QUESTION

Our dog has recently lost his ability to control his back legs. He has trouble getting up and his legs give out on him. Our vet has diagnosed him with an X-ray with spondylosis. I saw the X-ray and the bone fusions. She said that somewhere along the spine, something (tumor, piece of bone, etc.) is impinging the nerves that go to his back legs. He is "clubbing" his back feet, but the two middle nails are not worn down yet, so that confirms that this just started recently. She said we could go for an MRI or a myleogram for further diagnosis. We don't want to put the dog through all of that and surgery if that is necessary. Is there any chance that the condition with his legs could change. She did not put him on any medication, she wants us to discuss and let her know what we want to do. He was just there yesterday. If we don't pursue further tests and surgery, will he be suffering. He does not seem to be in any pain.

Karen

ANSWER

Dear Karen,
Spinal arthritis-spondylosis-is a very common condition in dogs. In the UK, we do not tend to operate on them, unless ther is an associated disc lesion-fused or prolapsed disc in the spine. I have found that although you may feel there is no pain, very often the use of anti-inflammatories can give surprisingly good results. We do not have a large number of MRI units in the uk, so I/we tend to go more from history/xrays and therapies, relying on mri less so, as yet. I would suggest going back to your vet and asking to try the dog on medication for a bit, before making any further descisions on imaging or surgery.

Paul Wilson