Help Needed! Back leg trouble

[Shahster]

Hello,

I have a 2 year old, who suddenly woke up this morning and couldn't really use his back legs. He was struggling to get up, and was walking super slow. He also couldn't get up the stairs. I tried feeling around his paws and legs and didn't see anything and he didn't whine/cry. He did get his rabies shot on Friday night, but I'm not sure if there's a connection.

Any ideas?

 

[ddnene]

I would say the shot would be the culprit... I would give it a day or two, unless it gets worse or he cries out in pain. Has he ever had a reaction to his shots before? Did he do anything out of the norm... jumping on furniture, or had a fall?

 

[Shahster]

I would say the shot would be the culprit... I would give it a day or two, unless it gets worse or he cries out in pain. Has he ever had a reaction to his shots before? Did he do anything out of the norm... jumping on furniture, or had a fall?

He's always jumping and flying around. He did not cry out in pain last night, everything seemed normal until this morning. This is only his second rabies shot, he did not have a reaction previously.

 

[helsonwheels]

Can be the shot. I know both my dogs if the run n play non stop with their cousins, they walk in pain but wont whine or cry either. Following day they are fine. Also check where the shot was give and see if there's anything like redness or bump etc... Like mentioned keep an eye out on him today. If there's no improvement bring him back to the vet immediately. Dont take and appointment a few days later. Tell them he's been like that since his shot. Keep us posted!

 

[2BullyMama]

Hello,

I have a 2 year old, who suddenly woke up this morning and couldn't really use his back legs. He was struggling to get up, and was walking super slow. He also couldn't get up the stairs. I tried feeling around his paws and legs and didn't see anything and he didn't whine/cry. He did get his rabies shot on Friday night, but I'm not sure if there's a connection.

Any ideas?

Any other change to his behavior... eating, drinking? Is he wanting to sleep more than normal? I could be the shot, but keep a close eye on other factors to make sure he is not in pain... these guys have a very high tolerance

 

[Shahster]

[MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION] He ate his breakfast with no problem, we walked for a little bit in the morning. When I tried to move him from the living room to the bedroom, he didn't want to move. But he didn't seem lethargic or anything, he just sat there and looked up me. He eventually tried to get up the stairs, but he couldn't make it passed the first step, his front paws were going, not his back.

I'm at work right now, I'll keep an eye on him tonight. I'm really hoping he slept funny and that it goes away.

 

[2BullyMama]

@2BullyMama He ate his breakfast with no problem, we walked for a little bit in the morning. When I tried to move him from the living room to the bedroom, he didn't want to move. But he didn't seem lethargic or anything, he just sat there and looked up me. He eventually tried to get up the stairs, but he couldn't make it passed the first step, his front paws were going, not his back.

I'm at work right now, I'll keep an eye on him tonight. I'm really hoping he slept funny and that it goes away.

He got the shot in his thigh, right? he could be sore, but if he ate.. that is a good sign.

keep us posted

 

[Shahster]

[MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION] My brother just checked on him. He said Cyrus his dragging his back leg. I'm pretty sure it's the same leg as the needle, but again that was Friday night.

 

[2BullyMama]

[MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION] My brother just checked on him. He said Cyrus his dragging his back leg. I'm pretty sure it's the same leg as the needle, but again that was Friday night.

Dragging? Not lifting off floor? Is there a lump in the area from the needle?

You may want to call your vet and explain this... see what they think since they know where the shot is and what impact it would have


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[Lalaloopsie]

Agree with the gang, call vet immediately and kind of blame Vaccination, be a bit more assertive, as he can develop more problem, so they will be more likely to take good care of you in case of need. Btw, this is very common complication, in people too, when you give an injection into thigh or buttock area, if it is too close to ischial nerve ( biggest nerve serving legs), then leg can be partially paralysed for days and even months. Rabies is extremely nasty vaccine, causes bad complications sometimes. It takes some time for vaccine to spread in tissues and to develop immune response, so you can be sure 99% that it is vaccine to blame. 3-4 days is perfect timing for complications to appear. Like, if you think about ischial nerve damage, time that passed from Friday is just perfect time to develop swelling in place of injection and apply pressure on nerve, or medicine to penetrate into deep tissues and cause damage.

 

[Lalaloopsie]

But even if the injection was made perfect and no direct nerve damage was done, dogs can develop muscle weakness, which is caused by nerve cell cover damage. Hopefully, your dog will recover his functions, but I wouldn't wait too long to contact vet, treatment with high doses of vitamins B1, 2, 6 and 12 can help restore nerve function and I would recommend you to be a little bit more active with clinic.

 

[helsonwheels]

[MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION] My brother just checked on him. He said Cyrus his dragging his back leg. I'm pretty sure it's the same leg as the needle, but again that was Friday night.

Ok after reading this.....I sure would call the vet immediately. Dont wait please!

 

[Cbrugs]

I personally would call the vet immediately. I just went through an issue with my Frenchie where he was trembling and didn't want to really walk. Found out he had a herniated disc in his neck and needed immediate surgery. For me, it is better to be safe than sorry cause if there is an issue, the longer you wait, the more damage can be done. Just my 2 cents.

Hopefully it's just a reaction to the injection. Keep us posted!

 

[Dollys Owner]

Next time try to get vet to use a thimerosal (mercury) free 3 yr rabies vaccine such as IMRAB 3 TF from Merial. Most of the rabies vaccines have mercury.

 

[Lalaloopsie]

Another way to make it healthier for your dog is to check titres when it's time to vaccinate. If titres of antibodies are still high, no need to inject dog unnecessarily. I'm going to go this way in the future. We just had 10 days ago rabies vaccination and Tank had a lot of unpleasant symptoms - slept for 2 days all day long like a rock, then became agitated, lost appetite for a week, ate half of his food and the rest I was hand feeding him, shed more than usual, eyes were runny. Hate this rabies vaccine! And some sources say dogs can have enough antibodies up to 7 years after vaccination, so im going to do titres in the future. In Europe everything operates on titres, nobody asks for rabies vaccination record, but they check your dog's antibodies titre.