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Ask the Veterinarian/6 month old dog rear legs paralyzed

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Expert: - 2/9/2011


Question

Teddy
We adopted a lab/st.Bernard mix dog named Teddy from the pound last week. He was neutered on February 1st and I took him home that day. On the 6th he had a limp, on the 7th he couldn't make it up a small stair in our house and he is a big dog, on the 8th he could only drag himself a few feet with his front feet. So, we took him to the vet at the pound we got him from. He thought it was a heart murmur and Teddy should be put to sleep since we couldn't afford an ultra sound. I took him home and prayed... I heard this vet was not a good vet so please help. Teddy is such a sweet dog.

Answer
D'anna,
Heart murmurs are a sound that a heart will make from a variety of things, but it usually refers to the 'loudness' of the sound. Murmurs are not a defect that will cause paralysis but if he has a heart defect itself, or an enlarged heart, then that can cause the paralysis to his hind limbs because he isn't getting any blood flow to his back legs. So basically it's not the murmur that is the problem but the heart disease that is.

An ultrasound or even just an xray will show an enlarged heart. This condition is common in big dogs, even as young as 1 yr old.

The best thing you can do is get an xray from another vet or if you can find a place that charges less, get the ultrasound.
The longer you wait, the worse his condition will get. I am actually surprised that he survived being neutered at all.

This is something you definitely need to have checked and soon. It could be totally unrelated to his heart so that is why you need to get him into another vet if you don't want to go back to the one you saw.
The sooner the better.

Jana Connell RVT, CVT

Expertise

PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT answer questions about birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

Experience

I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

Organizations
Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.

Education/Credentials
Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

Awards and Honors
Nominated for Expert of the Month for the last 5 years.

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