We have a cocker spaniel who is 11 years 6 months.

In the past 12 months he has developed a condition
which renders him to loose power in his two back
legs causing him to collapse quite frequently when
we are on walks.

He also has a difficulty to raise himself on his
hind legs when getting out of bed sometimes.

Our vet (in spain) started a treatment some months back
which involves an injection of "Laurabolin" , every 6 weeks.
In addition he receives Rimadyl and Benexol each day.

We have noticed that the 6 week period has now become 4
weeks and it is taking longer for the injection to have any material
affect.

The Vet tells us about an operation which he can have, to
remedy the damaged nerve tissue/ends - but it can be
quite dangerous for the older dog.
If successful however it can give him a few more years of
quality life.

Generally he is in very good condition - eats well - but in fact
is somewhat overweight (about 18 kgs). Walks have become
shorter however .

We want him to enjoy a pain free quality life , but are not
anxious to put him through a heavy operation - unless totally
necessary.
At the end of the day we want to make the right decision for him.

Are there any other "Miracle" drugs on the market these days?
Can we do any more to improve the situation?

Many thanks in advance for any information/advice you can
offer.

Kind regards
Kevin Downey

Might not make much difference but have you considered accupunture/accupressure?? I have it for a back problem and it is very effective, it is also good for relieving stress!! Not sure about the arthritis but devils claw is an effective natural antiinflammatory and MSM is also very good for joint dissorders etc

Many thanks for this suggestion.,
I will certainly look into it straight away.
renewed thanks

have you thought of alpha lipoic acid supplements and acupuncture. my old boy of 14 has responded quite well, his nerve damage [due to diabetes] and arthritis has improved and he has had only 4 treatments. he also takes sillicol gel and liquid glucosamine 250mg. he also takes a homeopathic supplement called traumeel hope this helps

GOOD EVENING,

THIS IS THE 2ND RECOMMENDATION I HAVE RECEIVED
RE ACUPUNCTURE AND I AM ABOUT TO EXPLORE SAME.
HAVE ALSO TAKEN NOTE OF THE VARIOUS OTHER
SUPPLEMENTS RECOMMENDED-IN LIGHT OF YOUR EXPERIENCE.
VERY MANY THANKSpru wrote:

> have you thought of alpha lipoic acid supplements and
> acupuncture. my old boy of 14 has responded quite well, his
> nerve damage [due to diabetes] and arthritis has improved and
> he has had only 4 treatments. he also takes sillicol gel and
> liquid glucosamine 250mg. he also takes a homeopathic
> supplement called traumeel hope this helps

Hi, Kevin,
Sorry to be so long in replying to your qustion about loss of strenght in your cocker spaniel's rear end, I have been away from my desk for the lat 5 days, but I see that you have had lots of advice. I will be very interested to hear if any of it helps.
From your description of the clinical signs, I thing that your dog may have an irreversible degeneration of the of the long nerve fibres supplying the musculature at his hind end.
I know of no operation or treatment which is likely to reverse this.
Walter

Walter
Many thanks for your reply.
On receipt of advice from the other correspondents
we duly arranged an acupuncture treatment.
He responded remarkably the following day and
was almost walking normally again, tripping just
3 times during the day- in stark contrast to previous
days which were much worse.
Also he wants to jump up on armchairs again - which
he hasnt done for a while.
The acupuncturist says however that we are only
providing palative care and recommended surgery to
repair tissue ends/improve bloodflow.
We are to discuss this with the surgeon on Monday.
Will keep you posted.
Renewed thanks for your kind reply

Kevin
ps - many thanks to the correspondents who suggested
acupuncture. Even if only short term it has ,to some degree,
improved his quality of life

Hi, kevin,
Delighted to hear that the acupuncture helped - arthritis is a condition that independant assessment has shown does respond yo acupuncture.
Just as a matter of interest - please look at the tops of his toes on his back feet, and see if they are 'scuffed', and let me know.
Walter

Many thanks for your message.
Checked his toes and all seem to be ok.
He continues to be reasonably well.
He is not collapsing as much,
perhaps twice a day compared with almost twice every hour.
We are having further consultations
with our Vet in Spain on Friday.
Renewed thanks for your kind interest/advices

Hi, Kevin,
Sounds good - I hope he continues to progress.
Walter

Thanks Walter.
So far , following the acupuncture treatment and a strong vitamin
jab he is now able to go for short walks - without collapsing on his
hind legs.
So we are back to the 6 week jabs of laurobolin. In fact he is due one now - but we may now be able to stretch this for a longer period.
renewed thanks for your kind interest
Kevin

Hi, Kevin,
Very pleased to hear of the continuing good progress.
Walter

Hi Walter,

Our Cocker has been getting laurabolin jabs every 6 weeks
which more recently have become every 4 and now we are down to 3.
0ur Vet says that it is a progressive disease of the 7th vertabra and basically all we are doing is providing pallative care.
In the last week or so however he also appears to have developed
"cushings" disease,drinking excessive amounts of water,wanting more food, becoming lethargic,excessive panting and becoming pot bellied - the excess weight of course causing additional difficulty for walking and he is stumbling on a more regular basis-because he is basically not able to manage the excess weight.
We hear of a special treatment (Vetoryl)for this condition (which is not
available in Spain) and wonder if you can advise further about this treatment.
(We also want put our beloved Pet's interests first and foremost and
not ours, so we fear that perhaps we may be coming close to making the ultimate decision)
kind regards
Kevin

Hi, Kevin,

You will find a lot of references to Cushings Disease and vetoryl elsewhere on this site, Including addresses of suppliers.
Laurabolin does help in these conditions, but only as a palliative, not as a cure. So far as I am aware, Laurobolin will not have produced the Cushings.
With the multiplicity of conditions from which your pet appears to be currently suffereing, I think that you will soon have to consider what future action is in his best interests.
walter

Walter
Yes indeed we have to have our pets needs/quality of life foremost in mind. This is more or less the last throw of the dice.
In the meantime we have sourced Vetoryl and within 2 days the excessive panting has stopped.
He is still very weak on his back legs due to the spinal/vertabra condition.
He has been receiving oral and injectable steroids on a very regular basis
and this may have induced "Iatrogenic" Cushings.
Our Vet has now stopped the steroids treatment but does not seem to be able to prescribe an alternate medication-apart from suggesting an operation on the spine.
We are not anxious to go down that road -if we can find an alterate remedy ?
Is there anything you cound recommend ?
kind regards
Kevin

Hi, Kevin,
I suggest that now may be the time to try 'alternative' or 'complementary' treatments.
If Richard Allport picks up this exchange, maybe he will contact you with some suggestions.
Walter

Many thanks Walter

May I ask do you have contact details for Richard ?

regards

Hi, Kevin,

You might try : richard@allport9

Walter

Walter

Sorry to be such a bother - but that email address is not recognised
(may be incomplete) ??
Can you look at it again please?
thanks
Kevin

Hi Kevin

You can contact me at : port@poetic.com
or at : info@naturalmedicinecentre.net

Sounds as if acupuncture should be most helpful, if you have a vet practising acupuncture within travelling distance, but there are other alternative therapies that should help.

Richard

Many thanks for your email address.
Have sent you a message.

We have tried Acupunture which brought
some relief for a day/two but the experience
was very stressful for him (he is of a very nervous
disposition).

Would be most anxious to learn about alternative treatment
as he cannot resume steroids.

kind regards
Kevin

Hi, Richard,

Thanks for your help.

Walter

Hi Walter,

As you know Richard kindly recommended other
homoeopathic remedies in lieu of steroids to alleviate
the problems with vertabra/collapsing.
We are currently administering same as per Richards
advices.

In the meantime(re Cushings) our pet has now been taking Vetoryl
for a week and whereas the 1st few days we saw a
significant decrease in panting, it has now re-occured

(He is very pot bellied and is drinking excessive amounts of
water).

I appreciate each patient is different - but how long does it
take Vetoryl to become effective ?(He weighs approx 20 kgs).

regards
Kevin

Hi, Kevin,
Thare comes a time when these conditions do not repond to ANY treament. If there was an early good response which has now disappeared you may be reaching that stage.
Discuss dosage levels with your vet - a phone call to him should suffice.
Walter

Dear Walter,

We took great solace from the comments expressed to another
correspondent that owning a pet was such a priviledge and that
at the end of the day ,THEIR interests must be foremost in mind.

Out of love and devotion to our beloved cocker spaniel "Shannon" we visited the vet for the last time this afternoon.

Thank you so much and also to Richard and the other kind people who
took the trouble and effort to help and support us in the recent months.

"A DOG IS THE ONLY THING ON THIS EARTH THAT LOVES YOU MORE THAN HE LOVES HIMSELF"

(Hopefully we have shown the depth of our love for Shannon by making our decision this afternoon to end his distress and to put him to rest)

Kevin....I have followed this discussion purely to educate myself. Your articulate, expressive concern for your beloved pet was evident from post one. I applaud you as quality of life is paramount and we will have to make the same decision one day. I hope we are as correct as you have been when the time comes. Your pet was very loved by you.
Our thoughts are with you.
Ken and Nadine Evans.

Dear Ken and Nadine,
We very much appreciate your kind thoughts and expressions of sympathy.
Our "babies" Ben - Yorkie - died 18 months ago and "Shannon" who passed on today were in fact our lives. We were devoted to them both.
When Ben died at almost 13 (He was the boss/the leader),Shannon mourned him for many months. It was at that point in fact that he started to deteriorate and the past 12 months have been quite a traumatic time.
We prayed many many times that he might pass on in his sleep as we dreaded this day when we would have to make the dreaded decision.
But we had to forego our selfishness and out of love decided to end his
distress and allow him to leave us.
Every good wish to your both and to your cherished pet
Kevin and Declan

Hi, Kevin,

I had many years 'on the other end' of this, and I always admired those pet owners who were prepared to make the decision at the right time to put an end to their pet's suffering.
I also had to deal with those clients who said that parting with their pet had caused them so much distress that they would never have another pet and go through such trauma again. My reply to that was to say that it was unfair to the memory of their pet to set of the years of fun and pleasure that they had enjoyed against the distress and grief of parting with it, however difficult. Pets have much shorter lives than humans, and it is part the price that we have to pay.

I am glad that you have taken this decision, however hard. If I have been able to be of any help to you, I am pleased.

Walter

Dear Kevin

I had to make the decision to let my own aged Bedlington Terrier go two weeks ago. I knew it was the right thing to do, but it didn't make the parting any easier. So I can, more than usual, appreciate what you are going through at present.

My thoughts are with you. You will have many happy memories of Shannon, I'm sure, and of Ben too. Hold them very close to your heart for ever.

Best wishes and sincere sympathy

Richard

Dear Richard,

We would wish to reciprocate your kind message of
sympathy and support on the loss of your beloved Pet.

Our routine ,which has been exclusively palliative care
for a number of months, is turned upside down and we
are at a total loss at the moment.

What wonderful memories we all have to treasure however
and hopefully they will sustain us in times when we are feeling
so low

renewed thanks and good wishes

Kevin