Foster Might Have Degenerative Myelopathy

[Guest LindsaySF]

WAG had a dog surrendered to us in January, Cricket. He just turned 12 years old this month. (His elderly owner couldn't care for him any longer). We think Cricket has Degenerative Myelopathy (DM).

 

 

 

 

He limps more heavily on his right rear leg, but both hind legs show poor reflexes and lack of pain response on a neurological exam. He didn't seem to have feeling on palpation until partway up his spine. He can't do stairs and he's pretty weak overall. He's on Metacam for possible arthritis and Tramadol for pain (he wiped out on the floor of his foster home recently).

 

He might have a mild case of laryngeal paralysis (LP). Cricket had a panting attack in the car when he was first surrendered, and he pants strangely when he's excited or nervous. The first night we got him one of our volunteers (who is a nurse) was so concerned with the panting that she thought he was in congestive heart failure. The panting has improved, it's rare now, probably because he's more comfortable. We are not going to put him under or scope him for a definitive diagnosis of LP.

 

 

 

So here are my questions:

 

- Are there doggy wheelchairs that we can look into? (Does anyone want to donate one? ) His front end seems stronger than the hind end, so maybe some sort of mobility device would help him? His foster mom is taking him on short, frequent walks to build up his muscle, and increasing his food, but he's lost 4 pounds since we got him, and if he does have DM we know this is a progressive disease that will get worse.

 

- Any advice regarding the possible LP? I'm assuming avoid stress, excitement, be careful with hot temperatures? One of our adopters had a dog with LP that later developed DM, and her vet said they frequently see DM and LP together, they believe the same autoimmune process is responsible. We are wondering if this is the case with Cricket.

 

- A general practitioner vet diagnosed DM. Are there other diseases we should look into? Lumbrosacral stenosis, arthritis, etc? Is it worth a neuro consult? We decided not to do x-rays looking for a tumor or cancer, because we probably wouldn't pursue surgery at his age. His bloodwork was normal and he doesn't seem to be in any pain (until he fell anyway).

 

 

 

Any advice or experience at all would be super helpful. Thank you all in advance!

 

 

 

 

 

~Lindsay~

 

 

 

Edited March 16, 2011 by LindsaySF

[tbhounds]

I would say to check for LS-- it's not hard just follow Dr Stack's advice that's posted on her website. If it is LS then, at least there's a treatment -- not so for DM. Thanks for caring for this ole boy.

[Guest CampWhippet]

 

- Are there doggy wheelchairs that we can look into? (Does anyone want to donate one? ) His front end seems stronger than the hind end, so maybe some sort of mobility device would help him? His foster mom is taking him on short, frequent walks to build up his muscle, and increasing his food, but he's lost 4 pounds since we got him, and if he does have DM we know this is a progressive disease that will get worse.

 

I had a wheel chair for a tripod whippet who had 1 back leg and it was pretty shot. This chair wouldn't work but I was recently "offered" a chair that had been used for a greman sheppard. I was asked to make an offer and I am awaiting dimentions before doing that. What are your dog's measurements? All I need are the width of the shoulders and hips as well as the height at both locations and the length from nape of neck to base of tail. If the chair I was offered fits and the price is reasonable it is yours for as long as he needs it. I will say that dogs who can still use their back limbs often fight the chair, but if it is a degenerative condition he will find it is fun to use the cart. My dog LOVED her wheels.

 

My chair was from Eddie's Wheels but there are others. They are not cheap but there is sometimes something in the used carts section.

 

Good thoughts for Cricket.

Edited March 16, 2011 by CampWhippet

[Maddiesmom]

Lindsay,

 

I did some googling once I saw Cricket on wheelchairs for dogs.

 

I also found Eddie's Wheels as a source, I also found this. http://www.wheelchairsfordogs.com/ This site stood out me as there a letter from a lady with her german shepard on the main page in his wheels in a lake playing ball. I thought that was cool. There are many sites that have them for dogs. I also found DIY instructions if someone wanted to make a homemade wheelchair for Cricket, as well used http://handicappedpet.net/class/showproduct.php?product=243&title=useddog-wheelchair-made-by-eddie-27s-wheels&cat=11, there are also some for sale on ebay as well.

 

hope this helps.

 

Good thoughts for Cricket.

 

Amy & Maddie

 

 

[BauersMom]

Princess has neurological deficits causing both back end weakness and LP - both are controlled by the longest nerves in canines and so are the first to show signs. Dr. Sisson at Angell diagnosed her and said that low thryoid has been shown to be part of the causes, though without any real/direct link, so he has her on a thyroid supplement. Up to this point, her progression has been slow. But he did not say anything about autoimmune.

 

Dogs with this type of neurological issues have a high risk of anesthesia complications, which is why up to this point, Dr. Sisson has not recommended the tie-back. However, she has started to progress to the point where we may need to start considering it.

 

Her back end issues have no real "cure". So long as she keeps moving (which can be difficult with her LP) and she is not on slippery surfaces, she does OK. One sort of easy test is to see how much feeling he has left in his feet - if you pinch Princess' webbing, she has little to no pain reflex.

 

For LP:

Keep him cool and limit time outside in hot and humid weather. If he does need to go out in hot weather, soak him with cool water. We had central air installed so she can stay nice and cool. Have them use a harness if they have not started to already. Avoid all stressful or potentially stressful situations, no M&G, no unnecessary car rides, etc.

 

Both issues will continue to deteriorate if that is what he has, unfortunately. Obviously, there is the surgical option for LP but otherwise, it's all about managing the symptoms and keeping them happy.

 

Edit to add - I probably wouldn't go the wheelchair route for a dog with LP. Any extra exertion seems like a potentially bad idea.

Edited March 16, 2011 by BauersMom

[MP_the4pack]

All I can say is my Onyx had a tieback at age 11. She had no problems with that for the rest of her life. This winter however, she lost the use of her back legs from all the ice we had. I never received an official diagnosis. But because of her back end, she went to the Bridge 3 weeks ago at age 15.5.

[kudzu]

The symptoms you describe could have many causes. LS is always near the top when I think of big dogs with long spines. LP is not uncommon in older, large breed dogs. The two do occur together from unrelated causes. However, you wrote, "He didn't seem to have feeling on palpation until partway up his spine." By this do you mean there appeared to be loss of feeling in areas before the lumbosacral joint? If so, that would make LS much less likely. And make me wonder more about other causes.

 

Does Cricket seem to move better after exercise or worse? Many DM dogs improve with moderate exercise. Many dogs with polyneuropathies appear weaker after exercise. Yes, LP like symptoms are often reported by the owners of DM dogs. However, LP is not uncommon with polyneuropathies either.

 

Has Cricket had a thyroid panel? I had a diagnosed with lower motor neuron disease & in his case it was a polyneuropathy. Part of the search for a cause included an MSU thyroid panel. That came back normal for my guy at that point. Dr. Clemmons at UFL is a respected authority on DM in GSDs. At one point I took him down to UFL for evaluation by Dr. Clemmons with an idea toward a stem cell transplant. (I chose not to do the transplant though.) Dr. Clemmons mentioned thyroid levels. At that point my dog was euthyroid sick & Dr Clemmons knew that. He said there was a doctor, human medicine, that was regarded as a quack. Yet he seemed to be getting some positive results using low doses of thyroid meds to treat age related peripheral neuropathy & suggested we could try that for my dog. Dr Clemmons did not know the reason why but just said, "I called him a quack but he just might be on to something." Unfortunately my dog didn't live long enough for us to see if that idea would work.

[JJNg]

- A general practitioner vet diagnosed DM. Are there other diseases we should look into? Lumbrosacral stenosis, arthritis, etc? Is it worth a neuro consult? We decided not to do x-rays looking for a tumor or cancer, because we probably wouldn't pursue surgery at his age. His bloodwork was normal and he doesn't seem to be in any pain (until he fell anyway).

Main rule-outs to consider would be lumbosacral stenosis, intervertebral disc disease, a tumor in/around the spinal cord, and arthritis. While he seems to be showing some neuro signs, severe arthritis can also cause weakness and poor reflexes. I'm a bit puzzled by lack of pain response and lack of feeling on palpation partway up his spine. A dog who is able to voluntarily move his back legs and walk should have a pain response. Pain response in the limbs is typically not lost until after the dog is paralyzed.

 

A neuro consult may help narrow down the possibilities, but you may not get a definitive diagnosis without advanced testing (ie. MRI, etc). I probably wouldn't pursue the advanced testing if surgery is not an option (which is understandable at his age). However, I'd consider looking into options like acupuncture, physical therapy, therapeutic laser, which may help if it's LS, a disc compression, or arthritis.

[Guest LindsaySF]

Thank you everyone for the advice!!! I linked Cricket's foster mom to this thread so she can read it. She was present at the vet exam, so she would know better than I would. But I think the vet pushed on him along his spine, and he didn't seem to get any reaction until about halfway up? So he doesn't have much feeling in his hind end. Or he might have felt it, but he didn't really flinch, so maybe his pain/stimulation response is diminished? He does eventually right his paws when you flip them over, but it takes a long time, indicating more neurological deficit.

 

 

Jonathan, Cricket's foster mom measured him and here are the measurements. I hope it helps. I thought of you and your Whippet when we were discussing wheelchairs, I remembered you posting pictures.

 

Shoulder 7", 28"

Hips 9", 27"

Neck to tail 29"

 

 

We are going to rule out LS. We discussed doing some x-rays, but we don't want to put Cricket under for it (I know some vets do). So we'll pursue LS and either rule it out, or if he has it pursue treatment for it. Cricket hasn't had a thyroid panel, so we will look into that as well.

 

 

Thanks again everyone.

 

 

 

 

~Lindsay~