Since I have been home from WA, I have noticed that Argo has been really uncoordinated. He had gotten sick while we were in WA with GI issues that were explained by his hunting/eating habits, but after meds/antibiotics he seemed to clear up.
The day after we got home, I noticed that he was walking very gingerly, and I assumed it was discomfort due to his tummy issues. So another round of medicine and he seemed to perk back up. After a week, he was still walking around, hobbling, and I couldn't imagine that he was still "backed up", so I took video of him clumsily falling down the stairs, walking in a straight line, and overall just looking drunk from the waist down.
I took him back into the vet after researching illnesses that could cause his clumsiness, and had found two possibilities that were both treatable, but that sounded like something he could have. After getting him checked over, our vet did a simple leg/foot check where he rolled Argo's feet under him to see how he responded. The front legs did what they were supposed to, and immediately came back to a normal standing position. The back legs however, stayed turned under, which prompted Dr. Claiborne to do some x-rays of his neck area to rule out a condition called Wobblers Syndrome.
So I left him to have the images taken, and after a few hours, received a call confirming that Argo had several areas of degeneration to his cervical vertebra that were essentially pinching his spinal cord, which is diagnosed as Wobblers.
I came into pick Argo up, and learned from Dr. Claiborne some options we had to go forward with the treatment. Wobblers in short: is a degeneration or malformation of the cervical vertebra that cause the vertebra to lose their shape, creating a point, which usually pinches or puts pressure on the spinal cord and slowly paralyzes the dog from the back up. We were both a little stunned that he had a moderate case, and even more so, that this is typically a disease that effects large breed canines: Great Danes, Doberman Pinchers, Rottweilers, etc. It is also the same disease that horses are notorious for developing. Argo is 47lbs, he is a lab/coonhound mix, and of course we don't know how big his parents were, but typically other breeds and small dogs are seen in less than 5% of all Wobbler cases.
Here is a link that I found that describes this disease in plain english. http://www.petassure.com/newsletters/011510newsletter/01152010Article4.html
Unfortunately the best way to correct the issue is by surgery, which looking at his x-rays, he wouldn't be a good candidate for. There is medical treatment with steroids that should alleviate some of the pressure and swelling around the spinal cord, and possibly help him not be so clumsy, but since it's a neurological disease and there are nerves involved, the damage that has already happened won't get better. The steroids also don't prevent the damage from moving forward, and so we were told in his case, he could be happy and healthy otherwise for weeks to weeks or weeks to months on end.
The past week, I have educated myself on this disease, and come to grips that sooner than later, we will have to make the dreaded decision to say goodbye before he gets to the point of pain and or looses his ability to use the bathroom, and the paresis moves forward. I only pray that I know when, and that it's not sooner than we are ready.
We began treating him with a low dose steroid to see how he does on that, but with steroids, comes the side effects. We're hoping to see some improvement, and be able to dose him off and on rather than keep him on the steroids long term and prevent any damage that that can cause. He's been on his medicine for five days, and I can't tell if he's doing better or not. We have a follow-up appointment today to discuss further measures we can take in keeping him comfortable longer. There are ways to do a home rehab with rest, a cervical brace and medications, but we also need to make sure it doesn't progress to the point of pain in the meantime. As of now, we were told that he shouldn't have any discomfort, other than the annoyance of when your foot falls asleep. I have been keeping an eye on him, and making sure he's not not doing anything to cause more damage. I also have been carrying him up and down the stairs, which thankfully he knows I am trying to help, so he patiently waits for me to pick him up.
I have never been in the situation of looking at one of my furbabies knowing soon they wouldn't be with us, and it is especially hard, as he is not even three years old. Of course Argo was brought into our family for Nash and Jax after we lost Chopper, but he is definitely one of my boys... The past week I have spoiled him rotten and hope that he sees until we have to say goodbye how much we love him, and will miss him when he's gone. Today we have our friend coming over to take some family photos before he gets too bad, and we are gone.
Dr. Claiborne said that Argo would be fine to travel with and it would be better for him than cooped up in a kennel, so we will resume with our travel plans to MI in a few days, and just make sure he gets a good vacation out of it as well.
I have no idea when the day will come, but I ask that you please pray, think, or just send us good vibes, and that Argo will stay comfortable and happy, and that we will know when it's time.
Thank you
The day after we got home, I noticed that he was walking very gingerly, and I assumed it was discomfort due to his tummy issues. So another round of medicine and he seemed to perk back up. After a week, he was still walking around, hobbling, and I couldn't imagine that he was still "backed up", so I took video of him clumsily falling down the stairs, walking in a straight line, and overall just looking drunk from the waist down.
I took him back into the vet after researching illnesses that could cause his clumsiness, and had found two possibilities that were both treatable, but that sounded like something he could have. After getting him checked over, our vet did a simple leg/foot check where he rolled Argo's feet under him to see how he responded. The front legs did what they were supposed to, and immediately came back to a normal standing position. The back legs however, stayed turned under, which prompted Dr. Claiborne to do some x-rays of his neck area to rule out a condition called Wobblers Syndrome.
So I left him to have the images taken, and after a few hours, received a call confirming that Argo had several areas of degeneration to his cervical vertebra that were essentially pinching his spinal cord, which is diagnosed as Wobblers.
I came into pick Argo up, and learned from Dr. Claiborne some options we had to go forward with the treatment. Wobblers in short: is a degeneration or malformation of the cervical vertebra that cause the vertebra to lose their shape, creating a point, which usually pinches or puts pressure on the spinal cord and slowly paralyzes the dog from the back up. We were both a little stunned that he had a moderate case, and even more so, that this is typically a disease that effects large breed canines: Great Danes, Doberman Pinchers, Rottweilers, etc. It is also the same disease that horses are notorious for developing. Argo is 47lbs, he is a lab/coonhound mix, and of course we don't know how big his parents were, but typically other breeds and small dogs are seen in less than 5% of all Wobbler cases.
Here is a link that I found that describes this disease in plain english. http://www.petassure.com/newsletters/011510newsletter/01152010Article4.html
Unfortunately the best way to correct the issue is by surgery, which looking at his x-rays, he wouldn't be a good candidate for. There is medical treatment with steroids that should alleviate some of the pressure and swelling around the spinal cord, and possibly help him not be so clumsy, but since it's a neurological disease and there are nerves involved, the damage that has already happened won't get better. The steroids also don't prevent the damage from moving forward, and so we were told in his case, he could be happy and healthy otherwise for weeks to weeks or weeks to months on end.
The past week, I have educated myself on this disease, and come to grips that sooner than later, we will have to make the dreaded decision to say goodbye before he gets to the point of pain and or looses his ability to use the bathroom, and the paresis moves forward. I only pray that I know when, and that it's not sooner than we are ready.
We began treating him with a low dose steroid to see how he does on that, but with steroids, comes the side effects. We're hoping to see some improvement, and be able to dose him off and on rather than keep him on the steroids long term and prevent any damage that that can cause. He's been on his medicine for five days, and I can't tell if he's doing better or not. We have a follow-up appointment today to discuss further measures we can take in keeping him comfortable longer. There are ways to do a home rehab with rest, a cervical brace and medications, but we also need to make sure it doesn't progress to the point of pain in the meantime. As of now, we were told that he shouldn't have any discomfort, other than the annoyance of when your foot falls asleep. I have been keeping an eye on him, and making sure he's not not doing anything to cause more damage. I also have been carrying him up and down the stairs, which thankfully he knows I am trying to help, so he patiently waits for me to pick him up.
I have never been in the situation of looking at one of my furbabies knowing soon they wouldn't be with us, and it is especially hard, as he is not even three years old. Of course Argo was brought into our family for Nash and Jax after we lost Chopper, but he is definitely one of my boys... The past week I have spoiled him rotten and hope that he sees until we have to say goodbye how much we love him, and will miss him when he's gone. Today we have our friend coming over to take some family photos before he gets too bad, and we are gone.
Dr. Claiborne said that Argo would be fine to travel with and it would be better for him than cooped up in a kennel, so we will resume with our travel plans to MI in a few days, and just make sure he gets a good vacation out of it as well.
I have no idea when the day will come, but I ask that you please pray, think, or just send us good vibes, and that Argo will stay comfortable and happy, and that we will know when it's time.
Thank you
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