Why paralyzed the dog. Treatment and symptoms of hind limb paralysis in dogs (sudden seizures). Paralysis Symptoms in Dogs

Almost every breed of dog has some form of disease. Some pets have problems with the heart, others with the eyes, and others with the limbs. Now you will learn about the predisposition to hind limb paralysis in dachshunds.

Dachshund discopathy: why does it occur?

One of the most common pathologies in dachshunds is discopathy. With this disease, the animal has a loss of elasticity of the intervertebral disc (most often due to too rapid, even premature, aging). The disc becomes thinner, crushed, and cannot perform its shock-absorbing functions.

Dachshunds are also at risk. Unfortunately, they already have a predisposition to this disease at the genetic level. And problems with the spine arise not because of the elongated body, but because of the "gene information". Although a long torso, in turn, provokes mechanical damage to the disc (if you remember physics, it becomes clear that the vertebrae are compressed more due to the longer arm of the lever - the torso).

Scientists managed to establish that even in very small taxon babies, degenerative changes begin in the intervertebral disc (it is reborn). And after a few years (on average, this process takes 4 years), instead of an elastic elastic disk in an animal, there is “something” between the vertebrae, more like a curd mass.

A healthy intervertebral disc normally performs the functions of a “spring”, that is, when the vertebrae are loaded, they do not rub against each other. When an animal has discopathy, then at the slightest load on the spine (even a normal walk), the disc can “flatten out”, go beyond its natural boundaries, pressing down on the spinal cord, and the contents of the disc (due to which cushioning should be) “squeeze out” into spinal canal.

As a result, the movement of cerebrospinal fluid becomes more difficult, edema of the spinal cord begins, its innervation and blood supply are disturbed. As a result - paralysis (most often of the hind limbs).

What really scares, paralyzes the pet absolutely suddenly. No injuries, falls, sudden movements do not even precede this. It is very important to contact a veterinarian as soon as possible. Every hour counts, because just 48 hours after paralysis or loss of sensation, irreversible processes develop in the spinal cord (up to its necrosis).

Symptoms of discopathy

At the very beginning, the disease is, alas, generally asymptomatic. The owner will never notice that the animal has serious health problems. The first signs will appear only when the deformed disc begins to compress the spinal cord. That's only then the dog will begin to worry, to experience pain.

• If you notice that your pet cannot find a place for itself, it “shifts” from place to place all the time, as if looking for where it will be more convenient for it. If you see that the dog no longer jumps for joy when meeting you, does not want to climb stairs or some kind of hill (including a sofa), then you should seek help from a veterinary clinic. Perhaps your beloved four-legged friend is experiencing discomfort in the spine.

• Sometimes “external” signs are also recorded: the dog has a hunched back (he tries to keep it in this position) and a tense stomach. But these symptoms may indicate other pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, so you should not make a diagnosis on your own, let alone prescribe treatment.

• Often, symptoms of neurological disorders are also noted (after all, the spinal cord is compressed): shuffling, a change in gait (later, paralysis of the limbs), and the sensitivity of the paws is noticeably reduced. There may be uncontrolled emptying of the bladder and bowels.

How is the diagnosis made?

Discopathy in dachshunds is based on the results of several studies: MRI, radiography, myelography. Only with the help of these studies, a veterinarian can find the location of the intervertebral hernia, assess the degree of disc destruction, and also decide what kind of therapy the animal needs.

Treatment of dachshunds with paralysis of limbs

It is worth saying that there are 2 types of therapy for dachshunds in which paralysis of the hind legs is caused by discopathy. One is surgical (surgical intervention), the other is conservative (with the help of medicines, massage, physiotherapy). Again, we remind you that it is up to the veterinarian to decide which type of treatment will be more effective based on the results of the examination!

Conservative treatment

If the veterinarian decided that the degree of destruction is low, there are no complications, then anti-inflammatory drugs and drugs will be prescribed to help restore blood circulation in the spinal cord, corticosteroids, vitamins (they have proven themselves well from group B).

A daily massage is required to help restore the dog's motor activity. The walking time is gradually increasing, but in any case, the pet must be under the supervision of a veterinarian so that complications do not develop.

Surgical treatment

If conservative treatment does not help, the veterinarian will recommend surgery. Not in all clinics there are surgeons who will undertake such a complex operation. However, our clinic employs highly qualified specialists (surgeons Sokolova, Chadin, Davydov), who have successfully performed more than a dozen such operations.

The owner must understand that no one can give a 100% guarantee of a dog's recovery. The operation must be done no later than 48 hours after the loss of pain sensitivity or paralysis of the legs! Otherwise, it is impossible to help the animal restore motor activity and return to normal life. But even after surgery, drug therapy and massage are necessary.

Prevention of discopathy

1. Although this pathology is inherited, you can reduce the risk of developing hind limb paralysis in your pet. If you have definitely decided that you want to get yourself a dachshund, then approach the choice of a pet with all seriousness. Choose a puppy in which (on both sides) there has not been a single case of pathology of the intervertebral discs. To do this, you need to contact nurseries to responsible breeders.
2. If a puppy was already given to you or you bought it “at your own peril and risk”, then you will have to think about how to prevent health problems in the crumbs. Remember that dachshunds are hunting dogs, they tend to run a lot and quickly. Therefore, from a very young age, this burrow hunter must have very active walks, the dog must run a lot in order to strengthen the muscular corset. Swimming, massage, active walks (including jogging) - all this should be present in the life of an animal. And a puppy should start such a lifestyle as
3. You can’t take a dachshund under the armpit, be sure to put one hand between the front paws, and the other between the hind legs. And only in this position can a representative of this breed be raised. You should not be allowed to stand on your hind legs and jump on sofas (and jump off them and other hills).
4. Be sure to watch your diet. Overfeeding will lead to obesity, and this is a huge burden on the spine and intervertebral discs! And vitamin-mineral starvation never brought to good. But at the same time, do not overfeed with calcium, otherwise its salts will begin to “be deposited” (including in the intervertebral disc, which will lead to its hardening and rapid loss of elasticity).

From the first person - says the founder of the fund "Let's Live!" Pushkareva Daria.

If a dog gets up on its paws again from complete or partial paralysis, this is largely the merit of the dog itself. A dog's body either has or doesn't have the potential to recover, and you can often tell at a glance if it has a chance of developing a spinal gait. But, of course, there are exceptional cases when even experts put an end to the future of an animal, and it suddenly shows remarkable ability to recover and a huge craving for a full life.

I draw on my experience. We saw and cared for dogs with various diseases of the musculoskeletal system, spinal injuries, and stroke patients. I was interested in all cases of nursing such dogs in other families or shelters, which I learned about through other people, in order to create my own, at least approximate statistics and draw conclusions.

Conclusion one- if the animal has a fracture of the spine with a rupture of the spinal cord or other similar severe injury requiring surgical intervention, then it should be immediate. If on the first day after the incident, the dog did not end up on the operating table, then all subsequent attempts by some doctors to convince that “even after a month’s delay, something can be done, but the chances, you know, are 50/50” is pumping money. Any competent and honest specialist will confirm - after a spinal injury, there is a day to collect it. And even then the chances are not one hundred percent, because injuries happen very differently. And after a week, a month, a year - no operations are needed, do not torture your pets with anesthesia and procedures. Even if there is sensitivity in the paws, it doesn't mean anything! All of our spines have sensitivity in their paws. It does not depend on the ability of the dog to hold his back and move normally.
However, there are cases when the dog can recover partially or completely. For example - after a stroke.

I used to see happy stories of complete recovery from a vegetative state after a stroke that hit a dog only on the websites of foreign rehabilitation centers. From the videos from these sites and bits of information, we learned to do something ourselves. But even when you watch a dozen videos in a row before and after, sometimes it seems that all this is a fairy tale and this does not happen - that's how I thought before our Whirlwinds.

Whirlwind is a Russian canine greyhound, approaching the age of veterans. She had a moderately active life without serious stress and good health, but she always had a very mobile psyche. To describe it in one word - hysterical :) Even a banal vaccination seemed to be a huge problem for her, because at the sight of a syringe, Vihritsa always started yelling, running away, kicking and biting, and how she got out, even if four of her were holding her!

And then one day, without any prerequisites, she suffered paralysis of the larynx. We never found out what was the root cause - the paralysis of the larynx frightened her and provoked a stroke, or Vihra was seized by a stroke with subsequent paralysis of the larynx - this doctor was not explained to us, and they themselves did not understand. One way or another, along with paralysis of the larynx, Whirlwind's hind legs failed. When she arrived at the clinic and the dog was put on oxygen, there was also a failure of the front paws. They gave us Vihra home already in complete paralysis. For the first two weeks, I carried out all the therapy prescribed for strokes, and with this scheme, I raised absolutely all dogs to Whirlwind. In my experience, if an older dog has a stroke, he loses the ability to navigate in space and mobility for a day or two, but then slowly begins to return to life. Of course, there are some consequences - the head on one side, partial blindness - not without that. But after a week the dog walks for sure, even if it does not rest firmly on its paws. As for Vihritsa, two weeks have passed, and we have only seen regression. If at first she could still raise her head and eat, then after a few days she fell into a complete vegetative state, and I fed and even watered her only with a syringe. The look dimmed, and Whirlwind was already somewhere in eternity, as it seemed to everyone then. Doctors said that she was fading away, and there were no chances even for prolonging her life in paralysis. And I was about to say goodbye to her.
However, time passed, and Vihra continued to live. She started lifting her head uncertainly and eating herself after a few weeks, and I was terribly surprised by these changes. Of course, everything that needs to be done for bedridden dogs was done for her - an anti-decubitus mattress, regular turning from side to side. I think these reversals infuriated her very much, because Vihra, as we remember, does not tolerate any manipulations on herself. During the rollover, she began to try to tighten her muscles - and this was to her advantage.

Over time, she learned to hold her head. Every muscle in her body had completely atrophied. There was only skin and bones with no muscle layer. However, she began to try to move her front paws on her own. And then it was our time to somehow help her in her craving for recovery.
I will say right away - none of us believed that she would recover. We saw her thin legs without muscles and it was impossible to put in our heads that they would someday be able to lift and hold her huge body (Russian Borzoi is a large dog). But you can do it without believing in success))) The main thing is to do it. I started with massage. The main task was to restore the flexion-extensor function, therefore the only exercise was this: we take the paw by the finger and pull it towards ourselves until we feel resistance. If the dog starts to pull its paw back on itself, that's great! The second exercise: the paw is taken and flexion-extension begins in all joints - metacarpus, elbows, shoulder. Both of these exercises also apply to the hind legs.
Whirlwind, with her character, had an additional incentive to work - she did not want to endure touching, and even more so exercises, and pulled her paws away with great enthusiasm.

Parallel to the paws, we developed the muscles of the neck and flexibility, it was very simple: you just need to start doing something with its back - then Vihra would definitely run amok, wriggle, try to reach me to bite, and thereby train herself.

Helped to strengthen the muscles of the front paws chewable long-playing items- deer antlers, bones and especially - beef tails. The first time they were given to us, I decided to give Whirlwind one for her pleasure. It was then that I realized how to build muscle on her front paws - after all, she tried to hold the delicacy with her paws so that it would be convenient to nibble, and we got benefit and pleasure in one bottle.

Then Whirlwind learned to roll over her back. At that moment, her front paws were already well felt, and she could stretch them, bend them, pull them back; they looked great - that is, they looked alive.

It's time to teach her to sit. Here again she played the main role love for treats- I stopped putting the bowl in front of her, but went to her with a bowl in my hands and offered Whirlwind to reach up. So, slowly, Vihra began to put her front paws on the floor and practically sit down. She also ate from this semi-sitting position.

And even when she learned to sit and crawl across the room, I did not believe that it would be better further. I thought - this is all we could hope for, and this is a huge happiness and an incredible miracle.
However, given my many "teasers" - when I approached her from behind and pretended that I wanted to turn or brush her tail or the like - Whirlwind launched her hind legs too. Of course, if she had not undergone a recovery process in her body, none of my “teasers” would have provoked it. But the process was slowly going on, and our task was to support it and not let it stop.

At first, Vihra made a couple of small pushes with her hind legs, without straightening them. It turned out such a huge hare. Jump-jump - a respite of a few minutes. Then jump again. Worked very well at this stage companion dogs, who provoked her to move: they ran out with her for a walk, played next to her - and the character of Whirlwind implies a great penchant for games. She has always been a lighter, switching from zero speed to supersonic instantly, and her craving to play with others made her hind legs work more actively.

Six months after the stroke and complete paralysis, Vihra could not stand up on all fours and could cross the vast territory of the paddock with several respite, on foot. All her limbs were shaking, her breathing was heavy, and she gathered her strength for a long time, lying on the hay, before making another forced march. Here, nothing additional was required of us - just make sure that she did not freeze anything for herself, and for that, because the risk of a second stroke scared us very much (and scares us). Even when Vihra climbed the high parapet for the first time, and I boasted about this to my husband, he said that it was too early to allow her to such loads. Thus, sometimes it is necessary not to pedal the process, but to pause it a little. Everything should go gradually, although, of course, if incredible results are achieved, excitement has already appeared and one wants to see more and more progress. You need to be able to restrain yourself so as not to harm.

In the case of Whirlwind, we did not use any additional means of rehabilitation at all, although we have an arsenal of them in abundance: balls, a treadmill, a swimming pool, physiotherapy devices, a quad wheelchair. All this is. But even one single attempt to put her on a wheelchair was so disastrous that we realized that this was not her option. On the wheelchair, Vihra began to beat in real hysterics, and we quickly removed her, because we thought that now she would have a stroke again. This dog was very nervous about absolutely all the manipulations around her person, and it was impossible to connect anything special to her recovery.

Today Vihra made her first attempts to run. Her back straightened, her paws almost stopped trembling. She maneuvers, makes sharp turns and, hopefully, by the summer she will really learn how to shift gears again.

It was a completely different story with hero.
The hero is an absolute spinal in the classical sense of the problem: right in the middle of his spine, in the spinal cord, there is a bullet. His urination and defecation are involuntary, and his hind legs - with working front ones - when he came to us, were in hypertonicity: one was twisted and tucked under the belly, and the second, on the contrary, was stretched out like a stick and did not bend. The Hero crawled exclusively on the priest, without using his hind legs at all. He had huge bedsores as a result of his way of moving.

On the Hero, I tried almost the entire set of exercises that I knew. It all started as usual with massage- we learned to bend one paw, and unbend the other. I put the Hero on three legs (the one under the belly turned out to be very atrophic and did not participate in the first place in active life at all) and held him while he tried to fall in one direction or the other. When we learned to stand in this way, we had to start developing the fourth paw, which had big problems: it turned out to be twice as thin as it should be, with shrunken toes that had not touched any surface for a long time.

That's when it startedbalance plate exercise. It is an inflated flat rubber plate with a bumpy surface. While the Hero was eating, I put this plate under his hind legs, but since he wanted to use only that paw that was not atrophic, I had to take this more or less sensitive paw in my hand and take it away from the surface of the plate. Then the Hero lost his balance and, out of hopelessness, included an atrophic paw in his work. We tortured him with this activity for quite a long time - each feeding took place on this plate. The front paws are on the floor, one hind paw is in my hand, and the other is on the surface of the balancing projectile.

Then they started walking. I had to walk across the widest variety of landscapes, but in such a way that it is convenient to catch on - that is, we excluded tiles, linoleum and smooth surfaces for a start. We walked on sand, grass, gravel, boards. And the higher the grass was, the more diverse the landscape was - the better. The hero learned to feel the ground with his paws, to catch the balance. I walk him on a leash and always offer overcome some obstacle: if you can go straight or jump over boards lying on the ground, then we chose the second.

We are talking about development of the spinal gait. This is a gait on reflexes, it is all crooked and oblique, but with the involvement of all the paws of the dog. The hero could then, and now, fall sideways, fall on his ass, but he walked, despite these difficulties, and continues to walk to this day.

After we mastered the "street" surfaces, it was time to work on more complex ones - in the house. By that time, the sensitivity of both hind legs of the Hero was so good that he himself learned to balance on tiles and linoleum. It didn’t work right away - good muscles are needed for this - but in the end everything worked out.

The Hero has a big minus - he is a strong fighter. You come to any clinic with pride, thinking that a spinal supporter will now get out of the car, who has learned to walk again - and in response he twists all over, his eyes puffy, shaking, one paw is again under his belly, the other is again like a stick. But they put a dog in the car, galloping towards it almost skipping. That's why I always recorded a video for the doctors in the clinic so that they would believe that the Hero can walk :)

Of the important: he absolutely did not fit the way of developing a spinal gait using a two-wheeled wheelchair. Some doctors recommend this exercise, some discourage it, and I am on the side of the latter's opinion. If the dog is placed on a stroller, its hind legs are supported in the groin with cross straps. With such support, the paws relax and do not want to work - why, if they are already “carried” by wheels? When we put the Hero, experimentally, on a two-wheeler, he simply stood on it - and did not move. And when they began to drive forcibly, then his hind legs simply switched off from the process. Everything suited them in a wheelchair, and there was no incentive to move them at all. So I do not recommend a wheelchair as a simulator for the formation of spinal walking.

What else do we use? The drug "Prozerin". It is a prescription drug often prescribed for paralysis and to restore nerve function. I did not use it on Vihritsa! She didn't let herself be stabbed. I used it on the Hero at the very beginning, when it was necessary to remove the hyper-tonicity of the hind legs, and the drug proved to be excellent. I also used "Prozerin" in the case when the dog's front paw was crumpled (the fingers were clenched into a fist, it was a pinched nerve) - it all went away in two days. And carefully, in courses, I inject Fleur, for the preservation of the mobility of which I struggle every day. It helps too.

What would we like? - we would like aqua treadmill. This is a very expensive thing, it costs as much as our one building, 700 thousand rubles. But it is she who is always the main and paramount, with which the process of restoring a dog that has lost mobility begins abroad. Never a simple pool or an ordinary treadmill can replace the wonderful properties of aqua. I don’t know, maybe when we finish building our fourth building, it will make sense to save up for this pleasure?

Today I'm going to talk about why some dogs may have hind leg failure. I will consider possible pathological processes, their causes, how they manifest themselves and which breeds are predisposed. I'll tell you what to do and how to cure with folk remedies if the dog cannot stand up and the paws are taken away. So the issues of prevention of diseases of the spine will be disclosed.

• Damage to the peripheral nerves of the spinal column.
• Intervertebral hernia.
• Spondylosis.
• Paw injuries.
• Tumors.
• Osteochondrosis.

All these pathologies can lead to complete or partial paralysis of the hind legs, weakness and lethargy.

A little more about these pathologies.

X-ray - hind limb failure in a dog

Damage to the peripheral nerves of the spinal column

This happens if the dog has a history of a gunshot wound, beating the animal in the back area, when hematomas compress the nerves and prevent them from freely transmitting impulses to the pelvic limbs and the paws may fail.

The process is reversible. After the recovery is completed, the ability to move returns to the animals, if there was no serious damage to the spinal column.

As an additional therapy, if no third-party pathologies were detected during the examination, a paw massage is done so that after the nerves are restored, the dog will stand on its paws faster and more confidently.

Intervertebral hernia

Intervertebral hernia is observed in dogs with a long spine - corgis and dachshunds.

In and, the German Shepherd has large distances between the vertebrae, which leads to prolapse. The fibrinous ring under the influence of various factors is displaced beyond the boundaries of the vertebral disc, dragging the nucleus pulposus with it. Nerve compression occurs.

The process develops slowly. Often seen in older dogs.

To understand that a dog is suffering from a hernia, you can by the following signs:

• Lies in an unusual position for her, cannot walk.
• Refuses active games, lethargic.
• The hind legs first give way, the dog falls, weakness appears, and he feels bad. Complete paralysis appears some time after the onset of the disease.
• When touched to the back (usually the lumbar) shows that she is sick.

In advanced cases, it is treated only with the help of surgery.

It happens that only the fibrinous ring crawls out of the vertebral disc, without pulling the nucleus along with it. With such a pathology, paralysis of the pelvic limbs does not develop, but the gait becomes shaky and unsure.

Spondylosis

The disease is characterized by aging of individual vertebrae. 1-3 can suffer, and the rest remain unchanged. The fibrinous egg is affected, without affecting the nucleus pulposus. The process proceeds slowly, without showing itself in any way until the last stage, when the longitudinal ligament is calcified. At this stage, paresis and paralysis of the pelvic limbs develop.

Paw injuries

These include:

• Dislocations.
• Various fractures and legs can be taken away.
• Sprain and torn ligaments, the dog pulls its paws behind it.
• Inflammation of ligaments and tendons.

Everything happens as a result of the injury that the animal receives during active games, falls and bumps.

A characteristic feature of trauma is acute pain in the affected area.

Tumors

Neoplasms near or in the spinal cord lead to compression of the nervous tissue and edema, which prevent the transmission of impulses to the hind legs.

In addition to paralysis of the limbs, the following symptoms appear:

• Refusal to eat.
• Urinary and fecal incontinence.
• There is exhaustion.
• The dog arches its back.

The only possible treatment is the removal of tumors.

Chemotherapy drugs are rarely available for animals.

Osteochondrosis

There is a defeat not only of the vertebral discs, but also of the ligamentous apparatus. Depending on the location of the lesion, there are also different symptoms.

The entire period of the disease, the animal shows in every possible way that something is bothering it. She may lie uncharacteristically, move little, whimper if she touches the affected area.

Osteochondrosis develops slowly, limbs begin to fail only at the last stage.

Discopathy

Bulldogs are susceptible. The essence of the disease is that due to the large distance between the vertebrae, the ligamentous apparatus is weakened. The vertebra descends, injuring the spinal cord.

With discopathy in dogs, the paws fail abruptly.

The disease is hereditary. Common in the following breeds:

• French bulldogs.
• Dachshunds.
• Corgi.
• Pekingese.

What to do if the dog's hind legs give up

First of all, go to the vet.

When considering possible pathologies, the treatment is completely different, and independent therapy will lead to sad consequences.

The veterinarian will prescribe an x-ray of the pelvic limbs and spine, which will show the pathology of the paws and spine.

Treatment Methods

Sample treatment plan

fracture

An operation to apply pins and plates so that the bone heals properly. A month later, the dog stands on its paws and begins to lead an active life.

With damage to the peripheral nerves of the spinal column

Drugs that stimulate the restoration of nervous tissue are prescribed. As a rule, it takes a long time to heal due to the nature of fiber regeneration.

Tumors and intervertebral hernia

Surgery is performed depending on the size of the pathology.

Osteochondrosis

Successfully treated at different stages. The therapy is complex and lifelong.

Appointed:

• Nutritional Therapy for Healthy Joints from the Professional Pet Food Line
• Chondroprotectors - to restore cartilage tissue
• Vitamins of group B - as a rule, the drug Combilipen is used
• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
• From physiotherapy procedures - warming up with a blue lamp
• Massage if the disease was detected at an early stage.

Spondylosis

It is treated with a lifelong intake of NSAIDs and various methods of physiotherapy, for example, acupuncture at certain points and point conduction of current. With calcification of the ligaments, lipase injections are prescribed.

Discopathy

In the early stages, NSAIDs are used. In advanced cases, surgical intervention.

How to avoid back leg problems

1. Small puppies up to 6 months of age must descend from heights and stairs with the help of the owner
2. Predisposed breeds should undergo x-ray examinations once a year to detect pathologies in the early stages.
3. Avoid injuries to the paws and spine
4. moderate exercise
5. Balanced diet

For dogs with a predisposition to pathologies of the musculoskeletal system, chondroprotectors are prescribed after the second year of life.

Unfortunately, some dogs suffer from this kind of disease.

But you can help her if you contact the veterinarian in a timely manner, follow all his instructions and surround the pet with affection and care.

And the owner does his best to help and prevent them. However, not always even a qualified specialist can provide assistance that will have a lasting effect.

Unfortunately, the level of development of veterinary medicine, and human medicine as well, is still very far from the moment when diseases of a neurotic nature can be easily diagnosed and easily treated. To alleviate the fate of the dog, you need to understand what exactly is happening in the body.

Harbingers of seizures

The owner, who has repeatedly observed convulsions in his dog and carefully monitors the animal, can more or less accurately feel the approach of an attack.

At the dog compulsive behavior begins , sometimes attempts to hide or excessive excitement, whining, staggering from side to side. This is a prodromal period, which may be imperceptible or clearly expressed.

At this moment, the dog can lick, chew, bark, salivation, urination, are also possible.

Before convulsions, the dog may begin to lick itself.

Actually a seizure

1. Violation of muscle tone, when the animal falls, draws in or vice versa straightens the limbs, is considered by many to be the climax.
2. However, even involuntary salivation, urination, or twitching of the lower jaw without loss of muscle tone is also serious, although not as spectacular.
3. The acute phase lasts from a few seconds to several minutes.

During a seizure, the dog falls on its side and tucks its paws.

Calming phase

When the seizure itself is over, the owner calms down, but for the dog the shock continues. This period can last up to several hours. Thirst, appetite, temporary blindness, disorientation, disturbed behavior, drowsiness, loss of sense of space, paralysis of the hind limbs - all this is a continuation of the fit.

After the seizure, the dog becomes thirsty.

Watching the dog, the owner must pay attention to all the little things, to the frequency of repetition and sequence. Each of the nuances can be an assistant in making a diagnosis and differentiating it.

• The main part of seizures , which catch the eye of the owner, is due to the fact that the animal falls on its side, the muscles of the limbs rhythmically contract and relax, and the paws convulsively twitch.
• psychomotor seizures , which are manifested by the inadequacy of behavior, are less conspicuous, since they are sometimes difficult to distinguish from the behavioral features of a quadruped, but they are also dangerous.

Statistical Observations

• The statistics say that 30% of dogs with seizures have congenital anomalies brain injury, or beginning inflammation of the membranes of the brain.
• Another 30% of dogs were transferred, and convulsions and seizures are residual phenomena, regardless of whether the animal was helped or not.
• The rest of the seizure phenomena are usually attributed to endocrine(hormonal imbalance) and metabolic () disorders.

A hereditary predisposition to convulsive phenomena has long been proven, therefore, when choosing a puppy, you must carefully familiarize yourself with the pedigree.

When choosing a puppy, you need to familiarize yourself with its pedigree.

Age features

The greatest intensity of registered seizures is recorded in the interval of six months and 3 years.

Some breeds (Cocker Spaniel) show seizures at a young age (1-2 months), and then everything is safely restored.

Cocker Spaniel puppies may have seizures in their first months of life.

Young dogs, as a rule, do not lose consciousness, at an older age, a loss of 1–2 minutes becomes the “norm”.

Temporary permanence

Each organism reacts differently to the state of seizures. The interval of regularity can be either 1–2 weeks or 1–2 months.

The larger the breed, the more often seizures can occur, even up to several per day.

Seizures are more common in large dog breeds.

Sometimes a seizure that occurs once may never happen again, however, in this case, the owner must not forget that the dysfunction has taken place.

Diagnostics

Unfortunately, today there is still no way to correctly diagnose and establish the cause of seizures.

In most dogs, when examining cerebrospinal fluid, tests showed the norm. Structural deviations in magnetic resonance imaging during the period when the dog was already out of convulsions also could not be established. Even a post-mortem autopsy could not always establish the cause.

Convulsive seizures can be observed with hypernatremia, heat stroke, and some infectious diseases, so urine can help establish the diagnosis.

To diagnose the disease, you need a blood test.

When establishing a diagnosis, it is necessary to deny:

• Poisoning.
• Inflammation of the brain.
• Injuries, of various prescription.

Convulsive seizures of paralysis

With convulsive seizures, it is necessary to repeatedly conduct thermometry, which may indicate inflammatory or infectious processes.

The dog is having a seizure.

Treatment for paralysis in dogs

Unfortunately, treatment is carried out only with a precisely established cause of convulsive phenomena and seizures.

• Administer any drugs during remission it makes no sense. Even if a seizure occurs, the veterinarian, no matter how quickly he hurries to help the patient, can no longer fix it. You can remove it by intravenous administration of seduxen, sibazon.
• If you already know your dog well and can anticipate seizures, then sibazon can be given with food . Sometimes it is practiced to feed the drug constantly once a day, a quarter of a tablet for a dog weighing up to 10 kg.
• Convulsions and seizures may result from(moving, fear, change of ownership). In this case, sedatives can help.
• For decades, experts have prescribed phenobarbital for seizures in dogs. This drug is quite safe, even with long-term use. By giving the animal a dose of 2 mg/kg of body weight twice a day. The course of treatment lasts up to 20 days. During this time, observations are being made. If the clinic does not manifest itself, the drug is canceled, but after 2.5-3 months the course is resumed again.
• Recently, levitiracetam has been increasingly prescribed. The drug is administered at a dose of 20 mg/kg of animal weight every 8 hours. Convulsive phenomena are removed steadfastly, no side effects have been recorded.
• Periodically, the dog can be fed diazepam at a dose of 0.3-0.5 mg per kg of body weight, 2 times a day. It is impossible to abuse the drug, it is addictive, but the use for 10-12 days gives a lasting effect.

The drug Sibazon relieves epileptic convulsions in a dog.

conclusions

With one-time or periodic seizures, the animal is frightened no less than ours, therefore, an attentive and affectionate attitude towards the dog will help it adapt and return to normal.

After the seizures have occurred, the dog should be treated kindly.

Video about hind limb paralysis in dogs

Today we invite you to talk in our section on dog health about such an important topic as paralysis in dogs. As a rule, most owners of four-legged pets are afraid of such words like fire, all the more scary to hear them from a veterinarian who, after examining your pet, only makes a helpless gesture.

Can paralysis be prevented? Why does it arise? Is it always one of the symptoms of approaching old age (learn about age-related changes in their body) and how to cure (if final, possible) paralysis of the limbs - we invite you to learn about all this from our today's publication ...

Paralysis in dogs - what is it?

Paralysis is the complete inability of the animal to make voluntary movements. It is the paralysis of the limbs that most often affects dogs. Although, paralysis can also affect other parts of the body.

Types of paralysis in dogs

In the case when the veterinarian tells you about the paralysis of the limbs in your pet, we are talking about damage to the motor nerves. The reason for this violation can be various factors. And, depending on which of the mechanisms is involved, there are also types of paralysis. So, paralysis of the limbs can be:

• Partial- in this case, only one paw is affected, most often the cause of monoplegia is an infectious disease, meningitis, sciatica, encephalitis, spinal stroke, the consequences of an injury or fracture, a tumor, intoxication of the animal's body.
• Paraparetic- in this case, paralysis affects both paws - either the hind or the front, however, veterinarians say that most often paraparesis still affects the hind legs of the dog. Such paraparesis may occur as a result of lumbosacral sciatica.
• Tetraplegia- this is the name of the paralysis of all 4 limbs of the dog, which can occur as a result of trauma to the cervical spine or nerve damage as a result of injury or intoxication of the animal's body. Tetraplegia is also characteristic as one of the symptoms of the development of canine distemper (read more about distemper in dogs).
• Damage to 2 left or 2 right limbs or hemiplegia can develop with brain abscesses, canine distemper, trauma, heart attack, cerebral hemorrhages, tumors and meningoencephalitis.
• Paralysis can also affect the trigeminal nerve and cause paresis of the lower jaw of the animal - this occurs as a result of severe injuries, diseases of the animal's brain, diseases of the teeth (find out) and inflammatory processes in the middle ear.
• As for other peripheral types of paralysis elsewhere in the animal's body, trauma may be the cause.

It is noteworthy that paralysis can occur in a dog suddenly - just yesterday your dog was active and mobile, and today he cannot get up from the litter and develop for several months, or even years. Also, paralysis can be permanent - in this case, talking about treatment, unfortunately, does not make sense, irreversible processes have already occurred in the animal's body that turned your pet into a disabled person, and reversible - in this case, paralysis is one of the symptoms of the disease, and by eliminating the root cause - by curing the disease, you can hope that the mobility of your dog's body parts will be fully restored.

In any case, the type of paralysis should be determined by a veterinarian.

Diagnosis of Paralysis in a Dog

As a rule, in most cases, veterinarians are contacted already when the dog is immobilized and has become disabled. In the event that the disease developed at the same time, this is understandable, but when month after month the owner of the animal watches how his pet first pulls one paw, then two, and then cannot rise at all, it is a pity for the lost time. After all, if the owner turned to a specialist earlier, then perhaps the treatment could give a result.

But, before talking about such treatment, the doctor must find out the cause of the condition, and find out what caused the paralysis of the limbs in the dog or other parts of its body. To do this, he will need to conduct a visual examination of the animal, prescribe a series of examinations and. Only by collecting all the results of these examinations, he will be able to establish an accurate diagnosis and prescribe an adequate course of treatment or give specific recommendations to the owners of a paralyzed pet.

And, although a veterinary specialist will be involved in the diagnosis, it will not hurt us to know about the causes of this condition.

Treatment for paralysis in dogs

In fact, according to veterinarians,

the diagnosis of paralysis is not yet a sentence for the animal and not a reason to carry it out.

If you love your pet, you must fight for his life. And, this struggle begins from the moment when you turn to the veterinarian, and together with him establish the nature of the paralysis, the reason that led to such a violation of motor activity, the type of paralysis ...

As a rule, in cases where it is appropriate to talk about the treatment of paralysis, antispasmodics and analgesics for pain relief, B vitamins and glucocorticoids are prescribed to restore the motor activity of the animal. If the paralysis is caused by infectious-allergic pathogens, a course of antihistamine drugs is prescribed.

When it comes to central paralysis, traditional methods often turn out to be already powerless, for the simple reason that the time for treatment has already been lost, and many muscles have been affected. But, the veterinarian can still prescribe novocaine nerve blockades, warming up the muscles affected by paralysis and massage. Also, for paraplegia of the hind limbs, it is appropriate to use suprapleural novocaine blockade.

Anyway,

the effectiveness of treatment can only be discussed with an integrated approach, when physiotherapeutic procedures, drug treatment and pathogenetic methods are combined.