My boy isnt walking (X-rays inside) - Page 4

Well based on the breeder (von wyzal) it is possible he won the genetic lottery, I'm almost positive it wouldn't be a tick bite since he is an indoor dog and his lameness started in the winter.

He doesn't seem to be in pain anymore but he still doesn't move much and his back end looks emaciated compared to his front. I can try and post a video but not sure how.

I appreciate everyone's help

Nick I am sure all who have given ideas are happy to do so it is nice for you to say how you appreciate the help.

But what saddens me is how you seem resigned to your pups fate.

This is not DM you stated in your very first post that this pup has never seemed like a normal active pup.

I would think that he had a problem then, it was not addressed and it has manifested into what you have now.

If your Vet can come up with nothing more than DM think about going to a different Vet before your pup dies at such a young age for no good reason.

His hips are not that bad and he could go on and give you many years of love.

You know, Nick, an amazing dog I bred died last month at 5 years old because he went undiagnosed for TBD. He was incredibly tough and didn't show he was sick (it's not that the owner didn't notice; this dog was competing at a high level during his illness- he truly wasn't acting sick) until he was nearly dead and in total liver/kidney failure. First vet didn't test for TBD- decided it was a GSD so he must have some genetic problem, I guess. So, he went untreated for a couple more weeks. 2nd vet tests him for TBD, owner swears up and down he's never seen a tick on him, and he has THREE of them! Had they been caught when treatable, before so much organ damage was done, no doubt he'd be here with us today.

There is NO REASON to assume your dog has a major problem when it could be so very fixable. Please post a video. Take a cell phone video if you have to and upload it to youtube. This is insane that such a young puppy is going through this. Someone can figure this out. Let's find that someone.

Nick, I just reread the first page.

Is that a typo or was he really 37lbs in December and 73 in February????!

Not really seeing any major issues with X Rays. Maybe fair hips to mild dysplasia. Maybe some small medial coronoid process on the left elbow but if so very minor. I have seen and owned dogs with much worse X Rays that had no movement issues.

nick3981, not sure where you're located, but frankly, if you're within a reasonable travel distance of a veterinary teaching hospital, I think you and your pup may be better served to have him seen there--they can usually do a more extensive workup at a lower cost, since they won't have to send anything out, and you'd have access to the orthopaedic specialists there as well.

It's easy to claim that a dog hasn't had any tick exposure, and even winter isn't sufficient to prevent such exposure--dogs travel with their owners to all corners of the world, so a Michigan dog can travel to Florida in January and bring home a tick or two despite the winter weather at home, and the owners may never even know it. Dogs returning to the US after travelling internationally are supposed to be treated for ectoparasites only if they've been in certain countries, but even then the diligence in confirming the treatment was done before the dog is released by customs is scant at best.

Jenni, so sorry to hear about the 5 year old; the cost of testing for tick-borne diseases is negligible when compared to that of medical care for an affected dog that is heading into organ failure, let alone the loss of the dog's life. Very sad.

Jenni, so sorry to hear about the loss of your dog. That really, really sucks, especially when it could have been prevented! 

 

Haz, the dog is refusing to put any weight on the right leg, because the right hip is partially out of its socket. Turning the dog's legs in so the patellas are properly lined up for an x-ray isn't going to change that, either!

Compare these 2 x-rays and you will get a better idea of just how bad that hip is. It may not be the worst set of hips out there, but the ball of the joint rubbing on the rim of the socket would be enough to cause a lot of pain. You will see from looking at the dog's photos that he has lost an awful lot of muscle mass as a result of whatever is going on in that hind leg, too.

Hips properly seated in the sockets:

 

Nick's dog:`

 

Sunny, I have had dogs' hips look like that and FAR worse than that, even, when they were knocked out for x-rays and the vet wasn't very skilled at positioning. In the worst case, Eden, the vet said she had severe dysplasia, dislocated hip, etc. I redid them with a good vet for an OFA good. I see nothing in the joints that would cause this much suffering. He could be miserable due to pano- some are- and if he seriously gained that much weight/grew that much between Dec and Feb...well....

Yes, Hexe, it was horrible. I was livid. I spoke to the vet the day he was in the ER in organ failure- the first visit. The owner was in total shock and gave me the go-ahead to talk to her directly about possibilities. Only signs were he'd vomited a couple times in the preceding days. I even mentioned Lyme as a cause for the kidney failure. I assumed she'd tested and he was negative when she said "No, it's not Lyme." I was calling his littermates' owners and warning them that he had some unknown cause of kidney failure and having them check kidney and liver function, scaring them half to death that it was something congenital or hereditary. It was 2-3 weeks later when the regular vet checked him and found the 3 TBD...treatment helped but could not repair his kidneys at that point. He lived almost 3 more years, competing on a national level.

The point here, Nick, is that none of these symptoms point definitively to the cause and you really need a more thorough work-up such as Hexe suggested- a teaching hospital, if you are not getting the answers you need locally. I am concerned that it seems you've resigned yourself to the idea that he has some horrible incurable problem and that he may suffer needlessly for it. Please at least rule out ticks (cheap test, too) and get some better xrays of spine and hind (pano sometimes shows up, but sometimes not right off the bat) and go from there. Best wishes.

SS, see the right side of this film? Far worse than Nick's dog as far as pulled out of socket. Here is her redo:

Eden had a prior pelvic injury so she cannot be straightened any better than this, FYI.

Jenn, yes that is correct with the weight. I kept him in the same food as the breeder (diamond natural) and never more than the reccomended amount. I just switched to raw, and his weight is dropping.

Hexe, I am actually on tinker AFB right by OU vet school, I've been told they are good. Just a long wait, the other thing is that I am in the military so I do not have the luxury of a lot of expendable income. It's not that I wouldn't spend the money I would inot a heart beat.

My vet has ran blood test and they all appeared normal but I will post those as well I might have to head back to the vet to get a copy. I have x-rays of the spine as well and they look good. He is not refusing to put mass on his right leg, it is both of them. If people were able to just see his back end theyour would assume he starving.

Has he been on Doxy, at all? My brother's 8 week old pup Bernese Mountain Dog, came up lame. They spent money on x-rays and all sorts of tests. Vet didn't bother to check for Lyme because he was so young. Turns out, when the got around to testing, it was Lyme, and prompt treatment restored him. Get the Doxy, first. Don't wait for test results. Easiest thing to do. Hope, it isn't too late.