Paralyzed dog leg shaking

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TomFrenchy91
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Paralyzed dog leg shaking

Post by TomFrenchy91 »

Hi everyone,

Our dog who we rescued from Thailand after being hit by a car as a pup has developed some shaking in his right hind leg. I notice this more as I am helping him pee. He continues to flex his legs involuntary but now has developed this shake.

It does not happen all the time but is happening more. Has anyone else had this before

Thanks!
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CarolC
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Re: Paralyzed dog leg shaking

Post by CarolC »

Hi TomFrenchy91,

:gang:

Wow! You adopted a dog from Thailand and he's paralyzed?! That's pretty cool! 8-)

To put a summary (of this long post) at the top, it sounds like he might be having some some recovery of nerve signals going to the leg. You might ask the vet to recheck deep pain sensation at your next visit. I would be aware of any licking or chewing if it occurs, and you may possibly notice expressing becomes easier if your dog becomes able to help you when you express. (I am not a vet)

This is the long version. I haven't had leg shaking during expressing with any of my dogs, but it has been mentioned here before.
Bobbie wrote: Sun May 01, 2011 6:52 pm Involuntary shaking and other movements are fairly common in paralyzed dogs (and humans.) Candy kicks or quivers most of the time, especially if he is excited or needs to pee or is tired.
maryteresa76 wrote: Fri Sep 07, 2007 1:39 pm I don't know what the shaking is- it could be an attempt at movement or use of the leg, could be a reflexive thing maybe? My regular vet told me once that when there is nerve damage from which the dog is recovering, sometimes the affected limb can feel like it's asleep- the pins and needles feeling we get when our feet fall asleep. And it can be really annoying. Maybe the leg does feel "asleep." In any case, I believe he said it was indicative of the limb (or nerves) being in the process of healing or recovery. i hope that's what is going on for you.
Here is a video (graphic video of expressing a paralyzed dog's bowel, not bladder) where the caregiver mentions her dog's leg shaking when he is ready to eliminate. This link should start you right before she says it. If you are squeamish and want to avoid the rest of it, then just turn it off after her comment (however it's a really good video).
https://youtu.be/imRRavJhYDQ?t=68 :trophy:

I guess the question you might be asking is, "Why now?" I don't know how long your dog has been paralyzed, but recovery of nerves continues for a very long time. There are some interesting examples of recovering deep pain sensation months to years after injury in the following topic. So even if your dog has been paralyzed a while, there can still be signs of neurological recovery. Maybe you could ask the vet to check for deep pain sensation again at your next appointment.

:arrow: :arrow: viewtopic.php?p=113569#p113569

Here's a heads up in case you notice him starting to lick or nibble or chew or gnaw at his leg (assuming sensation may be returning). I apologize in advance that the rest of this post will be answering a question you did not ask, and may never apply to your dog.

As marytheresa76 mentioned in her post, a return of feeling can sometimes cause a pins-and-needles sensation (or other odd sensations), sort of like when we sleep on our arm funny and it goes numb, then it tingles when it starts to wake back up. I have a spot on the back of my neck that itches all the time from nerve damage from a rear-end collision. It doesn't hurt but scratching it does not make it go away. If dogs are experiencing something like this, it can be annoying, and they may lick or chew at the area to try to stop it. Unfortunately, they will not always quit even when they draw blood. Dogs have injured themselves chewing at the tingling nerve sensations, chewing off toes or worse. So you might want to keep an eye on him in case he does start licking or chewing his leg, toes, or other part, just in case sensation is returning. It is a temporary phase some dogs go through during recovery. (It can also happen with dogs with a degenerative neurological condition like DM as sensation is gradually being lost.) Here is a more detailed post about this situation.
https://handicappedpet.net/helppets/viewtopic.php?p=112620#p112620 wrote:I tend to be very-very cautious with this subject of chewing because I've seen so many dogs here dealing with the problem There was Pete who nearly chewed his foot off repeated (before they had medication for it), Eros (a GSD) who chewed his feet and had toes amputated, 2 dogs that chewed so badly they were put to sleep. In one case the owner had been keeping a cone collar on and went into the other room for only a few minutes, but that was all it took for her dog to chew. Here is what she posted.
https://handicappedpet.net/helppets/viewtopic.php?p=64984#p64984 wrote:
For the past week I've been doctoring her back feet which she had started chewing on. Her foot was almost healed and when I left her alone today for a few minutes to eat, and when I came back into the room, she had chewed off so much she just couldn't be saved.

Another dog had a double amputation of both hind legs.
viewtopic.php?p=15290#p15290

Another dog chewed his penis off.
https://handicappedpet.net/helppets/viewtopic.php?p=63931#p63931 wrote:
I came home from work and towels, blanket, dog, everything was covered in blood. I took him out in the yard, I could tell he was bleeding from his penis, but not exactly where he was injured (he still had his penis at this point). I cleaned him up the best I could, and went in the house to get a grip. When I went back outside a few minutes later I couldn't see his penis anymore, and there were "parts" laying on the ground under him. He actually looked comfortable, and not upset at all. I almost fainted.

Another dog chewed at night while the family was asleep and was euthanized.
viewtopic.php?p=65205#p65205

I do not think you can possibly be too careful. I understand about letting air get to the feet, but I don't think I would take the collar off unless I was going to be right beside the dog. And dogs sometimes get out of cone collars so if possible, I would tie the cone on, and then also tie the strings onto her leather collar for extra security.

https://www.northtownvethospital.com/keep-the-cone-on/ wrote:
Houdinis: some animals are very good at escaping the cone. In these cases, the more secure fastening of the e-collar may be necessary. These can include tying the cone to the animal’s regular collar or harness

You may have seen the link earlier in this thread to a family that made hard leg protectors for their dog out of electrical conduit. That dog was a GSD like yours. Here is the link if you want to look.
https://handicappedpet.net/helppets/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=21327&p=107012#p107012 wrote: I have a 5 year old German Shepherd named Kaeley. She had a stroke of her spine about a year and a half ago. Like you, we have to help her urinate and defecate. She is about 70 pounds and we have a cart for her. At first she just went backwards, trying to get away from the cart. Now she is unstoppable. She waffles her brothers and can maneuver like a pro. She recently began to chew on her back legs which dont work. So far we have only lost a toe, but even tho she doesnt chew on her feet when we are around, she will dive in the minute we leave her alone. I improvised with a trip to home depot and made up two "Braces" made of electrical conduit which I slip over her back legs and tape them to her legs. I got the pipes that are angled at 45* and they fit perfectly.
Nothing is going to be 100% guaranteed, but if it was my dog I'd feel better with something hard and chew proof covering her legs, and I might keep the collar on to prevent chewing the tapes off the leg braces. I would keep them on until you and the vet are sure the medication has the chewing under control.

I am going to make a summary of what I have picked up from experience here.
  • Chewing is usually considered a temporary phase some dogs go through following spinal injury, however it should not be underestimated, in extreme cases it has been fatal
  • It often means the nerves are improving, but in some cases such as degenerative myelopathy it can occur as the nerves progressively deteriorate
  • The theory is the dog is feeling a pins-and-needles or burning sensation, sort of like we feel when we sleep on our arm funny and it goes numb and then tingles while it is waking back up
  • It is usually temporary, but I'm not aware of any guideline on how long it might last for any indivdual dog
  • It often occurs following a spinal injury or spinal surgery but can also occur later. There have been dogs here that developed chewing 2 years and 4 years after spinal injury
  • It can be treated with medication for neuropathic pain, such as gabapentin, pregabalin, or tricyclic antidepressants such as amitriptyline
  • Medication is the best solution as most methods to prevent chewing will not work, however the dog needs to be prevented from chewing until the right dose of medication has been found
  • Cone collar - dogs can get out of it, helpful to tie the strings and also attach it to the dog's leather collar, use your judgment
  • Muzzle - dogs can paw them off
  • Applying bad tasting substances such as Bitter Apple or YUK-2-E - dogs will ignore it and chew anyway
  • Bandaging - dogs will chew off the bandage
  • Putting the dog in a drag bag - they chew through the drag bag
  • Making hard cover braces for the legs as described above - worked for one family, however feet and legs are not the only areas that have been chewed, especially with male dogs who may chew the penis, so a cone collar may also be needed until you are sure medication dosage is correct

[snip] Hope this helps! Most people get through this OK, in spite of how super cautious I know I sounded in this post.
As sobering as all of that is, it does not happen to all dogs and may never apply to your dog. The stories are mostly from a time before they had medication for it, but it does show that dogs can begin to experience new sensations even years after a spinal injury. People used to think recovery was over after 6 months or some set timeframe, but it continues much longer than that.

It is also possible you may notice some change in ease of expressing, because if signals are getting through to the legs better now, the same may be true of the bladder. Timeframe could vary. This topic shows examples of bladder control returning up to 2 years later. Here was something I wrote about my dog.
https://handicappedpet.net/helppets/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=5053&p=27354#p27354 wrote: My dog was totally paralyzed for several months following her accident, but eventually she became able to help me when we expressed. It really does help to tell her when I am ready to do the squeezing. I don't know if she can feel me locating the bladder and positioning my hand or not, but she does help with the urinating once I say "Ready, Freddy?" and start squeezing.
https://handicappedpet.net/helppets/viewtopic.php?p=78904#p78904 wrote:Also, with my Katie, she never developed full bladder control, I still express her, but at the 5 month point (I think it was a little after that) she became able to help me when I squeezed, which made things much easier. So my dog did show improvement in bladder function at the 5-6 month point.
TomFrenchy91
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Re: Paralyzed dog leg shaking

Post by TomFrenchy91 »

Thank you for your reply. Yes we found him after he was sadly hit by a car. He loves his wheels. No sign in him becoming easier to express.

I just had the pain test completed and nothing has changed at the moment.

I will keep an eye on it. It doesn't happen all the time but is becoming more frequent. It is also only happening to one leg at the moment
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CarolC
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Re: Paralyzed dog leg shaking

Post by CarolC »

This reminded me of something my dog's physical therapist told me.
CarolC wrote: Thu Dec 16, 2004 11:10 am My dog's physical therapist says it is not unusual for one leg to come back before the other, or for one to be stronger. Oddly, it can switch unexpectedly and the weak one can suddenly become the strong one for no known reason. So they can switch back and forth like that. They don't know why, but it happens.
If your dog is technically difficult to express, there is medication to make it easier. Some dogs are easier to express than others. I only mention it because nobody told me, and it would have helped a lot at the time. I had no reference to know if the difficulty I was having was normal. Now I know it was unusually difficult due to tight sphincters, and not because of some shortcoming in my technique. Dogs with upper motor neuron injuries tend to have tight sphincters and be harder to express, compared to dogs with lower motor neuron injuries. My dog's injury was mid-back T12-13 and was an upper motor neuron injury.
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critters
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Re: Paralyzed dog leg shaking

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