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hello my dog is 6 years old an a mixed terrier that is 8 kilos over Weight she showed signs of loss of use of her back limbs last sat. i then took her to the vet were she showed signs of paralysis in the back legs. she had an malogram yesterday that showed no signs of a slipped disc or tumour as the dye ran through her spine without stopping.while been in the vet hospital all week over night she now has paraylis from her neck down. what do you think might be the cause of this as there is not any signs of a herniated disc or tumour.Thanking you Sonya Timmons
Optional Information: Type of Animal: terrier cross Gender: Female Age: 6 Name of Dog: gizmo Already Tried: spine and leg xrays and a malogram dye test and cage rest
Hello, welcome to JustAnswer! I am a licensed veterinarian, and I'll be happy to help you in any way I can.
What you're describing could be called "ascending paralysis", meaning that it starts low down on the body (hind legs) and gradually affects upper parts of the body.
This can be seen with Tick paralysis, so it's important to check Gizmo all over for any ticks,
and it also could be Coonhound Paralysis, which can occur in any dog who may have had contact with raccoons.
it's possible for there to be a problem within the spinal cord itself, even with a normal myelogram.
an MRI of the spine, and a spinal fluid tap, would be the next diagnostic steps in this situation.
we live in ireland is it possible she could have picked up a parasite from stray horses that are not looked after. we also live by a river and have had alot of rain in recent weeks causing floods could there be any connections to an evoirmentmal issue. if this is a tick infestation what is the outcome of it not been treated by our vet for the last 6 days.
there are no horse parasites known to affect dogs in this manner.
if the problem is a tick bite, then simply removing the tick(s) will resolve the issue in most cases.
rain and floods probably wouldn't have much likelihood of causing such an issue. We're more likely to see waterborne infections, leading to digestive upset or kidney damage, in situations like that.
i dont have much confidence in this vet as i was sent to him by referral by my own vet who did not have the equiment to look after her.so would you agree that i should bring her to the countrys top veterinary hospital to have an mri carried out.does she need to have blood tests done to rule out an toxins in her blood.also my vet seems to thimk she some how put discs out in her neck and back during the night which i find had to believe as she was only coming around from sedation and under cage rest.he really doesnt know whats going on.is there a possibility she might have fce
If there's a neurology specialist available in Ireland, then that would be my suggestion, IF you don't find any ticks on her. A disc problem should have been visible on the myelogram, so I have a hard time believing that's the problem unless the myelogram was performed improperly or interpreted improperly.
an FCE is possible in any dog who has paralysis, but it typically doesn't progress from the initial presenting symptoms. there are exceptions to this rule, of course.
treatment for FCE is supportive care, most dogs will do well within 3-4 weeks after an FCE
full recovery can take much longer, though.
I have to go see a patient, I will be back online shortly if you have additional concerns.
she only started showing paralysis from the neck down this morning in the care of the vets on cage rest.so last saturday she had pain and snapped at us and couldnt move her back legs on sun she grew worse with movement ,then on monday she showed signs of improvement and was let home, on tuesday she was home and moving about 85%. then on wednesday she couldnt move on the back legs at all and was re admitted to the hospital and then had the melogram yesterday that was clear and then this morning the vet rang to say she had paralysis from the nec k down and couldnt get up on any legs.my fiance went to see her today and said she was lying half on her back and half on her side with her 4 legs going in different direction up and down and she had no strenght to move her self up or roll over.so with all this problems appearing over a week would you still be of the oppinion of a spinal cord injury
no, I don't think a spinal cord injury is likely once again, if the myelogram was normal.
there is a problem with the spinal cord, most likely, or the nerves that run from the cord to the legs (known as a peripheral neuropathy)
Experience: Small Animal Medicine and Surgery
Hi Sonya,I'm just following up on our conversation about Gizmo. How is everything going?Drew