back or leg problems

[krystin987]

i have a 6 month old standard schnauzer.  until a week ago she was happy and active, she could jump on the couch or bed, go up and down stairs with ease.  for the last week, plus one day, she hasn't been able to do any of the above.  i did take her to my vet, we did x-rays which showed nothing wrong with her hips or  back legs (the area in question).  her only guess was panosteitis, which is not common in a dog her size(also i do not feed puppy food; i feed canidae which is all life cycles).  She otherwise seems ok, just either in pain or at least in discomfort.  she eats and drinks normally, she's wants to run and explore the way she has, but she can't.  when she does run it's a bunny hop instead of being gated where the 4 feet touch at different times.  if she's not better in a few more days i will probably go to another vet, it's just very frustrating.

[krystin987]

Update on Nixie, my schnauzer.

the bladder infection cleared, but her leg problems did not.  we went to a different vet for a second opinion and are now treating for meningitis and tetanus.

[utahmomma]

Thank you so much!   I have two wonderful vets but they focus on traditional medicine which is great and has a *huge* place in my dogs' healthcare but I know there is more to healthcare than just traditional medicine.

I'll start her on the Cran Assure and calcium then see how she does after her teeth cleaning and surgery for lump/skin lesions next month.  I hate seeing their health go downhill - especially after just losing her life-long companion a few weeks ago.

[Jaybay]

Cran Assure is in with the herbals in any pharmacy, health food, or even some grocery stores.  Shouldn't be too difficult to find.  

A very important supplement for kidney failure is calcium.  Phosphorous is deadly to those in renal failure, and calcium is a phosphorus binder and helps get it out of the body.  I give my dog 2 grams (tablets) of calcium per day now.  Obviously, since your dog is much smaller, start with maybe a quarter of a tums a day and see how she does.  

Losing appetite is a huge issue in dogs with kidney issues.  They just don't feel well, and like people, have no interest in eating.  Prepare yourself because that part is only going to get worse.  Dark poultry meat is a good low-phosphorus food to try, along with canadian bacon and fatty ground beef.  The leaner the meat, the higher the phosphorus content.  And no organ meats like heart, liver or kidneys - very high in phosphorus.  You'll also need to add a multi-vitamin.  The kidney-failure diet isn't exactly nutritious, and adding inappetenace to the mix only makes it worse.  I found only one vitamin at the pet store with no phosphorus - Nutri-vet Senior.  Get ready to do a lot of label reading in the pet store!

[utahmomma]

Krystin - I'm so glad that your baby is doing better!  Yeah, I would have run blood work on the puppy if I was a medical professional too.  Yeah, there is an expense and it's a bit painful but there is so much you can find that way - especially when your patient can't tell you what's wrong.

Jaybay - my 10-yr old female dachshund is starting to have kidney problems.  I'm going to try the Cran Assure because she refuses the special diet.  Where can I pick it up??

[Jaybay]

Awwww... the poor little pup!  Glad to hear she's getting better.  :-)

[krystin987]

i think that if i were a vet or any doctor, as soon as i had a mystery i'd probably check stuff like blood though.  i should have asked for it in the first place probably, because even after i left i thought it was odd that we didn't do any test besides x-ray.  the bottom line is, that if i had gone by the recommendation of my vet "2 weeks no exercise" then i could have potentially had a fatality.

as for pain, the vet who diagnosed her gave her pretty good pain pills, that are helping her get some much needed rest.  the last week here has been pretty hard, as she was up pretty much all night every night.  i feel really good about her current road to recovery though, hopefully i'll have a happy puppy again soon.

[Jaybay]

Since your pup didn't have symptoms of a UTI, that's why your first vet didn't look in that direction.  This is how medicine works in both the animal and human world.  "If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck - it probably IS a duck!"  LOL!  In any kind of medicine, you start with the most obvious diagnosis and treatment, and move on up the ladder if it proves ineffective.  Frustrating, I know.

One thing I can recommend to help your dog with the pain of the bladder infection is pick up some Cran Assure.  It's just concentrated cranberry juice in a gel cap form.  My dog is in end stage renal failure, and was constantly licking herself.  The day I started her on the Cran Assure, no more licking!  It works the same way on humans as well.  Even if it doesn't help, it certainly won't hurt.  Hope this gets cleared up soon.  :-)

[krystin987]

Hi.  My husband took her to a different vet(seemingly a better vet) last night.  Her first impression was neurological condition, such as menengitis, but they were able to find a pretty serious bladder infection, which she believes is the source of injury.  hopefully this clears up in a few days with antibiotics, but oh my poor baby =(

i just cannot believe my regular vet didn't do ANY bloodwork to find WBC's, or try a urine sample.  but, the symptoms of a simple UTI/bladder were never there.  i wish they were so it didn't have to escalate into her current pain.  here's hoping.

[utahmomma]

Look around for a vet that specializes in neurology.  I'm lucky enough to have one but they are hard to find.  Check with a vet hospital if you can't locate one easily.