Buddy is walking wobbly

[Ivan]

Buddy's neck seems to be much better these days. No whining, etc. No noticable effects. Still wears neck brace 24/7. Vet has his daily dose of prednisone down to just 1/4 pill, about to stop pills. Buddy seems vibrant and full of energy, once again. Things were looking swell.

But now, badness ...

Today, he got a bath. Towel dried, and brushed. Then comes all the vigorously shaking himself off. Rubbing his body all over the carpets. Lotsa shaking. Ok, but...

An hour later, outside, he squatted to pee! He never does that. But then he had trouble (2 tries) getting back upright. Huh? Then while sniffing around the back yard, he started walking unsteadily. A bit like a drunken sailor? Kinda wobbly? Rear legs sometimes starting to cross over themselves, as if about to collapse, but then he catches himself without falling over. Yikes! It looks to me like his rear legs seem weak, unstable. This is weird. Oh no! No vocals, no whining. Just walking strangely. This is scary!

So we gave him 1 whole prednisone, and confined him to his crate.
I dunno what else to do.

I think this xmas is not gonna be good for Buddy.

[lotsadox]

It sounds pretty much like classic IVDD. It's good that you had pred on hand. I'd keep him confined to the crate. Harness and leash when he goes out to potty, other than that he's in the crate 24/7. I'd also get him into the vet or preferably a neuro asap. His recovery is going to depend on you keeping him quiet so he can heal.

Lisa posted some good info here

[alfina]

Yep, Sabrina also never yelped or cried. Just drunken walking. She was always very stoic little dog and very alpha, so I think she'd never let anyone know she was hurting.

[Lisa]

Pogo never cried, and he blew his disc.

I am so sorry you are going through this! It is possible tomorrow he will be right as rain, however, if he is still down, you need a neuro consult or an emergency vet visit for pain meds.

It sounds like he may have blown a disc, if he went down that fast which would lead to a neuro for possible surgery (if you can afford it). If you are thinking surgery or going for a consult tomorrow morning, DO NOT FEED HIM BREAKFAST OR GIVE HIM ANY DRUGS IN THE AM. He will need an empty tummy if they are going to do surgery.

Please keep us posted!! I am thinking of you and Buddy. I have been there with two dogs and it is beyond scary to see them in pain and helpless. I bawled for an hour after I dropped Pogo off for surgery. Just sat in the parking lot crying. As mentioned, Pogo blew a disc and required surgery and Pixel had a leaking disc and did 8 weeks of crate rest (twice - sigh). Lots of rayz.

[AmyinFL]

I have no personal experience in this department, except for my own self. Just wanted to send lots of for Buddy. Please keep us posted.

[Ivan]

Buddy is totally down now. He just drags his rear legs inside the crate. We feel so sad for him. He's alert but definitely agitated, so likely in pain. He can't use his back legs at all. Nothing.

We took him outside for a pee, sling & hands holding up his read end. He didn't pee, but he began wagging his tail. A bit closer to normalcy must feel good.

We'll take him to the vet in the morning. I called, but they legally cannot give any phone advice on drugs w/o seeing him first, so we're at a loss. Damn lawyers. So we gave him one of Jeb's tramadol pills. I hope he'll sleep tonight. Me too?

[Sophie and Lili's Mom]

Not a professional but been through 2 downed dogs. Giving the tramadol was a good thing. Glad you had it and did it. If nothing else, it will help his stress levels. Get him to a specialist asap. The first 48 are critical. Above all...remember he can have a happy life no matter what. Dogs don't know when they are handicap like people sometimes do. He can and will adjust if needed as will you. My prayers are with you for a full and easy recovery.

[Patt]

Excellent advice already given. Sending mega healing for Buddy.

Forget a phone call to the vets for an appointment I would have Buddy at their office first thing in morning when the door opens. Please keep us updated.

[areese]

He really needs to get a referral to a neurologist.
Tons of

[Lisa]

Here is a list of Neuro's in VA.

http://www.acvim.org/websites/acvim/index.php?p=228

Please keep us posted. Again, no water, no food, no drugs. Just wrap him up, put him in his crate and go. If you have a smartphone or a little tape recorder, I would recommend bringing it. The neuro told me so many things, but I was in such a haze that I forgot about 99.9% of them.

I know it is scary as hell. The tail wag is a really good thing.

Here are my posts when Pogo went down. I can't believe it was 3 years ago! It truly feels like yesterday. I have never lost that feeling I had driving him there and coming home without him. But he DID come home 3 days later. And that was scary too. But we made it through and he is perfect today. Laika, Pogo, Jax, Gunner are just a few of the surgery dogs on this board and I think all DLC dogs that have gone in for surgery within 24 - 48 hours are walking today.

If you need some light reading after. Here is Pogo's journey.
doxielovers.com/dlc/showthread.php?t=22572
doxielovers.com/dlc/showthread.php?t=22580
doxielovers.com/dlc/showthread.php?t=22604
doxielovers.com/dlc/showthread.php?t=22616