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Boston Terrier Aging Problem



 
 
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  #1  
Old June 29th 07, 06:17 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.health
[email protected]
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Posts: 1
Default Boston Terrier Aging Problem

I have an 11 year old Boston Terrier. She is not overweight and has
had one rear leg fixed for patellar luxation about 4 years ago.

She is now having problems walking on smooth surfaces (wood floors,
decks and stairs) and appears to "stagger." I will notice that when I
open the door to let her out she will walk into the door frame on the
way out. We have two steps off of our deck and she kind of rolls
forward down the stairs. She has similar problems coming up the
stairs where her feet seem to fall out from under her.

We took her to the vet and she received glucosamine pills and
something akin to aspirin for dogs. She doesn't seem to be improving.

She does not appear to be in pain or overly sensitive but I am
concerned that she is going to get hurt falling or twisting a joint.

Does anyone have any ideas on what we can do?

  #2  
Old June 29th 07, 06:48 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.health
FurPaw
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Posts: 1,469
Default Boston Terrier Aging Problem

diddy wrote:
in thread oups.com:
whittled the following words:

I have an 11 year old Boston Terrier. She is not overweight and has
had one rear leg fixed for patellar luxation about 4 years ago.

She is now having problems walking on smooth surfaces (wood floors,
decks and stairs) and appears to "stagger." I will notice that when I
open the door to let her out she will walk into the door frame on the
way out. We have two steps off of our deck and she kind of rolls
forward down the stairs. She has similar problems coming up the
stairs where her feet seem to fall out from under her.

We took her to the vet and she received glucosamine pills and
something akin to aspirin for dogs. She doesn't seem to be improving.

She does not appear to be in pain or overly sensitive but I am
concerned that she is going to get hurt falling or twisting a joint.

Does anyone have any ideas on what we can do?


Did your vet give a diagnosis? Did the vet do any neurological
tests, like paw placement? It sounds like it could be a
neurological problem.

If it's arthritis - we have had great results with Adequan shots,
in a GSD and a Chihuahua. The GSD got one about every 4 weeks
and the Chi gets them about every 6. The shots made a big
improvement in their mobility and willingness to move around.
These won't help if it's neurological.

Other suggestions: put a ramp with a gritty surface on the
stairs off the deck (or covered with indoor/outdoor carpet) and
teach her to use it. Don't let her jump on and off furniture.
If you have a staircase in your house (wasn't clear if you do),
carry her up and down the stairs and block her access so she
can't go up and down by herself.

You might try Tacky paws or Sticky paws .. it's a non slip ointment you
can put on their paws and make their paws low skid


Wish I'd heard of this stuff when Dylan was alive and we lived in
the house with wood floors! We put down cheap carpet runners to
make paths for her in the hall and all the wood-floored rooms.

HTH.

FurPaw

--
The Bush legacy - no child left a dime.

To reply, unleash the dog.
  #3  
Old June 29th 07, 07:39 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.health
pfoley
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Posts: 1,285
Default Boston Terrier Aging Problem


wrote in message
oups.com...
I have an 11 year old Boston Terrier. She is not overweight and has
had one rear leg fixed for patellar luxation about 4 years ago.

She is now having problems walking on smooth surfaces (wood floors,
decks and stairs) and appears to "stagger." I will notice that when I
open the door to let her out she will walk into the door frame on the
way out. We have two steps off of our deck and she kind of rolls
forward down the stairs. She has similar problems coming up the
stairs where her feet seem to fall out from under her.

We took her to the vet and she received glucosamine pills and
something akin to aspirin for dogs. She doesn't seem to be improving.

She does not appear to be in pain or overly sensitive but I am
concerned that she is going to get hurt falling or twisting a joint.

Does anyone have any ideas on what we can do?
=============

How is her eyesight? She might be getting cataracts.
I don't think I would trust her on the stairs if she has trouble with her
legs. When my Chow Chow got old and had trouble with his rear legs, I
sometimes slipped a long cloth around the end of my dog's stomach near his
groin to help lift his rear end up when he could not move very well. When
he could no longer do stairs, we built a non slip ramp for him to get in and
out of the van. He eventually had to live on the ground level floor of our
house where there were no stairs to get in and out of the yard easily. This
all occurred during the last six months of his life. In the case of a
Boston Terrier, it would probably be easy enough to carry her up and down
the stairs.


  #4  
Old June 29th 07, 09:48 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.health
diddy
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Posts: 1,077
Default Boston Terrier Aging Problem

in thread :
(DK) whittled the following words:

In article .com,
wrote:
I have an 11 year old Boston Terrier. She is not overweight and has
had one rear leg fixed for patellar luxation about 4 years ago.

She is now having problems walking on smooth surfaces (wood floors,
decks and stairs) and appears to "stagger." I will notice that when I
open the door to let her out she will walk into the door frame on the
way out. We have two steps off of our deck and she kind of rolls
forward down the stairs. She has similar problems coming up the
stairs where her feet seem to fall out from under her.

We took her to the vet and she received glucosamine pills and
something akin to aspirin for dogs. She doesn't seem to be improving.

She does not appear to be in pain or overly sensitive but I am
concerned that she is going to get hurt falling or twisting a joint.

Does anyone have any ideas on what we can do?


Sounds like a neurological issue. Try getting a referral to a
neurologist and go from there. Could be a lot of things: vestibular
disease, intervertebral disc disease, brain tumor,
encephalitis/meningitis.

Unfortunately, it might take some pretty expensive tests to get
conclusive diagnosis.

DK


Or perhaps something as simple as "cold tail"
  #5  
Old June 30th 07, 01:07 PM posted to rec.pets.dogs.health
buglady
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Posts: 863
Default Boston Terrier Aging Problem


wrote in message
oups.com...
She is now having problems walking on smooth surfaces (wood floors,
decks and stairs) and appears to "stagger."

We took her to the vet and she received glucosamine pills and
something akin to aspirin for dogs. She doesn't seem to be improving.


........your dog needs a full workup. Did the vet do a full blood panel and
a thorough physical exam? I don't think you can necessarily assume it's
joint problems. Could be anything else, including endocrine troubles. No
point in jumping to a neurologist until you've covered the basics.

buglady
take out the dog before replying


 




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