GDS collapsing and losing feeling and control of hind legs - Page 1

I have had my German Shepherd since the second grade. shes been my baby for years.  Shes not like a typical German Shepherd, her hips dont slant at all.  Shes AKC registered but out of her litter, none of her sibling ever had the sloping hips. shes had no accidents or injuries thoughtout her life.  Shes only been into the vets to be spayed and microchipped.  We moved to Idaho in 2004 she was fine, able to get around perfectly.  A year or two later every once in awhile her left foot would drag slightly.  We never really thought anything of it, for it was typical for Sheperds to lose their hips.  April 2009 we moved to Arizona, her left foot would drag a little more often, some days were worse that others. I left to go back to Idaho for a month, i ended up moving back and my step father brought my dog up to me from Arizona.  When she got here she could barely walk.  Both her legs drag sevrely now, stairs are impossible unless we practically carry her back end up for her. She has little feeling in her legs, you can put her toes under her feet and she wont put it back to normal for over a minute.  Also we find this interesting, the hair on her tail has stopped growing, it is thinnning out, could this have anything to do with a pinched nerve? She can get around, but half the time her legs just kinda halfway walk/drag.  Although she never seems to be in any pain.   We are going to put her down soon if we cannot find something to do WITHOUT surgery.  We have taken her to the vet, he said it was 99.9%a pinched nerve. he gave her a cortizone shot and herb supplements but that didnt seem to help in the least; we also give her asprine and glucosamine supplements.  Does anybody have any advice or know anything i can do to help her? It kills me to watch her everyday, in just a matter of two to three months she went from running with the horses, to hardly being able to walk.  This makes me think it is not just degenerative hips..it was so sudden.  I apologize for all the typo's i was in a hurry writing this, and am getting desparate to help her.  Please respond to this or email me at  Lovezhorses@msn.com .   Thank you so much..it would mean a lot to me..

So sorry for you. Has your vet ruled out DM? I had a horrible experience like yours with a younger dog and a quicker deterioration but still was not DM. I wish I could give you more hope. Have you done all the tests? For ticks etc.? Some viruses can have these symptoms, see a specialist, you sound like you love your dog and will do the right thing.

 Did you do the MRI?

Because the symptom has gotten worse over time.....I would look into a neurological problem rather than only considering a pinched nerve......seems a little more severe.
jmo
Robin

I agree with beetree,

ask the vet to check for DM, and also so, run your hands all over her and check for ticks, Sorry and hope it's not DM.

http://neuro.vetmed.ufl.edu/neuro/DM_Web/DMofGS.htm  

The same EXACT thing happened to my moms GSD years ago. No one could figure out what was going on. We took her to the vet many times. He didnt have a clue what was going on. It was so sudden. Within days she went from running around like normal to where she couldnt even move her whole back end. It was very sad. I hope your vet can pinpoint the issue. My prayers are with her.

My guess would be DM.
No pain just the debilitating part of the disease.  They don't like it either.  My last GSD had it and it at first progessed slowly.
then really hit her.  I could tell she was not comfortable.
Just do the right thing and say good bye when your life long friend lets you know that they've had enough.  It's hard, very hard...but do what is in the best interest of you dog.  I don't know if I did the  right thing still by keeping her on.  Some days she seemed really bad and I told myself that I was going to bring her the next day.  Then the next day she was going like a 6 or 7 year old.  So, I put it off.   But then it was inevitable.  There comes a time.  I'm sorry , when the time comes. 

 I tend to agree with BeeTree. It is sad to say, but it sounds like a case of degenerative spinal myleopathy, otherwise known as DM. This is a fault of the lower spine where as the dog ages, the spinal cord begins to deteriorate and the nerves do not recieve impulses well. As far as I know there is no cure, and if the dog is not in pain I do not think there is much you can do.

I have an old female who is beginning to suffer what appears to be the same malady. There is typically no visible sign of pain, but the dog's rear limbs appear to become weaker as the disease progresses. It is an "old dog" malady that some dogs develop sooner than others. Our GSD seems to be more susceptable to this malady than most other breeds. There can be an autoimmune response as well, which may explain the loss of hair.

I am pasting this link that explains this malady in detail: http://neuro.vetmed.ufl.edu/neuro/DM_Web/DMofGS.htm Please read it and any other pages you can find about this matter.

Good Luck,
Bob-O

You can really prolong things with DM if willing to put in the work.  Long walks help a lot to keep the back end in condition - this is key.  You can't stop the disease, but you can keep the dog in good shape to help offset things.  The dog will lose it's rear on the walks, but if you hold its tail, or put a leash around it, for a while just the sensation on it will keep it in touch with its backend.  Later, you can use a sling under the the hips to help it get around.  A lot of people let the dog lay there and die.  You can help it get around and that will help it to enjoy life longer than it would without help.  The point with the backend is that you are not 'lifting' the dog - only providing it tactile stimulation to keep the communcation flowing.  What happens is that they loss the rear and compensate with the front and then the rear gets weaker - to the point that there is no muscle left to use, even if the dog did have control.

Also, don't foget to rule out other issues, like tick born diseases...

The problem could also be the rupture of the L7 S1 disc in the spine. A mylogram is necessary  to diagnos this problem. If it is the problem it requires surgery to correct. The surgery is expensive and results vary. My dog never fully recovered however two dogs I know of went on to win the New England regional Sch3 championships
                                                                                              sorry for your troubles
                                                                                               John