Looking for Inspiration for Gunny

[Sky_Boss]

Gunny is our 9 year old GSD. Since he was 2 we knew that he had moderate hip dysplasia in his right hip and that it would probably be an issue when he got older. A couple months go he started limping and we had him X-rays done. There is a bit more deterioration of the hip but it isn't horrible. But be decided to put him on 50 mg/day of Derremaxx. Derremaxx is basically an NSAID and at his weight the maximum continuous dose is 75 mg/day. That seemed to help a bit but after a couple weeks he started showing some lameness in his left leg which may have been caused by falling down hard. Yesterday we added 100mg, 3 times a day of Tramadol which is 1/2 the max dosage based on weight.

Gunny does have some spondylosis in his spine but that doesn't seem too serious at this time. Still...we are not ruling out neurological issues that could be causing the weakness in the hind end. We had a previous GSD with Degenerative Myelopathy but don't think that is the case but possible. We are trying to get into the U of Illinois VetMed clinic for a neurological workup. If we can get an appointment by next Tuesday and we have a place to park our home...we will stick around. Otherwise we need to start of southern trek to TX.

My biggest concern is that we full time in our MH and the steps Gunny has to take in and out of the coach. I do everything I can to control his movements going down the steps. Going up them hasn't been too bad so far but I am right behind him all the way.

Ramping might be an option if we can get one that is long enough to reduce the incline but portable enough to move around. Other than that, I'm not aware of anything else we can do help with the stairs.

Anyway...

I'm worried about the short term prognosis. If we were still in our S&B steps would be a minor issue. Still...no matter if we get over this current situation, it will come back later.

Part of me thinks that we should look for a care facility that could meet his needs until it is his time to pass on. It breaks my heart to think of him with "strangers" no matter how well he is treated. He is my best buddy and it pains me to see him struggling with this problem. I just can't imagine putting him down if we can manage his pain and a care facility/foster family meets his needs and doesn't have the stair problem.

Thanks for listening. I'm nearly in tears just trying to think this all out.

[Afubar]

I feel your pain. I have a boxer that will be 9 this coming February. For Boxers that's getting up there. Back about 5 years ago he started showing problems with his right hip. Came home one day and he had his back leg up in the air, didn't show any signs of pain when I touched it. Next morning he was fine, that evening same thing. Next morning leg was still not touching the ground. Took him to vet, they X-Rayed, showed signs of developing arthritis. Put him on human grade Move Free, a glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM pill. Never had a problem since.

As long as your pup can be kept comfortable and you can help him with stairs, I'd keep him with you. I know those very few times I've had to be apart from my pup he has sulked, not eaten well. Rehoming would not be an option for me and mine.

So sorry for you and yours.

[George Schweikle]

Don,

We had a somewhat similar situation with our late GSD; Dino. At age 11 he started having real trouble walking, and was diagnosed with a bone spur on a vertebra, so we had spinal surgery done. This helped for a few months, but he became worse than before. A product that really helped in his last few months was this harness Silver Tails Easy-Lift Rear Harness: Aids for Arthritic Dogs

With the harness, I was able to help him walk and get him in and out of the motorhome for a while until he developed lymphoma, which led to his demise. We waited almost a year before adopting a rescue GSD and found a wonderful female we named Bella. Tragically, she expired after only 11 months with us from a fast growing tumor on her spleen and liver. We now have Zoey, another rescue GSD, for a 2 week trial and will very likely adopt her.

My intent in this is to propose there can ultimately be another GSD; one that will never replace your Gunny, or our Bella (or Dino, Enzo, or Rama). We humans outlive our wonderful companion animals so, toward the end of their lives, the best thing we can do is provide the best loving care we can. Dee and I wish you and Gunny the best. Signing off since I have something in my eyes...

[BernerDad]

We use a telescoping pet ramp like the one at the link below. We put it on the retracting steps and our girls then negotiate the steps within the RV.

http://www.amazon.com/Solvit-62337-D.../dp/B000RUJEUU


A possible solution may be to use a combination of a ramp and a harness. We have a Gingerlead harness, but haven't had to use it yet.

Everyone has to make their own decisions based on their specific situations, but giving up one of my family members to strangers would be a measure of last resort. I know that it would be a difficult decision. That is a downside of full timing with large breed dogs that I had not considered.

Best wishes,

John


2015 American Revolution 42G

John & Dorene with Lexie, Bailey, Brie (Bernese Mountain Dogs), Chloe (American Eskimo), and Ember (German Shepard Dog)

[Sky_Boss]

We were lucky and got a 9 am appointment today with a neurologist! We took X-ray information we had from a few weeks ago for a second opinion and use that as part of the neurological work up.

The good news is that there is no evidence that Gunny's problems are neurological. We did order up a DNA test to possibly rule out Degenerative Myelopathy and will get those results in a couple weeks.

After consultation with orthopedics it appears we are dealing with the hip dysplasia we know about and perhaps some arthritic changes through out the hips. He could also be a tad more lame because of a couple recent falls.

The end result is that we will go to 100 mg of derremaxx for the next 5 days then down to 75 mg. We will also increase the Tramadol dose from 100 mg to 150 mg 3 times a day. We will also continue with the glucosamine regiment. Finally we will add 1000 mg of Omega 3 to his diet. The Omega 3 is known by most to be good for skin conditions but also has anti-inflammatory properties.

We will look closely at the suggested harness and ramp options. Thanks for those ideas.

Thanks for letting me vent/worry out loud too.

[BernerDad]

That's great news, at least in the lesser of evils sense!

The cost of supplements can really add up (especially for crazy people like my wife and I with 5 dogs).

We use Omega 3 for our pack, in order to make it affordable, we have gone with buying it by the gallon and dose it by milliliter. Here is a link to what we have purchased.

http://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B...?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Good luck.

John

[BHodges]

I have an older Shiba Inu who has hip issues and a younger agility dog. When my agility dog wouldn't weave, the massuese recommended cold laser therapy. I immedately set up an appt with a local vet who has a K-Laser and it has made such a huge improvement!! I did find a portable laser to use every other day (Vetrolaser) and still go to the vet every other month for a big treatment.

I would recommend you search cold laser therapy and definitely consider it. It's used a lot in rehab and for older dogs. I use on both my dogs, my tennis elbow, my husbands incision scar and my horse.

Another thing I could recommend is a Back on Track blanket or dog bed. It uses the dogs body heat to warm their muscles without overheating. I use it during agility weekends and my dog runs even faster!!

[oldsmasma]

So glad that you have had a bit of good news. We finally made the terrible decision last Thursday to part with our beloved boxer at 12 years 2 months. He was diagnosed with spinal mylopathy over two years ago. We all fought it just as hard as we could but it is just such a terrible disease we finally could do no more. His quality of life was just not there any more. We had a ramp in the motorhome but this year my poor hubby carried 70 pounds up and down the stairs.

All the best and wishing you continued progress.


Sent from my iPhone using iRV2 - RV Forum

[Sprdtyf350]

I don't know anything about the issue your Dog has but I took Tramadol myself for a couple years because of my back. Though it says it is not addictive... It most definitely is. And it made me really sick for days trying to stop. I had to gradually cut the dose back. I wasn't even taking the full amount the Doctor had prescribed. While it helped with my back I decided to stop taking it because of other side effects it had. Anyway, good luck with your Dog...

[Gordon Dewald]

Sorry about your dog. Hope you are able to give the quality of life you would like for him. I am sure he will tell you when it is time. It is fortunate we are able to give them the best quality of life we can and then let them go when the quality is gone.

Best to you.

[PushedAround]

Originally Posted by Sky_Boss

Part of me thinks that we should look for a care facility that could meet his needs until it is his time to pass on. It breaks my heart to think of him with "strangers" no matter how well he is treated. He is my best buddy and it pains me to see him struggling with this problem. I just can't imagine putting him down if we can manage his pain and a care facility/foster family meets his needs and doesn't have the stair problem.

Thanks for listening. I'm nearly in tears just trying to think this all out.

Don, I feel your pain, having been through the passing away of my faithful companions many times. Gunny is better off at your side, no matter how much he has to struggle, than at the best foster care facility. If he could tell you that he would, but I think that he probably already does when he perks up and wags his tail incessantly whenever you approach him.

My 13 year old Sam is in steep decline now. Just a couple of years ago he used to patrol the property, making sure that things were ok & keeping our other dogs in line. Now, blind and hobbling, he sleeps most of the day and doesn't even want to take a short nightly walk around the neighborhood anymore. He just does his business and wants to go right back in. I know that he's happy though because he eats with gusto, and still craves attention and will pester me to be petted and cuddled. He struggles mightily to get up and down the steps, but as long as he still gives me these indicators that he want to go on, I will continue to care for him. He'll let me know when he's done, and I don't want someone else deciding for me, or him.

What was that George was saying about having something in his eyes.....

[Sky_Boss]

We may be having some reasonably good progress being made in the last few days. Gunny is eating better and his cough has nearly gone away. He is on 2 broad spectrum antibiotics and is much more perky.

Getting beyond these improvements we are still fairly confident he is suffering from DM. Having been through that before we are seeing much of the same symptoms in Gunny. However, the improvement in the non-DM issues allows us to concentrate on getting him out and about with the support he needs to get into and out of the coach.

To get him back to eating may have been a natural process since it is possible that the pneumonia could have suppressed his appetite. The problem was that nearly all of his meds need to be taken with food and water to minimize stomach problems. So, after he started turning his nose up to the canned vet food and didn't eat for a couple days I went and fixed up some boiled chicken breasts. This seemed to get his attention so we could get meds into him. We also were able in the last couple days to get back to kibbles but softened with beef stock.

Obviously, we don't have any crystal ball on how quickly DM will progress but there is not much we can do about that. The important thing is to help Gunny be as active as possible.

Thanks for all the kind words. I now must be a bad guy and force some pills down Gunny's throat.

[flaggship1]

Don... all as good a news as one could ask for given the situation. You know Annie and I are looking forward to seeing Gunny next week. Will be great to see Sandee too. We will of course allow you to visit as well. 😈

Let me know when Gunny is up to steak and I'll come eat with him... all the best brother. :thumbup:

[CampDaven]

"Improvement" says a lot considering where Gunny was, Don.
Thanks for good news!