Partial paralysis

Neurological Disorders Resources. Treatment and care for pets having pain or trouble walking or standing due to spinal injuries or neurological disorders like IVDD, FCE and DM.
Post Reply
Poppypop
Posts: 2
Joined: Mon Dec 28, 2020 9:32 pm

Partial paralysis

Post by Poppypop »

Hi. My best friend and I need help. My friend Poppy is 9 years old. He is a Rhodesian Ridgeback/Belgian Malinois. He was 6 weeks old when he came into my life. About three years ago he had some trouble walking. For a few days he even walked only on three legs, lifting up his right hind leg. The vet x-rayed his knees and we were told he has arthritis in both hind knees and to give him rest for 6 weeks. This we did. He was also given a supplement for Arthritis, which I don’t remember now, other than it was made in France. Anyway, he gradually started to walk again and we increased his activity. He seemed fine. A few months ago he was too eager to jump into the back of the car before his ramp was down on quite a few occasions, but still he showed no adverse effects. Yet now I blame our incompetence of not preventing this to his current situation. About 4 weeks ago he started to limp, right hind leg. We thought it’s a bout of bad arthritis again and let him rest, no walks. After two weeks he showed some improvement and went for a short walk. The next day he was worse again. So we didn’t walk him any more. Just brief toilet visits in the garden. He did not improve. After a week of rest he did not put any weight on his right hind leg at all. The vet said he thinks that he has a ruptured cruciate ligament and prescribed 100 mg of carprofen (anti-inflammatory) once a day. A week prior to this we started to give him rose hip vital powder and osteo care joint health chews. After two days of carprofen he started to put a little weight on his right hind leg, but he walked extremely wobbly and his left hind leg seemed to give out to the side. The vet had warned us that he might put too much pressure onto his other leg and we thought that that is the reason. We had measured him up for a double knee brace to support his walk (cannnot afford the $10.000 surgery), but they haven’ arrived yet. Post is slow thanks to Corona. A courier service was not possible, even within Australia. We supported him for his toilet visits with a sling to ease the weight burden but he became more unsteady. Three days ago he could hardly walk and was in pain. Without help he would fall over. He managed to have a poo, but he does not pee anymore. We read about expressing the bladder, but were not successful and took him to the animal hospital two nights ago late in the evening, growing worried even more. The vet there said his right knee seems to be an old injury and that it is not unstable, the left knee is ok. She thinks it’s a spinal injury and possibly hip related, such as bad arthritis in the hips. She gave him methadon and and told us to take him for a walk in the house three times a day with a sling to help him remember to walk and place his feet in the right position. He left the vet walking out wobbly, but now he does not use his back feet. When we move him, he just uses his front legs. When I stand him up with a sling he puts a little weight on his left hind leg, but not on his right one. The vet said his nerves and reflexes are not that great in his hind legs. She emptied his bladder with a catheter and prescribed him 300 mg Gabapentin twice daily and Amantadine 100 mg once daily. He is really lethargic now, but hopefully with no pain. After yet another day of not being able to express his bladder he has been to the first vet again. The vet said that he thinks now too that it might be spinal and that he might need an operation at a specialist centre, costing around $20.000 with no guarantee of success. We just moved back to Australia from overseas, self financed with our two pets and have no money left. When we arrived Poppy was just over 9 years old making him too old to take out pet insurance. The vet said if there is no operation we should put him down now. Obviously I’m struggling with this. It is happening so quickly. I don’t want Poppy to suffer, but do I take a chance of life and recovery away from him. He is drugged up, but he is still with us. Getting excited when he hears the car keys, extremely eager eating his food. I got a small amount of pee out of him today, but maybe it is due to the fact that he starts to dribble due to overflow. The vet was not willing to empty his bladder. He believes it is pointless, because I won’t be able to express the bladder of such a large dog who is not fully paralized. So I’m on my own. He poops twice a day. It justs pops out while he lies down. I have not been able to get it manually yet. I will try again to get more pee out in a minute. I just wondered if anyone here has gone through a similar thing. I am under so much pressure to euthanise my boy now, even from my husband. My thoughts evolve around the urine bit. Do I have to give up if I don’t succeed with expressing him today? Does that not mean I am not fit to look after a handicapped dog? Probably not. How could I leave him with an overflowing bladder. My thoughts were to learn to express him and to get him a wheeler, and hopefully we could reduce his pain medication one day and start physiotherapy.
User avatar
CarolC
Moderator
Posts: 13698
Joined: Wed Dec 31, 2003 7:00 pm
Contact:

Re: Partial paralysis

Post by CarolC »

In spite of what the vet said, it should not be impossible to empty the bladder even if he is large and even if he has partial control. However in this situation, it would be easier if you could just catheterize him at home. The vet you saw at the evening clinic seemed the most helpful. Do you think she would teach you to catheterize him and give you the tubes to do it? One of our moderators here catheterized her pitbull for a year and a half. One of our other moderators catherized his beagle. It isn't hard to actually do it, but it will be important to keep the tubes sterile by proper storage and disinfecting. Here is a video demo on catheterizing at home.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=21653#p109257

When you are expressing, I am assuming he is lying down? There are a number of video demos on expressing a large male dog if you scroll to the end of this article.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=16027

This video also gives a good tip about the importance of having the dog lying all the way down flat before you express. It's a female dog but the lying down tip may help with your male.

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=21186#p105810

Another tip with a male dog is, when you are squeezing, continue squeezing for at least 10 seconds before you stop, because sometimes it takes them longer to initiate urination. 10 seconds is a long time. It is tempting to squeeze for a few seconds and then if nothing happens you assume maybe you're not squeezing the right spot or something, but they say maintain the pressure a full 10 seconds before you reposition your hands.

Another tip is you use your fist for better pressure with a large dog. Here is a description of that technique.

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=3046&p=13982&#p13982

If you got a small amount of pee out today, I think soon you will be getting more! :trophy:

It is hard when you are surrounded by people with a differing opinion. Mainly, I would say if you are physically able to handle him with the lifting and so on, then you will be able to care for him. And maybe the braces will help when they come, you don't know till you try. If it is a spinal injury as the evening vet thinks, then he may respond to an anti-inflammatory and rest. I would certainly want to try that, and that will take several weeks to see if it is helping.

Even if you could afford it, I would hesitate to do surgery on a 9-yo large breed dog, and the vets can't seem to decide if it's his knees, his hips, or his spine.

Gabapentin is used a lot with spinal dogs, but the other meds you list are unfamiliar to me with dogs. I've heard of methadone for humans, but I don't think they use it very often in the US for dogs. I've barely heard of amantadine, and not with dogs. My dog took carprofen for arthritis and it did help. Normally for a spinal issue they use some kind of anti-inflammatory such as an oral steroid like prednisone, or an NSAID. It's good if he's not in pain with his current meds, but it sounds like maybe they are making him a little loopy, and I wonder if he needs a lower dose or a different med?

A wheelchair is absolutely a good idea if you are physically fit enough to get him in and out. A large dog normally uses a wheelchair outdoors because it is hard to navigate indoors in rooms with furniture. So you may need to take him out with a sling and then put him into his wheels. As long as you can handle the lifting, you have a lot of options. We have had women here who cared for down german shepherds and dobermans and even a quadriplegic bull mastiff (they catheterized him). I cared for my golden retriever but it was hard because I couldn't lift him, so I see it from both sides. I had to use equipment to help me get him into his wheelchair.

There is a technique to get a dog to poo at a time and place of your choosing. They call it "poop on demand". I think you might already be aware of it from something you said. Here is a link with various methods, and hopefully that will make life easier. :wink:

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=18586#p95838

:group:
Post Reply