bc4ever Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 For the last couple of years, Scooter has had intermittent problems with his hind legs/back. Seems to happen after he's been lying in one position for a while. Sometimes he has trouble getting up, but the most prominent symptom is that he looks like he's humping something. When I put my hands on his back legs, it seems I can feel the spasms and they usually only last a second or two. Tonight was the worst--probably 10 seconds or so. He doesn't appear to be in pain, doesn't cry out, lose control of his bladder or bowels, just acts like he knows something's not right. We were on our way downstairs to feed him. When the episode was over, he looked warily at me, then the stairs, like he wasn't sure he could do it. He did go down, but he seemed a little stiff and took the stairs slower than he usually does. He ate. Ran around. No problems now. He just turned four in December. I called the vet and will take him in on Friday. What do you think this could be? What should I be expecting/asking the vet to do at the visit? He had back x-rays about a year and a half ago for the same problem, and the vet put him on Prednisone, saying it was a disk problem. When I wrote about this then, someone said x-rays wouldn't have shown a disk issue, and when the vet left, the tech said it would happen again. I don't want to waste time and money if x-rays aren't going to be helpful in diagnosing this. The vet doesn't seem to think it's a hip dysplasia, when we've discussed it before. He can go for months at a time with no symptoms at all. I'm trying very hard not to panic, but it's not working very well. I'm so afraid it's something that won't be fixable. I can't handle losing him right now. That would put me right over the edge.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 I would get him to a specialist or at least a really good diagnostician. Good luck and try not to panic. Often our fears are much worse than how things turn out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4ever Posted February 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 I would get him to a specialist or at least a really good diagnostician. Good luck and try not to panic. Often our fears are much worse than how things turn out. What kind of specialist? Ortho? Neuro? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 What kind of specialist? Ortho? Neuro? Neuro, and be prepared to spend $1000 to $3000 for a diagnosis if you really want to get to the root of the problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted February 5, 2009 Report Share Posted February 5, 2009 One of my coworkers' dogs, Abby, has something that sounds similar. She describes it like Abby has restless legs syndrome. They did a spinal tap to rule out side effects from distemper infection as a pup (Abby's history is unknown before 1yo when she came to the humane society as a stray) and they just got the negative result today. They've also considered Chinook seizures and other nervous disorders. I think they put Abby on Neurotonin and it has minimized the twitching - it used to be so bad that she couldn't fall asleep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4ever Posted February 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 8, 2009 Apparently it's mild hip dysplasia in the right hip. We're going to try a supplement called PhyCox for a while before going to something stronger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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