Rosiegirl04 Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Hello, I'm at a loss with my blue staffy, she has been diagnosed with Coonhound Disease, only her back legs are paralysed so far, she has no bladder or bowel control or no feeling in her tail. We are going on nearly 4 weeks now, no signs of improvement, she seems quite happy in herself . I'm getting worried as her muscles are deteriorating & I really don't know what else I can do for her. I've had 2 opinions by vets both the same but they don't really know much about this disease Any ideas would really be appreciated Cheers! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shoemonster Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Are the vets you've seen regular vet or specialists? I found this article which has details for a specialist in NSW who helped another dog with this paralysis http://www.dogslife.com.au/dog-news/dog-health/coonhound-paralysis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Hi Rosiegirl, I was caring after a dog that had a possible diagnosis of this (they couldn't differentiated between Coonhound Paralysis or Death Adder bite). I had a thread going for her as she went through it and her recovery, this is her thread if you would like to read through it > Ruby - Paralysed . She recovered relatively quickly, but there was another case at the vet at the same time as her that took longer (that dog progressed to needing a ventilator) and it still recovered. A dog I currently train with went through the exact same thing not 2 months ago, once again it has made a full recovery. I highly suggest if you haven't already you get your dog referred to a Neurological Specialist vet and get specialty care ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmolo Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 I had a client whose dog had this- was a long hard slog for many months but the dog has recovered now and has a good quality of life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave73 Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 (edited) If you don't already have a referral get one to either SASH or ARH. They have the specialists to deal with these problems. Edited May 19, 2015 by Dave73 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC Crazy Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Hi Rosiegirl, sorry to hear your Staffie is very unwell. I have never heard of this horrible Coonhound disease. Hope she starts to improve soon & recovers OK. It is never easy when they are ill. Good luck with her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosiegirl04 Posted May 19, 2015 Author Share Posted May 19, 2015 (edited) Thank you for your advice, it's a terrible thing to see happen to an active dog, the vets I've seen are not specialists, we live in a small country town & I really don't have access to specialists. The front half of her is still fine, & she has started to stretch out her hind legs & can sit herself up. Hopefully this is a sign of improvement, I'm doing exercises with her back legs daily, her appetite has not been affected. I have no idea where this came from although she was boarded in kennels for a few weeks whilst we went away, she came home with kennel cough & then this happened, I understand it's not a contagious thing? Fingers crossed we get through this, doing my best to keep her amused & happy, your thread about Ruby was helpful thanks so much! Edited May 19, 2015 by Rosiegirl04 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Thank you for your advice, it's a terrible thing to see happen to an active dog, the vets I've seen are not specialists, we live in a small country town & I really don't have access to specialists. The front half of her is still fine, & she has started to stretch out her hind legs & can sit herself up. Hopefully this is a sign of improvement, I'm doing exercises with her back legs daily, her appetite has not been affected. I have no idea where this came from although she was boarded in kennels for a few weeks whilst we went away, she came home with kennel cough & then this happened, I understand it's not a contagious thing? Fingers crossed we get through this, doing my best to keep her amused & happy, your thread about Ruby was helpful thanks so much! Which area do you live in Rosiegirl? You might be surprised, I live in a country area but luckily there is a vet uni out here. If you PM I can give you the details. Your vets can call them and discuss treatment/rehabilitation options if you can't get to them What you describe sounds really great for the situation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRG Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 I have a bitch that had this when she was 18 months old - she is 14 now I wrote a couple of articles about her at the time <http://www.spanieljournal.com/2rgreaves.html> and <http://www.spanieljournal.com/3rgreaves.html> Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 How was she diagnosed ? I am presuming they did Xrays/blood tests & whatever else? Just wondering what led them to this diagnosis? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 (edited) How was she diagnosed ? I am presuming they did Xrays/blood tests & whatever else? Just wondering what led them to this diagnosis? I don't think it's one of those things you can specifically diagnose just by a simple test. Our neuro specialist told us diagnosis was done via symptoms and ruling out everything else with blood tests, urinalysis, snake bite tests etc. A final test would of been to do a very costly spinal tap but regardless of what the result was the treatment would of been the same, so they thought there was no point doing it anyway. The dog I know that had it recently again never had the final diagnosis of yes this is 100% what is it. It's "this is most likely what it is, but it could also be botulism, or death adder bite" but the treatment is all the same and the other two were less likely because of certain circumstances. Edited May 20, 2015 by LisaCC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
persephone Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 How was she diagnosed ? I am presuming they did Xrays/blood tests & whatever else? Just wondering what led them to this diagnosis? I don't think it's one of those things you can specifically diagnose just by a simple test. Our neuro specialist told us diagnosis was done via symptoms and ruling out everything else with blood tests, urinalysis, snake bite tests etc. A final test would of been to do a very costly spinal tap but regardless of what the result was the treatment would of been the same, so they thought there was no point doing it anyway. Ok .. thank you :) I was just wondering if it was that disease..and not a result of an injury maybe acquired in kennels or something? Hope she continues to improve - and is bouncing very soon! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LisaCC Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 How was she diagnosed ? I am presuming they did Xrays/blood tests & whatever else? Just wondering what led them to this diagnosis? I don't think it's one of those things you can specifically diagnose just by a simple test. Our neuro specialist told us diagnosis was done via symptoms and ruling out everything else with blood tests, urinalysis, snake bite tests etc. A final test would of been to do a very costly spinal tap but regardless of what the result was the treatment would of been the same, so they thought there was no point doing it anyway. Ok .. thank you :) I was just wondering if it was that disease..and not a result of an injury maybe acquired in kennels or something? Hope she continues to improve - and is bouncing very soon! Yes that's a good point though, the right diagnosis is important! Bad if it was an injury causing it going unknown Hopefully the vet that has diagnosed it is knowledgable about the condition. Again OP if you PM me I can give you the contact details of my specialist vet in country NSW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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