Geriatric Dalmatian going lame

[roger&christina]

Hi,
Our Dalmatian, Tisa, is having problems with her rear legs. She has slowly become very weak on her rear legs and sometimes she will fall.
Last January she fell while descending our stairs and tore an ACL. We had an X-Ray done to get a diagnosis. We have a very good Holistic Vet who has been giving Tisa a natural Cortisone, a pain killer called "Zeel" and she gets Acupuncture once or twice a month. Because of her age we decide not to have surgery, but gave her rest and keep her on a leash so she won't injure herself by running.
Tisa will be going on 15 this coming Sept., yes she an old lady! She eats raw meat made for dogs (Columbia Meats) as well as finely pureed veggies. We heard that ginger is good for arthritis so that is pureed and added to the mix as well. Tisa gets very good vitamins from a holistic pet store here Portland.
She is not over weight ( 48lbs ). She gets carrots, apples and a nightly bed time banana for treats. She eats healthier than most humans on this earth!
One other background info is that she has a history of allergies which is why she is on a raw diet. The diet has worked really well for us and Tisa.
Lately she has begun pacing for hours on end. She will going a circular route through the house as though she is looking for something. She will do this even when we are sitting on the couch where she can see us. We leave the back door open just in case she wants to go out. This doesn't stop the pacing.

Because her back legs are becoming weak I was looking at some possible braces. Anyone have any suggestions? I read on another post about making the dog rest which was for back/disc problems. I'm worried that all the pacing is making her legs/back worse.
Sorry for such a long post. Hope someone out there has some suggestions as we love our sweet old dog.

Thanks,

Roger

[Christine]

Welcome to the board. You will get loads of good information from people who have experienced things similar to what you are going through.

Sounds like you are taking such good care of your girl. I am also using as much natural homeopathic care for my Bailey as possible. My husband and I are always saying that she eats better than we do...in fact, if we would eat the kind of meals I fix for her, we would lose those extra pounds and be a lot healthier ourselves!

One of my vets told me that the pacing usually means that your pet is in pain. Bailey went through that and eventually it turned into "idiopathic vestibular syndrome" which causes them to circle and lean to one side. Has your vet checked into that at all? Though, very scary...it usually clears up in a matter of days to weeks. (It is like an inner ear infection for us.)
Prednisone and antibiotics helped get her balance back.

(What did your holistic vet give as a natural cortisone?) Another thing you might want to read about is www.doggonepain.com It is a natural supplement with a good record.

Keep checking back, you will hear from some good people soon.

[CarolC]

Weakness in the hind legs could be many things. You mentioned the possibility of a disk problem? Did your vet test your dog's reflexes? The vet can do a simple test where s/he turns your dog's hind foot over so she is standing on her knuckles, and then observes how quickly she corrects the foot so she is standing on her pads. You said you are trying to limit activity, which sounds wise. If it really is a disk problem, then she may need complete crate rest for several weeks, and possibly steroids to get the swelling down. Steroids carry a slight risk, so ask your vet about the risks and benefits of steroids.

Here is some information on cognitive dysfunction syndrome, which is a kind of doggy senility. One of the symptoms is pacing. There is a (rather expensive) medication that works for some dogs. This is from the Senior Dogs Project website:

Early signs of canine cognitive dysfunction syndrome: pacing, crying, barking without apparent reason, loss of appetite, repeated attempts to get into small spaces, getting stuck in small spaces, diminishing interaction with family members, lack of recognition of family members, turning away from previously "favorite" family members, loss of house-training, sudden fascination with mirrors and staring into them, appearing hypnotized, appearing "lost."

http://www.srdogs.com/Pages/care.cd.htm ... ysfunction

Have you considered getting a harness to help your dog to her feet?

[roger&christina]

Christine and CarolC,

Thank you both for your reply and all the info. We will be taking Tisa to the Vet this week and will ask lots of questions regarding the information you sent.

Reality is, Tisa probably does have Cognitive dysfunction syndrome. She has some of the symptoms as described in the links you sent. The staring at walls, walking in the same route through the house over and over again etc.

I am particularly interested in Adequan, Cartophen Vet for the pain and Anipryl for the Cognitive dysfunction syndrome. We are lucky to have a very good Vet who is open to us bringing in information like the above. We do realize that she is going on 15 years so won't expect a lot, at this stage of her life, from these drugs. We just want her remaining time with us to be as comfortable as possible.

What is very funny and interesting is that Tisa seems to be able to go full steam ahead with no trouble walking of keeping her balance, just before she has her bed time banana. LOL!

Again thanks to both of you for taking the time and for the info!

Roger&Christina

[Cindidoxiemom]

Welcome to the board!
This is out of my general area of knowledge; however, I do know adequan injections are used for arthritis and painful joint conditions. It is usually available from vets who deal with large animals as the drug was originally used on horses I believe.
We use it in IVDD dogs for other purposes, but it is approved for joint inflamation.

Now..the pacing thing. This does sound like dog dementia. I see that Carol just posted as I was typing this, so I won't repeat. There is a drug called Anipryl that is approved for dog dementia. You might do some reading on it. Best of luck!
Sound like you sure do love your baby!
Hugs,
Cindi

[Cindidoxiemom]

LOL I see you already got the information sorry for the repeat.
Cindi