Malaysia Veterinary Forum (Archive)

spirit25 · Joined: 16 Oct 2006 Posts: 3

hi.. i need some advice... recently my dog suddenly couldn't walk or even stand... just hours before he was fine... we took him to a vet and the doc suspected some sort of spinal injury... as he was showing signs of schiff-sherrington... we took some x-rays but there was nothing wrong with his spine... we also did a blood test and found that his white blood cells count was double the normal amount... so the doc put him on some antibiotics... he has improved a little bit... he still has feeling in his legs... he can give us his hand... and his back legs will move when we tickle him... he still responds to us and is eating well...

i can't post all the details here... but what i wanted to find out was... i was searching the net... and i found this condition called coonhound paralysis... the symptoms are similar to what my dog went through... since there is nothing wrong with his spine... could it be coonhound paralysis? if not, what else could it be? thanks...

Dr Dunker · Joined: 02 Jun 2006 Posts: 466 Location: Puchong,Selangor

One must b very careful when tring to diagnose ones own pet with nothing more then what i written in the world wide web. If indeed it was that easy, we would never need doctors.

Without further information such as age, and breed, and a complete history diagnosis not likely. As i have mentioned, if u gave a list of clinical findings to 10 vets u are likely to get 20 different diagnosis. On top of that, Without the dog infront of the vet diagnosis is not likely.

So the answer to yor question is, "I dont know, but maybe."

Ps was a contrast study done on the spinal radeograph or was only a plain x ray taken? What breed is your dog? How old is your dog?
Sorry for asking more questions then acctually answering anything.

Dr. TanDY · Posted: Tue Oct 17, 2006 7:10 pm Post subject:

My advice is bring your dog to your vet immediately. You can't just possibly diagnose the problem yourself based on the information on the net. Sometimes the problem is caused by some other problems that you do not see.

Another thing is that diagnosis is not just based on "how the dog is doing". Several tests may need to be carried out before the vet can find out what's going wrong.

spirit25 · Joined: 16 Oct 2006 Posts: 3

yeah i understand your points... i am not trying to diagnose myself... i have already taken him to a vet... but we can't accurately diagnose whats wrong because the x-ray results are normal... the only other things we know are that he has high white blood cells count... and may be having a lung infection...

i was told the best way to accurately diagnose if he has a spinal problem is to do a MRI... however there is no MRI in malaysia...

so, i am just trying to get some opinions... he is still being monitored by the vet... and i might take him to another vet for a second opinion...

he's a 5 yr old rottweiler btw...

varanus · Joined: 12 Feb 2006 Posts: 472

Need more info from you.

You mentioned paralysis. Is it stiff legs or flaccid legs? Which legs, both back legs, all 4 legs or one single side front and back.

In paralysis case, we are very interested to know that is it mainly spinal cord or peripheral nerve or both. By knowing the answer to the above question, the vets can have a rough idea where the injury is. That's why a vet will do a series of neurological examination before zoom in to X-ray the spine to confirm the location of the injury. Sometimes it can be very difficult to find even in the X-ray because some conditions are not visible in plain X-ray.

No doubt MRI is very good in spinal problem but some condition is missed in MRI. I can point out a few conditions that can't be picked up by MRI. Like your case your dog collapse so sudden. One of the possible cause is slow haemorrhage in the spinal cord. MRI can't pick up this slow haemorrhage into the spinal canal and cause compression. SO you don't have to feel bad that MRI is not available in Malaysia vet industry.

Coohound paralysis is not reported in Malaysia. Basically it is cause by raccon bite. Unless you have raccon in neighbourhood, it is highly unlikely.

Your dog has any recent injury? Although dog and cat are relatively resistant to tetanus but it can happen and have been reported in Malaysia and published. Average 14 days after exposure to bacteria, means deep injury. Due to the resistant, the signs can show only after several weeks.

Your dog involved in any breeding program? Because Brucella infection, one of the STD infection in dog, can lead to injury to the back bone.

Well these are some of the condition that can possibly happen. Like what Dr Dunker said, we are not in front of the dog, so we are just making some guesses based on what you have provided. Do update us more.

spirit25 · Joined: 16 Oct 2006 Posts: 3

it started with both back legs... couldn't move them... then it spread to both front legs... then all 4 legs couldn't move... his front legs were very stiff... the back legs looked pretty normal as far as i can tell... apart from the fact that he couldn't move them...

if it is a haemorrhage... what are the other symptoms?

he had a cut a few months ago... the vet said it is not tetanus because a few months is too long...

no he is not in any breeding program...

anyway... now he can move all 4 legs... there is feeling in all 4 legs... and he can crawl and move himself from side to side... just that he still can't stand or walk...

varanus · Joined: 12 Feb 2006 Posts: 472

Seems like your rott is responding to the treatment given by the vet. Good to hear that. Becareful of pressure sore.

Haemorrhage, depending on how serious and location, can have very different signs and outcome. In human, basically the compliant will be legs starting to get numb, then can't feel the legs. Slowly progress to the hands. In veterinary medicine, dog can't tell. What you can see is weakness, paresis and paralysis. I wouldn't think of this because you dog is responding to the current treatment given. Because haemorrhage need to do surgery to release pressure and remove blood clot, which is not fancy by any vet if the location of haemorrhage is unknown.

BTW is your dog on any tick wash recently?

Keep us updated so that we can learn from this as well. Thanks.

Dr kuljitgill · Joined: 07 Apr 2006 Posts: 44 Location: Penang, Malaysia

out of curiosity, in the full blood picture, was a platelet count done?...or even a 3dx test for ehrlichia....just curious to see if ehrlichia has been ruled out....

varanus · Joined: 12 Feb 2006 Posts: 472

Ya, tick fever can also cause changes in the quality and quantity of platelet, leading to pin-point haemorrhage and immune-mediated changes to the blood vessel.

Should also expect a raise in the globulin in the blood and reduction in red cell parameter. Any of these changes in the blood test?