I am just seeing this now, thanks ladyjane for the PM!
I am so happy to hear you are bringing Cobi home and will be working to rehabilitate him. It is great news that he has regained deep pain sensation! My yorkie had a ruptured disc and we did surgery but she has not regained deep pain or any function in her back legs or bladder. But we love her just the same! She is no longer in any pain and is the same dog she has always been. No matter what happens or how far along Cobi gets in his recovery, remember he will always be the same dog on the inside
Animals are amazing in the way they don't let these kinds of things get to them. So what if they can't walk, they will still do everything they did before! They never sit around thinking about the things they used to be able to do, they just figure out new ways to do things and enjoy every moment!
Has the vet given you a hands on demonstration on expressing? It can be frustrating at first but it does become pretty easy and goes pretty quickly when you get the hang of it. I'm sure you've already been told, but emptying the bladder completely is very important because leftover urine can build bacteria quickly in the bladder and an infection doesn't take long to spiral out of control. It might be helpful to practise expressing with the vet and have the vet try after you're done to make sure you got it all out. We still do checks like that every once in awhile with our vet.
If Kobi has been given instructions for crate rest or limited movement, I just wanted to share something that helped us a lot: a pet stroller! Layla was on crate rest during the spring and it really helped us out moving her from place to place and even taking her for walks and getting her mind engaged. We even took her out golfing while she was on crate rest
Layla had 8 weeks of crate rest (which we upped to 10 weeks to be on the safe side) and then we went ahead and ordered a cart (we chose Eddie's Wheels and are very happy with it!).
If you have any questions about anything, don't hesitate to ask. I don't know a lot about the condition causing his paralysis, but I do know a lot about caring for a paralyzed dog. I applaud you for keeping a level head and trying to stay positive! You are a great mommy!
Good luck to you and Cobi and we really hope he has a great recovery.