New dog, bad legs. Any advice?

[donprec]

Previously I lived in an apartment and couldn't have a dog so when I moved, I right away wanted to get one. I specifically wanted an older dog and had been checking out local adoptions and tried contacting a few rescue groups (who never got back to me!). I really wanted to adopt from a rescue, didn't want to go the shelter route but after almost 2 years of looking, we went to the local SPCA, met our boy and fell in love, brought him home on Tues.
He is a 6 yr old (could be older) chocolate lab mix. He is perfect, so worth the wait! My biggest concern was how he'd be with the cats. The queen of the house, my 18 yr old, put him in his place right away when he first tried to sniff her. But already, he knows to leave them alone...he really doesn't even care about them anyway. He hasn't had any accidents, I don't even know what his bark would sound like, he doesn't chew on anything but his toys. He's absolutely flawless! It seems like he's always been here and was always with us, he's completely comfortable and happy (and so are we). But perfection comes with a price...he has bad legs.
I had to put him in the car when we first brought him home. I thought that was because he didn't know what to do. But after he'd been home, we could see he was a little unsteady on his feet after a while. Toward the end of a walk, you'll start noticing him falling over his back legs. He fell down the porch steps (I think I figured out how to prevent that now though). Last night he was intently sniffing a patch of grass and this time his front legs wobbled and he fell on his face...I had previously thought it was just his back legs that were the problem. The first night we had him, he followed me upstairs. But going back down, about halfway down he hesitated. So I told him to just take it slow and that I wouldn't let him fall. Wouldn't you know, we both tumbled down the stairs onto the floor together. Poor thing was on his side, I'm on top of him and I'm telling him I'm so sorry and there he was thumping his tail against the floor and trying to lick my face. He's so sweet!
So he goes to my regular vet on Wed, I'm hoping we can help this guy out with his legs. He has no muscle tone, so a part of me wants to think that with good food and protein, and plenty of exercise, he'll get stronger. But I think there's more to it than that. Hopefully I'll find out about some supplements or anything else that can help him or at least make things a little easier for him.
Do any of you have any suggestions on how to help his legs out? Have you had experiences with a dog with bad legs? Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I can't get any good pics of him with my phone's camera so this weekend I'm going to buy batteries for my digital camera and take plenty of pics.

 

[diegothediggy]

My dad recuded a dog a few years back it was a neopolitan mastiff. He was so big and beautiful. He had bin left in someone bin hole with no food or water or even enough room to move. After month of my dad walking past him he rang our local dogs home n they wudnt do anything so he took matters into his own hands. He knock at the owners house n told them the dog cudnt stand up coz he didn't have the room and he was not being looked after n if the conditions didn't change he was taking him. So another few weeks past n nothing changed so my dad took him. He was so lovely he had to b took the vet for bad skin conditions and my dad had to help him walk coz he had bin sat on his legs that long he forgot how to use them he had no muscle or strength in them at all. He could only walk a couple of steps and it took my dad hours to get him to stand. My dad is a 22 stone of pure manly man and he was that bad it made my dad cry. It took nearly two year of being well fed and walked before his legs got any better they still bend In at the joints but he is so much better than he was. he can't run very fast and can only have short walks still but he is so much better than what he was. If it's something like that n they have bin badly damaged then I'd say they will get better but not perfect. Still don't mean he cnt have a gud healthy lifestyle just means he may need a little extra tlc. I hope ur find out what it is and hopefully u can make it better in some way.

 

[jager]

I am always so happy to hear someone has adopted an older dog, its unfortunate that they are often overlooked at shelters. Hopefully, it is just muscle weakness and nothing worse. I have my dog on a raw food diet, I swear by it. He isn't consuming any by-product or grain or any other garbage that goes in to commercial dog food ( i mean no offense to those who feed kibble) If his legs are weak, a high protein diet may help. I suggest raw food but it can be expensive. You can buy already made or you can make your own with meat, egg shells, herring oil, and a raw dog food supplement. You can also add some veggies or certain types of fruits, tripe, organ meats.

If there is somewhere you could go swimming with him, as support just in case, that would be a great strength building exercise for him.

It sounds like he is very happy to have found his new forever home

 

[donprec]

I finally got decent pics of Koda when we went to the park yesterday.

Diego, your dad sounds like a wonderful person for rescuing that dog! I'm so glad to hear he's come along a little better, thanks to your dad.

Jager, I so hope it's just a muscle thing! He's already addicted to riding in the car, heads straight to the car every time we go out. He can't sit up and look out the window because he loses his balance and falls but he still loves it. I have to put him in and take him out each time...my arms should be nice and cut by the time I can wear tank tops lol
I bought a bag of Blue Buffalo but I was told to give him a couple days of the Pedigree that he was on first before I start mixing in the BB and weaning him off Pedigree. I don't know if I can do the raw diet consistently but I can give him a raw meal maybe a few times a week. Actually, I'm going grocery shopping later today and need to pick up more stuff for my skink's meals, which sound very similar to what you prepare (meat, organs, eggs with shell, greens and veggies, and a small amount of fruit). I'll buy enough to make a bigger batch and adjust Koda's with no fruit and a little less veggies. I'm sure he will love that, thanks for the suggestion!
Actually, I just looked it up and we have a dog swimming center somewhat close! Not cheap but definitely something to consider if he needs that help.

 

[jager]

He is gorgeous A dog swimming center sounds awesome, I wish I had something like that around where I am. I have to go to the lake and find a spot without people nearby. Its illegal to have your dog swim in the lake near me, which is utterly stupid. The geese make more of a mess in the lake than any dog could.

A little bit of fruit is okay, my guy loves melon and strawberries and comes running whenever I am cutting up broccoli or carrots LOL

I hope the visit to the vet goes well and they can help that handsome guy

 

[PatsyB]

I love him! I wish I had more input on dogs but I don't know much. Hopefully it's just muscle loss that can be built back up with more protein and a bit of exercise. I love the swimming idea. We have "dog beaches" here in the city which I always thought was funny because the water all goes to the same place!

 

[donprec]

I called the swim center, it's literally about 10 mins away. They said that 15 mins of swimming is about the same as a 2 mile walk for them...but better. Koda will go to a 45 min evaluation class next week. They offer a little discount for those adopted from the SPCA and if/when he can swim unassisted, the lessons are even cheaper and quite affordable! I'm so excited to see how it goes and what Koda thinks about it! This was a great idea Jager!

Thanks Patsy, isn't he great! I still can't believe we got so lucky to find him. Last summer I took my son to a pet friendly beach not too far away. I've since kept on thinking about how this summer I can take Precious and maybe our dog if we got one...now it can happen! I found a screen mesh carrier for Precious, thought that would be great for sitting out on the beach with us and getting some good uvb. I don't know how long it will take for me to feel confident enough to let Koda off his leash and know that he'll come back to me. He's a good boy but the idea does scare me yet. My son is sure he'd be fine but I'm the paranoid one.

 

[Canicke]

You can train coda. Start with small enclosed spaces with fencing and work up to larger spaces. Tennis court, baseball diamond, football field etc.you and your son can walk apart and train her to come to you when you call. Actually, all dog should be trained this way. Sit – stay - heel - come. Not just to have a well-trained dog but also for their safety. I'm excited for you.

 

[donprec]

Canicke, you're absolutely right. I've been kind of sitting back and just enjoying him, not really training too much yet but you've given me a great way to start off with it. Thank you. I was going to take him to a few obedience classes. I'm going to do the swimming thing first and then we may still do a few obedience but in the meantime, I can practice what you've suggested.

I just wanted to tell you all that I really love this forum, you all are so great. I've enjoyed all the advice and information I got for beardeds and you helped me with Koda. I love you all, thank you!

 

[PatsyB]

Canicke, you're absolutely right. I've been kind of sitting back and just enjoying him, not really training too much yet but you've given me a great way to start off with it. Thank you. I was going to take him to a few obedience classes. I'm going to do the swimming thing first and then we may still do a few obedience but in the meantime, I can practice what you've suggested.

I just wanted to tell you all that I really love this forum, you all are so great. I've enjoyed all the advice and information I got for beardeds and you helped me with Koda. I love you all, thank you!

Awe sucks, we love you too! I don't really have many people that care so much about animals, especially reptiles so I am glad I have a place to come to where people get it.

 

[jager]

Hey, how did kodas vet appointment go? Good news?

 

[donprec]

The vet thinks his legs are just fear and lack of use but that they don't seem to cause him pain and his hips are ok. He put Koda's age between 6-10 years old. He actually encouraged me to start training him on a few stairs at a time to build up his confidence and strength. The vet thinks Koda was chained or caged up a lot previously.
Koda actually runs when I take him for a walk now! He likes to run to try to keep up with my son when he's on the scooter. I can even see definition in his back legs already. He has started putting his front legs up on the car seat and I just have to help his back legs in, and he'll get out of the car on his own with a little help! He's been going to dog parks and is fine with every dog he's met. He surprised me with already knowing “heel!” He knows sit, stay and paw. He doesn't really know “come” yet but he comes to his name every time.
The bad news is that the vet thinks he's had a history of chronic ear infections that have gone untreated. We knew he had a hematoma on his ear, the vet wasn't worried about that though. He was concerned about his left ear canal being completely closed. So Koda is on predisone for a week to see if we can get the canal open so we can treat the ear with medicine. The poor thing is so thirsty because of the med and is constantly asking to go outside to go pee. He couldn't hold it in through the night the past 2 nights and he looks so guilty and sorry when I wake up and see the pee but I'm not mad, I understand!
The vet also found an overgrowth of gum in his mouth, which could possibly be a tumor. We'll have to get that biopsied but the vet wants to concentrate on his ears first since it doesn't seem to bother him.
I unfortunately had to cancel the swim lesson because I wound up having to work a longer day yesterday. I was really looking forward to it but we're rescheduled for next Saturday.

 

[jager]

Some great news and a little bit of a road ahead but at least koda has YOU in his corner now!!! The fact that he is running with your son on his scooter is great, sounds like his legs are getting stronger by the day.
Hopefully the tissue on his gums is nothing serious and easily taken care of.
Poor boy, it sounds like he had a bit of a rough life before you came along.

If only dogs could talk

 

[PatsyB]

Might be a good thing that you weren't able to take him to swim. I wonder if it's still a good idea with the ear problems.

 

[donprec]

I feel like such a dope, I never even thought about that! I keep thinking Koda and I are kindred souls because we both have bad ears (I'm supposed to wear hearing aids but I don't). I should've thought of that on my own but thank you for bringing that to my attention!
We went to a new dog park yesterday, it was one of the most stunning parks I'd ever seen! It had a lake that dogs were free to go into if they wanted. The only thing is it wasn't fenced in so we walked Koda through it on the leash. There was a lot of land and trails.

It was misty and foggy when we first got there but isn't that beautiful?

We tried to get Koda closer to the water but he was not into the idea lol

By the time we came home, he collapsed right on the kitchen floor with his toy. He didn't even want to get up so I could take his harness off!

 

[PatsyB]

Wow, that is a beautiful park! Koda is so cute. I'm so glad he found someone that is going to spend time with him and treat him like a member of the family. Every animal deserves that.

 

[donprec]

Thanks Patsy! But we really are the lucky ones, he's just so unbelievably wonderful