TuffLove, could our stories be more similar? Hoss has had issued with his back leg for awhile now too. We were told to do the TPLO but since he seemed to regain mobility so quickly and still run around like a maniac, we decided it might not be the best thing (plus the cost pretty much put it out of reach for us). So I've been thinking this whole time maybe his leg was just giving him trouble. I thought it was strange though that he still is able to jump up on the beds & couches. He knows he's not allowed on our beds - he has his special chair in our playroom that he has claimed. That's fine - we've given it to him. He WILL NOT lay on his bed or his mat which is on the floor. He insisits on being on a bed or couch. I'm caving to him just because I want him to be comfortable. But I had been thinking it was just his leg but I did see his back legs kinda buckle about 2 weeks ago. I've also seen him "trip" going upstairs. I don't know what's going on. I'm just amazed at how much this boy is sleeping. One other symptom I've noticed is he seems to have trouble swallowing. Some days is quite drooly, then not so much other days. It's a mystery.
Has your vet confirmed that there's any slipping or excessive elasticity in his stiples at all? I'm just catching your story, so if you mentioned anything earlier and I missed it I'm sorry. For the longest time I was convinced that Tuff had a torn or partially torn acl after he came home with a limp one day (this was over a year ago now). I think reading all of the acl stories on here probably influenced my opinion a bit. You tend to get a little hypochondriatic reading all the horror stories in this forum
. I was so baffled when the vet kept telling me his knees felt like they were in great shape. In hindsight, now we know that he has mild displaysia in one hip which likely caused the strange sitting positions we were seeing for so long. Of course, at the time I had no idea and just assumed what I was seeing with his back legs giving out was a result of some knee trauma. But even assuming that, it was strange because he wasn't in any pain.. which he definitely would have if he had a knee injury.
When his primary vet first examined him concerning the balance issues with the back legs, we had to rule out a bunch of things with xrays first. She did however, mention that his gait when he walked was a little narrow, which could point to neurological issues. That of course could have meant 1000 things at the time. The problem with neurological signs, like I said, is that many neurological problems can have similar symptoms that don't point to anything specific. So you're doing the right thing by getting the MRI
At the very least, no matter what the outcome, you will have peace of mind to know that you did everything you could. You want to be treating the right ailment after all right? My husband and I are saving for a house right now, so TRUST ME, I know how hefty a blow those medical bills are as they add up. Our MRI was $1700 alone. Ugh. It hurts my wallet just thinking about it.
I'm curious, has Hoss ever shown any signs of aggression in the past? I'm only asking because if he hasn't it definitely sends up some red flags. Tuff has swelling of the brain (GME) and we were warned that it could bring out unexpected aggression (my poor sweet tuff!!! no way i thought!). He's never been aggressive a day in his life and hasn't been yet. He's on the Pred now and that's supposed to be reducing the swelling. Anyways, if he's never had any aggression like that, I would think maybe there's pressure caused by a lesion or swelling like with Tuff. I'm not a vet of course, I'm just rewinding my thoughts on what I discussed with our neuro.
Shoot.. just checked the time and I have to leave work. I'll have to get back to this a little later
