# Help, hind end weakness and swelling...



## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

Has anyone had any experience with this? Tess has been acting odd the past couple of days. I told my mom yesterday there was something seriously wrong with her, she just wasn't acting like herself. Well low and behold my mom woke up this morning to find Tess couldn't properly use her back legs and her stomach hardand swollen. IDK I am of course thinking the worse like cancer or something of that sort. Our last dog of the same breed was 4 when he passed...

Tess is a maltese/shih tzu mix and she is 8 years old. She has an appt today to see the vet, I just wanted to see if you guys had any ideas.


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## angelbears (Jun 9, 2011)

Sorry I have no experience with this but did want you to know that Tess will be in our thoughts. I'm sure all will be well.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

My Mother had a similiar incident with her Toy/Mini poodle. it turned out it was a sore back as she loves to go for the ball and play. She just tweaked it. Some anti inflammatories and some pain meds for a week and she was fine. I hope it is as simple as that. Good Luck and we'll be thinking of Tess.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

lauren43 said:


> Has anyone had any experience with this? Tess has been acting odd the past couple of days. I told my mom yesterday there was something seriously wrong with her, she just wasn't acting like herself. Well low and behold my mom woke up this morning to find Tess couldn't properly use her back legs and her stomach hardand swollen. IDK I am of course thinking the worse like cancer or something of that sort. Our last dog of the same breed was 4 when he passed...
> 
> Tess is a maltese/shih tzu mix and she is 8 years old. She has an appt today to see the vet, I just wanted to see if you guys had any ideas.


i agree with whiteleo...sounds like her back...but i'm no vet and none of my shih tzus had that which you are describing....

thoughts for tess....i hope she's okay.

are you taking her to the vet?


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I will keep my fingers crossed that it's something easily fixed. How scary for you. Please let us know. And I agree - it sounds like a back issue. If caught early enough, those things can usually be reversed.


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## minnieme (Jul 6, 2011)

The stomach thing seems strange to me, but this happened to one of our German Shepherds once after a reaaaalllllly long day of playing ball. It was terrifying to see her not want to move... she was only 5, so we didn't think any illnesses could befall such a young and healthy dog. Anyway, we took her to the vet and yes, it was easily reversed. Essentially threw her back out... anti-inflammatory drugs and bed rest relieved it.


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

She had x-rays, they did not see anything wrong with her spine. The vet believes she threw a clot. They said nothing about her stomach.

They suggested strict bed rest for the weekend as well as pred. Tess is relaxing in Avery's crate for the weekend. She has to be carried everywhere.

We saw some live fleas on her today and we are not sure how the pred and flea meds will mix...Do we let her suffer with the fleas? Or apply the meds? Last time she had a bad reaction to Advantix, so we got her Frontline today...I am just afraid that if she has a bad reaction, we won't know if its the flea meds or the pred...


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Can you just give her a bath and pick and kill the fleas, keep on top of them with daily brushing and picking off fleas instead of the flea meds. Good Luck!


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I hope she's well soon - prednisone for a blood clot? do they think it paralzyed her legs??

I'm not sure that strong flea treatment is a good idea. What I have done in the past is get some Sevin dust and dust it on lightly, and then rub it into their coat as well as sprinkle a little on their bedding. I've never had a dog have a reaction to Sevin dust. I don't think it kills them but it gets them off the dog.


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## Khan (Jan 17, 2010)

I would stay away from the flea meds. A bath and manually looking for them would be what I would do. After the reaction Shelby had to Metacam a couple weeks ago, I would really not want to mix flea meds that have made Tess react prior, with a new drug. 
We are keeping our fingers and paws crossed, that with rest and relaxation, she feels better!


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

Baths really stress her out and she is not supposed to be moving at all...we don't want to cause more it towould get worsethe and if I put Tess in the tub she will do everything in her power to get out. We did not give her the flea meds theymake me too nervous. Where would u get sevin?

Yes they think her legs are partially paralyzed, she can still move them and has some feeling. The vet was convinced she was not in pain because she wasn't whining or showing signs of discomfort. I disagree, Tess can be vocal but not when something hurts, actually when something hurts she's more likely to snap. No she didn't snap at anyone today but she seems very uncomfortable to me.


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Oh dear. I agree -when my dog was in horrible, horirble pain from a neck injury i didn't recognize it. I would say if you think she's in pain, she probably is. Did he give her something for pain just in case? i guess the clot is a guess on his part and not a firm diagnosis. 

You should be able to get sevin in the garden center of walmart or kmart - people use it alot to sprinkle on stuff like tomato plants and that's where they usually sell it. Personally, I think it's pretty benign and will still keep the fleas away. 

I would be afraid of those strong flea treatments on a healthy dog, much less a sick one. But then, fleas crawling her can't be comfortable. 

I'm a big fan of Sevin dust.


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## Chocx2 (Nov 16, 2009)

I hope she is ok, I wouldn't give her flee meds either not while she is not feeling well already. Good luck and your in my prayers


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

how is she doing?


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (May 19, 2009)

Please do NOT use seven dust on pets. The EPA lists it as a carcinogen... Carbaryl - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

Penny & Maggie's Mom said:


> Please do NOT use seven dust on pets. The EPA lists it as a carcinogen... Carbaryl - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


that's if you eat it. I've used it for 40 years (I've owned at least 50 dogs) and only had one dog with cancer - he was very young, about four, so I doubt it was the sevin dust.

We also use it for people - anyone whose had head lice has used it in the shampoo. 

It's also put on crops because it is very efficient at killing bugs; i.e. fleas. You put it on tomatoes and it doesn't go INTO the tomato - it kills the bugs and you wash it off. it works the same way around dogs. But no, you don't want to be whiffing it.

The sevin we buy in the store is not nearlly as potent as the industrial sevin, and I think all the studies were done in industrial sevin. Also, the reaction of carbaryl and nitrate (which I presume is used for crops) produces another compound which is more dangerous. We don't use nitrates around our dogs.

I'm sure you don't want to inhale it. Here's the info:



> Carcinogenic Effects
> Carbaryl has not caused tumors in ten longterm and lifetime studies of mice and rats. Rats were administered high daily doses of the pesticide for two years, and mice for eighteen months, with no signs of carcinogenicity (3). However, N-nitrosocarbaryl, formed by the reaction of carbaryl and nitrite, has been shown to be carcinogenic in rats at high doses (7). Also, mice exposed to carbaryl in the product, tricaprylin, for four weeks each, developed lung tumors (12).
> Organ Toxicity
> Ingestion of carbaryl affects the lungs, kidneys and liver. Inhalation will also affect the lungs (14, 17). Nerve damage can occur after administration of high doses for 50 days in rats and pigs (12). Several studies indicate that carbaryl can affect the immune system in animals and insects. These effects however have not been documented in humans


Carbaryl

Personally, i have somewhat more of an issue using ingestibles or pills, because those are used internally or absorbed through the skin. i believe anything that kills bugs has a small risk - if it wasn't poison, it wouldn't kill the bugs.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (May 19, 2009)

Carbaryl; Amending Product Registrations to Terminate Uses and Eliminate Certain Application Methods | Federal Register Environmental Documents | USEPA


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

If any one was wondering, Tess is doing better. She walks almost normal most of the time. The hardwoods are tough for her and at the end of the day she is more wobbly. We still have no clue what caused this.


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## lauren43 (Feb 6, 2011)

And she we gave her the frontline after she was feeling better. No fleas and no reaction!!! Yay!


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

i had wondered how she was doing....i think i asked you some posts back, but i guess enough time had not passed 

but, yay....that's always good news!!!


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

lauren43 said:


> If any one was wondering, Tess is doing better. She walks almost normal most of the time. The hardwoods are tough for her and at the end of the day she is more wobbly. We still have no clue what caused this.


That's wonderful - we put runners/rugs through most of the house because our dogs lose their footing and they don't have any problems.


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