Fergie woke up and her back legs weren't working!
After a joyful day of playing in the fresh snow. Fergie came in -- went to bed--woke me up at 4:30 am (unusual for her) to go outside. She came in--hesitated going upstairs, but did come up. Wanted on the bed, then wanted off so I put her on the floor. When I got up this am she was curled up sleeping by the bed, but when we were ready to go downstairs she just couldn't get up. Her back legs just don't seem to work. I took her immediately to the vet. She was x-rayed and the vet thought one set of vertebre had a slightly smaller spacing and thought perhaps there was an injury with swelling. She is on prednisone 20 mg twice a day for two days, then half tablet twice a day for two days and then half tablet once a day for three days. She also has to take an antacid to protect her tummy. She is not to do any activity outside being carried outside to potty. I did not witness any injury--she has a tendancy to play rough with our Leonberger, but still I didn't see or hear anything that made me think something happened. Fergie doesn't seem to be in pain, but it is hard to tell. She has no stregnth in her back legs and holds one off the ground.She still wants to play, but her appetite is down.--Very unusual for her, and she has runny stools. Has anyone experienced something similar.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Megan on
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I'm so sorry to hear about Fergie! Unfortunately, I don't know anything to help you, but Dally and I wish you the best of luck, and may Fergie recover fully and quickly!
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Permalink Reply by Kristen on
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Fergie is doing better. She started to put weight on both back legs late last night. This morning she is dong even better. She is starting to go a bit stir crazy and wants to start moving. We are going to follow the vets directions and keep her restricted. She enjoys the "couch potatoe" time, when there is someone snuggling with her, but the time in the kennel is hard for her. We are also back to normal stools, but her appetite still is not completely back. The vet said the prednisone would increase her appetite, but we haven't seen that yet. She is still protecting her food dish at any rate. Such a girl. This is such a puzzle for me--not knowing what happened. Hopefully this is a one time thing.
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Permalink Reply by Mandy and Lori on
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Oh I am so sorry that happened, how scary! I am glad Fergie is doing better. Keep us posted of her progress. I pray she is on the mend now. ((BIG HUGS))!!!
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Permalink Reply by Charlie on
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I'm sorry to hear about Fergie. Hopefully she'll feel better soon and be all right. You might also want to supplement her diet with Glucosamine (good to help rebuild the padding between joints). Your vet could tell you about dosage over the phone.
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Took Fergie out about half an hour ago and If I didn't know that she couldn't even walk yesterday you wouldn't know anything had been wrong. Keeping her quiet for the full week is going to be a challenge. I am going to discuss diet and supplements with the vet. It seems Sam told someone that some vets recommend taking Corgis off puppy food early--I don't know if that applies here, but I want to do what is best for her. No issues with my first two Corgis, but every dog is different. Fergie is pouting in confirnement.
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The food question is a tough one. The experts (breeders, agility-dog owners, dog nutritionists, and vets) all seem to have different opinioins and have major fights amongst each other. Makes it confusing. I know Corgi breeders who never use puppy food at all, some who switch at 3 months, some at 6-8 months, and some at one year. I just switched Charlie (at 7 months) to adult food a little over a week ago, just on my own research and looking at his unique growth stage and weight.
Glad to hear Fergie is feeling much better today!
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Permalink Reply by Sam on
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Sending healing vibes Fergies way. So many things can happen to corgi backs and often we dont know the cause. I do recall many years ago one of my girls could hardly move one morning. I wasnt aware of any trauma or event that could of causes this. Our protocol was much the same as yours and she was back to her usual self in just a few days. We never did have a repeat performance. Overall I guess being mindful of a dogs weight and activity levels is what is most important. Corgis are generally moderately active dogs and often jump, twist and turn with no issue. Certainly for young and growing dogs it is not wise to encourage frequent jumping. I know with teaching agility classes we would never take a dog under a year to work on obstacles due to their growing bodies. I am sure Fergie will be good as new in no time.
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Permalink Reply by Maribeth on
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Devo had an episode almost exactly like that once after a really active day (I think a tennis ball was involved, and my two nephews who didn't know when to stop throwing it!) He got up in the morning but couldn't get his legs under him and sort of dragged them under him. I had to carry him outside. I wasn't living near an emergency vet so I decided to give him a baby aspirin and watch him carefully (it was a weekend so I could do that easily, and I used to be a nurse so I have a clue about what to watch for.) He also got a light massage, especially his hind legs, which he didn't object to. By that time he had been diagnosed with hip dysplasia and I was terrified that he had a spinal injury on top of that. It ended up to be muscle fatigue and he was fine in 24 hours with a bit of TLC. Now I keep an eye on him and limit his wild running about with kids and other dogs and if he overdoes it, I have occasionally given him a baby aspirin (enteric coated) just to guard against a recurrence. I don't know if she could have just overexerted but it sounds like your vet is keeping a good eye on her. Fingers crossed that it's a one time thing!
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All the good wishes must be working. Our biggest issue now is keeping her subdued. She wants to run and jump with the other dogs .She is enjoying the puppy massages and all the attention. I think that I will slowly take her off the puppy food. She has a mature build for 7 months and I think it is time. I appreciate all the comments. It has helped me look a little deeper into health and maintenance care. Thank you!
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Permalink Reply by colleen on
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I am sooooo relieved for you to hear that Fergie is doing better. There's nothing to put the fear in you as when something goes ary with our little fur-babies. I'll be thinking of you both!
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Fergie is doing freat. It is getting hard to hold her back, but we are still going to limit her activity to let things heal. She snuck up the stairs a minute ago. Gotta remember to shut that door. She seems to enjoy having the portable kennel fence up in the middle of the family room. Protects her food dish that way!
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