My poor Toby, like a lot of older goldens (he'll be 12 in Jan., and he's an oversized, although thin, golden) is having problems with his back legs.
Has anyone taken their senior golden with back end problems to a neurologist to see if there's anything else they can offer that the regular vet and chiropractor cannot?
If so, what were the results?
I want do everything possible for him, other than his back legs he feels great and plays like a youngster (once I help him up on the slippery tile floors!)
I was hoping to take Copper on a little trail ride yesterday, but didn't have time.
We went in the paddock and were plundering around yesterday evening. That was almost more than he could handle. His left hind leg would give out and he would just sit down.
He had a shot of Azymicin about 6 weeks ago for the horrible chest lump he had going on and he did great for a week. I believe steroids was one of the ingredients in the shot, but they don't recommend he take those.
I am going to talk to his specialist more about what he can take to make his quality of life better. Growing old is hard to do and really hard to watch!!!
You know, I'm wondering, though, if a steroid shot (hmmmmm, where to give it would be the question) somewhere in his spine or hip might be the answer for a while - especially after the reaction he had with the one in his chest.
As you have probably noticed there are a lot of us out there with senior goldens with problems in their hind legs. Like yours my Molson (who will be 15 in February) has neurological damage and his situation is also complicated by hip dysplasia. We took Molson two years ago to a surgeon specializing in hips and one of the first things he noted was that there was spinal neurological damage, he showed us different tests, like Molson having no clue he was standing on his foot which was bent backwards.
You can always take Toby to a neurologist although I am not sure what the neurologist would do at his age although there are always new medication coming onto the market. Surgery might be an option although again at 12 I am not sure. At 13 Molson was not a candidate but he also had hip dysplasia so that was three strikes against him, age, nerve damage and hip dysplasia not a good mix!
So he was put on pain management as well as use of the Hip Hammock that was created for him by me which helped him regain mobility and stability for an extra year an a half. You can check it out at www.animalassistanceproducts.com .
Glucosamine and chondroitin worked great for a few years on its own before it was necessary for a trip to the surgeon. Medicam helped also, we tried acupuncture for quite a while because some dogs have amazing results although Molson did not and finally we added Tramadol when pain management became necessary and it has worked like a miracle.
Also what helped with those slippery tiled floors were carpets, we carpeted everywhere because he needed the grip. if there isn't a rug covering the floor then runners of all colors and sizes are double sided taped to the floor so they won't move.
And if you are interested in what it is like to live with an aging beloved Golden with ever increasing disabilities check out Molsie's Blog at www.animalassistanceproducts.com/blog
molson'smom....Molsie's Blog has me in tears this morning, tears of joy, compassion, laughter and sadness....what a wonderful writer you are!
Barb and Cindy, you should take a peek.. http://animalassistanceproducts.com/blog/
molson'smom....Molsie's Blog has me in tears this morning, tears of joy, compassion, laughter and sadness....what a wonderful writer you are!
Barb and Cindy, you should take a peek.. http://animalassistanceproducts.com/blog/
Dear Moverking (we do have funny names) Thanks for your very appreciated comments, both Molson and I thank you...now I hear him barking so I have to run! :doh:
Thanks Molson's mom! Toby's chiropractor didn't see anything a neurologist could do for Toby. I'm going to my regular vet Monday for something else, and I plan to ask him, too.
I guess I was thinking maybe degenerative myelopathy, but luckily symptoms seem to point away from that. There are some new drugs for DM.
I'll check out the website, thanks!
I have been massaging Copper with a windmere massager and also manually and he is doing much better.:
He had hurt his left hind leg this summer and I was pretty sure it was a major part of his problem still even though multiple vets disagreed. So I just decided to see if massage would help and hooray! it does.
I started him on duralactin yesterday since he does still have some weakness in his back end. I also got him glycoflex III since I was not sure of the qualtiy of the chondoitin/glucosamine supplement he was taking.
I am hoping to see even more improvement as the supplements kick in, but I am really happy with what I have. We are going to plunder around in the woods this afternoon and I will get some pics. We haven't been able to go plundering since spring.
I'm going to check out Molson's blog from work tomorrow. It won't load on this dial-up at home.
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