XTRAWLD
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Posts posted by XTRAWLD
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Uh oh. Are your pups affected? I have never heard of this until now so I'm unfamiliar with it.
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I'd give booties a go if you can. I buy rather affordable and disposable Pawz (size purple). Ryder can only go around the corner and back when its cold with snow and salt, but with little booties can walk for much longer periods. Some are just more tolerable with cold on their feets than others. I know I wouldn't wanna go bare foot!
If she isn't favouring it in the house, than it's likely just outside and she's cold.Enjoy your new pup.
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I have lamented over Ryder's limping for years. The video of Violet indeed shows that she looks very tight and tense (to me anyway) and somewhat similar to how Ryder would sometimes walk, although at times his limping was significantly pronounced. I don't see limping per say, but I can see she's not walking right. X-rays only showed some potential mild bicepital tenosynovitis for Ry. I put him on methocarbomol and we went to chiro and it was recommended to do a steroid injection at the site in the shoulder (because it was a suspected soft tissue injury) the next time he came up lame. (He didn't so we didn't). Any time he had exercise more than the "norm" he could barely move off his bed. I would run my hands down his back and he would often have muscle spasms, I'd stretch out his legs and often he would refuse to give me paw even though he knew the command and wanted that treat. In hindsight, his whole behaviour was starting to change, and he was becoming more shy and very careful around the house. Turns out we were chasing the wrong thing.
We went in for an MRI last week and discovered bulging discs in his neck in 2 areas and am treating him now with Gabapentin. He's back to being spunky after only a few days on meds. One area is mildly compressing the spinal cord, the other thankfully is not but meds are now making a difference. While I don't think I can fix his neck, and thankfully we caught this early, I can only make him comfortable and prevent further damage. He's A-OK with that.
Try this test:
Walk her with a treat in your hand in front of her nose but up so that she needs to carry her head to walk. Is she following the food or refusing to keep her head up as you walk? Is she trying to look down when she's walking and not following the treat?
When standing, take the treat in front of her nose and make her follow it to her hindquarter on her left, and then to the right. Is she going for the treat? Does she get it when it's just out of her reach and you know she can?
When standing, if you take up a right front paw and force her to move in one direction, does she readily hop to counterbalance? How about the other side?
These tests were done to Ryder by the neurologist which helped lead her to believe something was wrong with his neck. You mention she hit a post hard with her shoulder, perhaps there was enough of a shock there if she was carrying her head the wrong way to have put something out of whack. I'm not saying she may have the same issue, but we chased the wrong thing (muscles) for a very long time. Good luck and I hope you are able to figure it out.
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Wookit dat faaaaace......
And
EARSIES!!!
He looks pretty good in the pic....got a side view?
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I'd like to get a new harness to walk Ryder and I'm thinking of the No Pull Harness, as mentioned on GT. http://www.2houndsdesign.com/Freedom-No-Pull-Harness/
I'm also hoping that this puts no pressure on his neck. Is anyone aware of where the pressure points are with this harness when walking? The vid just says even pressure throughout the chest.
Does connecting the front and the back of it simultaneously make the magic happen for no pulling? So I should buy the Euro leash? http://www.2houndsdesign.com/Euro-Leash-double-connection.html
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That's a relief. I was going to say perhaps she was in a smaller area than her body liked and the tail just got caught somewhere. I'm not sure people are used to this gorgeously long, thin tails. Wrap and monitor.
Enjoy your vac!
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Could be kind of static-y. That's my only thought.
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Yup, he's still brand new. Have you walked the neighbourhood?
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After talking with his vet, and the specialist we're going ahead with the consult so we'll see!
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Anyone would be sore after what happened. I'm certain he strained a whole bunch of stuff. Tylenol suggestion does sound odd. Why wouldn't he get you more metacam or tramadol? (you said you were out). And I don't believe that he's at his max dosage. How much does he weigh? Kasey was allowed quite a bit and I think he was close to 50 lbs by the end of it all. Have you considered prednisone at all? We used that in combination with gaba, he was on it forever and we just kept him on it while we treated the LS. I agree with with greysmom especially this:
As you're trying to manage him towards the end of his life, IMO, you need to do whatever you can (up to a certain point) to maintain his quality of life without worrying too much about long term side effects - control pain, manage mobility, encourage eating.
{{{HUGS}}}
We're thinking of you.
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Awwwwh, what a cutie!!!
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If the back end sinks, gaba can help. Encourage your friend to go get some.
An interesting test: lift the tail and lightly drag the end of a pen on the anus. You should see a flicker or a reaction. If there isn't one, or one side is reacting and not the other, the back end nerves have been compromised.
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The bugger is acting completely normal today. Diva from Wed to Sunday, but looks like I got my dog back on Monday and all by hisownself. The only thing I can think of that happened is a small stroke or do dogs get vertigo? He just was not himself until today. I've got the neurologist appt later this week, but think I might cancel since the consult might be useless!
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Seeho - because it deals with nerves, its best for neurological conditions. I tried it for Ryder and his limping but I am on the fence if it worked for him at the time. Its a versitile and safe drug but I'm not sure if it would work in your case. Asking the vet about it never hurts and maybe they will send you home with some to just try. Is she going down due to muscle loss?
No slip floor tips on this thread:
http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php/topic/318685-fear-of-slippery-floors/?fromsearch=1
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A crate is a good idea actually, while that restricts his movement though what if he falls when in it? Just trying to think if he'd be more stuck?
Yes, you can go upon the dose if hes only 600 a day. We started at 1000mg a day and went down to a dose we felt was comfortable which was 300x2 a day, so you have room. Its a drug that has a great versatile range.
seeho2 - the easiest way to explain gaba is that it basically helps to send a signal to the brain to tell the legs to stand up. LS is caused by compression of a nerve in the spine so signal to "stand" doesn't get through.
Twiggysmom - I have seen rubber tips on nails being used to afford extra grip on the floors but do not have any experience with them. I also had a help me harness which was useful at times but I didn't leave it on him 24/7.
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I've had Kasey go down like that on our walks, and sometimes in front of me in the house. I came home once to him like that, but I know it was only for mere moments as I was bringing in groceries. It just pained me. I know how you are feeling. He became so weak I felt so helpless for him. I won't forget that his weakness coupled with his LS made getting up so difficult, that's when he struggled so badly and ripped out his dew claw. He was down, and panicking and did everything he could to get up, and I saw this on my webcam and sped home. Get up he did, but left an absolutely bloody mess and a trip to ER, all this while undergoing chemo with low platelet count.
Are you able to set up a webcam to watch him? Can you up his gabapentin or give it to him more often? I found that often helped Kasey keep his legs under him.
I know this is such a hard time....and hard decision.
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So we're going with a neurologist appointment. Some of this stuff just isn't adding up. No metacam or meds for now. Gotta rule out some other things first. Will continue on in my other "cognitive" thread.
Thank you all.
My boy. -
There were "just enough" signs at our vet appt today to warrant a neurological referral, which I'm rather happy about. We'll see what happens.
We had bloodwork done today, nothing out of the norm, but I'd like to post the just in case. Will try to do so later today. Turns out we aren't getting him on any metacam after all.
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Great input thank you. I'm well armed for the vet tomorrow.
Do any of you find that your dog is restless when on it or more anxious? Is it a "calming" med so to speak that mellows them out at all?
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We did not see any major improvement in Sweep's limping with Duralactin, Springtime products, or the Chinese herbs prescribed by her acupuncture vet.
Our two dogs eh? Mysterious limping to which nothing seems to work!
Ryder has been on Springtime products for nearly his whole life now. I really like them, I think he'd be worse off without them actually.
Thank you all for your input. I was told by my vets that there are few alternatives aside from Metacam for medicating for his particular issue, but I can certainly ask about the others suggested in this post.
We're headed to the vet tomorrow morning as I was going to ask for a neurological referral. My dear boy is just not acting right at all since Thursday. I really want to push for a scan at this point, while the vets continue to tell me it's a muscle/soft tissue problem.
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Considering asking the vet for some for Ryder. I'd like to know the good, the bad and the ugly. I think at age 9 and dealing with these mysterious limping and muscle issues that it might be a better alternative to use than the muscle relaxants like methocarbomol or Onsior that we've been trying, which seem to me as ineffective - I only feel better because I've given him something I think can help. He doesn't really have any arthritis, x-rays don't show this, rather we're always dealing with limping due to soft tissue injury or very tight muscles, they spasm a lot on his back, and chiro helps but I am not in a position to go regularly. I'm thinking Metacam is something we'll be using till the end of his days so I'd like to know what I'm getting into or any better alternatives. Thanks.
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Please list symptoms you've noticed in your dogs where you have noticed a "mental" disfunction and it was a diagnosed issue like a stroke or alzheimers or things of the sort.
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I dremel. Clipping is just too scary for me with black nails (plus they are strong as all else!) I tend to do them once a month though. A rule of thumb I use is if I can hear him "clicking" on the floor, it's time.
Muzzle if she's getting upset. You want to be firm but gentle. Pulling her paws back and you conceding teaches her that she's winning
(Of course determine that you haven't hit the quick or are applying too much pressure or in one spot for too long and accidentally heating up the nail with the dremel). Ry puts up with me, as I don't give up. He could pull his paw away 8 times, and I'll come back 9. He gets pretty heavily rewarded when we are done and nicely body rubbed after every paw is complete. Kasey just LOVED his pawdicures. He often would just fall asleep while I did them. Made it a breeze because I could be so fast. With a dog that always pulls his paw back, it takes a little longer to finish up. PB in the muzzle sounds like just the ticket for you.
If you start dremeling go slow, let her get used to the sound and the feeling, and have a very short session. Good luck! -
Purkle!
The blue ends up to be too tight on the legs and I find more likely for a nail to break through on the edges.
Just ordered a new package of 12 as he busted all the other ones last year! I find that they lose their elasticity after a year in storage!
These are great booties for quick outs for us. Longer outs and we put on MuttLuks.
If she isn't favouring it in the house, than it's likely just outside and she's cold.
My boy.
No Pull Harness
in Training and Behavior discussion
Posted
Interesting. Do you use the front and back clips?