degenerative myelopathy

[danialex]

Hi. I have a seven year old boxer(Bosco)---during the past 4 or 5 months his back legs seem to have been deteriorating. Initially his right back leg seemed to be dragging a bit. Overtime, I noticed his center nails were worn down to the nerve which was causing them to bleed. At this point I realized something was really going on. I brought him to his vet as well as a neurologist. Both agree it's neurological, but because Bosco has cardiomyopathy as well as a murmur, he can't be given anestisia to determine what conditions can be ruled out or if something can be confirmed.

So I'm going on the assumtion that it is degenertive myelopathy because his condition has worsened in such a short period of time. He hunches his back legs and seems to be sloping downward more each day. His legs slide out to the sides a times. If he gets too much exercise two days in a row the next morning his legs are all wobbily when he walks and he does this scratching motion, but doesn't really have to scratch--it's like a nervous reaction. It's disturbing and quite frightning to watch.

I had no idea that this was something that effected boxers. I would love it if someone would let me know if they ever dealt with this or know anyone that has. As I'm sure all of you know this is heartbreaking. I would like to do everything I can so that he can be with me as long as possible as well as ensure that he is happy til the end.

Thanks,
Danielle

 

[Aimee]

Danielle,

One of our members, Debbie Knowles, can provide you with a lot of information regarding degenerative myelopathy. Her boxer, Hannah, suffered from this disease. Send her a private message or an email, I know she would be happy to help you!

Aimee

 

[Draymia]

Sadly, I lost one of my girls to this just last May. This terrible disease is supposed to similar to MS in people. There is no cure, but thankfully there is not supposed to be any pain. I found that to true with my girl. She never seemed in any kind of pain. She just slowly lost control of her rear legs. In boxers it does not seem to spread past the rear. In German Shepherds, it travels up the entire body and I understand is very fast. We diagnosed my girl by ruling everything else out.

My girl (the brindle in my avatar) first showed signs in January of 2003 with a wobbly walk. I had to euthanize her in May of 2004. I did a lot of research and there seems to be no real agreement for any treatment. My vet is into holistic medicine and we put her on several different supplements. We have no way of know if they helped, but they sure didn't hurt her. One a neurological support and the other some Complex B. Also I added more raw meat to her diet. She sure loved that part.

She never lost control of her wagging tail even when she needed support to go outside. Towards the end she did lose control of her bowels and sometimes her bladder, but that was just the last few months.

It is a sad disease. There is lots you can do. I did have a cart made for Shimmer, that most dogs love (I was told). Shimmer hated it and preferred a towel around her middle to go for walks. Also, there is a rear harness/supporter that may be of help. I have one that I would be willing to part with, as I hope to never need it again. It would work better than a towel around the tummy with a boy.

Here is a German Shepherd site with lots of info:

http://workingdogs.com/doc0159.htm

Although a sad disease, you can take comfort that the dogs don't seem too upset with it all. Shimmer still loved playing with the other dogs and they seemed to understand her problem. It was touching to watch them get down to her level and play. She also still played with toys and chewed her bones.

Take care of Bosco and just enjoy each day you have with him.

 

[debbie knowles]

Hi Danielle,
I am so sorry about Bosco...I know the heartache you are feeling. As Aimee said, we lost our Hannah to DM in October 2001 after fighting as hard as we could. We first noticed we did not have to trim the nails on her left rear foot and at first we were told she was just being lazy and dragging her foot..but I knew better that that and kept pushing and pushing for some sort of diagnosis.

As Draymia also mentioned we finally arrived at the DM diagnosis after extensive testing ruled everything else out. The conventional vets told me she probably had 6 to 9 months before it progressed to the point of paralysis and that it would eventually affect her ability to breath and that there was just nothing we could do.

Of course, I refused to accept that...no way I could just stand by and do nothing. We, also sought holistic help and started Hannah on Chiropractic adjustments, accupuncture, water therapy and Caproic Amino Acid along with other chinese herbs to help support her basic organs. The disease did progress and she did eventually lose the use of her back legs, but our holistic vet assured us that Hannah was not ready to be euthanized even though she could not walk...so we, too, bought her a cart and she loved it...when she was in her cart, all was right with her world as she chased birds and squirrels and made me hustle to keep up with her on walks! She used her cart for the last 7 months.

Finally 23 months...yes, 23 months after her first symptoms appeared, she did lose her front legs also and did start experiecing difficulty breathing and it was then and only then did she give me "the look" telling me she was ready to go to that "bridge" place I had been telling her about. We are not sure what helped her for sure either as we tried so many things...but something extended her life well beyond that initial 6 to 9 month prognosis, so everything we did was well worth it. If you look in my photo gallery here, there is a picture of Hannah in her "buggy", as we called it.

So, don't give up and when they tell you there is nothing you can do...look harder..seek holistic help and fight as hard as you can. Good Luck and may God bless you all. Please feel free to PM or e-mail me if I can help in any way, or if you just need to talk. Hang in there Bosco...we'll keep you in our prayers. djk

 

[danialex]

thanks for your responses

I just wanted to thank all of you for replying so quickly. It meant alot to me to hear your experiences. I'm doing ok with this so far. I have no idea how I am staying so composed, but I am.

Thanks again,
Danielle and Bosco