Hind End Weakening

[Guest greytone]

My almost 12 year old Freddie raced at Dairyland here in Wisconsin and was retired due to his hind end muscles dropping. This wasn't a problem until lately. He's quite slow getting off his bed and sometimes on my hardwood floors, he slips/falls. And then I have to pick him up because he can't get himself up. Even when he stands for too long, his back legs start shaking and his back end starts to slump down. Is this just old age or is it something else? Is there something I could put on his paws to help him stop slipping?

(He gets 1500mg of glucosamine in the morning and in the evening.)

 

[greyhead]

I'm just cutting/pasting the reply I made to another poster today with a similar problem:

 

Our 12-year-old has had LS for several years and has responded excellently to acupuncture/chiropractic treatment once a month (more frequently at the very beginning). A year ago we found he has three bad disks at his mid-back and have had to add gabapentin and tramadol, which have also worked quite well. But he's had other medical issues for years and is now quite thin, and we've found that adding Adequan injections, which we give at home, makes a world of difference.

 

In addition to all that, we have carpet or floor-covering everywhere he needs to walk, including the deck and stairs outside. He prefers the ortho beds around the house. And it is helpful to have the beds raised a bit, by whatever means, so that he can somewhat step off them with his front legs and thus have to work a little less hard to lift his back end. Oh, and reasonable-length walks to keep all his muscles in good order is very important, as that's what supports all the bony parts that are misbehaving. Good luck, it's doable.

 

In your case I'd emphasize that you need to put floor coverings on areas where you Freddie needs to walk, right away. Some greyhounds can't handle bare floors even when they have no particular musculoskeletal issues. I'm not aware of anything you can put on his paws that would help. Even if you put on traction boots of some sort, would you really want him to wear them 24/7 forever?

 

Good luck, and please don't hesitate to ask if you have more questions. Hopefully, you'll be picking up info from the other threads about this issue also.

[JJNg]

I'd suggest a vet visit to have him checked out thoroughly. The signs you describe are likely due to arthritis or LS (lumbosacral stenosis), or other back/neuro issues. Very unlikely to be related to the dropped muscles that led to his retirement. Medication or other options like acupuncture or Adequan injections may help.

 

I don't have any personal experience, but I've heard our rehab specialist vet mention using toe grips for dogs that have problems with slippery floors. Might be something to look into, but I have no idea how well they work. Has anyone tried these?