Hind End Weakness

[GreytNut]

Raven is 13 now and in generally good health, but she's getting wobbly. Most of her issues are with her hind end. She can't stand for very long without her hind end shaking. Lifting one of her front paws to do toenail duty or put her arm through her jammies is enough to almost sit her down. She still likes to run in the yard, but sometimes her hind end gives out altogether and she wipes out. It takes a monumental effort for her to get up from a lying down position.

 

Is there anything that can be done for hind end weakness, or is that just one of the inevitable consequences of being an old doggie?

[tbhounds]

It depends if she's experiencing pain vs degenerative myopathy. Have you tried any medications? If not I would see if your vet is willing to see if a NSAID combined with Tramadol & gabapentin will make a difference. I have seen gabapentin make an old dog feel young again.

[Charlies_Dad]

Kristen, our Shelby is closing in on 14yrs (May) and she has had the very same problem for a while now. She is on a daily dose of Gabapentin (200mgs I think) and it has been a miracle drug for her since she has been on it (approx. 12-14mths). Unfortunately time is rolling on and her backend is so weak now that she can't stand for her entire meals, basically she ends up sitting. She tries though, by golly she is one tough nut and keeps trying to stay up. Usually I will pick her backend up and she'll finish her meals or sometimes I basically crouch behind her and hold her up until she finishes. Sometimes she will even drag herself back to her bed and it's a poor sight to see as we know her body is slowly failing her. What's funny though is she can still run outside, not very co-ordinated as she always had 'crazy legs' as I call them but she bounces along at a decent clip. Also with the snow and ice, it's definitely a hard on her and I have often ran outside to help her up the Charlie berm. We may up her dose of Gabapentin to see whether that helps her but I believe her time is short unfortunately. Like myself, someday I will get old and have a hard time moving around and when that day comes, I truly hope I will have the choice to go peacefully rather than in a hospital, bedridden and either in pain or not lucid. It will be our final gift for Shelby as we only thought we would have her a year when we adopted her just after her 11th birthday and she has outlived two of our younger boys. So I second Gabapentin as we did see wonderful results for about a year.

Edited January 22, 2013 by Charlies_Dad

[FiveRoooooers]

13! Raven is so pretty. We used Adequan for Pal's hind end weakness, and Seamus is receiving it now, with very good results. There are some discussions in this forum about Adequan, as well as acupuncture, which also might help.

[msjpk]

Is Adequin a prescribed med or OTC?

[Guest 2dogs4cats]

Vitamin E and pain meds

[Remolacha]

Fletcher's hind end weakness has been helped quite a lot by acupuncture and Chinese medicine. He takes "Body Sore" (a general pain med) and a specific hind end weakness formula. (along with rimadyl, tramadol, and glucosamine) The Chinese meds are prescribed by his acupuncturist, they are not OTC, unfortunately.

[carronstar]

Adequan is a shot that the vet gives. Mine actually told me (back with Scarlett) that I could save money by doing it myself but I was a weenie!

[Trihounds]

Acupuncture and Metacam are working very well for Bumper. The Metacam dose is at 1/2 but daily with food. Acupuncture is once a month or so. Good luck.

[GeorgeofNE]

As counter intuitive as it might sound, a dog with hind end weakness can benefit from gentle exercise. She needs to retain whatever muscle mass she still has.

 

NSAIDs if it's general arthritis, and gabapentin if it's a nerve issue, or both (as in George's case) can help too!

[FiveRoooooers]

Is Adequin a prescribed med or OTC?

Adequan is by prescription; my vet will OK a script through Drs. Foster & Smith (least expensive I've found, a five-dose vial is <$50), and I give the injections - your vet can show you how.

[greysandmollie]

Question...I have the same issues with my Cody...He is 13 1/2...overall does well but hind end is going slowly and seems worse in the cold. The NSAIDs seem to ruin his appetite. I have tried Gabapentin but it did not seem to make an improvement instead he almost seemed worse. For those who have had success with it...did you see immediate results or is it something that had to build up in their system?

[KF_in_Georgia]

Gabapentin typically builds up to strength over a couple of days. Also, Ohio State says it's best to give smaller doses more frequently, rather than a large dose just once a day. My Sam (13 next May) gets it at breakfast, supper, and bedtime.

[greysandmollie]

so what dose are you doing? I was doing 100mg once a day then went to 200mg and did it over a week. Cody has lost weight too and only weighs about 62lbs now.

[Guest MnMDogs]

Mork is 13 (and 4 months ). He's been on adequan injections since about May, and we started gapabentin a few months after that due to his progressive hind end weakness. We saw some improvement with both (gabapentin 300mg 3x a day, which was started at 100, then 200), and added tramadol.

 

Recently, he broke a toe on a "good foot" and to make a long story short because a LOT of things when on with that diagnosis, we also added Rimadyl. After a few weeks, he had what we can only assume was a seizure type event, and I we stopped Rimadyl. After we stopped, it seemed like he got very painful again.

 

I discussed this with my vet, and we added metacalm 1/2 of a 7.5 mg tab per day. Well, you would NOT believe the change in him... we walked a half mile today! It may not seem like a lot, but for him, it's huge.

 

Donna - Have you tried Metacam for Cody? Just wondering if all NSAIDs have had the effect on him. Rimadyl definitely causes decreased appetite in Mork. I really weighed the pros and cons of adding an NSAID, but seeing the difference in him on them is incredible. He's back to being a beast and a complete pain in my butt.

 

So to recap - for Mork's hind end weakness (he also has disc issues), he gets an adequan injection monthly, gabapentin 3x day, metacam daily and tramadol as needed. I mainly give that in the morning and afternoon when he's most active.

 

Good luck to all of your sweet old hounds

 

ETA - Mork is also affectionately known as our little money pit.

Edited January 22, 2013 by MnMDogs

[greysandmollie]

I have not tried Metcam with Cody...it is such an event to take him to the vet I have been trying to avoid it. The gave me the gabapentin without seeing him...not sure if I can talk them into another prescription or not. He gets such a nut about the shiney floors.

 

Thanks for sharing your experiences...I will talk with my vet. He really was doing so well until we got this extremely cold weather...I guess I need to move to warmer climates!

[Walliered]

My vet has a fenced in back yard. I would bet she would meet me in the yard if either one of mine were totally afraid to go inside. Could you ask your vet about examining Cody outside?

[Guest MnMDogs]

I also wonder if maybe your vet will examine him outside? We try to do as much as we can out in the car, and when Mork (and our little freakshow, Greg) have to go in, they get drugged. 2mg of xanax before hand.

[GreytNut]

Raven is due to go in for her exam soon and I'll ask if the vet thinks Gabapentin or a combo of drugs might help her. I didn't think that it was pain that was the problem. I thought that it was just feebleness.

 

FWIW, I agree with Susan that exercise is important to helping her keep what butt muscles she has. It's why I still let her run around in the yard, even though I cover my eyes every time she rounds a corner. Lately it's been so bitter, nasty cold that neither of the hounds have wanted to leave the house, even wrapped up. Today was the first reasonable day we've had in a while, and I made a point of taking Miss Raven out for zoomies. She mostly just puttered around the yard sniffing things, but she did get up and go a few times. It was nice to see. There is a dog next door that loves to race up and down the fenceline with her, and when he's out in the yard he can really get her going.

 

It sounds like there's quite a lot of us dealing with similar difficulties.

[Guest MnMDogs]

It's so hard to watch them stumble around and not be able to do what they so clearly would LOVE to do. One thing that helps with Mork is he doesn't give a damn if he falls. I freak out, but he'll get himself right back up.

 

I hope you can find some relief for sweet Ms. Raven. I will tell you that the addition of the metacam has made the most noticeable difference. But unless Raven weighs 80 pounds, you'd likely need to liquid which I hear is quite expensive.

[GreytNut]

You know, Raven is much more blase about falls than I am. I have a coronary when she tumbles. She finds her feet again, shakes herself off and proceeds with her business.

 

Raven weighs about 53 lbs. soaking wet right now. She has always been a skinny little noodle of a dog with a fickle appetite. She's been cavalier about the need to eat lately (this comes and goes in cycles and always has... I don't think she's sick). I am a bit nervous about giving her drugs that might depress her already not-so-great enthusiasm toward food but we'll see what happens.

[KF_in_Georgia]

The solution to a little dog on metacam (my Sam's on meloxicam--people version of the same thing): split the 7.5mg pill with a pill-splitter, then use a pair of kitchen shears to snip some off the point of the small halves. It's not precise, but it's safer than risking the larger dose on a smaller dog, and it's way easier than trying to re-split the pill halves. My Sam is 65 pounds.

 

But be advised that nearly every NSAID (even aspirin) has a washout period. Ask your vet, but if you change meds you may need to go 48 hours or more with no NSAID before you start a new one. Perhaps choose a spell when the weather is warmer and she might be in less discomfort to start with. And you may be able to use tramadol or gabapentin for pain relief during the NSAID washout period.

[brandimom]

Adequan is a shot that the vet gives. Mine actually told me (back with Scarlett) that I could save money by doing it myself but I was a weenie!

Same here I was a weenie. Adequan worked for my big afghan.