Hi! I'm Joanne (also in the veterinary field), and "Crazy Carl" was one of the amazing paraplegics that I have been blessed to have in my life. Reading about your pup I have a couple of questions. Firstly, are there any other dogs in your household? If so, how does he interact with them? I...

Hi I'm Joanne and I have 4 paralyzed dogs, and many years ago had a Lab GSD mix who sounds very similar to your gal. Her name was Bonnie and she gradually lost use of her hindlimbs as she aged. She got her cart when she was 16 yrs old and happily pottered round (ok ran like a crazy thing trying to c...

Hi :) The dry eye Carol mentioned was Carl my paraplegic lab and for him was caused by TMS that he was getting for a UTI. Literally overnight his tear production went from normal to zero, which was both painful and affected his vision. Carl needed several medications to keep his eyes lubricated unti...

Hi Jason Woohoo, another black Labbie on wheels :elephant: :dancing: :chicken: I'm Joanne and amongst my clan of differently-abled dogs is "Crazy Carl, a 6 yr old black Lab, and the love of my life. I adopted Carl as a paraplegic when he was 2 years old (benign spinal tumor) and nothing stops h...

Hi Anya When it comes to neurology there is no black and white, just a lot of grey (as my dogs neurologist frequently reminds me). Some dogs get right up after surgery, some take weeks, months or even years, and unfortunately some never recover. One of my paraplegics (Patroclus aka Tiny) started sta...

Hi I'm Joanne and I have 4 paraplegics/paretics who don't have bladder control. Three have no problems with UTI's one, my male Labrador, Carl does. As you are unfortunately finding out not only are paraplegics more prone to UTI's but they can quickly become antibiotic resistant. It has been a long r...

Sorry to hear about Max. I'm Joanne and I have 4 paraplegics (all adopted), ranging in size from 30lbs to 70lbs (a Labrador). Yes, each dog is different, but ALL of my guys are happy, healthy and have no clue that they are any different to any other dog (Unlike us humans, dogs live day to day and go...

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Hi Brian I've been dealing with a similar thing with my Carl for almost 5 years now. For him it is his right foot and no matter what I do it never quite heals and continual bandaging or boots on tight enough to stay on tend to exacerbate the problem or cause other health problems (e.g. skin infectio...

Hi If surgery is not an option have you thought about a wheelchair? Bonnie (see video below) was my Lab/GSD mix who passed away in 2007. She went down on her hindlimbs so I got her a cart. She was 16 years old and it took years off her - she passed away at 19 years old, walking in her cart daily to ...

Hi I'm Joanne and big down dogs are my passion (I'm a vet tech certified in canine rehab). I have worked with many down dogs of all sizes and yes, there are those who bounce back in a few days, but the majority improve over the course of weeks, even months (I worked with two who took around 4 months...

Hi Sorry for the late response ... I'm Joanne and one of my paraplegics is "Crazy Carl", a Lab I adopted as a paraplegic in 2010. Carl became ataxic when he was 8 months old. Radiographs showed a spinal tumor, as did a CT scan (photos of the scan below). Carl was paralyzed before he was a ...

Hi! I'm Joanne and I have exactly the same problem with Patroclus (aka Tiny) one of my paraplegic dogs. Tiny (GSD mix) has a displaced spinal fracture at L1-L2 and while he can stand and almost walk, he hunches his back/tucks his pelvis under. I too have tried different belly bands, using suspenders...

Welcome, but sorry you need to be here. I'm a rehab certified vet tech and my passion is "big down dogs". I have worked with several dogs who all they could do when I first met them was lift their heads. Some of these pups bounced back within days, others took months, and unfortunately som...

Hi Welcome and sorry for my late reply. I'm Joanne and I have 3 paraplegics, including Freckles, also a Red Heeler :). I have always been fascinated with neurology. There is not much that is black and white and what works for one animal often may not for another. That being said I never give up with...