Border Collie 30 month old bitch and previously extremely active, though about 4kg over weight.

About a month ago she became weak and unsteady particularly at the back end. When relaxed - I've tried moving her legs around to extreme limits of movement, she shows no pain or tenderness what so ever. Other than the syptoms, there is no visible swelling of joints - nothing out of the ordinary to see. As near as I can tell, there is no loss of feeling in the legs, tickle her toes and she responds. If she stands up on her hind legs against a wall etc. her back legs can't take her weight. As she walks she sometimes stumbles and trips over, if she attempts to run she falls over. Where once she would take a flight of stairs in two bounds up or down, she struggles now and ask for help. She is also sleeping a lot more than usual.

Her appetite is not as good as it was prior to this happening, she eats her food - but since this started she no longer usually pesters for more.

We took her to see the vet, but she was too giddy for the vet to exam her properly and there was nothing obvious in her gait at the time. The vet just gave us some anti-inflamatory pills for her - which didn't seem to help.

The severity of the problem seems to vary from hour to hour.

Any suggestions welcome.

poor girl i would get her back to the vet somethings gone wrong, maybe get some xrays done.
has she fallen or bash her back or hips in anyway

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Sounds like they should x ray/scan for tumours possibly (brain)good luck.

Not that we are aware of and she never goes out unaccompanied - nice big garden for her to play in. It doesn't seem to be getting worse, since we first spotted it.

I am sorry to hear that your friend is unwell. My 7 and 1/2 year old white GSD has just had a MRI scan to confirm a brain tumour. Maybe you could ask the vet if an MRI scan could be possible for you friend. It's hard when they are unwell, i know how it feels, and my heart goes out to you. Please keep asking the vet, keep phoning, making appointments, they soon will get the meassage. I was very strong when i spoke to my vet, i didn't let them palm me off with pill's. Within a day i got an appointment for an MRI scan, i had to travel 600 miles, but at least i know now, so i can make her last few months happy, before it's time to let her go. Be strong with your vet, after all you are paying them for a service, make sure you get wot you want.

Good luck and keep us posted
Chrissy01

After weeks of her gradually decinling in ability to get around, with better days and bad days - I am happy to say she has started to mend (I think).

We took her to another vet who put her on steroids + penicillin and she continued to get even worse. Back for another visit, more of the same pills prescribed and an appointment for an X-Ray. She came out of that in really bad way due to the aneasthetic, but nothing was revealed by the X-rays at all. That was a week ago, since when she did nothing but eat, sleep and drink massively. No play, no recognition of anyone or interest in anything at all. Yet another visit to the vets who suggested this time a brain tumour almost certainly and doubled her steroid dose.

The vet suggested being prepared for the worse as the tumour, if their was one would be inoperable. We contacted a third vet via the phone, simply to ask if they might be able to operate. This latter one said a brain tumour was very unlikely in such a young animal and thought there might be a couple of other possibilties - not saying what.

In the past three days since the doubling of the steroid dose and still on penicilin, she started to improve steadily.

At the moment she is back on her feet, playing a little and almost able to make it up and down stairs. We still don't have much idea what the problem is/was, but hopefully she will continue to mend. She has another appointment with the (X-Ray) vet in the middle of next week - if she continues to recover at the present rate there will be nothing to be seen.

Good news !!! just a thought have you checked to see that she isnt being poisoned by anything , New garden plants , house plants , rat poison , slug pellets , ect One of our dogs last year was really strange she would salivate excessively for days and be off her food and a bit odd , i searched for garden plants to start with but then found a list of house plants and loe and behold a big plant we had in our lounge right by her bed was poisonous to dogs causing her exact symptoms . Just a thought
Andrea

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Well there was something I didn't mention, mainly because the vets completely discounted it....

Just prior to the symptoms starting, she came in from the garden with something white in her mouth. I couldn't quite make out what it was, but it looked similar to a thin bar of soap. I lifted her up, turned her head down to try to get it out of her mouth, but she swallowed what ever it was. My wife tried to grab it as I held her and she thought it felt like a piece of cloth. We were at odds with our decriptions, simply because it was gone so quickly. Whatever it was, she swallowed it in one gulp.

She had a slightly upset stomach after it, then the first symptoms started a day or so later - far from obvious as first that she had a problem. All the vets discounted the possibility of her having been poisoned.

She is getting better with each hour that now passes. I have attached a photo of her taken late last summer.

Attached Images

Lex.jpg (129.3 KB, 11 views)

Harry what a lovely looking dog and sooooo glad shes on the mend

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In my opinion I think there are two possibility. First is allergy and second is poisoning.

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