I have a 7 year old Golden/Lab/Collie mix. He was recently diagnosed with narrowing in one of his lumbar discs. Right now he is on Rimadyl and Gabapentin because he played with a younger dog and twisted his back. Whenever this happens, he cannot go up stairs or jump into my Jeep. Has anyone had any success with treating this condition or can you give me some ideas about keeping him healthy? I have been told no walks for now, but in the past he was allowed controlled leash walking. We adore walking - doing 4 miles each morning. I would like to keep him healthy with walking but also uninjured.
Just curious how your dog was diagnosed? Per Xray or MRI/Scan? I posted a post in the health forum a few days back about possible compression of T3 and T4 but 2 out of 3 vets disagree on that diagnosis.
We had Euan who was diagnosed with a lumbar hernia after he had twisted his back. Surgeon advised operation. As Euan was in a lot of pain we went ahead. He has never been the same, operation was successful but he had to stay calm and often he was still in pain. He was on tramadol and carprodyl. Two years after the op we had to let him go because he was in so much pain after he twisted his back again. He was 9 years old when we had to let him go... I would say try hydrotherapy
He had an x-ray about 6 months ago. I was told to keep him on controlled leash walks, but I recently was letting him run and play with other dogs. I am hoping that too many days of too much wild-child play just inflamed the condition. It is in his lumbar region. He is a rescue who did not have a good healthy start in life. Both the specialty vet and my vet don't think it is advanced enough to be causing him pain. But he is an extremely soft dog. I think any pain causes him to shut down. If it keeps up, they want him to see a neurologist vet.
I am so sorry for your loss of Euan. I have been told that there is a possible surgery, but it seems so unsafe to me. Tramadol didn't do much for Buddy. He is doing better with carprofen (Rimadyl) and Gabapentin, but I like your idea of hydrotherapy. I don't want him on drugs for long term. Thank you for your reply.
My previous dog, an English Pointer had spinal surgery on an herniated disc between C2 & C3. It was a success, after a 3month recovery he was back out running, but he was never quite right having gagging episodes and odd tremors. 3 years on he had to be PTS when we discovered he had a tumour that had grown beside the original surgery site and was pressing on his spinal cord. Personally I wouldn't put a dog through spinal surgery again.
Thank you for your comments. I am so sorry about your English Pointer. The comments from this site are really helping me. I had an uneasy feeling about spinal surgery but nothing to pin it on. I am taking to heart others' experiences.
He had an X-ray. Actually, the x-ray was originally looking at lungs because he was panting continuously. So they x-rayed his chest, knees and hips. A specialty vet recommended controlled leash walks. His regular vet said surgery might help and wants him to see a neurologist. I am hesitant.
Physical therapy helped enormously my dog when he twisted his back four years ago. That, and not allowing him to play with young dogs anymore.
Thank you for the advice. There is a specialty vet in my area who offers physical therapy. I will check into this. I so regret letting him play with the younger dog. Both of the dogs are now on leash when we walk. The other dog does not belong to me, but the owner was concerned enough to leash her puppy.
