Dog with hindl leg weakness

[shochat]

Hi,
I have a 3 legged border collie who is missing his back left leg and his sole rear leg seems to be getting weaker although he has no pain when I touch his spine or leg.  He saw a holistic vet in February who said that he had arthritis and wanted to prescribe Rimadyl without doing any x-rays, since I can't afford acupuncture treatments -- I'm currently unemployed.  Can a dog that expresses no pain have arthritis?  He is able to walk for about 20 min. in the morning and about 10 min. in the evening.  He has trouble picking up his ball, his neck seems stiff and he can't go up or down the stairs anymore.  He used to be able to walk for 40 min. twice a day until he had an ear infection last winter. I gave him ascriptin twice a day but it didn't help him at all and I tried tramadol as well.

His bloodwork in February showed that he had a high potassium level (6.0) and high alkaline phosphatase level (137).  His urinalysis showed low specific gravity (1.007) and last week it was 1.010.  He is eating normally, his other bodily functions are fine other than that he has started to urinate only while I'm preparing his dinner (probably from excitement) but never during breakfast.  He was taking Rehmannia 6 for about 2 months along with Cushex because the vet suspected Cushings, since, in the evening only, he had a ravenous appetite and had to urinate more often.  She wanted to do an abdominal ultrasound to check for Cushings, but these symptoms have all gone away and he never had a pot belly or baldness on his body.  He has a tendency to get diarrhea when there is any change with his diet and from the glucosamine/chondroitin combo.

He is eating a home made diet of potatoes/sweet potatoes/turnip/ground chicken and turmeric.  I add in Acetylator to strengthen his intestines, Forsythia 18 to normalize his ear, he was dizzy for awhile because his ear infection didn't clear up completely (even after taking Baytril + antibiotic ear drops) along with some vitamins such as Vitamin B/C, EPA+DHA tab, salmon oil, MSM.  He was able to tolerate Myristin which contains cetyl myristeolate and glucosamine, I'm not sure if he benefitted from taking it.

I'd like to get him healthy without breaking the bank and unfortunately the vet he saw wasn't very holistic.  Should I consider getting him x-rayed?  Or would he benefit from a supplement Liquidambar 15.  

I'm hoping that Dr. Cheng might have some suggestions because I prefer alternative medicine.

Thanks.

[lonewolf07]

My daughter gave the dog the injection.  It's intra-muscular.  It helps that she is a vet assistant.  Also, the area where the Adequan is given can be shaved in order to prevent hitting something else.  Because our Akita is 14 yrs old, her body shape has changed.  She didn't have any adverse reactions or side-effects and it really did help NumberNine (the Akita).

NumberNine is having her spleen removed Monday, June 7/10.  She had every test possible and everyone involved was "amazed" at what good condition she is in.  She also has to be careful on the stairs so she doesn't fall.  We have other dogs but our shih tzu just pushes NN like he always does - I think that's good for her and keeps her from feeling "sick" or "different"

Glad your friend's dog orthopedic surgery was successful.  Thank you so much for the support  = )

Tail wags, hairballs and drool to you and your dog from mine.

[shochat]

Have you given the Adequan injections yourself and did your Akita have any adverse reaction after the injections?  

Good luck with the surgery, my neighbor who has an an Akita mix (big dog)  just had orthopedic surgery done on her dog's knee and it was very successful.  I just saw him in the park yesterday and he was pacing himself during the walk, even went down a hill  -- still had some stomach upset from the anesthetic, meds but otherwise looked really great.  The surgeon basically remodeled the bad knee so that it operates more like a human knee.

Sending big pooch smooches from my dogs and positive thoughts for Monday, to you and your dogs.  I know how nerve racking it can be, my dog had a huge emergency surgery 3 years ago.

[lonewolf07]

Our dogs love UBAvet and maybe are used to it.  The glucosamine is liquid and it helped, especially the Akita. Other ingredients might have made your dog sick and they NEVER explain what the side-effects of all the incredients can be.  Medicam can be difficult on the stomach so dogs have to eat before they take it.  There are dog foods available that are easy to digest and you probably know that homemade chicken and rice are digestable easily for dogs.  We've used it on ours.  One of the philosophies of our vet is that the animal not suffer pain - they give them pain patches when they wake up from surgery.  Our Akita is likely to have surgery Monday and it makes me so anxious.

Big tail wag from our dogs to yours.

[shochat]

Thanks for your response, my dog is already ten years old, so I'm not sure whether he can get any pet insurance.

Unfortunately, my vet only prescribes Rimadyl or acupuncture.  She suggested Ascriptin when I pushed her for alternatives, but when that didn't work and she hasn't responded back to my question. I had some Tramadol for him at home and that didn't help him either.

Is Medicam safe? I'm very reluctant to give him Rimadyl because I've read that it has proven to be toxic for many dogs, my dog is very fragile, so I don't want to give anything that toxic to him.

I checked UBAvet, did you give their liquid glucosamine to your dog?  I tried Synflex for him but he got severe diarrhea, might be due to the numerous other ingredients in the formula.  

[lonewolf07]

Yes, some dogs tend to hide their pain.  Our Akita has arthritis and hid it for some time.  I think you can get pet insurance or possibly care from the ASPCA to get treatment for your dog.  I'm in Canada so I don't know what is used in the USA for dog arthritis but our dog took Adequan "injections" which stops the arthritis and can even reverse it.  It worked great on her.  She took Medicam for pain, when necessary.  It's up to you and your vet what to give to your dog.

We also prefer holistic medicine and fed our dogs rice and chicken and a lot of fish and/or fish oil which are good for the joints.  Sometimes, however, we just have to give in and use mainstream meds.   Anything that is best for our dogs.  Have you tried UBAvet?  It has all natural ingredients and we also use fish oil with Omega 3, which the dogs love because it smells so bad.  Hope Dr. Cheng has some good answers for you.  Sometimes the easiest answer/cure is the best  = )