(Sigh) I suspect DM...how to know for sure, and then what? - Page 1

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Zenit2010

by Zenit2010 on 26 May 2016 - 20:05

Hello Forum...it's been awhile, but I've been lurking and reading, but now I'm worried about my dog. He is almost 6 1/2 years old. When I first posted about him, he was 4 and suffering from skin allergies. He has responded well to Atopica, so the allergies are now managed quite well for nearly two years. Lately, though, I have been noticing him dragging his right hind leg a little when he walks. I trim his nails myself quite routinely, and the two center nails on the right hind paw are quite worn down, very worn down really. He has good ball drive and loves to play 2-ball and catch. He runs beautifully, no bunny hopping. I just notice that he is walking more slowly when we start our day, he doesn't want to walk as far, and he prefers to rest as often as possible. He perks up to chase his ball at a nearby grassy field, but on the walk home, he walks slowly and that right hind leg drags just a little. He doesn't seem to be in any pain. His hip x-rays at age 3 were good (not OFA graded as I wasn't going to breed him).
Could it be DM? What else could it be?

bubbabooboo

by bubbabooboo on 26 May 2016 - 20:05

What is he being fed and which medications and pest control products are you applying. Any changes in his food or pest control including flea collar ( Seresto ) in the last year?? Any tick problems or do you find ticks on him already attached? Any injuries or strains in the recent or distant past?? When he runs does he crab or take weight off the right rear leg .. ie runs on the two front and left rear with reduced weight on the RR leg??

Zenit2010

by Zenit2010 on 26 May 2016 - 23:05

He eats Nature's Variety Instinct LID Turkey recipe. On a daily basis, I give him coconut oil, multi-vitamin, 1 tsp of kelp, plus salmon oil capsule. He has been on this diet for 2 years. For treats, he gets some freeze dried salmon or venison treats (nothing made in China - USA only). He is on Sentinel for heart worm and flea preventative since puppyhood. Nothing for ticks as they are not a big deal where we live and where I let him run around, but I check him routinely anyway. And like I mentioned, he is on Atopica as that is the only treatment that manages his skin and environmental allergies. We don't use pesticides around the house or garden- not really needed...ants are the only pest and they don't show up that often.
No recent or past injuries or strains. He still runs beautifully. No crabbing or taking the weight off the right hind leg. He still trots beautifully. It's just when he walks that he tends to roll that paw and drag the toes. And lately he just wants to walk slowly unless he sees that grassy field, which means ball play, and he perks up in speed to a trot.

bubbabooboo

by bubbabooboo on 27 May 2016 - 00:05

From the dog food advisor web site .. your dog food is above average .. not great but unlikely to be the problem .. dogs are remarkably good at surviving on garbage dog food but by 6-8 years bad nutrition can take it's toll.  Not the case with your dog however.  Excerpt on your dog food below.

Bottom line?

Nature’s Variety Instinct Limited Ingredient Diet is a plant-based dry dog food using a moderate amount of various species as its main sources of animal protein, thus earning the brand 4 stars.

Highly recommended.

http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/dog-food-reviews/natures-variety-instinct-lid/

The mutivitamin daily is a concern .. your dog should not need that on a daily basis or probably not at all .. please describe the vitamins that you give him.  My first advice is if someone does not have a great idea as to the problem I would take your dog to an orthopedic or rehabilitation vet and let them have a go at the problem.  As any dog gets older their hormones and immune system change and not for the better.  Please define the multivitamin given and I will dig around for ideas.  Has your dog been neutered and if so at what age??  Also has your dog had any vaccinations within 6 months of your noticing his RR leg problem??


bubbabooboo

by bubbabooboo on 27 May 2016 - 01:05

If your dog has skin problems I would not use Sentinel .. it is known to cause skin problems. I would use another product from a completely different chemistry for fleas and heart worms .. preferably a spot on for a few months ( at least 6 ). Even if your dog has taken Sentinel for a long time it could be the skin problems were just round one of the side effects for "your dog" . Every dog is different and the fact that 95% of dogs can tolerate Sentinel does not mean that your dog does not have a sensitivity to it that may have increased with long term use or age. It is possible that your dog's skin problems and current neurological symptoms are related to the active ingredients used in Sentinel. And I don't care what the vet says .. there have been many reported side effects with Sentinel and remember the veterinarians get to write prescriptions and sell the stuff for a profit. Has your dog lost weight recently?? There are two active ingredients in Sentinel and they are stored in the dog's body fat .. if a dog loses weight the product will be released back into the blood stream and with the monthly dosing that amounts to an increased dosage.  As dogs age a lot of thing that once were tolerated become intolerable.  Six years plus is kinda early but a lot of female GSD show symptoms of thyroid deficiency around 6 years of age and very often skin problems are one of the symptoms.  The cyclosporine your dog is taking suppresses the immune system and that could double up with another problem to make the combined symptoms worse.   I am thinking that trying a trial period of 6 months off Sentinel should be given serious consideration given your dog's skin problems regardless.


bubbabooboo

by bubbabooboo on 27 May 2016 - 01:05

Sentinel is looking suspect for both of your problems .. skin and neurological .. see below

http://www.1800petmeds.com/Sentinel-prod10118.html

What are the possible side effects of Sentinel: Side effects of Sentinel are rare although some animals may exhibit depression, drowsiness, vomiting, itching, hives, loss of appetite, diarrhea, hypersalivation, seizures, and weakness. If these or other symptoms develop contact your veterinarian.

What other drugs will affect Sentinel: While Sentinel is safe to use in dogs at risk for MDRI-allele mutation (Australian Shepherds, Collies, Shelties, etc.), unless tested normal, caution is advised if your pet is also being given amiodarone (Cordarone), azole antifungals such as ketoconazole, carvedilol (Coreg), cyclosporine (Atopica), diltiazem (Cardizem), erythromycin (Ery-Tabs) or clarithromycin (Biaxin), quinidine, spironolactone (Aldactone), tamoxifen, and verapamil (Calan). Do not give Sentinel to your pet if already giving an alternate heartworm medication.


Gypsys Mom

by Gypsys Mom on 27 May 2016 - 03:05

Hello,

I totally get how you'd be worried about DM. Three years ago this weekend I had to euthanize my girl, Geneva, because of it. One of th earliest signs of it is the top of the toes getting worn or scraped. that's because dogs with DM have trouble flipping their paw back to the proper position, bottom side on the pavement, when they walk. So, they drag their toes as they rotate their foot. For Geneva this seemed to happen to both legs about the same time and both continued to deteriorate at the same rate. I adopted Geneva from a shelter and she had HD and I first thought the HD was getting worse. I took her to the vet for routine stuff and he recognized DM. He predicted 6-18 months until it worsened enough for me to consider euthanasia. I held out 8 months, but she was already pretty advanced when he diagnosed her. She wasn't in a lot of pain, she just lost the ability to control her hindquarters.

It kind of sounds like your pup may just be sore on one leg. Maybe he stepped wrong while chasing the ball and just taking it easy could help it heal. Does he have scrapes on the top of his toes?


Xeph

by Xeph on 27 May 2016 - 04:05

Can't answer everything else. But for DM, the only way to know for sure is a necropsy once the dog has passed.

Dawulf

by Dawulf on 27 May 2016 - 04:05

My friend had a GSD who started dragging his hind legs, but not really exhibiting other signs of pain, IIRC. Everyone was telling her DM, even vets were guessing that until she had them do an x-ray of his spine and it turns out he had ruptured a disc, and had something else going on as well. They did surgery and she continues to do massage therapy with him and he's doing great now. He was older than your guy though.

Best of luck, I hope it isn't DM.

Sunsilver

by Sunsilver on 27 May 2016 - 12:05

Yes, DM can only be diagnosed after death. So, what you need to do is eliminate other possible causes (and there are quite a few!)

The first thing you need to do is have his spine and pelvis x-rayed to look for possible issues with the spine. I just euthanized a 14 year old dog that had lumbar-sacral stenosis of the spine, and it started out about 5 years ago in exactly the way you describe; a bit of toe-dragging with one hind leg.

Get him assessed by a competent vet. Some of the causes are quite fixable, though he might have to have surgery, as the above poster's dog did.





 


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