Boston Terrier Aging Problem

diddy wrote:
> in thread
> whittled the following words:
>
>> I have an 11 year old Boston Terrier. She is not overweight and has
>> had one rear leg fixed for patellar luxation about 4 years ago.
>>
>> She is now having problems walking on smooth surfaces (wood floors,
>> decks and stairs) and appears to "stagger." I will notice that when I
>> open the door to let her out she will walk into the door frame on the
>> way out. We have two steps off of our deck and she kind of rolls
>> forward down the stairs. She has similar problems coming up the
>> stairs where her feet seem to fall out from under her.
>>
>> We took her to the vet and she received glucosamine pills and
>> something akin to aspirin for dogs. She doesn't seem to be improving.
>>
>> She does not appear to be in pain or overly sensitive but I am
>> concerned that she is going to get hurt falling or twisting a joint.
>>
>> Does anyone have any ideas on what we can do?

Did your vet give a diagnosis? Did the vet do any neurological
tests, like paw placement? It sounds like it could be a
neurological problem.

If it's arthritis - we have had great results with Adequan shots,
in a GSD and a Chihuahua. The GSD got one about every 4 weeks
and the Chi gets them about every 6. The shots made a big
improvement in their mobility and willingness to move around.
These won't help if it's neurological.

Other suggestions: put a ramp with a gritty surface on the
stairs off the deck (or covered with indoor/outdoor carpet) and
teach her to use it. Don't let her jump on and off furniture.
If you have a staircase in your house (wasn't clear if you do),
carry her up and down the stairs and block her access so she
can't go up and down by herself.

> You might try Tacky paws or Sticky paws .. it's a non slip ointment you
> can put on their paws and make their paws low skid

Wish I'd heard of this stuff when Dylan was alive and we lived in
the house with wood floors! We put down cheap carpet runners to
make paths for her in the hall and all the wood-floored rooms.

HTH.

FurPaw

--
The Bush legacy - no child left a dime.

To reply, unleash the dog.
 >> Stay informed about: Boston Terrier Aging Problem 

wrote in message

> I have an 11 year old Boston Terrier. She is not overweight and has
> had one rear leg fixed for patellar luxation about 4 years ago.
>
> She is now having problems walking on smooth surfaces (wood floors,
> decks and stairs) and appears to "stagger." I will notice that when I
> open the door to let her out she will walk into the door frame on the
> way out. We have two steps off of our deck and she kind of rolls
> forward down the stairs. She has similar problems coming up the
> stairs where her feet seem to fall out from under her.
>
> We took her to the vet and she received glucosamine pills and
> something akin to aspirin for dogs. She doesn't seem to be improving.
>
> She does not appear to be in pain or overly sensitive but I am
> concerned that she is going to get hurt falling or twisting a joint.
>
> Does anyone have any ideas on what we can do?
>=============
How is her eyesight? She might be getting cataracts.
I don't think I would trust her on the stairs if she has trouble with her
legs. When my Chow Chow got old and had trouble with his rear legs, I
sometimes slipped a long cloth around the end of my dog's stomach near his
groin to help lift his rear end up when he could not move very well. When
he could no longer do stairs, we built a non slip ramp for him to get in and
out of the van. He eventually had to live on the ground level floor of our
house where there were no stairs to get in and out of the yard easily. This
all occurred during the last six months of his life. In the case of a
Boston Terrier, it would probably be easy enough to carry her up and down
the stairs.
 >> Stay informed about: Boston Terrier Aging Problem 

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 >> Stay informed about: Boston Terrier Aging Problem 

in thread
dk.TakeThisOut@no.email.thankstospam.net (DK) whittled the following words:

> In article ,
> wrote:
>>I have an 11 year old Boston Terrier. She is not overweight and has
>>had one rear leg fixed for patellar luxation about 4 years ago.
>>
>>She is now having problems walking on smooth surfaces (wood floors,
>>decks and stairs) and appears to "stagger." I will notice that when I
>>open the door to let her out she will walk into the door frame on the
>>way out. We have two steps off of our deck and she kind of rolls
>>forward down the stairs. She has similar problems coming up the
>>stairs where her feet seem to fall out from under her.
>>
>>We took her to the vet and she received glucosamine pills and
>>something akin to aspirin for dogs. She doesn't seem to be improving.
>>
>>She does not appear to be in pain or overly sensitive but I am
>>concerned that she is going to get hurt falling or twisting a joint.
>>
>>Does anyone have any ideas on what we can do?
>
> Sounds like a neurological issue. Try getting a referral to a
> neurologist and go from there. Could be a lot of things: vestibular
> disease, intervertebral disc disease, brain tumor,
> encephalitis/meningitis.
>
> Unfortunately, it might take some pretty expensive tests to get
> conclusive diagnosis.
>
> DK
>

Or perhaps something as simple as "cold tail"
 >> Stay informed about: Boston Terrier Aging Problem 

wrote in message

> She is now having problems walking on smooth surfaces (wood floors,
> decks and stairs) and appears to "stagger."
>
> We took her to the vet and she received glucosamine pills and
> something akin to aspirin for dogs. She doesn't seem to be improving.

........your dog needs a full workup. Did the vet do a full blood panel and
a thorough physical exam? I don't think you can necessarily assume it's
joint problems. Could be anything else, including endocrine troubles. No
point in jumping to a neurologist until you've covered the basics.

buglady
take out the dog before replying
 >> Stay informed about: Boston Terrier Aging Problem