Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
just after some advice for my pet shih tzu, from any owners out there who may have had similar problems....
last week we noticed he was unbalanced when walking, noticibly his front left and back left. After a few days we made an appointment with the vet who without any official diagnosis said it could be his brain (may have suffered a stroke,tumour or brain hemorraege) or his spinal cord which has made him paraylsed in his left side making him unbalanced, and gave him an injection and some tablets and asked us to take him back after a week to see if he had improved. He did all of this with just 'feeling about', and without tests or diagnosis literally in there for 5 minutes! I researched this when i got home, and for all the symptoms my dog has it looks the the vet may have been correct in saying this could be his spinal cord as a condition called IVD frequently popped up which sort of related to some of my dogs symptoms (walking drunkenly,unable to walk up and down stairs,doing his business in the house) but it doesn't mention anything really negative other than surgery if the medical treatment fails to work.
I was under the impression that my dog was a goner from the way the vet was talking but can your pet recover fully from this (to be fair the vet never mentioned the worst case scenario) it was just the impression i formed. I am hoping this week he gets better but has anyone else's pet had this condition or symptoms and did they recover? was surgery expensive if required? My dog is 11 (shih tzu live to around 13) so ok I'm aware he's an old dog and if he was in any pain i would myself want the best for him but apart from the walking he is normal, in no pain,active and loving and just want to know if he is gonna be ok!
cdc-uk -- first, let me say, i'm sorry your dog isn't doing so well. i have a 14-year old shih tzu myself, and he has similar symptoms to what you have described, he's been diagnosed with invertebral disc disease, BUT he also has another diagnosis... and, in both cases, he went through very thorough testing to reach the diagnosis.
so for the second diagnosis, let me tell you some things:
symptoms: loss of balance and control when walking, specifically in his back legs, more specifically in his back right leg.
original diagnosis: possible brain tumor.
testing: MRI, xrays, full blood panel.
actual diagnosis: herniated disc.
treatment: we've tried acupuncture, a cortisone shot, valium, lose dose oral steroids, and currently increased neurontin. nothing has fully solved the loss of control/discomfort, but a combination of prednisone/neurontin is working the best to control it. surgery was suggested, but i did not consider it for b because imo he is not in the optimum condition for it.
i tell you these things because i honestly don't know how a vet would diagnose a dog with invertebral disc disease OR a herniated disc only on a physical exam. as you can see, it took a lengthy process to find out that he had a herniated disc.
and when he was diagnosed with invertebral disc disease, it was because he was in acute pain, screaming when moved, and unable to walk... which is COMPLETELY different that he acts now. that was diagnosed with xrays.
this is not an insult to him/her or you, just an outsider's observation. i am really sincerely at a loss about how a vet would make an informed diagnosis about this kind of condition from only a physical exam.
but i will say this: dogs live with invertebral disc disease all the time. barnaby was diagnosed in 2006, and with some changes to his lifestyle (no climbing stairs, absolutely no jumping, and stabilization of the spine if he's picked up), he has been fine until the disc ruptured early this winter. so invertebral disc disease is not a death sentence.
hope this helps... good luck to you and your dog. shih tzus are the best!
thankyou so much for getting back to me on this, its nice to know that other dogs have had the same issue and not came out with the worst possible situation (which is what me and my family have been thinking!).
As ive mentioned apart from his legs being unbalanced he is the same with regards to his lifestyle, his appetite is as greedy as ever he wants to run about, shows no signs of pain etc and i would see it has a total loss of his life as he as so much more quality of life left in him yet, so its nice and reassuring that you and your shih tzu have came through it.
just a question regarding the medicine he is taking which I'll assume your dog will have had at some point...he is on a weeks course of remidyl? now after only a day or so we have seen slight improvements and are hoping after the weeks course he is back to normal. Ive researched this on the net and the reviews I read back were that this is some 'wonderdrug' which has helped the oldest of dogs get some of their younger life back, and prolong the life for many years. I wouldnt have a problem giving this to my dog if i knew this would help him, but surely too much of this (if taken everyday) would catch up with him at some point? the reveiws mentioned owners had given their dogs this for years and its something I'm going to mention to the vet next week just thought I'd get some opinions on here.
Thanks again, and hope you and your shih tzu have many more years together, he is part of our family and we want to do anything to help him!
yes, barnaby has taken rimadyl. and also previcox. both are commonly used in dogs with arthritis/back pain. he had good luck with both meds; however, one danger with those meds is that they can cause stomach ulcers. this, did, in fact happen with barnaby after he was on the previcox for a couple of years. and the bleeding stomach ulcer, in turn, caused him to develop kidney damage. (blood is digested as pure protein and is very hard on the kidneys -- good luck we caught it early!)
your dog is older than b was when he started taking those meds, though, (b was 9) so it might be helpful for him to be on the med in terms of expected lifespan versus likelihood of developing a problem. your vet could definitely help you figure that out.
thank you for the good wishes! barnaby is such a little trooper, and i am so glad to have him.
We've been giving our 11 year old shih tzu canine aspirin
am and pm for arthritis for a year but our new vet recommended Remidyl since aspirin can cause very
small ulcerations of the stomach.
I have 2 Shih-Tzus and had never heard of this problem until now. I just wanted to tell you that I hope your dog is doing ok. They are such wonderful dogs and I know how upsetting this must be for you. Best of luck.
I wish I could offer some words of wisdom, but cannot. I'm responding only to let you know you have my prayers for you and your friend that the best for both of you will come to pass.
Hi can you tell me the outcome of your shih tzu please ? my own dog has exactley ghe same lameness in left side front and back paws and has had a neurologist come up with the idea that it is his right side of his brain that may have a tumour. he has an MRI tomorrow.
thanks
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
