german shepherd help needed !!

[julia1310]

wondered if anyone can give me any suggestions i have a ten yr old german shepherd ***** who i absolutely fine in every other way exept rear leg weakness wobbling and waving her bottom to side to side when she walks making her fall over unless she walks in a straight line she has loss of muscle to back end and she is scraping her back feet so am presuming she has cdrm she does have arthritis of spine and cervical spine and hip dysplasia but not to a very bad degree on xrays she does not appear to be in pain and have tried rimadyl with no difference but obviously frustrated when goes for walks ! shes on glucosamine and fish oils and wondered what else i could put her on? she does have feeling in back as if scrapes toes licks at them, and obviously feels it when shes stroked or brushed. i was told she could have an mri to see if disc prob but too much stress for her at ten what with the anaesthetic and vets which she hates and as there is no cure and she would be mortified if she had not to go out and be still after back surgery which i would not have done i believ its quality over quantity and would like to try less invasive options first, and shes still happy dog !! however she doesnt seem to urniate as much as she used to and holds it for hours although she is not incontinent it started about a yyear ago when i started jogging and she came with me she has no prob with cruxciate ligaments i can tell and i cant recall any point when she could have slipped disc except once about yr ago when she was scratching and squealed but seemed to have dislocated and relocated hip she became lame on one back leg but disappeared and was not left with any effects within a few mins of incident but wondered if worth startiing some steroids in case it is a disc prob?? or any supplements i could give her for cdrm? or any other conditions the vet hasnt thought about that it could be !!!! am at the end of my tether with it all we have tried hydrotherapy and she hates it. she is a happy dog who still eats everything is very vocal !! and wags her tail and fusses etc and it doesnt seem to bother her much only me so any suggestions would be really appreciated !! thanks x x x

[tiffers]

If she is unable to urinate for long periods of time, she may have a pinched disc, and not necessarily a slipped one. Or even potentially have some spinal cord issues with it being pinched off by a slipped disc or inflammed disc. It would be very, VERY wise of you to have her entire spine xrayed to check for this. Poor thing is more than likely in pain, it's a shame they can hide it so sell.

[krazy4birds]

Tiffers has given you sound advice I just wanted to say how sorry I am for both you and your dog....must be so hard to see your beloved pet like this....GOOD LUCK

[julia1310]

If she is unable to urinate for long periods of time, she may have a pinched disc, and not necessarily a slipped one. Or even potentially have some spinal cord issues with it being pinched off by a slipped disc or inflammed disc. It would be very, VERY wise of you to have her entire spine xrayed to check for this. Poor thing is more than likely in pain, it's a shame they can hide it so sell.

it isnt that she is unable to urinate, whatever time of day she goes outside she still does urinate its just that she can go for maybe eight hours without going ie in a morning she used to get up and go straight outside now she will stay in bed for a bit before getting up to go out, and yes she has had her full cervical thoracic and lumbar spine xrayed maybe bout 10 months ago now before she started the prescribed hydrotherapy. in addition to hip xrays and although she does have arthritic changes to the spine they were not bad enough to cause the problems she has however her hip socket does have a bit of wear as does the ball joint therefore i am wondering with her muscle wastage whether she just has loose hip joints cos as i said seems to be only when she turns not when in straight line!! she is definately not in pain, after having my dog ten years i can tell when she's in pain !!!! she has had a trial of rimadyl amongth other meds and makes no difference, when she had xrays she came home two hours after being given pethedine ( due to the manipulation of the joints for xrays) and this made no difference whatsoever to her movements.

does anyone have any suggestions for supplements ??? or exercise regimes ??
thanks x

[Macawpower58]

I'm sorry to hear your old girl is having such problems. I fear it's very, very common with GSDs to have back/hip problems entering old age. 10 is getting up there for a GSD. What supplements do you give? You may be able to find better ones. I use Dasaquin for joint health with my dogs (4 GSDS).

I had one of my boys favoring his back leg, trouble jumping high places. He is 5 years old. Never showed pain, until right before diagnosis. Mine had 2 torn ligaments and a torn thigh muscle. He also has arthritis along his spine. Not showing pain, does not mean there is none. When they do show it, it's severe.

[dlaura]

I am sorry your GSD is having hip issues.

Becky your reply was interesting. I am learning more and more all the time from you about GSDs and I want to thank you.

[Wiztherewoz]

So sorry to hear about your poor lass. It must be awful for you to see her struggling so much... My shepherd is nine years old and she's got some muscle deterioration in her back leg. It physically hurts my heart to see her struggle to do anything. So to watch yours in such a terrible state and barely able to walk must be torture.

Does her nose dribble at all? I can tell when my girl's in pain because her nose runs. Her leg also wobbles sometimes when she's standing awkwardly.

I'd take it real easy with her on walks. Very steady exercise, don't over-do it. Don't let her try to jump or run anywhere, easy-does-it, calm and gentle so as not to do any more damage to herself. Try to walk her on grass rather than concrete too, and for several half hour walks throughout the day rather than fewer ones that last hours.

You've obviously spoken to your vet about this, but I personally don't think it's a good idea to second-guess whether or not it's a disc problem. I understand you not wanting to put her through a procedure that will upset her, but it may be the best thing to do for her, to find out for sure what the problem is and try to fix it rather than to just give up and let her live with it.

But, you know your own dog, you are the one who is there with her, and you are ultimately the one to decide what the best thing is for her.

I knew a dog like yours that did much better on seraquin tablets, but I also know some people wouldn't recommend these. Like rimadyl, they can be harmful in high doses over long periods.

If she pulls on the leash and wears a collar, I'd recommend you get a comfort harness for her to wear for walks. (I doubt that she does pull on the leash though, please don't be offended by that insinuation, it was just an after-thought.)

[tiffers]

Oh, I see. I misread what you wrote about the urinating. :p

...she may be holding it longer because she is painful (like I said, these guys hide if very, very well...I see it all day long). I want to say that a LOT can happen in 10 months. That's about 6 years for them in a human age comparison. I definitely recommend some more xrays, simply because...a LOT can happen, as I said.

If she is not walking as much, or her other legs and muscles are trying to compensate for the painful limbs...she will definitely lose muscle mass, which will cause weakness.

Also, have you tried other pain/anti-inflammatory medications? Metacam, Tramadol, etc?