91tsi
New Member
Posts: 5
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limp?
Apr 3, 2012 18:15:18 GMT -5
Post by 91tsi on Apr 3, 2012 18:15:18 GMT -5
hi all.
First I would like to introduce myself. My name is Pat. My wife and I bought our dobe from Monica back in 2005. Her name is Akasha had has become a intricate part of our live. We have been having some health issues with her over the past couple of years. I'll give a brief history, sorry if this ends up long winded. We are just looking for some advise on how best to proceed with things. Please don't take any of this the wrong way.
About 2 years ago we started having a problem with Akasha limping ( right front leg). After going to the vet for it. we arrived at a couple of things. 1. vet thought she was over weight ( 96 lbs) 2. she was diagnosed with a thyroid condition ( most likely cause of her weight). So we started her on glucosomine, shark cartilage, and omega 3. Also thyroid pills. After things balanced out her weight came down and has been floating about 83 lbs ever since.
Now fast forward to 3 weeks ago. She started limping really bad ( right front again ). We brought her in to the vet. he found some thing wrong with her back hips ( undiagnosed at this point ). He put her on pain meds, and said to rest her for a week. This resulted in no change to her condition. So he did a x-ray. And found a compressed disk in her spine. ( I think he said L7? it's in her neck ). he wants to start her on cortisone. But not injections due to where the problem is. Our vet is being very vague about this. The real question he said she is not in pain? then why put her on pain meds?
Now we are at a point were we are not sure what to do next. Akasha tries to play but gives up and lays down right away. This is not our girl. She use to play as long as we would. We also had to stop taking her upstairs with us. She has always slept in our room. She has her bed next to ours. The vet advised us to not let her do stairs. it's just so hard to see her spirit crushed like this.
Sorry for the long post. Just needed to get it all off my chest. Thanks. And any advise or guidance would be greatly appreciated.
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dobedaddy
Junior Member
Prinz Auguste Vom Dobereich
Posts: 64
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limp?
Apr 3, 2012 19:36:53 GMT -5
Post by dobedaddy on Apr 3, 2012 19:36:53 GMT -5
Hello 91tsi, having a sick fur friend is sooooo sad ( My only advise would to to talk to your breeder. For me, it's the ultimate source of knowledge. Maybe you already done and you would like personal advices ? What I can really tell you is that we had another dob from another breeder. Very nice quality dog.. He started paralyze at 2 years old... The 4 legs suddenly stopped working. He was then diagnosed with wobbler, witch is another spin chord problem. It's caused by "something" (like a calcium accumulation) that "scratch" the spinal chord causing irritation. That's where the meds are involved: to reduce inflammation that cause electrical signal to get week and not passing in the spinal chord correctly. Lugger was on prednisone (Cortisone) on and off for 8 years... In average, he was on it 1 month out of 12 witch was great for us. At the end, the vets didn't have other choice then to give the meds on every day and it slowly killed my dog. Cortisone is not a long term solution, we now know. If my breeder would have been as involved as Monica is in our life we might have tried alternative solutions like Chiropractic or Acupuncture that we now know... Conclusion: I would call and talk to Monica first. If the vet prescribe Cortisone for a short time, I might give it to reduce the inflammation. I would also go to see a animal chiropractor especially if you have Xrays (don't forget to bring them!) If you don't mind, I'll stop it here and I'll go and hug my new replacement puppy which help so much to dry watered eyes
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limp?
Apr 4, 2012 5:16:38 GMT -5
Post by dobermoms on Apr 4, 2012 5:16:38 GMT -5
Hello...
I'm going to concur with Stefan and Mireille in regards to talking with Monica....she is a wealth of knowledge, and perhaps can help with this situation.
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limp?
Apr 4, 2012 9:13:39 GMT -5
Post by Lisa on Apr 4, 2012 9:13:39 GMT -5
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limp?
Apr 4, 2012 11:36:13 GMT -5
Post by hooligan on Apr 4, 2012 11:36:13 GMT -5
My sympathies. It`s hard when your dog is not being him- or herself. I second (or third) the advice of those who suggest talking to Monica.
Monica may raise the possibility of consulting a neurologist. I would certainly want to do that, especially if I thought my own vet was being a little vague.
And welcome to the forum!
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91tsi
New Member
Posts: 5
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limp?
Apr 4, 2012 15:39:22 GMT -5
Post by 91tsi on Apr 4, 2012 15:39:22 GMT -5
Thanks for the kind words.
Akasha is from the P litter back in 05.
Sire Gosty Dam Dobereich's flirting with fire
We have set up an appointment with another vet. We found a place with a vet that's a specialists in mobility problems. They have aqua therapy, and acupuncture on site. So we are going to see what they have to say. A second opinion cant hurt.
I will get in touch with Monica. I know she is busy, so I thought i would try here for some help first.
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limp?
Apr 4, 2012 18:09:08 GMT -5
Post by hooligan on Apr 4, 2012 18:09:08 GMT -5
Gosty? Oh, interesting. Gosty was Jack's grandfather on his (Jack's) mother's side. Jack's mother is Tory (Elegant Tory vom Dobereich).
Glad to hear that you've found another vet to consult. Please keep us posted on what's going on with Akasha.
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limp?
Apr 4, 2012 19:35:33 GMT -5
Post by Lisa on Apr 4, 2012 19:35:33 GMT -5
THat's a good idea to get the second opinion from a specialist in mobility problems.
Monica has great knowledge about neurological problems in dogs. She may suggest a good specialist.
No surprise Akasha is a big girl. She is from strong European lines. Gosty is in my Asha's pedigree too.
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limp?
Apr 5, 2012 2:00:45 GMT -5
Post by Dobereich on Apr 5, 2012 2:00:45 GMT -5
Hi Pat, Based on what you have said here, that the first sign of limping was 2 years ago, and then abated until just 3 weeks ago. I'd suspect that Akasha injured her C7, possibly rotated a disk. I wouldn't necessarily think of the big guns like CVI or degenerative disk disease, because this would not have gotten better, only worse. Even with steroid treatments it definitely wouldn't have been OK for a full 2 years. Dobes are hardy dogs, however they're quite prone to injury along the neck, between the C5-7. There is much written about obesity affecting disk disease in large breed dogs. However i must say that Akasha's situation sounds similar to that on my girl Phoenix (they are not directly related, ad no, Gosty isn't in the pedigree). Phoenix herniated a disk 3 years ago, she was injured by one of the other dogs. She didn't show injury at first, it wasn't until that night. First sign was pain in the right front leg. Next she showed neurological symptoms (spinal cord compression) with ataxia. When I brought her into the vet the X-ray also showed a narrowing between 2 vertebrae. Phoenix was also 5 years old when this happended, and given the associated risk for the breed, the vet decided to treat as if it was CVI. This was the worst thing I think I could have done for Phoenix, as the steroid not only works to shrink the swelling, it actually shrinks the bones. This allowed the disk to protrude even further and Phoenix was unable to walk or stand, and she was in a great deal of pain. From there I brought Phoenix to the neurologist, sent home with all sorts of drugs to help with the neurological aspects of her problems while pending an MRI. The MRI concluded the herniated disk between the C5 and 6. It was nearly completely compressing the spinal cord, so this was a very severe herniation. Due to a surgical complication we didn't expect a full recovery. So I was delighted to see that Phoenix was nearly back to herself within 6 months afterwards. She's been great for almost 3 years, no drugs, no pain meds, etc. however a couple months ago she collided with Rhody (100 pounds and they both went down) and she's been on NSAIDs since then. It would be my suspicion that whatever happened 2 years ago is creeping back in now that Akasha is getting older. Bones do start to shrink as the dog ages, and if she had a mild herniation 2 years ago, it could be worsening now. It could also be arthritic changes at the site of the injury. However that shouldn't show as a narrowing, so I would suspect a herniated disk, and possibly that could have moved or shifted the vertebrae. The only way you will know for sure what is causing the narrowing is to have an MRI done. The cost will put you in around $2,000 for a diagnosis. I would not subject my dog to surgery if they had CVI or disk disease. The success rate is short lived. However i would definitely recommend surgery for a herniated disk. Total costs for me when we were done was $7,000. If I didn't do that MRI Phoenix wouldn't be here today.Hopefully this topic will make other Dobe people think about investing in an MRI before deciding that their dog has CVI. Besides surgery, mild injuries can be dealt with using NSAIDs, chiropractic adjustments, and natural anti-inflammatories. The rate of injury with these dogs is dealt with almost daily for some. My 7 month old female Kaia just injured herself to the point that I have given her an NSAID this evening. First thing in the back of my mind is ''remember this, because this will likely creep back up to haunt the poor girl later''. Kaia missed the steps on my porch and slammed full tilt into the cement wall. I didn't think she actually hurt herself when she did it. But several hours later she wasn't putting weight on her right front leg. Disk damage isn't always from degenerative disk disease. In dobes its often associated to injury (referred to as injury related Wobblers). So please try to keep your dog's safe, once they injure their neck it will come back on them later in life. I know many people with dobes that will not even use a collar around their necks because of the risks. Just curious if Akasha was spayed before a year of age?
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limp?
Apr 5, 2012 8:45:59 GMT -5
Post by Lisa on Apr 5, 2012 8:45:59 GMT -5
That's a great post Monica! So much to learn. Sorry to hear about Phoenix... poor girl. I hope she will get better.
Is it possible that chiropractic adjustments and acupuncture may help? My neighbor had similar problems. She was amazed with acupuncture results on her dog.
I don't know how to keep Asha from flying. Double salto is almost daity routine. Any ideas? My dreams of Schutzhund did not come true. I hope agility will help to focus her energy.
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91tsi
New Member
Posts: 5
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limp?
Apr 5, 2012 14:39:36 GMT -5
Post by 91tsi on Apr 5, 2012 14:39:36 GMT -5
Monica Thanks so much for chiming in . You have given me lots to think about. We have an appointment next week with the other vet. For now we are going to continue with the treatment she is on. Akasha was spayed at 10 months. ( yes you advised us to wait till 1 year, the vet was on our case to do it 6 months. we kind of split the difference) The vet has also said that this is the result of an injury. He wants her down under 80 lbs. Her weight has never been that low. She normally floats between 83 and 85 lbs. She was as high as 104 before we got her thyroid under control. She is a big girl. With a very broad chest, she has no problem getting her chin on the kitchen counter. The vet says she's built like a brick sh@# house. I'll keep you updated as to her progress. Thanks again for all the advise and kind words.
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91tsi
New Member
Posts: 5
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limp?
Apr 10, 2012 15:38:28 GMT -5
Post by 91tsi on Apr 10, 2012 15:38:28 GMT -5
Just a quick up date. Now I'm no vet. I will try to relay what is going on though. We have started Akasha on new meds. She is getting 2.5mls of sucralfate 90 mins before she gets the pills. We were told it's to help with her stomach. Then she's getting 4mg of dexasone twice a day for 3 days. Then 2mg twice a day for the next week.
We are on the third day now. It's a night and day difference with her. She is moving around so much better. She is still stiff when she first gets up. But by the time she reaches the back door the limp is all but gone. It seems like once shes moving it loosens right up. we are still restricting her exercise, and not letting her do the stairs. with any luck this will all clear up in the next week.
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limp?
Apr 10, 2012 17:04:01 GMT -5
Post by hooligan on Apr 10, 2012 17:04:01 GMT -5
Thanks for the update, Pat. Glad to hear that Akasha is making progress and that she's more comfortable. I hope we continue to hear good news.
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limp?
Apr 10, 2012 18:30:24 GMT -5
Post by Dobereich on Apr 10, 2012 18:30:24 GMT -5
Sulcrate is to coat the stomach. Helps whenever a dog is taking something that irritates the stomach, or when they need to take a type of medicine that requires to be taken on a full stomach, but food cannot be given.
Good to hear Akasha is feeling a bit more comfort, it will take some time for sure.
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