My 12 year old best friend Border Collie has lost the use of back legs. Not responded to steroids.?

Question

Not injured, vet suspects arthritus but has happened very quickly. Is there any hope? I love him too much to leave him like this. Yours hopefully Pennie & Bruiser Bear

Thank you all for your comments. Bruiser is booked for euthanasia on Friday as 2 weeks steroids and pain relieve not helping him. I'd just really love a miracle.

Answer 1

My 14 year old border collie had a lot of trouble getting up and didn't want to walk this is due to one of her back legs (and it came on very quickly) the vet says this is arthritis She has had 3 sometimes 4 injection every day for 4 days and is now moving a round a lot more now but some times its stiff. Its taken a few days for her to get to this stage. (saw vet on the16/3/07) but she does want to go out for her walks ( she has several small walks now) and now get up steps again even on a bad day. my vet did tell me the injections would take time to work.
you could speak to your vet about using homeopath medicines i have found this helped with over problems that my other dog had But this was what my vet had recommended including dosage.
I hope your dog gets better soon

Answer 2

Firstly it sounds like he has gone off his legs. Cage rest him. If you stop him from getting up and moving the limbs and he can rest them it will do him good. You can try a magnetic collar - from bioforce or even put some run around in his food.

Try touching his feet - if he can feel you touching them he has not suffered any nerve damage. If he can leave it a day and try again. If there is definatly no feeling and he has no control when doing the toilet them im affraid that you should go to the vet and do the correct thing. its not fair keeping him like that. Try talking to the secretary for the border collie club and asking their advice - sometimes it helps to talk to others who may have experienced the same thing

Answer 3

My dog used to have the same thing, he couldn't get up and down the stairs and had difficulty getting out of the back door. It was a labrador and about the same age as your, I'm sorry but she had to be put down. It's the kindest thing you can do for them. If medicine isn't working then there's not much hope of them getting better. It won't kill your Collie but will cause it even more pain as time goes on, what do you think the kindest thing to do is?
Lorna

Answer 4

I am so very sorry for you but this looks like the end. The same thing happened to my own beloved Border collie when he was 15. I was absolutely heartbroken but could not let him suffer.

I vowed that I would never have another dog because I simply could not go through that again. Two years later I had the opportunity of taking a rescued Doberman. I never thought it would happen but I love him as much as I did my Border collie. You will be very upset but please don't make the mistake of getting another dog immediately. Mourn him as his is due and then you will find that you will be able to love another dog for himself and not as a substitute. With kinderst regards.

Answer 5

I also have a 12yr.old border collie ***** .who is quite bad on her back legs. Sounds like your doggy has hip dysplasia which is a nasty form of osteo-arthritis. Mine is just starting out on non-steroidal anti-inflammatories. There is an operation they can do but it costs thousands and there is no guarrantee. So sorry to hear the sad news but you are doing the right thing by your dog. My thoughts are with you. Carol.

Answer 6

My friend from work dog also had this happen not so long ago. He changed over night. One minute he was fine the next he was dragging his back legs. The vet said that it had had a stroke. I think they tried drugs first of all, but did not respond. In the end they decided to give him physio on a regular basis for him to regain strength in his legs. This is definatley helping. Maybe you could suggest this to your vet.
Good luck with this

Answer 7

I would go with whatever your vet is telling you on this one. This problem can be due to any number of things; it could have to do with arthritis, muscle problems, blood clots, brain function, etc etc etc. There is really no way to tell unless the vet does the right tests. Usually arthritis doesn't come on so quickly as you said, but sometimes, it does.. so you can't rule out anything could be a possibility. In every decision you make from here on out, consider the quality of life of your pet. I know it is incredibly hard to make a decision in regards to another life, but making the right one will be much less hurt than watching him live in pain.

Answer 8

I hate to say this but if there is nothing to be done, don't let him suffer. Have him put to sleep. Our spitz was 12 when he started having strokes. They tried all they could but he was in sooo much pain, we had to make the right decision to put him down.It was one of the hardest things we've had do do in our life. It's been 7 years now and we still miss him terribly. We just recently got another that needed a good home. Good luck. PS. I took some of our favorite photos of him and put them in a frame to hang on our wall.

Answer 9

Hi,

Sorry to hear such sad news. Arthritis is a possible cause of the disease. Despite being a chronic disease needing a long time to develop, the symtoms are sometimes very acute.

Should it be a severe case of arthritis, then there is hope that treatment may be successful.

You may want to watch a pretty good video about hip dysplasia. It is done by UK vets:
http://www.vetstoria.co.uk/templates/hip_dysplasia_symptoms_and_diagnosis-8-285-familypet.html

Good luck

rik

Answer 10

I had a cat who experienced the same thing Claire's did.

Have you asked your vet to give your dog an X-Ray? That might give you an idea what's going on.

If your friend isn't having fun any more, and can't be cured- don't let him suffer. That will be the hardest choice you can make for him.