old Daschund laying there. I saw it happening and screamed at DH not to sit down but he didn’t process it. His full weight was on the dog for a good couple of seconds before he got up, triggered by a yelp from the dog. I was and still am incensed. He didn’t notice the dog yes but I am fuming at how slow his response time was.

Dog seems fine (has been walking and eating just fine, doesn’t seem in pain, behaving perfectly normally) but I know how sensitive daschund’s backs are and I’m worried DH has done permanent damage. DH has been minimising the situation and laughing and joking about it, I’m worried sick about our dog want want DH to fuck off. I want to take the dog to be checked (considering going to the emergency vets because of the yelp) and DH thinks I’m being ridiculous.

Seriously, it was an accident. Your dog is behaving completely fine. I’m with your DH on this one.

DH thinks I'm being ridiculous

You are 🙄

If the dog had been injured you would know
about it in the way it holds itself, if it was being careful, limping and if it was off it’s food etc. The dog is fine.
Your husband was slow because he was tired. Also maybe buying designer dogs with health issues and breed vulnerabilities isn’t a great idea 🙄

Is he insured? If not, YABVU.

He will be fine. I remember when we first got our dachshund I would worry all the time but actually they are quite resilient little things.

I don't think your being ridiculous OP. I understand how you feel. When we choose to have a pet they rely on us to safeguard them. We're responsible for their lives and we have a duty of care to them. That said, it does sound like your dog will probably be fine. My family has always had corgis, another dwarf breed, and we have one now with a terrible habit of flinging himself down steps/off furniture even though steps are avalaible to him and he's plenty bright enough to use them. He did jar his back once but got way with it. I think if the dog was hurt you would know, but the idea of a full adult male's weight on a daschund is pretty frightening. You're not ridiculous and your DH should not be laughing it off.

Why do dachshunds have sensitive backs?

YABU because you're asking a forum of strangers instead of going to see your vet. What do you expect from this thread?

Because they are so long.

Oh and if the dog is walking around normally it will be fine.

It was an accident. I have accidentally trod on my dog at times.

I would give your DH a break and realise that these things happen. But once you have done that then maybe have a sensible calm conversation to get the dog checked over on Monday by your vet to put your mind at rest (assuming your dog is not showing any signs of injury).

But stop blaming your DH because if you were that bothered about your dog's preposition for back injuries I presume you wouldn't be letting him on and off the sofa.

Exactly this ^

You would know straight away if this had caused your dachshund a spinal injury. Limping, knuckling (dragging the toes behind), continued whimpering, not wanting to eat/ stretch head down to get food or water from a bowl etc.

1 in 4 Dachshunds will have a spinal injury in their lifetime and this can be as much from genetic weakness as their environment. Stopping them from running up and down stairs, jumping up and down from sofas can help minimise risk. However some have disk issues that will come to light down the road. I think I read a study that said the risk jumps higher if their mother had IVDD.

It’s something you should make yourself aware of so you can look out for symptoms but don’t drive yourself crazy trying to wrap them in bubble wrap. They are very feisty and stubborn dogs as I’m sure you know (and also prone to dramatics!).

There’s a great site for information on IVDD in dachshunds here which might help.

Our dachshund in 11 and had IVDD when she was 4. She had surgery and we were told she wouldn’t walk again. However, we did physio at home with her and she beat the odds and made a perfect recovery. She is still as fast as a whippet!

Unless you have a very hard sofa the dog would probably have just been pushed into the cushions , the dog is fine so stop being a drama llama . If your husband had harmed the dog it would be dragging it’s legs / limping etc today it won’t be a delayed reaction with a spinal injury .

This.

Your dog is fine. It was an accident

Well sorry for giving a shit about my dog’s health. I won’t bother next time.

Thank you for the useful comments, I just wanted some reassurance or advice.

Overbreeding to make them as long as possible

Dachshund.

Probably a good idea to keep the dog off the sofa
Some pedigree breeds have been overbred to get a certain look nd this has lead to a lot of “weaknesses” - Daschunds sounds for example.
In some extreme cases they could be seriously injured with a small jump such as from a sofa or being picked up a bit quickly.
You need to be careful with them

Daschunds SPINES I meant

The main antidote to daschunds getting back issues is exercise. Yes be careful with them walking up and downstairs and jumping etc but even more important than that is three walks a day imho. I don't know about yours but mine can walk forever! Build up their muscles and it supports the spine. And don't let them get too fat!

Op I am sure your daschund is fine! He would very much let you know if he wasn't.

By the way I object to daschunds being called "designer dogs". They were sporting, working dogs, bred to hunter badger or "dach" in Germany hundreds of years ago, hence their stamina on walks. If you treat them as such, they remain fit and healthy. It's when they are not exercised enough and treated as lap dogs and carried about all the time that they encounter problems. They need long walks, preferably in the countryside getting muddy and dirty, where they can dig and hunt about and use their noses.

It’s sad that daschunds have been so overbred that they have such weak spines, but in this case it sounds like your dog is fine. You’d know if he was injured because he’d be showings signs of pain. And go easy on your husband, it was obviously an accident.

It was an accident but it’s the way he was laughing in my face about my worry and showing not even the slightest concern for our dog afterwards.

Screaming? incensed? fuming?No wonder your husband is laughing at your over reaction. Your dog sounds fine, you sound rather dramatic.
Your husband was tired, it was an accident, and your dog shouldn’t be on the sofa if you’re that worried about it’s back, that must be quite a strain every time it clambers up.