I have a 6.5 yr old GSD male, 100 lbs.

About 2 weeks ago, he woke up and yelped when rising from a sleeping position. A few minutes later he yelped again when climbing a single step.

He had never vocalized any discomfort before and the evening and day before he had exercised in our fenced in yard.

Later in the day he showed some stiffness in the rear legs.

Within 2 days, he did not want to rise and appeared to have lameness in his rear legs.

I took him to the vet the first opportunity I had; he could not stand or walk.

The delay in going to the vet was because the incident happened over Easter and there were limited options.

The vet performed x-rays and stated there was evidence of degeneration in 3 discs of the lower back.

She injected Dexa and prescribed a 2 day course of Prednisone (50mg, twice per day). She was blunt in stating that if he did not improve within 1-2 days, the prospects were dim. MRI and maybe surgery.

Within 1 day he was standing with my assistance and within 2 days he was walking with my assistance. Within 3 days he could stand and walk (wobbly) on his own.

The vet prescribed a continuation of the Prednisone at 50mg twice per day.

About a week after the vet treatment, I rushed him to an ER vet as he had stopped drinking and eating very abruptly. They determined a high temp (107) and treated him with injections of penicillan, dexa and iv (fluids). Again, he started to recover and begin drinking, eating, and continuing to get up on his own and walk (gingerly). Each day was steady improvement.

4 days ago, I was finally able to transport he and I from the relatives home to my home. I used a harness to provide assistance getting in and out of the vehicle and into my house. He was great the whole ride and continued to walk and get up on his own at the house. No stairs allowed and no quick movements.

The first night back in my house, he yelped, sat down, and then stood and moved to another spot and layed down. He did not want to move; I gave him a small dose of Tramadol and let him rest.

The next day he only sat up but did not stand. I continued to give him Tramadol (100 mg per day).

2 days ago, he suddenly got up and headed towards the back door, to relieve himself. Successful, came back in and lay down.

Yesterday he tried to stand early in the morning, yelped, lay down and has not tried since.

I know he is not lame but obviously either joints or nerve pain.

My vet is not set up for MRI and I am leery of surgery because of concerns over quality of life.

I'm looking for similar experiences or alternative suggestions.

Is Prednisone the correct medicine?

Is it possible that the dog is not trying to stand for fear of pain?

Thank You,

Jim

I am so sorry.... poor dog. He is too heavy, almost certainly, but anyway:

The vet who did the x-rays.... was this an ortho specialist?

QUOTE: She was blunt in stating that if he did not improve within 1-2 days, the prospects were dim. END More specific, please. MRI is not a terrible thing; it's a diagnostic tool. What kind of surgery, exactly?

"Vet not set up for MRI" does not mean "cannot refer for MRI."

What was the diagnosis at the ER (fever, etc.)?

Is the dog still on Pred? Ultram?

A GSD that weighs 100 lbs?

Taking some weight off the dog will probably help, for starters. There is no way he is the correct weight.

Did they x-ray his hips? Can you post them?

What did the Vet think caused the high temperature?

Well, Alyssa, we might as well have saved some typing for one of us!

Did they check the dog for lyme or other tick borne diseases? Being in extreme pain all over is very typical of TBD's.

Thanks for the replies so far. I will try and address the additional questions.

The location where this happened is very rural. So my choice in Vets were limited; I would consider the vet who took the x-rays as a 'country vet' and not an orthopedic specialist.

Regarding her statement with MRI/surgery. The point she was making is that if he did not respond to the initial treatment of dexamethasone and the two day course of Prednisone then a MRI would be needed to provide further insight into the root cause. Her clinic did not have a MRI facility. She wanted me to know I should determine in advance if I was prepared to have surgery performed as the decision might need to be made quickly if he further regressed.

She provided the x-rays to me and I sent them to my regular vet in Maryland. They are not digitized and I cannot post copies.

My regular vet in Maryland reviewed the x-rays and he did not dispute her diagnosis nor did he dispute that if the dog did not improve the next option would be MRI to determine if surgical options were available.

The ER Vet was a different clinic. On Sundays, the only option was an ER Vet in a neighboring state (60 miles away). The dog was moving, eating and drinking Saturday evening. Sunday morning, he would not drink or eat; I called my normal vet at his home and he confirmed that I should go to an ER Vet if possible, which I did later that morning.

The ER vet did not perform blood work. His diagnosis and treatment was based on a physical exam (swollen glands in neck, and high temperature). The ER vet provided copies of the diagnosis and treatment regimen to both my regular vet and the vet who performed the x-rays.

The dog has been vaccinated for lyme disease. But as no one has yet to do blood work .... that leaves unanswered questions regarding the infection and if there is another cause for the rear leg pain when standing or walking.

He is not in extreme pain or sensitive to touch. I can feel him all over and he does not flinch indicating acute injury.

Regarding the weight, yes, it is above the normal range. However, his parents were large as were his siblings. I keep him well exercised and one can easily feel his ribs under the coat. Never, has his regular vet, or any of his trainers indicated that I should cut his weight. Obviously, if it is beneficial I will do so.

Diet is grain free (Innova kibble) mixed with human grade meats occasionally.

The dog is still on Pred, his taper period would begin May 1. He currently takes a total of 100mg per day divided into 2 doses.

Jim,

The swollen lymph nodes, fever and joint pain are classic signs of TBD's. I would simply get a Snap 4DX test (in office 8 minute test) to check for some common tick borne diseases. This test is supposed to not react to a lyme vaccinated dog. Not to get you worried or anything, but the lyme vaccine is not 100% protective and some data suggests it can cause severe complications from lyme that do not respond to antibiotics. You should also request a tick blood panel run only through Protatek (sp) Labs, many others are not as experienced as them. If it is lyme, prednisone will make the lyme bacteria multiply quicker. Any dog that was treated for lyme or is positive for lyme should start a dose of doxycyclin or amoxicillin because it can reactivate the lyme bacteria. I can give you more information if you like.

Kimberly

Kimberly,

Thank You!

One of my reasons for posting this was to get 'out of the box' type of responses as I know sometimes the most obvious cause can mask the real symptoms.

I should add that he was prescribed a 10 day cycle of amoxi and that ended yesterday.

Any additional info you can provided would be great.

Do you think that the pain he exhibits now when he tries to stand is symptomatic? Or would I expect to see pain when sitting up?

Also, the Prednisone is not something I can just stop as it must be tailored down.

I asked the ER Vet and my vet if it was normal for Pred to quickly suppress the immune system as I was very surprised by how quickly the infection took hold. Both said that although Pred suppresses the immune system they did not think 5 days (at that time) would have resulted in that level of suppression.

Kimberly,

Also. Assuming that it might be lyme disease in the mix, are there any homeopathic treatments that can be used?

I have had a Dog that exhibited most of these same symptons, it was a tick disease. eliceria (probably spelled wrong). In the beginning we thought she had injured herself. I would check for that right away, a simple blood test will show right away if that is what it is.