My female Doberman pinscher got up and went outside this morning and came back in and laid down. She was frisky as usual but when I tried to get her up later she could not stand up. If I help her she walks stiff-legged with her rear legs. She doesn't whine or cry. What could be wrong?
Difficulty rising can be caused by many things, including weakness, discomfort, and musculoskeletal or neurological problems. Muscle strains and acute injuries usually cause pain and dysfunction. Doberman pinschers are noted for being very stoic about pain, so it may not be easy to discern when they are uncomfortable.
Dogs often show their weakness by wobbliness in the hind limbs or being unable to rise. Young Dobermans may have heart disease or a number of other metabolic or systemic illnesses that may cause weakness as the first sign without any significant pain. Dobermans may also develop certain neurological diseases that do not cause pain.
Large breed dogs (including Dobermans) are also at risk for neurological problems associated with the cervical (neck) spine. Such problems can cause weakness and incoordination (ataxia), mostly in the back legs. These problems are referred to as wobbler's syndrome (cervical vertebral instability-malformation syndrome). Wobbler's syndrome arises when the spinal cord in the neck region is pinched.
There are several different processes that cause the pinching. Older dogs, especially Dobermans that have instability of certain vertebral joints or degeneration of the intervertebral disks in the neck can develop disk herniation. The herniated disk impinges upon the spinal cord and thus disrupts normal motor nerve transmission to the rear limbs and (to a lesser extent) to the front limbs as well. Usually, affected dogs are six years old or older. Degenerative processes may also permit tipping of the vertebral bodies into the spinal canal, which results in pinching of the spinal cord.
Great Danes and other dogs generally under two years of age can develop wobbler's syndrome by a different mechanism. Congenital deformity or misalignment of any of the cervical vertebrae may cause pinching of the cord. Deformity producing wobbler's syndrome can also arise from nutritional problems of young puppies. Thickening of ligaments that stabilize the spinal cord can also compress the cord and interfere with nerve impulse transmission in young dogs.
Clinical signs of wobbler's syndrome include difficulty standing or the inability to stand up, incoordination, muscle atrophy, and occasionally (in about 40 percent of dog patients) neck pain. Affected dogs tend to stand with a wide stance in order to support their weight. The condition is considered to be a chronic and progressive problem, which may progress from hind limb weakness to paralysis of all four limbs.
Wobbler's syndrome is suggested by the affected dog's history and the results of physical and neurological examinations. Radiographs (x-rays) and myelograms (x-rays taken after contrast dye has been injected around the spinal cord) will assist the veterinarian in determining the nature of the cervical problem causing the neurological deficits.
Treatment is principally surgical. This may involve procedures that decompress the pinching of the cord or stabilize and fuse the joints of the cervical spine. In very mild cases, anti-inflammatory drugs may provide sufficient therapy when accompanied by strict rest and possibly the use of a neck brace.
You should take your dog to your veterinarian for an examination and diagnostic work-up as soon as possible. Specialists may be consulted if neurological or cardiac problems are suspected. If your dog is clearly worse or still cannot rise, I believe you should seek attention for her today, rather than waiting until tomorrow, as the problem could progress.
01/29/09
