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  #1  
Old September 25th, 2008, 05:22 PM
barbally barbally is offline
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Unhappy HELP:sudden uncoordination in legs

5 yr old shepherd/rottweiller, female,88 lbs, spayed, vaccinated, eats vet recommended weight maintenance formula, 4 med. milkbones/day, fairly active, happy disposition.
med. history- 12 wks old-parvo-hospitalized immediately, given IV fluids and medication for 5 days, fully recovered.
- 4 1/2 yrs old- unknown illness-vomitting only, lasted 16 days, stopped eating and drinking, given fluids by syringe in mouth, stopped swallowing on day 15 given 1L fluid by IV got home ate 4 tbsp gastric formula canned food and fully recovered. Blood work and urine sample were negative.
4 days ago- went for usual walk and played in the park chasing a ball
3 days ago- walking a bit uncoordinated, stumbled. seemed like she was stiff
2 days ago- increased uncoordination and stumbling of hind legs
1 days ago- increased uncoordination and stumbling of hind legs, unsteady on front legs, head shakes, into the vet's office
she performed routine exam- temp. slight increase 39'C, found nothing unordinary
performed simle neurological tests, reflexes, pupils, reactions etc. found nothing
She had no idea what's going on and is going to consult with another vet.
Ally-Mae is eating and drinking normally, no vomitting or diarreha, sleeping okay. Her mood is good, happy as usual, will play with toys and will go for walks.
Does anyone have an idea of what this could be
Barb (Ally-Mae's mom)
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  #2  
Old September 25th, 2008, 05:28 PM
aslan aslan is offline
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barbally when you say head shakes do you mean she is shaking her head or her head tremors, oh welcome to the forum by the way.
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Old September 25th, 2008, 05:36 PM
barbally barbally is offline
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Thanks Aslan they are head tremors and its really bad if she gets excited
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  #4  
Old September 25th, 2008, 05:44 PM
aslan aslan is offline
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has the vet checked deep in her ear canal, is there a smell to her ear or are they warm, it sounds very similar to a really bad ear infection one of my dogs had years ago.

i would ask the vet to take blood and run tests.
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Old September 25th, 2008, 07:19 PM
barbally barbally is offline
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Thanks for replying Aslan, the vet did check her ears, nose, throat and also her openings on her bottom(anus, urethra,vagina) for signs of infection(warmth, oozing, odor) but found nothing,
On monday morning she is going to do blood work and urine samples. We would do them tomorrow, but she wants to send them away for analysis and we have to use an over-night courier and don't want them sitting on the loading dock all weekend.
If nothing shows then we'll proceed with xrays or an ultra-sound or MRI
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Old September 25th, 2008, 07:22 PM
aslan aslan is offline
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ok i officially have no idea, if Dr. Lee logs on i'll pm him to look at this thread. One of the others logging on might have some idea tho.
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Old September 25th, 2008, 10:11 PM
Karin Karin is offline
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I would try rads of the spine just to rule this out. And another physical exam, while standing, of each vertebra. If there is any problem, such as injury and swelling not seen the dog can give a tell tale *yawn* on the culprit spot. Just my opinion here, but rads do seem like the next step.
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  #8  
Old September 26th, 2008, 11:46 AM
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julster julster is offline
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Welcome to the boards Barbally! My 7 year old dane/lab mix had a similar incident a couple weeks ago, but didn't have the head tremors, just the drunken looking gait. My vet was stumped....thought it might be vestibular disorder - Google it....there's tons of info out there.

Harry's incident turned out to be Bloat of all things!!! He had bloated twice in the past with two emergency surgeries, but this time presented with NONE of the typical Bloat symptoms.....my vet tubed him to relieve the pressure and he's been great ever since.

Good luck! Hopefully Dr. Lee can give you some guidance!!!!

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Mom to:
Kayleigh (human), 15
Daniel (human), 12
Harry (Labradane), 7
Jake (Great Dane), 4
Murphy (Border Collie/Shepherd), 2.5
Eddie (Hamster), 2
Fishies (All named after Steelers)
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Old September 29th, 2008, 09:31 PM
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Dr Lee Dr Lee is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by barbally View Post
increased uncoordination and stumbling of hind legs, unsteady on front legs, head shakes, into the vet's office
she performed routine exam- temp. slight increase 39'C, found nothing unordinary performed simle neurological tests, reflexes, pupils, reactions etc. found nothing
A few questions:

1) She was unsteady and stumbling (ataxia) but was considered 'normal' on physical and neurologic examination? Or normal other than ataxic?

2) Behavior is normal? No vomiting or diarrhea? Appetite normal? No possibility of toxin?

3) Does the stumbling come and go? progressively worse?



Thoughts so far... acute onset of uncoordination, unsteadiness and stumbling of the hind limbs denotes a neurologic problem. Possible etiologies may include: IVD (intervertebral disc disease), spinal masses, toxins (ethlyene glycol (antifreeze), alcohol, etc...), etc...

The idea of an ear problem is a good one however there must be some level of incoordination of the front limbs as well. If there is front limb incoordination then toxin, and intracranial diseases would be higher on the list.

I hope this helps a bit. Best wishes.
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  #10  
Old September 30th, 2008, 06:38 AM
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julster julster is offline
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Any Update?

Barbally - any update on your baby??
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Julie

Mom to:
Kayleigh (human), 15
Daniel (human), 12
Harry (Labradane), 7
Jake (Great Dane), 4
Murphy (Border Collie/Shepherd), 2.5
Eddie (Hamster), 2
Fishies (All named after Steelers)
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