Cruz is having problems with back legs!!!!

[01yz426]

My boy Cruz is going to be 3yrs old March 4th, the other day he was outside with his girlfriend Roxy for about 4-5 hours. I came home and all was good, he came inside spinning and jumping happy to see me like the normal boy he is.. I forgot dog food so I left them in the house and 15min later my girlfriend called to ask what was wrong with his front right leg.... Well nothing that I knew of as he was normal when I left him in the house, it then swithed to him limping with his left front leg, and now it's moved to both back legs but favors the right back leg the most.... He has trouble sitting and getting up when lying down, I have to pick him up to let him outside and pick him up off the couch or bed, he whines as if in pain too.... The last few days he has just slept and not really gotten up at all unless I pick him up to let him outside or just to get him moving...


Took Cruz to the vet (Banfield Pet Hospital) Monday for a checkup and he seemed happy to go for a ride and he surprisingly pulled me pretty good on his leash... The vet took X-rays and they looked to be good, no signs of Hip Displasia, as far as she could tell, I have seen X-rays of what Hip Displasia looks like and his looked normal not perfect but normal... The X-rays are being sent to a specialist and I should be hearing back from Banfield in a day or two....

I've read a few posts on here that dealt with the same thing, but this happened all of a sudden, no warnings of any type... Cruz is a strong 77lb boy full of energy who loves to go for walks/rides love tug-o-war, and his tennis-bones, I don't understand how he could all of a sudden not be able to use his hind legs.... I cried the other day at work reading about what could be wrong and I just don't know what to do.... I am new to this site as of about 5min ago and just wanted to talk to people who love their boxers like I do.... Hope ya'll have a great day now....

 

[lisabethshaw]

Healthy wishes to you and Cruz!

Hope Cruz is okay. Keep us posted.

 

[Gus's Teah]

I hope Cruz gets better soon!

That must be horrible to have to see. I hope the specialist can give you some definite answers! The only clue I might have is from a show I saw on the Animal Planet where a man's dog had suddenly stopped using his hind legs... his vet did an MRI and he had an infection on his spinal cord. The vet gave him some anitbiotics and it cleared everything up. I am by no means even close to a vet and don't know anything about veterinary medicine; this is just a show I saw when I was bored one day. I do hope you find out soon, I always think waiting for answers is the hardest part!

 

[01yz426]

X-rays are back....

Cruz's Doc talked to me about the X-rays and the specialist said that his hips look good but that there is a small gap in between one of his last three vertabrates near his tail end that may be pinching off a nerve... The Doc told me to finish giving him his meds and to bring him back in a week.... He had a lot more energy today and I can see that he wants to play but I also see that he is in pain so I calm him down quickly... He was really stiff today and had a VERY hard time getting to his feet... When he came up to me for his DAILY head/neck massage where he puts his face in my lap, he wouldn't let me touch near the end of his back (by his tail) he moved down and back whenever I got close to that spot, so now i'm thinking that he does have a pinched nerve... Not that it matters to me but how much do MRI's cost?

And thanks for those of you who left the nice messages... Very much appreciated...

 

[Beausolei]

Hope its not to serious. Maybe a pinched nerve can be treated with some steroid injections like they do on humans. I had a pinched sciatic nerve in my lower back, and before surgery that was what the doc did. They actually called it an epidural injection, and its suposed to reduce swelling in whatever is pinching the nerve. I think at least that is how it goes it has been almost 6 years since I went through that crap.

As far as cost I can tell you this that it was going to be about 250 to have ultrsound work done on my boy when we thought he may have been having hip problems. We were lucky that it was only a broke toe, and the vet missed it all the way. One time I was happy of a missed diagnosis. Also too that price is coming from Lafayette, Louisiana, and I have heard people in general talk about much higher vet bills in other parts of the country. The accuracy of that quote could be in question depending on your areas cost of living.

Hopefully meds do the trick and best wishes for a speedy recovery. Don't feel silly about the crying for your babies either, or when reading some of these stories. I'm a guy too, and they get to me. It just means you are human and you give a damn. Try and stay positive. So sorry you found the site while going through a health issue.

Andy, Beau, Bitsey, Bull, and Stella

 

[01yz426]

Cruz is doing a lot worse since yesterday, really shakey when first being helped up, he leans into me a lot in order to stand, once he gets moving though he seems to be ok for the most part.... He even chased my little Roxy girl around for a second but I noticed he was bunny hopping his back legs... I researched a lot on this site last night while at work, for a good 3hrs and found out lot's of stuff that it could be, I wrote them all down and am going to take it to my Vet and see what she has to say...

Some of the things that I am going to ask her about are:

Spondylosis
Hypertrophic Osteodystrophy
Wabblers syndrome (is this found only in puppies?)

Like I said the X-rays showed some gaping in his last 3-Vertebraes which in turn could be pinching off a nerve. And to further make me believe that it is his back, he flexes whenever I pet him on a certain spot on his back, about 2-4 inches up from his tail..... He seems to hunch down when I touch him in that spot and leans into me as well.... Anymore thoughts on what this could be??? Like I stated this all of a sudden happend, he never showed any signs of injury and wasn't limping when I let him in the house, my little girl Roxy is only 50lbs and they wrestle but don't think she could have done the damage.
Also as previously stated, it started out as him limping on his front right leg, then a little later in the day switched to his left front leg and now he can't get up without assistance or me rolling on the floor and getting him excited enough to get up (but doing that makes me feel bad, I know he's in pain)

I miss the spinning, jumping boy that would tackle me when I came home, not that I will ever love him any less, but I know he is not feeling well and need answers.....

PS. Please if any of you have any advise for me don't hesitate to call me, I live in Kent, Washington and my name is Mike, my boxer boy is Cruz & boxer chick is Roxy...... Thanks for any and all help.... XXX-XXX-XXX

 

[altima]

Have a MRI done on his knee's. My 7 year Boxer is going to MSU to have his knee fixed. He hobbles around to, really stiff when he gets up in the morning.

 

[01yz426]

Cruz has and MRI appointment Thur. Feb 24th, both the Vet. and I believe that it is his back and not his hips that are causing him the pain.... I'll keep everyone posted on what comes of this...

 

[getsampson]

this happened to my boxer one day and she just layed down and couldnt get back up. They did x-rays and did nerve test and it showed she had a pinched nerve. They have her on steriods and muscle relaxers and meds for her stomach so she wont get ulsers. She was in the hospital for a week for iv therapy which was costly but she is worth it. SHe has her bad days and her good days. She is 9 yrs old though and this just started about a month ago and they say could take up to 6 months till she is fully recovered. When ur dog does walk does it look like he is drunk or when he tries to use his hind legs does he hop. I hope it is nothing serious with the dog though. But those are the things she goes through and also her paws fold over sometimes when she stands due to not having a lot of feeling in her hind legs form the pinched nerve. They tried to take her off the meds about a week ago but she got bad the day after she was off the meds and now she is back on them and I am scared to take her off.

 

[01yz426]

Get Sampson

How do they do a Nerve test? He has a spot on his lower back (near tail) where on the X-rays show a gap, and i'm told that it's probably the reason he isn't walking very well.... His X-rays came up negative for Hip Displasia... He does bunny hop when trying to run though... Once he is up and moving he seems to be good but it's the sitting down and getting up that has him hurting. He whines a lot when he's uncomfortable and needs to be moved. He needs help getting up and sleeps most of the day.... Cruz doesn't look like he is drunk, he walks with a limp until he warms up then looks normal walking, but when trying to speed up he bunny hops...

He is only about to be 3yrs old too, It makes me mad cause I think I know how he got hurt....... Can pinched nerves be fixed with surgery or how do they fix em? The MRI is $1,200 plus $300 for a spinal tap, and then surgery has been said to be $3000.....