Wobbler's Syndrome

[GreytNut]

I've noticed something not quite right about Riley almost from day one. When he runs and plays in the yard his back end is stiff almost like an older dog with arthritis in its hips. Aside from that, he's really clumsy. His legs fly everywhere when he runs and he sometimes falls down when he tries to make a turn. He's only 3, and he retired at 18 months without ever having officially raced.

 

I mentioned this to the vet today when he went in for his annual exam. The vet determined that he did have arthritis in his hips, most likely from an old injury sustained in training. We'll see if Rimadyl helps with that. If it does he'll be on that indefinitely. But the clumsiness/falling down is due to Wobbler's Syndrome. He says Riley has a very mild case of it, and that it may never progress beyond that unless he suffers a spinal injury at some point which exacerbates it. At that point he would treat the symptoms with steroids but there's no real cure for Wobbler's. Usually it affects Dobermans, but he has seen a couple of greyhounds with it.

 

Does anyone else have a dog with Wobbler's Syndrome? What are your thoughts and experiences?

[greysmom]

Wobbler's syndrome can happen in any large breed dog. We had a female Great Dane who lived ten long years with it. There is a genetic/inherited component, but it's basically the bones impinging on the spinal cord, causing neurological symptoms and weakness. The only way to definitively diagnose it is with a spinal MRI. Without this testing, it's mostly guess work, and some vets seem to toss "Wobbler's Syndrome" around whenever there's an unexplained issue. It could as easily be LS or some other lumbosacral disease.

 

Dogs can live a long and comfortable life with correct pain management. If your vet is suggesting tramadol, I might suggest adding gabepentin to deal with the nerve pain. These two drugs seems to work very well together

[GreytNut]

He wants to try Rimadyl on him for the arthritis in his hips. He didn't mention Wobbler's Syndrome causing nerve pain, although it makes sense that it might. Riley really doesn't seem to be in pain except for some stiffness in his hind end and flinching when his hips were manipulated. He seems happy and bouncy... and clumsy.

 

The vet didn't mention a diagnostic MRI, he just stated that Riley's symptoms were "classic Wobbler's." I don't know if there is a veterinary MRI machine available in this area. We might have to go to a specialist out of state for that.

[Charlies_Dad]

Kristen, sorry to read of Riley's diagnosis. He is far too young to have any health issues! I agree with Chris on the Gabapentin, it can work wonders and has on Shelby's back which causes her to not be able to walk sometimes. She also runs really goofy with legs all over the place but we just put this down to her back issues.

[Guest bonnebike]

Our dog Singh just got diagnosed early stage wobbler's disease. He's only 3 and has been a wild and crazy pup, but one day he was unable to do the stuff he normally did. We thought maybe he'd hurt his back. He had a CT scan over at the Oregon State University Vet School. They found a bulging disc in his neck plus several oddly shaped vertebrae. After three rounds of pills he's and trying to keep him quiet as he got better he's pretty much back to his old self. He'll be walked with a harness the rest of his life (no fancy collars!). We're working on the stair thing, but it's hard to change who he is. :-)

[GreytNut]

That's rough. What medication did Singh get? Do they know what might have caused his symptoms to flare up like that?

 

Fortunately Riley's still able to run around and play more or less normally, except for the occasional tumble. Our results with Rimadyl were disappointing so we're looking for a good joint supplement to relieve the stiffness in his hind end.

[seeh2o]

I'm sorry to read this. I have a friend who is involved in Doberman rescue and I recall her talking about something to do with Gold Beads that are permanently surgically implanted into the affected area of the spine. I think it is based on Eastern Medicine and is considered a form of "permanent" acupuncture.

[Guest bonnebike]

Singh was prescribed an antibiotic at our first vet visit because he was running a fever. I think that may have been nerves and he was all tensed up trying to compensate for where it hurt. He had a course of Rimadyl and then another of Previcox along with Sucralfate both times to coat his stomach. He was also on strict rest.The goal was to let him grow scar tissue around the site of the bulging disc to support it so we can avoid surgery. As Dr. Baltzer at OSU said, if he were a person he'd be prescribed a month of bed rest. When he was really bad he didn't want to do anything so the rest part was easy. It got a lot harder as he started feeling better. One suggestion was confining him to a kennel, but he freaks out in a kennel so that would not work. We just tried limiting him to the living/dining area of the house. He still got on the couch, which he was not supposed to do, but half his sleeping time is there. We were not perfect about following the doctor's orders, but he definitely had a modified lifestyle to keep him from getting hurt.

[galgrey]

I'm sorry to hear about Riley's diagnosis. I have a friend who had a greyhound with Wobblers. She had some significant nerve pain with hers and was on Gabapentine.

[Guest csusan]

I had a greyhound with wobblers, an old broken back injury, and seizures. She was such an awesome dog and very vocal about pain. Initially she was on Rimadyl which would help for about 3 or 4 months and then she would have a very painful flair up. Embassy would then go on prednisone and it would take weeks to get her off it and relatively painfree. This went on for about two years. We had numerous visits to the vet with no real suggestions on how to decrease her pain episodes. I took her from Charlotte, NC to Indiana to see Dr. (can't remember his name) as he was the only one that I knew of that did the gold bead implants. I did not find this to be a successful surgery as she ended up with anothe major pain episode within 4 months of the gold bead implants. I called Dr. I forgot his name and he said she needed more gold beads and to bring her back. Well that was not an option-taking that trip again. I ended up taking her to the veterinary school in NC (where she was initially diagnosed with wobblers -before I adopted her) for evaluation unfortunately they were unable to do some of the necessary tests because of the gold beads. However, they did start her on Gabapentin which was a life saver for her and me. She remained on Rimadyl and Gabapentin and was a happy and energetic dog for the remainder of her life. As her wobbler's progressed and her ability to use her back legs decreased, I started her on hydro (water) therapy. I had another full year with her. I am certainly not trying to discredit the gold beads because I have read some remarkable stories on how successful they are. Embassy certainly had a number of other spinal issues contributing to her difficulties. But there are some drawbacks to the gold beads-distance to travel, cost, and impact on future testing.

 

I personally would be suspicious of any diagnosis not made from doing at least some xrays but an MRI is certainly the route to go. I had another Greyhound with lumbar stenosis and he had back end issues and uncomfortable hips so unless a vet did some diagnostic tests to support arthritis and wobber's I would be cautious in assuming that is the problem. Although it is costly, if you can find the money for it a visit to a vet school or a speciality vet to get the proper diagnosis is certainly the route to go. One last example. I currently have a greyhound that tends to favor his left leg. He leans to the right, lifts the leg when going up and down steps, and can't push up well with that leg when getting up. The vet I use does rehab therapy, is considred one of the best in my area, goes to training constantly. She evaluated Bodie and said that she thought the problem was in his hip so we tried all kinds of meds to help him-no success. So then we decided to do xrays. She started at the hip and worked down to his foot-well to my and her surprise Bodie had had a crush injury to his foot at some point and had a plate a long the top of his longest toe on that foot. I was not made aware of this when I adopted him not that it would have mattered. There was no hip problem and he really wasn't in pain with the foot-he has decreased mobility because of the plate and therefore he can't move that foot as well.

 

Good Luck

[Guest csusan]

I'm baaack! I forgot to mention that I also did acupuncture for Embassy's wobblers that was helpful as well. I did not find though that I could do the acupuncture alone without the gabapentin and then the water therapy.

[Guest bonnebike]

I thought I'd post a follow-up on Singh now that things have been stable for a couple of months. He has settled into a new identity. His puppy nature is pretty much gone, although he does get excited at times and will throw toys around. He will turn 4 in January.

 

He has totally quit going upstairs. He overnights on the living room couch instead of in our bedroom. All in all, no stairs is probably a good thing for him. He still enjoys his walks, car rides, meeting other dogs, breakfast, dinner, and snacks. He enjoys TV time in the evening when people sit with him on the couch.

 

I don't think he is in much pain if any. There are times when he's getting onto the couch that he looks like he's thinking of the best way to go about it. Then at other times he just runs in from the back door and jumps up.

 

A side benefit of his problem is that he stopped counter cruising so we don't have to be so meticulous with our kitchen discipline.

 

I think he's pretty happy. We are just going to watch and wait and see what happens. He's a great guy to have around.

[Guest sireltonsmom]

This was so helpful to me so thanks for starting the post. I'm sorry Singh's had the back issues. My almost 14 year old Sir Elton had a mini-stroke which has left him with an extra weak back end. He's on a regime of Traumeel (holistic pill), Tramadol, Previcox and Gabepentin. I have been saving the Gabepentin for those nights when he is restless which makes me think he's in pain. When he is restless, nobody sleeps. It sounds like I could give him this every night. I don't want to during the day as it might make him less steady which would be unsafe. So I do appreciate knowing others give their dog Gabepentin regularly when it's needed. I feel so badly for Sir Elton, my sweet boy. He's been mostly very healthy all these years and I hate for him to be in pain at this juncture.