Injuried Dog

Califelkslayer

Long Time Member
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My male GSP is hurting.

I went to Idaho for 8 days in mid-June. When I got home and picked him up from a friends house, he was hurting. I thought it was his shoulder since he injuried that last year. Last year, for about a week, he would yep in pain when unloading from the truck. This was similiar.

2 Days after I got home, I went wood cutting. I let my dogs out about 3 miles from where I was cutting. I didn't notice anything different, he kept up in front of the truack. Everything seemd normal.

A couple of days later I took all 3 hiking, about an hour and 1/2 hike. By the time we started back, he was behind me. NEVER has this happened. My 13 week old pup was fresher than him.

Then I started noticing his rear legs were out of control. He stumbled at times. When truning on my stairwell, he would stumble.

I made a Vet appontment for him last week, this coming Tuesday. Today I took him woodcutting. I'd been resting him for a week, hoping he'd heal.

I had to lift him out of the truck. Tail was wagging but as soon as I started the truck, he tried to run and couldn't. I loaded him back up.

Because of the way his rear end acts, I think it's something to do with his spine. I'm hoping for the best but I'm not too hopeful.

He's my money dog. Best pointing dog I've owned in the last 43 years. Other than escaping to spread his seed, he's perfect in every way.
 
Sorry to hear that Hunter hopefully everything will work out. There not just animals to a lot of us there part of our family. We had to put my wife's JR down 3 years ago at only 4 not an easy thing to do.
Good luck and let us know how it turns out.
 
How old is he? Sometimes the spine closes in on the cord in older dogs and they lose control of their rear end. Often, it seems like it happens overnight. What did the vet tell you?
 
Cal....so sorry to hear your dog is having those issues......sounds like a pinched nerve or something worse....in his lower back that is effects his legs. My wife just went through similar symptoms and 4 months off after surgery.... Hope your dog works his way through it... Take care of him....

Good luck,

))))------->
 
After I explained the symptoms to the Vet, she did a very simple test;

She stretched his rear legs out/back so the top of the paw was touching the ground, pads up. She let him go and watched him correct, he struggled. She said he had some type of spine injury, at that point, behind the front shoulders. Then she did something similiar to the front paws. At that point she said he failed the test and the injury was affecting both front and back lags so the injury was to the neck. She put him on steroids. It's been almost 2 weeks and he seems to have less pain but he doesn't seem to have control of his back legs, like they are numb.

I'm going to finish the steroid therapy, then ask the Vet for the place in Reno that will do a MRI on his back which she said was my other option if the steroids didn't work.

Problem is, I need to know not only the cost of surgery, but odds of him fully recovering. Being an active, agressive hunting dog, I'm not too confident of him making a full recovery.

I've told people that I wouldn't take $10,000.00 for him if I was offered. But turning down money versus pulling money out of your wallet are 2 different things. So I'm guessing with more info (MRI) and a conversation with the doggy surgeon, I can make an informed decision. It will come down to odds of full recovery.

Oh, he was 6 in February, was in his prime until this came up.
 
I'm so busy at work I don't think to call for the MRI appointment. Then as soon as I head home, I remember and it's too late.

He seems better on the days I give him the steroid. We're at the point in the treatment where I'm giviing it every other day to wean him. The morning after I give it, he's better (Less pain) but still not right. The next day he's in so much pain he doesn't want to go up or down stairs.

Hopefully this week I can get him in for some pictures and maybe determine the extent of the injury. We're wondering if he got kicked by a deer although there were no external injuries.
 
He might have a misaligned vetebrae just like a person. Might want to talk to another vet and see if they can adjust him, just like going to the chiropractor. I'd look into that before I'd let them chop my dog up. That's what doctors are trained to do, surgery and medications. Good luck.
 
Cali there is a vet in sun valley Idaho. Can't remember his name but he's supposed to be the best dog sport medicine guy around. I took a lab there once and he won't waste money if it's not a fixable problem.
 
THE REST OF THE STORY.

I was able to hunt him during the 2015-2016 chukar season. He was good for 3 hours. Poor hatch but we got our birds.

He fathered a litter spring of 2016.

By summer he was dragging his right rear.

By fall he was numb in his hindquarters. He was incontinent, crapping in his sleep.

I put him down Oct, 2016, less than 7 years old.

We killed over 850 birds in the 6 years we had together.
 
Sorry to hear about your Dog it is never easy saying goodbye to a family member. I have to ask did you get a puppy out of the litter he sired?
 
I was so confident ALL of his pups would be great I took last dog, and my son got next to last. This was his first litter, not his second.

Pups almost 3 now and does good, just isn't Chuck who was a natural killing machine.

I hunted Mom and her every other hunt last year because the competition doesn't work well, they both creep too fast together. We killed over 80 quail and 93 chukar last season BUT I know with Chuck, we would have been in the 110s-140s.

Not getting points at 100-200 yards, they don't creep at my ankles and they lost a couple birds he wouldn't have.

So the search is on next year for a real replacement.

This year I believe we'll have a great hatch but next year I'm retiring so will have the time.

I believe I was lucky with Chuck because his first 3 years were great hatches. He learned as much those first three years taking 402 chukar and 100s of quail, most dogs don't get that experience in their lifetime.

Plus he pointed deer.
 
>I believe I was lucky with
>Chuck because his first 3
>years were great hatches. He
>learned as much those first
>three years taking 402 chukar
>and 100s of quail, most
>dogs don't get that experience
>in their lifetime.
>


Sure that had something to do with it. The other thing is some of em are just special. Trouble with the special ones is our time with em always seems to get cut short. Sounds like Chuck was one of those special ones.
 
Spending quality time with his pup as we speak.

She's sweet. Very obedient. Wants to please. Can't ask for more BUT Chuck was a Michael Jordan, Tom Brady, Barry Bonds type. Top talent that maximized it. The others may be major leaguers but not all stars.
 
...the culls never get hit by cars and never get sick...they get to die of old age....WTF???


497fc2397b939f19.jpg
 
Somebody needs to let that poor dog have some peace....been watching this post since 2015
Got to be pretty bad when your scraping the bottom of the barrel reposting this.....

))))???->
 

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