Pros & Cons of dogs using wheelchairs...

[Beth Va]

My friend is debating this for her Lab if he can be pain free.

davet the steroids seem to be helping so far!!

jdf and anyone else with experience using them, I would really appreciate your input on this!!!!!!

I honestly don't know much about dog wheelchairs other than what little I've heard from my brother's in-laws that has a chi. using one. From what I have heard that dog is doing fine with it.

[jdf]

My friend is debating this for her Lab if he can be pain free.

davet the steroids seem to be helping so far!! :wink:

jdf and anyone else with experience using them, I would really appreciate your input on this!!!!!!

I honestly don't know much about dog wheelchairs other than what little I've heard from my brother's in-laws that has a chi. using one. From what I have heard that dog is doing fine with it.

Could you bring me up to speed on what's wrong with your friend's Lab, Beth? I assume either arthritis or hip dysplasia....

Roxy used a cart for about 6 years and did well with it. I guess I have mixed feelings about dogs using carts...there was no other choice with Roxy because she was paralyzed but her condition wasn't causing her any pain and therefore, we felt that a cart was a good option so she could have a longer life. I think if she had been in pain which proved to be unmanagable, we would have made other decisions - I would never allow her to suffer.

There is an argument that dogs using carts will tend to give up trying to walk on their own... this may be very true, I can't say based on my history with Roxy because her paralysis was so profound in the beginning and she never recovered enough nerve function to support her own weight let alone walk on her own. Over the first two to three years, following the FCE, Roxy improved and she started "windmilling" with her laft leg while in her cart so in her case, she was trying.

There are other considerations. A Lab is a large dog and there is a good amount of lifting getting a dog into and out of a cart. Roxy weighed about 60 pounds and I could manage the work involved without any problem but it was very difficult for Mrs. jdf to get Roxer into and out of her cart without my help.

I guess I would have to ask myself if putting a dog in a cart would truly improve the dog's quality of life or would merely extend the dog's life. When Roxy became paralyzed, Nancy and I had many long hours of soul searching talks about the course we should take and agreed that since Roxy wasn't in pain, we would keep her with us and try the cart . As hard as it is, if a dog has reached the point where pain is unmanagable, I think the only resonable and fair thing to do is make the toughest decision there is as a pet owner. Roxy had many good years added to her life by using a cart but we eventually had to face the fact that she was failing, may have been in pain and simply couldn't do it anymore. It was the hardest decision we've ever had to make in our lives but we could never let Roxy suffer if there were no hope of a good quality and pain free life for her.

I'm glad to hear that steroids are helping your friend's dog, Beth - I wish I could say that a cart would be the best thing at this point but it depends so much on how and if the use of a cart would be the best thing for the individual dog. I remember at the time six years ago, Nancy and I asking each other if we were getting a cart for Roxy or for ourselves - the fact that tipped the scale in Roxy's favor was that she was in no pain.

I don't know if waht I've said will help at all - give my best to your friend..Jim

[jdf]

Beth, just saw your post below about your friend's Lab. Are they sure it's a slipped disc ? I'm not even sure if that's a possibilty. When Roxy was struck with FCE(Fibrocartilaginous Embolism), her hind quarters were paralyzed very dramatically - she was walking okay one minute, took two or three faultering steps and went down. The thing with FCE, it doesn't show on X-ray and it's a diagnosis of exclusion (arrived at after all other possible causes have been eliminated). Roxy was given a myelogram X-ray which didn't show anything either, confirming the DX of FCE. FCE's are inoperable and the only treatment is what has already been done with your friend's Lab - Prednisone is given to quickly knock down inflammation in an attempt to keep further damage from happening.

Eith FCE's, fibrocartilage in a spinal disc "blows out" and damages blood vessels and nerves at the site of the blow out. This infarction causes immediate paralysis. The amount of paralysis is dependant on the location and severity of the blow out - in Roxy's case both rear legs, tail and sphincter muscle were paralyzed causing bladder and bowel incontinence. With some dogs, the paralysis may be limited to only one leg, for example. Deep pain response (the skin between the toes of the affected limb(s) is aggresively pinched with a forceps) is an indicator of prognosis for return of nerve function. Essentially, the body has to repair itself which can take several years and a lot of TLC. With FCE, there is evidently great pain at the moment it happens but none there after as the invoved nerves are without sensation.

FCE's are fairly rare as far as spinal nerve problems are concerned but it might be worth considering - it's sometimes missed in DX because it is fairly rare and assumptions can be made that it's some other problem.

Here are some links to info on FCE:

http://www.petsurgery.com/fibrocartilag ... zation.htm
http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/clinsci/ ... uest17.htm
http://www.cvmbs.colostate.edu/clinsci/ ... swer17.htm

If your friend's dog has suffered an FCE, a cart might be a consideration because there is no pain involved and some dogs can recover quite a bit of nerve function over time.

[jdf]

here are a couple more links on FCE's. They are human health oriented pages but have some good info and the result with FCE is the same whether human or dog.

http://www.emedicine.com/NEURO/topic348.htm
http://www.emedicine.com/NEURO/topic347.htm

[Beth Va]

Thank you so much for your help Jim! This has opened my eyes better!

I will update later about how things go with this dog. I can tell she is struggling to decide what's best for her dog.

The little chi. I spoke with you about before that has FCE is doing well with her wheelchair. The chi. belongs to the parents of my sister-in-law.

[davet]

havn't read all of JDF's statements but i found it best to wait untill the wheels were absolutly necessary...which is hard to tell...some say it is best to get them used to it while they can still walk...etc...but i found when they start wearing or scuffing the tops of their hind feet or their toenails, then that is the time...and steroids have got to be given at the very lowest effective dose....