My paralyzed dog crawls. How to protect him from scratches and sores?

I'm sorry that Bruno suffered from distemper! Your vet was right that there is no cure for distemper, and about 50% of dogs who come down with it pass away. It's fortunately that Bruno was one of the lucky ones to survive, but dogs who do survive often have lasting effects such as the paralysis you are seeing. I would recommend speaking to your vet about seeing if a doggie wheelchair can be made or purchased for Bruno. Dragging his legs on the ground can easily lead to wounds on his legs which can then get infected. A wheelchair will support him and make it easier for him to get around safely. Dogs with distemper typically do not have normal life spans due to the lasting effects of the disease, so to answer your question, Bruno will survive but for how long is truly unknown. I'm sorry I don't have a more definitive answer for you :-(

Unfortunately the only thing that will prevent this is to take him outside often and/or change his pee pad/diapers regularly and often. Shave the hair around the penis and on his belly in front of the penis and wash the area when he peed on it , at least twice daily, You need to dry the area well and then you can apply plenty of vaseline to keep the urine from coming into contact with the skin. If the inflammation is severe, if there are raw skin lesions or if you cannot completely remove the crusts and masses you will need to take him to a vet to examine him.

That is a very broad question, so let me give you a few ideas and a few websites. First, you need to protect the skin on the rear legs from getting sores. Urine that is left on the skin can be very irritating and cause severe skin wounds. You will need to learn to express the urinary bladder if they are not able to do that themselves. Sometimes that is easy and sometimes it is not. Here is a website with a lot of good information for you. http://www.dodgerslist.com Here is their section about incontinence. http://www.dodgerslist.com/literature/IncontinentDown.htm This website has a number of good products to help you. You may want to purchase products from them or make your own based on their ideas. https://www.handicappedpets.com Good luck! I hope that gives you some ideas and was helpful. Please let us know if you have any other questions. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Yes, it is absolutely fine if you carry Bruno to grass. That would be better than putting him on concrete because he could injure his legs on the concrete due to propelling himself around on his front legs as you previously described.

I would suggest having Zach's anal glands checked as they me be full or impacted since he can't defecate normally. You can also use a baby diaper cream such as desitin to help ease the area as long as he cannot lick it off.

I think it's a great idea to have a wheelchair made for Bruno so he can "walk" again! There are a number of owners who do this for their pets, and it does help improve their quality of life. Yes it is fine to have two wheels at the back, and I would check this website that sells wheelchairs for dogs to help you get ideas for yours :-) http://www.handicappedpets.com/adjustable-dog-wheelchairs

Unfortunately, the plaster will not help this condition and can cause sores on the skin if used. Depending on how severe the nerve damage is, Goyla may be able to get some return of leg function, but a vet doctor would need to examine him to tell. I recommend taking him to a vet doctor as soon as possible for an accurate diagnosis and treatment. For now, the best thing you can do is keep him confined to a small area and provide a soft surface to crawl on. I hope that helps and Golya can get better soon.