Desperate for some insights

[SpicyPRE]

I have a 12 yo male Briard, 77 lbs as of yesterday. Over the weekend he started having issues with his mobility, specifically left hind, more of a weakness than proprioception. Eating, drinking, pooping, peeing all normal.

Took him into the vet yesterday and was prescribed gabapentin and carprofen. When we got home I gave him a dose of each. Within an hour he was 100% recumbent, like a heavy sedation. I woke him up and handfed him some soft food. He was very unsteady on his feet so we helped with a towel under his tummy for stabilization.

As of this AM, my dog is unable to walk on his own. However, he is still wanting to eat and drink so I gave him a dose of carprofen. We just returned from the vet and have no answers. Xrays normal with maybe some spondylosis in his lumbar region, ultrasound of his belly is normal. CBC normal with the exception of a low reticulocyte count (41), lymphocytes normal. Chemistry panel all normal.

I asked to try a steroid, with pepcid, and brought my dog home.

My gut says it time to euthanize. My family isnt on board. Vet isnt sure as we have no explanation for the sudden decline in mobility.

Any ideas?

[Simkie]

Oh geez, I’m so sorry. Gabapentin can absolutely be sedating–could he be having an outsized reaction to it and is just gorked out? Giving him a day or two to really clear it and see if he improves seems reasonable as long as he’s in good spirits and not in pain. I would have also asked for a steroid, as you have done.

I hope he rallies. Or, at the least, that you get answers and a clear path forward

[FjordBCRF]

I’m sorry you’re going through that.

I’d be inclined to think that it might be time to euth too. A quick google on the breed says life expectancy is 10-12 years which makes me think he may be on the decline. You can’t fix old age

I appreciate the decision isn’t easy even if your family is on board but I’m a quality of life person. Id give him a little while to see if he adjusts to the meds and see if they help. If not, my head would be where yours is.

So sorry.

[cayuse]

I agree with Simkie, wait and see how he is after the gabapentin is out of his system, it could’ve knocked him for a loop. Sending Jingles.

[SpicyPRE]

@Simkie

Oh geez, I’m so sorry. Gabapentin can absolutely be sedating–could he be having an outsized reaction to it and is just gorked out? Giving him a day or two to really clear it and see if he improves seems reasonable as long as he’s in good spirits and not in pain. I would have also asked for a steroid, as you have done.

I hope he rallies. Or, at the least, that you get answers and a clear path forward

Thank you for this. I am struggling with whether I am doing the right thing.

[Simkie]

I’m so sorry. It’s so hard as they get older.

I always feel that as long as the dog isn’t scared, or in pain, waiting to see what happens is okay. Not forever, but a day or two to see if things change or become more clear is okay if they’re okay with it. Maybe it’s the gabapentin, or the steroids help, and he pops out of it. Maybe it’s something grave, but the decision becomes clear. Maybe nothing changes, which sucks a lot, but that’s also an answer even though you may not know exactly why he failed. But even that can be a gift, because there’s time to say goodbye.

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

Oh SpicyPre… I’m so sorry.

I had a real struggle two years ago when my gut was telling me it was time to put down our beloved family dog, but Mr VHM wasn’t quite ready.

@Simkie already said everything I was planning on saying, so I will just second all her comments. I hope you get more clarity over the next few days, and I hope your family makes peace with whatever comes next.

This is so hard. Hugs.

[ThreeWishes]

Hugs @SpicyPRE! I was going to make a thread yesterday about weighing old dog mobility issues and the heartbreak of caring for dogs in the twilight of their life. I 100% agree that Gabapentin can make a dog loooopy. I will say that my barometer for that final decision is eating drinking and mobility. Especially with a larger dog. I have all my parts crossed that your sweet dog rebounds.

[McGurk]

I’m going to third the vote for waiting out the gabapentin.

Ironically, I gave it to our large breed senior dog without issues other than being mildly sedating, BUT I can’t take it at all. It makes me stuporous and stupid and does nothing for my pain.

It may be that your old dog is just having a pronounced reaction to it.

[GraceLikeRain]

If your gut is saying it’s time, I’d listen. I’m so sorry. It is so hard to experience a sudden decline. The instinct to want to understand why often doesn’t change the outcome but can put them through more diagnostics or discomfort.

If he’s still eating and happy it’s a gift to be able to make the decision before his lack of mobility becomes upsetting to him.

[OzarksRider]

I’m with those who advocate waiting a bit to decide whether to euthanize. I had an old dog with mobility issues, and one time he almost couldn’t walk on his own. I thought it was time to say goodbye, but it was a weekend so I decided to wait until Monday. He started walking again and lived almost another year with a decent quality of life.

[Harbour]

I’m going to chime in here about Gabapentin as well…had to give it to our poodle for 14 days for an injury…as the last dose was coming we were freaking thinking ‘that’s it, he isn’t recovering, what now?!’ but a couple of days after ending the meds our old dog re-appeared. It seriously messes with their brain and mobility…hoping this is what you are seeing with your guy…

[trubandloki]

Another vote that Gabapentin can cause some pets to get quite drugged acting.

Jingles for old man dog and your whole family as you work thru all this.

[pony_baloney]

My vet gives me gabapentin and another drug to calm my tiny dog down before a vet visit. I never noticed a difference, but it may have affected your dog more. Hopefully he’ll be fine in a few days.

[SpicyPRE]

As of this evening, my handsome boy is more awake and trying to use his legs. Pic of him in better days.

[S1969]

I agree that if he’s not in distress at the moment, give it a little more time. It’s so hard to know what a dog might be feeling and how they will respond to pain or discomfort.

I’ve given Gabapentin a few times without serious sedative effects, but every animal is different. (I had a horse that they had to mark “major lightweight” in the vet files when they sedated her for joint injections once. She was a big draft cross pony and they gave a normal dose and it nearly knocked her out.)

Fingers crossed that the sudden decline was the Gaba and maybe fatigue if he’d been struggling and he is just resting. Sometimes GI distress cause instability/buckling, so even a day of meds might make a huge difference.)

Update us later!

[strangewings]

Spinal stenosis can cause hind end weakness, trembling hind legs, etc. Should show in xray, though? I think sudden onset of symptoms that look like disk issues can happen. Steroids, gaba, and lots of rest and restrained movement for like 2 weeks are the treatment for slipped disks. Edit: reread op - i would bet on the spondylosis and that this is similar to my dog.

I manage my dog’s stenosis with an assisi loop, gaba, joint supplements, exercise, just generally being conscientious about it. Edit: before i was able to see subtle signs, i had to take her to the vet twice for severe/debilitating pain that appeared suddenly. Treatment was gaba, steroids, and rest.

Librela is an option too, but her qoL is just fine without it, and conservative management has worked well, so I am waiting on that.

ETA: the gaba dose should be high enough to cause sedation initially. Rest rest rest. Look up conservative treatment protocols for disks.

[SpicyPRE]

I have been using red light and a PEMF loop. I have been thinking about a full PEMF treatment.

As of this AM, my boy is still very weak. However he has full control of his bladder and bowels and wants to eat and drink. We carry him but he is moving his legs along they just arent strong enough to hold him.

[strangewings]

https://www.havenlakeanimalhospital.com/successfully-managing-ivdd-a-conservative-approach.pml

Time, confined movement, rest. Don’t push him to move, other than helping him eliminate.

[Live_Wire]

I’m so sorry. The worst part of dog ownership is they rarely outlive us. I’m in the wait an see camp.

In February our 13 year old shepherd banged herself up trying to get out of the way of the door. Total accident. My BF (who does nothing gracefully) barged through the door and didn’t realize she was on the other side. She was stiff and sore. I took her to the vet and we gave her an injection of Librela. Two days later she was essentially paralyzed from the neck down. It was awful.

We gave her time under the agreement that after 30 days we’d revisit her QOL. I figured that was enough time to let the injection wear off some and give us some indication of whether or not she would/could recover. It was terrible and my heart broke every single day, but she’s about 85-90% back to normal.

Sending all the good stuff your way!