OT: Looking for input on my injured dog

[Shooter7]

I don't know if anyone can add anything more in here than what I already got yesterday at the vet, but thought I'd give it a try. My dog is almost 15 years old and late Fri. night, she went to jump up on the sofa next to me here by the computer while I was working on it. I heard her yelp and turned just to see her kind of sliding back down off of the sofa at that point. So it appears to me her injury occurred in the act of jumping and not in a fall. At any rate, she came stumbling back out from the other side of the sofa and was having alot of trouble controlling her back legs. She tried to go up the stairs, but didn't have the control or energy in them to do more than a couple. I took her upstairs to where she usually sleeps in our room and laid her down, with hopes that next morning she would improve a little. Instead of improving, she was worse. By the time I got to the vet at around 9:30 Sat. morning, she had completely lost voluntary use of her back legs. Vet checked her out and she still has good reflexes in those legs, still responds to stimuli on her feet, did not lose bowel or bladder control, and can still wag her tail. X-rays showed a dog who is actually in pretty good shape for her age. Some arthritis here and there, but overall pretty good. A slight haze in one intervertbral area was of concern for disc bulging, but there was no decrease in the intervertebral space at that point either. Nothing else to show for a significant injuty could be found on xray. They sent her home on muscle relaxers and anti-inflammatory drugs. Today she is the same. Again, just looking for anyone who might have had any experience with something like this or has further input as to what it could be, best way to treat, anything. She's been my buddy since I got her as an 8 week old puppy and we've been through a lot together. Thanks.

 

[kellymm7149]

mine a doxie also did a jump but ruptured a disc requiring immediate surgery 2 grand later hes back to his old self if its a herniated disc its either surgery or crate rest with major steroids to bring the swelling down and of course no more jumping

 

[JxMetal]

No idea Dave. Never had a dog myself. Just wanted to say good luck.

 

[Shooter7]

Thanks. And yes, they've got her on steroids. They were encouraged by her reflexes and all, asked me to continue to check her feet and see if she reacts to stimuli, which she does. You can lightly touch her feet a little and she'll clench her foot in response, so something is still there. It's driving her crazy, though, not being able to get around. And I have to try and catch her at the right time for going out to the bathroom.

 

[saltyunderground]

As long as she is not in extreme pain and she seems happy, I would give it time.

My German Shephard pulled a muscle in a back leg when she was about two years old while we were playing ball outside. I made a big deal out of her hurting herself and responded with sympathy everytime she yelped a little. She limped around and even acted as if she could not climb stairs. (Ever try to carry a 80 pound dog up stairs?) When she would run and play she limped and acted like it hurt.

After a several days of this I took her to the vet who could not get any of the same responses I got. They walked her up and down stairs, they moved her leg around and nothing seemed wrong with her. They suggested giving it some time.

The alternative was to spend $1,000 to have all kinds of x-rays and scans done. But since they could not get her to respond in pain when they examined her, they did not see any reason to spend the money.

I took her home and decided to stop babying her. If she yelped I encouraged her to keep playing instead of giving her a hug. Within a few weeks she had forgotten all about her leg hurting.

My dog pulled a muscle and overreacted because I made a big deal out of it. I am not trying to say your dog is going through the same thing. I just hope she is.

 

[THS_scimmia_09]

Sorry about your troubles trigger... what type of dog is she? i have a 10 year old golden retriever who fell while we were out of town and he couldn't stand for 2 days! so we put him on ...prednizone? i think... and he started to walk more bout developed an infection and got all these pusy sores all over his back.. but now he is walking fine and everything...
GOOD LUCK i know what it is like to have an injured dog that you have had and have been bestbuds with for a long time.
if all fails you could get her a wheelchair thing for her back legs!!

 

[TWINPEAKS]

Sounds like she might have pinched a nerve in her back the best vet around is the Highland Animal Clinic if she doesn't get better I would refer you there.We have been using them for years with no complaints.

 

[Chelsey]

My guess is that she either ruptured a disc in her lower back or pinched some kind of nerve. Keep her quiet, use the stuff the vet gave you, and maybe try a heating pad to get her muscles to relax. I've heard of this happening in older dogs, just give it some time and use some common sense (ie, what would your doc tell you if you screwed up your back?). If she seems like she's in a lot of pain you can give her BABY aspirin (does not contain acetaminophin, toxic to dogs and cats) but I would definately call your vet to make sure this is ok and also check the dosage Good luck with your pup!

 

[Shooter7]

Thanks. Dennis, I didn't even know anything about Highland's office til you mentioned it. There is a vet office in Troy, but when I called them Saturday morning, they said they were wall to wall with critters and that given the circumstances, they were going to refer me over to their office in Glen Carbon, which is where we went. The guy we saw there pretty much indicated that if she didn't get better on the medication regimen, they'd be referring us to someone who was more of a specialist in this kind of thing. Who that is, I have no idea.

Probably the biggest issue is getting her out to the bathroom. While she is not 80lbs (thank God!), 25 lbs is plenty to deal with when the back half is just kind of hanging there. Still, I thought it was interesting that when she went to pee last night, she was able to kind of bring her back legs up and forward and keep them there, as trying to keep them out of the way while she was going. I put them down on the ground and try to walk her forward, though, and she just drags them behind her. I sure hope she gets through this. I'm the only one in the house that can really get her outside and such. Thanks for the input Chelsey.

 

[rottielover]

Hey Dave,

Just wanted to wish you both the best... I can't really think of anything the vet hasn't already told you.

Hope everything works out

 

[Sk8r]

Bladder function is normal? No discoloration in urine? Sometimes a kidney infection can cause lower body paralysis...

 

[Shooter7]

Thanks Rottie...

Bladder function is normal? No discoloration in urine? Sometimes a kidney infection can cause lower body paralysis...

Yep.....nope....

I actually observed her when this happened. She had tried to jump onto a sofa and this occurred either in the act of jumping or the straining to try and stay on the sofa after missing the jump. I heard her yelp, then turned to see her sliding off the sofa and onto the floor. So that led me to believe that the injury occurred not from falling, but from the strain of the jump or missing the jump.

Really hoping we will be able to avoid surgery, as I'm not thrilled about the prospect of putting a 15 year old dog through that. Also the fact that they felt she might have a little heart failure going on as well, since her heart was a little enlarged on xray. This is what worried me the most about this is her age and just what they'd be willing to try on her. Still wasn't any perceived improvement as of this morning, not quite 48 hours into treatment. Probably will take awhile.

 

[Amy83820]

Something similar happened to one of my cocker spaniels. She fell asleep in a chair funny (don't laugh), and when she got up the next morning she kept yelping and couldn't use her back legs. I took her to the emergency clinic (it happened on a Sunday, of course) and the vet was sure she had dislocated her hip. The xray came back fine, but she still couldn't walk. They said it was probably a pulled muscle and that she was just afraid to move because of the pain. She gave me the equivalent to doggy ibuprofin and after about 2 days, she started getting up and around again. She's just not a young pup anymore, i guess (9 yrs old).
If you want the name of the stuff or the rest of it, send a pm.

 

[rottielover]

I can't belive I'm admitting this, but hey, it's 2006 right? ...

When my "big girl" died of cancer (~110lb female rottie), I cried like a 5 year old girl for 2 days. I had her since she was 8 weeks old, and she was my best buddy. I still mark the aniversary's of her death with a little prayer... If dog's arn't allowed in heaven I don't want to go.

 

[Amy83820]

Rottie-

Don't feel bad. When one of our dogs got really really sick and almost died, my husband and I both slept on the floor with her for about a week. I would do the exact same thing you did!

 

[Shooter7]

Well, she's been with me through a divorce, several moves, a short bit of time of unemployment, several other relationships, my wife now and her dog she had who was a real pain in the butt, the birth of our now 4 year old son and his hassling of her, and now on to today. There have been many days I've come home and felt really miserable and she always brightened them up. One thing I don't get from my fish. So, I'm gonna do as much as I think needs to be done for her. The doc called and talked to my wife earlier and it was a different doc from the one I saw Sat. Some of what she told my wife didn't make a lot of sense to me, so I'm going to call there on my way home from work in a few minutes here to try and get some clarification. They are universally saying, though, that I would probably have to be referred to a specialist, but it didn't sound like they had a name for me. So, if anyone knows of a good vet that specializes in neurological disease or injuries, let me know please. Thanks.

 

[Ocicat]

Dave, I had a miniature poodle (that's the medium sized variety) who insisted on acting like a puppy well into old age. He still loved to play fetch at ages 13, 14, and he would still lunge after the ball like a young dog. Sometimes, he would pull a muscle in the process, and he'd limp for a few days. My hope is that your pup just pulled a muscle in her back.

 

[xxpipedreamxx]

Has your vet tested for hip dysplasia? it can occur in smaller breeds of dogs (known well in german sheps) and often doesnt begin to rear its ugly head until the later years of the dogs life. in simple terms it is where the joints gradually seperate from each other (looseness of the hip) and it causes lameness normally in the hind end. being overweight can contribute to the degeneration of the hip. if the dog tests positive for it, surgical means can be taken to correct the problem (Pectineal Myectomy, Femoral Head and Neck Excision, Juvenile Pubic Symphysiodesis, Triple Pelvic Osteotomy, or a plain jane hip replacement.)

 

[Shooter7]

Actually, on x-ray review, her hips looked fine. Matter of fact, she looked really good overall as far as skeletal and joints and such, in as much as you can see on xrays.

Talked to the vet again and I'm in a bit of a dilemma. First, her blood work they drew on Sat. came back as being pretty good. She only had minor variances from normal, where she had any at all. Overall, she's a pretty healthy dog.

With regards to the main issue, he did not have anything definitive for me. He and the other vets at this clinic re-reviewed the xrays and physical findings and agreed that any further evaluation would have to be passed on to a specialist. The dilemma being that on one hand he suggested that an evaluation from a specialist sooner might avoid the possibility of permanent injury by being able to address something wrong quickly and not letting it sit and become a chronic problem. There is, though, no way that he could guarantee that anything more specific would indeed be found or even able to be treated more than what we are. This evaluation would surely be expensive, require more intense imaging, and the most likely result for the future I could see coming from it would be surgery - of course, without any certainty of success or improvement. And, have to keep in mind the age of this dog and whether or not I want to have her spend a good portion of her remaining time recuperating from surgery.

The second school of thought is following what we are already doing with muscle relaxers and steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. She could very well improve on these and return to normal functioning. She has not worsened since yesterday, and actually when messing with her foot a little while ago, she pulled up to withdraw her leg from me, which she didn't do yesterday. She is still showing no signs of being able to support anything on her back legs though. The possibility exists that she might not improve at all, but she is in decent spirits it seems at the moment. And I had no idea there were so many manufacturers of doggie wheelchairs. Even if I had to get one of those, she could potentially live out her remaining couple of years happily running around in her wheelchair and not have the pain and suffering of a lengthy surgical recovery.

I hate decisions like this.
Keep hoping she'll show me a sign to help lean me one way or the other.

 

[rottielover]

Dave,

I'm pretty sure I can see the undertones here, in the back of your mind your mulling over about putting her down...

The only thing I can tell you in regards to that issue is what other dog owners told me, and it seems kinda dumb, but it's absolutly true.

"When it's time, you'll just know." Belive me, when I first heard that advice I blew it off... but one night, while at the animal hospital, my wife and I could just see it in her eye's, that "please, I don't want to suffer / live like this" look.

Trust me, you'll know