Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 1/26/2012

Question
Hi there,

I am writing this because I am in desperate situation.
I have a 14 years old male Irish setter. And this morning we found out that he is not able to control his rear legs nor his tail.
Yesterday he was perfectly fine and even in the evening was energetic and excited to go outside as always, but this morning everything changed.
I did some research and found out that this might be the hearth stroke which could occur while he was sleeping (taking in consideration his age) but we recently were at local veterinarian office and they did the check up on him. The only problem was that he had cold and had problems with peeing(could not hold long period of time) but we are taking him out 3 times per day, he is eating only canned food made by German manufacturers.

So as I sad he is completely unable to control his rear parts of body. I need some help as the local veterinarian says that it is expected for dog of his age, but before making a fatal decision I need to have at least two point of view.

Thank you in advance,
Arsenij

Answer
Well Arsenij,
I am not a vet and without seeing the dog there is no way to give you any kind of opinion but I can tell you this; the vet is right and there is probably not much you can do at this point.

This is one of the most common problems older dogs face. Chances are very low that he had a 'stroke' but it is more likely a spinal problem. The problem comes from the spine getting older and the signals don't travel as well down the spine to the back legs.

This can be caused by many things- a narrowing of the spinal cord from the discs shrinking, a stenosis, which is the narrowing of the spine itself and the cord, slipped or ruptured discs, or arthritis.
Regardless of the main cause, there is no curative action that can be taken. Some vets use steroids with a little to no success.
The lack of bladder control was coming from the same spinal issues. It has just now caught up to him. The only alternative at this point would be to get him a cart for paralyzed dogs, but all that does is delay the inevitable.

I know how painful this is, as I just lost my own beloved 14 yr old dog. I also lost one to this very problem that your dog is having.

It's a very hard decision to make, especially when the front half of him is doing well. But you must ask yourself about the quality of his life, not just the fact that he is still eating etc. Is he going to be the dog that he once was? He might not be in pain, but he is not going to be a happy dog either. If he is left as is, soon he will have bed sores and be covered with urine and fecal matter since he cannot get up.

Only you can answer this Arsenij and you have to look into his eyes. He will tell you when he is ready.

I would call another vet close to you if you want a second opinion from a vet. Just beware that they don't offer you miracles for money. He is beyond that point right now.

My heart and prayers go out to you and him both. (please ignore anything past this- I don't write it. They just include it)