[LBo]

Hi there,

My 7 y/o Coton recently lost his ability to fully support himself with his back legs. A few weeks ago, he started consistently lifting his front right paw. We decided to take him in to get it looked at and were told that there was no issue with his paw/leg. Soon after that, he lost his use of his back legs. It progressively got worse within the span of a week or two. He struggles to lift himself up to a seated position. Most of the time, he needs us to lift him up. He lays around all day and whimpers when he want/needs something. I try to massage his back legs in hopes to get rid of some of the stiffness from laying down, but the effects of this are not significant enough. He has not lost control of his bladder... he is still able to do his business outside, but just barely. It takes a few attempts to even get him to put enough pressure on his back legs to just eliminate his urine, etc. Typically, he just plops back down into a seated position. I guess I am just looking for some insight, as the process of x rays and a possible neuro specialists in an expensive one. Thank you!

 

[Mad Murphy]

You must consult a vet. No advice is going to be useful unless you know exactly what is wrong.

 

[LBo]

You must consult a vet. No advice is going to be useful unless you know exactly what is wrong.

We have an appointment scheduled for him. I thought I would post on a forum in hopes to gather some insight from other owner's experiences.

 

[Mad Murphy]

We have an appointment scheduled for him. I thought I would post on a forum in hopes to gather some insight from other owner's experiences.

Thats good and when you have an answer from the vet please let us know...
I did have a dog with a back injury who lost the use of his back legs and yes we did manage it but only after seeing a vet...

 

[LBo]

The vet did a full physical examination and said that the issue isn't physical. He checked to see if he is bearing weight on his hind legs, and he is.

They tested his blood and urine. From that, the only thing that showed up was low protein. He said that his low protein levels could be a symptoms of a variety of possible issues (falling under the umbrellas of inflammation, auto immune, or cancer).

The bloodwork ruled out tick, heartworm, and infection/bacteria.

We are trying to figure out our next steps...

If anyone has any prior experience with an issue like this or has any suggestions, it would be appreciated.

 

[JoanneF]

@LMMB?

 

[agility collie mom]

I hope that you are not seeing this: Cerebellar Hypoplasia & Degeneration in Dogs - What Pet Parents Need to Know | Winston-Salem Veterinary Neurologist | Carolina Veterinary Specialists & Emergency

 

[LMMB]

The vet did a full physical examination and said that the issue isn't physical. He checked to see if he is bearing weight on his hind legs, and he is.

They tested his blood and urine. From that, the only thing that showed up was low protein. He said that his low protein levels could be a symptoms of a variety of possible issues (falling under the umbrellas of inflammation, auto immune, or cancer).

The bloodwork ruled out tick, heartworm, and infection/bacteria.

We are trying to figure out our next steps...

If anyone has any prior experience with an issue like this or has any suggestions, it would be appreciated.

My first dog Max suffered from weak hind legs and couldn't support himself in a standing position for more than a few minutes, struggled from a sitting to a standing position, etc but he was older than your dog.

I think you need an x-ray at least to see if there's anything in his spine that's causing it. Max was off his hind legs for a week when he was 12, but that was because my knuckle-head lurcher Milly slammed into him at full speed.

He made a full recovery but then his legs started to go again about 18mths later.

 

[Laco]

There are just so many possibilities that could be the cause. Has your Vet suggested taking him to a Neurologist, to rule out or in neurological possibilities?

 

[LBo]

Thank you for your time and responses...

We had a feeling from the beginning that we should hold off on any vet visits and wait until his grooming appointment.

His issue was that his nails had grown out so much that he was walking on his nails instead of his paw pads.
With the lockdown, he was well in need for a visit to the groomer. This was a new one for us! In the summer, I guess the nails get a natural shave with the pavement, but the winter coupled with covid lockdown resulted in his nails growing too long.

Two vets later, and the groomer easily solved our issue. I wish we had known sooner... I hope this is helpful to someone.

 

[JoanneF]

I'm glad it resolved relatively easily. Depending on the foot position / shape, some dogs have more toe-pointy feet and wear their nails down easily, flatter footed ones have more of the equivalent of the heel to the floor and the nails don't make the same contact.

If you use facebook, there is a very good Nail Maintenance for Dogs group.