Can dogs get wobblers? (or similar!?!)

[Santa_Claus]

My housemates 13yo Yorkshire terrier is becoming noticably unco-ordinated in his hind limbs at the moment and although will happily trot along he often slips and is finding jumping a lot harder and is generally rather wobbly.

I was wondering whether it is known for dogs to get wobblers or what other conditions may explain his behaviour. He will be off to vet but was just wandering if anyone had any ideas or experience in the area.

Thanks

Katie

 

[seabiscuit]

yes they can- all animals can get it (saw it on my research when I was researching wobblers!)

Acupuncture,physio or a bagby basket operation will help

But from sounds of the dog above sounds like it has had a stroke. My old dog did the same when she had a stroke

 

[milor]

Does it seem to affect his hind legs more ? if so it could be a slipping patella - loads of small breeds get this and it can become more apparant with age - get him checked out by the vet.

 

[ann-jen]

Dogs certainly can be wobblers. Its mostly seen in Dobermans and Great Danes but feasibly could occur any breed I suppose. It is a congenital condition though - ie they are born with abnormally shaped vertebrae in the neck which press on the spine and cause all the wierd symptoms. In dogs they can be operated on by a specialist surgeon to stabilise the vertebrae and stop the pressure.
The symptoms however usually start quite early in life so I think its unlikely in your friends dogs case to have started at this age. The most likely causes would be spondylosis (a bit like arthritis in the spine) or possibly a slipped disc if its come on all of a sudden.
Its probably worth getting him checked over by a vet to see whats going on there. They might want to take some x-rays if he's really struggling but I'm sure there will be some medication - perhaps metacam - they can give him to help.
Hope thats some help, AJ

 

[GinaB]

My uncles Lab is exactly like this. He is 12 years old and has arthirits and a touch of dysplacia in his hips causing him to be a bit wobbly and stiff. He also needs to be lifted into the car. (No easy task I'm telling you!) It's probably just due to the wee dogs age. Does he still get short gentle walks? This will help stop him stiffening up. The lab still goes out shooting for short periods of time as he gets too depressed and it makes his syptoms worse!

 

[Santa_Claus]

thankyou all for your opinions. I think Forrest may have it spot on with a stroke though

it 'seems' to be more so his hind legs but he is generally unco-ordinated totally at times. There are just other things with his behaviour as well that seemingly (now obviously) point towards him suffering a minor stroke.

He still gets a gentle daily exercise which is normally up to the yard and running round accordingly. He has limped for a long time now but vet has put it down to old age and it hasn't seemed to bother him. He overall seems generally happy he still plays with his lead demanding he goes out and has to be surgically removed from my housemate, his mum who he adores.

He will as said be going to vet anyway as he is obviously not right but as said thought would see if anyone had any ideas.

Katie