Wobblers Disease

[Guest greytfulhounds]

My Rhonda was diagnosed today with Wobblers Disease and I was wondering if anyone has had experience with this? Any & all information would be welcome.

 

Rhonda started with symptoms last weekend and went downhill as the week progressed. Last Saturday we were at a meet & greet and I took her outside to relieve herself. She stepped up into an area that was no higher than a curb and that was the first time I heard her cry. From that point on she cried jumping up on my bed, laying down on her bed, bending down to pick up a treat, etc. On Monday I called my vet and they made an appointment for Wednesday. In that time I kept trying to pinpoint where the pain was coming from because at times it seemed to be the front of her body but to me her gait was off slightly in the back end.

 

Wednesday Rhonda saw the vet and she checked every centimeter of her body and what we kept coming back to was when her head was manipulated straight up & then straight down Rhonda would cried. The vet had the vet tech walk Rhonda up & down the hall and although she did well I kept pointing out to the vet that Rhonda's one back leg seemed to sway when she turned........the vet agreed. The vet felt it was a disc in the neck and gave me Deramaxx & Robaxin for her to take for 10 days and then follow up with progress.

 

By Thursday, just 24 hours later, Rhonda started to lose control of her back end. She went out to potty after dinner last night and when she tried to squat & pee she fell on the ground. She fell again in the kitchen......every time I tried to get her back on her feet her feet would knuckle under. She was finally able to steady herself but was walking like she was drunk and at times her feet are scraping the ground. I had an assistance harness that I used for my old girl that passed away so I put that on Rhonda and it has been a great help in keeping her steady. Although, she does continue to fall here & there.......the problem is she feels good otherwise and keeps trying to move & do like she would normally do but her body is not cooperating.

 

I called the vet first thing this morning.......my vet was not on but I saw one of the other vets in the practice. The vet took one look at Rhonda walking in and said this dog has Wobblers Disease! Rhonda's whole back end wobbles & sways........the vet called it ataxic. They took an x-ray of Rhonda's cervical vertebrae and the vet showed me where there was a clear narrowing between two of the vertebrae which she said control the back end. This vet took her off the Deramaxx and started her on Prednisone & Doxycycline (just in case of infection but Rhonda is not running a fever) and has me continuing the Robaxine which is a muscle relaxer.

 

The vet said she has seen Wobblers predominately in great dane's & doberman's but not really in greyhounds.

 

Just for reference, Rhonda just turned 5 years old on Wednesday and just finished her racing career in June '08. The vet was surprised by this because she said it is a genetic disease and she would not have thought Rhonda would have made out racing, let alone racing until she was 4 1/2 years old.

 

Thank you for any help or guidance you might be able to offer.

[greysmom]

No experience with Greyhounds, but we did have a Great Dane with Wobblers. Though just from your story I would probably not have called what your dog has Wobblers. My understanding (my info is from when my GD was a puppy in 1993!) is that Wobblers is a genetic disease causing narrowing of the vertebrae around the spine. It's with the dog all their life and doesn't usually crop up later on. Our puppy was diagnosed with it at about 5 months - fortunately a light case that didn't end up needing surgery.

 

Due to the sudden onset of her symptoms I would suspect a onset injury that resulted in vertebral narrowing. The Pred should help one way or another if she has some swelling causing the back end weakness.

 

Good luck!

greysmom

[brandimom]

I have not had any experience with it but at one time I thought my grey might have it so I did some research. I found a site that might be of interest to you http://hometown.aol.com/clcw/index.html. It is a story of Sylivia, a dobie, that has Wobblers. They had real success with a neck wrap. Sylvia is wrapped in sheets of cotton from under the ears to the shoulders and than a layer of vet wrap holds it tight. The wrap is made quite snug and should be thick. The immediate effect is to stabalize the area but long term, the theory is similar to that of surgery, just more gradual and non-invasive route. The vertebrae is supported over a period of time, allowing the tendons and muscle to build up and support the vertebrae. If you can't find the site let me know and I will fax it to you. Also try www.chetbacon.com/wobblers.htm also http://personal.palouse.net/valeska/wobblers.htm. I have all of these articles if you need me to send them to you. Please keep us posted. Hugs to you and your baby.

[Burpdog]

Did you have xrays done? Do you have an acupuncture vet close?

[Guest TBSFlame]

I think I would get a second oppinion.

[Guest greytfulhounds]

Did you have xrays done? Do you have an acupuncture vet close?

 

Yes, they did an x-ray yesterday and the vet took me back and showed me on the x-ray where the narrowing was.........it is between two vertebrae about in the middle of the cervical vertebrae. You could clearly see the difference between that space and the "normal" spaces. And, yes, my vet also practices holistic medicine and does acupuncture. My hope is that the prednisone will get her to a good place and then maybe we can maintian with the acupuncture.

 

I give all of my dogs Joint Health Formula from Springtime Supplements & I just ordered Fresh Factors to add in for Rhonda.

 

I think I would get a second oppinion.

 

Not being negative at all when I say this but, for what reason? Just trying to have my information in order if I start asking for or about other things........what else should we be looking at?

 

I have not had any experience with it but at one time I thought my grey might have it so I did some research. I found a site that might be of interest to you http://hometown.aol.com/clcw/index.html. It is a story of Sylivia, a dobie, that has Wobblers. They had real success with a neck wrap. Sylvia is wrapped in sheets of cotton from under the ears to the shoulders and than a layer of vet wrap holds it tight. The wrap is made quite snug and should be thick. The immediate effect is to stabalize the area but long term, the theory is similar to that of surgery, just more gradual and non-invasive route. The vertebrae is supported over a period of time, allowing the tendons and muscle to build up and support the vertebrae. If you can't find the site let me know and I will fax it to you. Also try www.chetbacon.com/wobblers.htm also http://personal.palouse.net/valeska/wobblers.htm. I have all of these articles if you need me to send them to you. Please keep us posted. Hugs to you and your baby.

 

 

Thank you for the links! I am compiling the ideas & information I receive to go over with my vet when we have our follow up.

[Guest greytfulhounds]

No experience with Greyhounds, but we did have a Great Dane with Wobblers. Though just from your story I would probably not have called what your dog has Wobblers. My understanding (my info is from when my GD was a puppy in 1993!) is that Wobblers is a genetic disease causing narrowing of the vertebrae around the spine. It's with the dog all their life and doesn't usually crop up later on. Our puppy was diagnosed with it at about 5 months - fortunately a light case that didn't end up needing surgery.

 

Due to the sudden onset of her symptoms I would suspect a onset injury that resulted in vertebral narrowing. The Pred should help one way or another if she has some swelling causing the back end weakness.

 

Good luck!

greysmom

 

The vet we saw yesterday was a little perplexed by this too. She asked me if Rhonda had been a race dog & I said yes. She said that is odd because Wobblers is genetic and she would not think Rhonda would have made a good race dog with Wobblers. I told her Rhonda just finished racing in June at 4 1/2 years old so it did not affect her racing ability. I know she raced because I watched the last 6 months of her career on the computer waiting for her to retire.

 

But as far as an injury, this all happened in a split second and she was not doing anything that would have caused a traumatic injury. Last Saturday she stepped up a curb and cried........that was the beginning of her crying when she did certain movements and by Thursday she was falling down due to the back end.

 

[Guest vahoundlover]

Checking in on my special girlie

[mangos_mom]

Checking in, too. You and Rhonda are very much in my thoughts today.

[duncan41]

How is Miss Rhonda doing today? After re-reading all posts, it seems as though Wobbler's doesn't quite fit the bill here. No matter if the pred helps, so let's hope it does. Prayers and gentle hugs for Rhonda.

[Guest Spencers_Greyt]

I'm not so sure it's Wobbler's Disease. My Spencer has about the exact same symptoms and he's 8. His x-rays showed compressed discs just below his shoulders. When racing, Greyhounds put a great deal of pressure on their front legs and shoulders so it could manifest later in life. Nothing in all the talks with various vets I have taken Spencer to, was Wobbler's brought up. I would get a 2nd opinion. I think acupuncture and possible chiro would help.

 

[brandimom]

I agree with the Spencers Greyt post.

[Guest greytfulhounds]

Thank you all for the good thoughts......please keep them coming! I am not 100% convinced regarding the Wobblers diagnosis either. My regular vet is on again tomorrow and I plan to try & get some phone time with her. Even the vet that called it Wobblers thought it odd that Rhonda just finished racing this past June at 4 1/2 years old. The vet said that Wobblers is genetic and that she felt it would not have made for a good racer.

 

I just keep trying to retrace our steps last Saturday........at the time I heard her first cry the only thing she did was step up onto a curb........the second cry was inside the meet & greet when another volunteer was trying to teach her to sit by holding a treat above her head and when Rhonda's neck stretched backward she cried. Last Saturday was the beginning of all of this happening.

 

I am almost afraid to be optimistic but I honestly think Rhonda is a "tiny" bit better today. She is still swaying & losing her footing but seems to have better control of it........not falling completely down like she was the last 2 days. I want to believe the Pred may be helping her. Once we get through this first round of Pred & see where Rhonda progresses I will talk to my vet about a timeframe to get her off the Pred and start some acupuncture. My vet practices both holistic & conventional medicine so she does acupuncture right there at our current practice. Also, I have all of my hounds on Joint Health Formula from Springtime Supplements and after reading about their product called Fresh Factors I ordered that to add to Rhonda's supplements & will talk to my vet about when we can introduce the new supplement. There were testimonials from folks who used it on their dogs that had spinal cord injuries and that it really helped them.

 

Again, thank you for the input and please keep the positive thoughts coming Rhonda's way........we both appreciate it!

[Guest CDNgreys]

I was told my non-grey had Wobblers too.

What you have described is the way she was. She eventually was doing bunny hops to move.

I doubted she had Wobblers too.

We never found out what it was because OS was found in the front leg a few weeks later.

 

Good luck with Rhonda!!!!!

Edited March 22, 2009 by CDNgreys

[greysmom]

Spinal injuries can be hard to diagnose with an exact cause. She can't tell you when her back started hurting, which, given how stoic this breed can be about pain, might have been days or weeks before the stepping-on-the-curb incident. She might have had an injury at the track that was progressing until it really began impinging on the spinal cord and causes the pain and weakness.

 

As far as Wobbler's goes, the symptoms are all the same as you describe, but the onset doesn't fit. A dog with Wobbler's would not have been able to race for several years showing no problems.

 

Not that it translates directly but how many times have you heard of someone who says "I just bent over," or "I was just sitting in my chair," as the start of horrible back pain and spasms??

 

Good luck talking with your vet tomorrow.

 

greysmom

[mangos_mom]

Glad to hear that Miss Rhonda is even doing a tiny little bit better. Seconding the good luck wishes for talking to your regular vet tomorrow. Keeping you and your little girl in my thoughts.

[Guest FrostyBottoms]

I don't know anything about Wobbler's...good luck to your girl Rhonda!

 

[Guest meakah]

I don't have a lot of experience with Wobbler's but from what I understand...there are signs of it from a young age. Since your pup raced and is now 5 years old before any symptoms appeared, I have a hard time agreeing with this diagnosis. I would definitely get a second opinion if I were you.