Dog with hindlimb collapsing
Crow is a 8yo Belgian Shepherd and his rear legs have suddenly started to collapse out from under him. He'll be walking along in the house and bam, the back legs give out and he flops down and stays where he lands. Sometimes he manages to get himself back up, but mostly he needs someone to actually lift up his back end off the floor which allows his rear paws to once again come in contact with the floor. We've placed a carpeted ramp at the back door into the garage to help him get in and out of the house but, even that can give him problems. He also paces through the house most of the night and you can hear him collapse and get up and pace until his back end collapses again. We own a van and a pick-up which he can no longer get into and we can't carry him. It's also been suggested by his groomer that he may have a thyroid problem since he's about thirty pounds overweight but only gets two cups of 'Come and Get It' dry food per day. What do you think his problem could be? |
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Dog with problems walking
When I came home from work yesterday, Sparrow(6yo female neutered mix breed), who stays in my basement with access to the crawl space under the house, was having trouble going up the stairs. She seemed sick - hot nose & depressed. She has a knot midway up her tail about the size of a quarter. Her hindquarters are slightly swollen and tender. Her behind was dirty with dust, some fecal matter, and little black dots that looked like flea eggs (she doesn't have fleas - she's on med from the vet.) It seemed she had been dragging her bottom on the ground. My gut feeling is that she may have been bitten by a spider or god forbid a snake (in my basement?!!) but I'm also worried that she's hurt her back. She can still walk - even jump on the bed - but she is not moving correctly. She is still eating and drinking. She's not any worse this morning, but no better. She's not limping, but she acts stiff - is not moving her hind legs with ease, but I don't see where they look out of whack. For example, when she goes up steps, she just goes one step at a time, very slowly and carefully when she usually bounds & skips steps. It doesn't look like she's knuckling over, and her feet and legs look normal. Another thought after babying her this morning - she has had trouble in the past with her anal glands being blocked. Usually I try to massage & expel them when I bathe her. I haven't noticed her dragging her butt, which usually happens when her glands are filled and need expelling, but is it possible this could be the problem? Or constipation?
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