MARTY IS SOOOO HANDSOME ``` LOVE HIM !
MARTY IS SOOO HANDSOME ~~~~ LOVE HIM ! 
THANKS FOR SHARING HUG THAT BOY FOR ALL OF US
I actually logged in just to see the picture of your marty. My Ozzie is also a blue merle aussie and he turned 15 Nov 1. Ozzie looks very much like your Marty. He is having some issues too with his hind end, mostly his left hind. Sometimes I have to help him get up when he decides to lie down on the laminate floor, but once he’s up he’s good.
He has accidents (poop) in the house occasionally, usually either when he is asleep or when he is trying really hard to get up and I dont catch him in time, like during the night or something. But he still enjoys going outside to feed the horses and hops around chasing his squirrel and playing with the other farm dogs.
He is still eating and seems very happy, and like the OP, I am not going to put him down just for convenience or just because he left a turd on the floor (no matter how much it annoys my husband). I think I will know when it’s time, and right now every day with him is a gift.
My Greta used to sleep with me until she began having accidents. The occassional turd on the floor is one thing - turds in the bed quite another. It hurt her feelings to be exiled to sleeping in the mudroom, but there are limits for even the most beloved dog …
My young (3years old) agility dog started having a strange hind end weakness in one leg after being bowled over by our younger dog. The vet could not find anything on physical exam. We (with the Vet’s blessing) had a chiro come work on him, and the change was nothing short of miraculous. I have always thought chiros were not really helpful, but the difference in the dog was amazing. He is now at 90%, and we are thinking about going back to agility class.
Jaeger - yes Marty has a similiar issues with accidents and getting up, but fortunately not too often - there’s one benefit to concrete flooring!
My vet had mentioned prednisone as a possibility to help with his hind end, but we are holding off anything new until we see the neuro guys at the college on the 25th. I would worry about a steroid, given his past liver issues. I have thought about a chiro too, along with the acupuncture after that appointment.
Its so frustrating - some days he’s so much better than others. Am so used to staring at my horses and picking out whatever little thing is bothering them. Marty has just been his good old self for 14+ years, and now I can’t seem to help him that much.
Thanks for all the support - Marty is truly a once in a lifetime dog!
My 10 year-old Aussie has been less coordinated since an 8-minute seizure last summer (his longest of several dozen grand mal seizures), though he has nowhere near the degree of Marty’s weakness. Just wanted to wish you luck. I know how awful and exhausting seizures are for everyone involved. Since Paisley is not as senior as Marty and because his bloodwork all comes back in fabulous shape, I have to assume it’s neurological. In your case, I suppose there could be multiple factors. I’m glad you can see a specialist.
For those of you who have non-carpeted surfaces: one thing that helped my boy through his last 6 months was my putting down carpet on the hardwoods and tile floors. It wasn’t expensive; I was able to buy large scraps of neutral carpeting from a wholesaler and cut them to fit. While it was unattractive, it was far more comfortable for Sid to get around on, both in his ability to get up on his own and in providing some level of coziness as he tended to overheat in his dog bed and would seek out a spot on the floor.
The added bonus for those of you whose dogs have the occasional accident is that the carpet can be replaced as often as needed. You might consider it too, Susan, as concrete is probably more slippery than you think (from Marty’s perspective). Especially when you’re talking about a dog for whom even a slight degree more traction can make a huge difference in his comfort.
I’m keeping you in my thoughts.
If you are looking for quality vs. quantity of life, you may have to make some decisions in regards to using prednisone. I see wonderful older pets/owners in your same situation everyday. An MRI runs about $2200 here and the animal may or may not be a surgical or radiation oncology candidate. Based on the exam, and where the neurologist feels the tumor is…you said there were some seizures, I am guessing brain, they will give you medication options to help him have better quality of life…prednisone, furosemide, omeprazole…is he on any anticonvulsants? Do you have a rescue protocol if her has a seizure? I love Aussies and have grown up with them. I wish you and your pal the best.
I have a 15yr old dobe with some of the same problems the Op is describing. He does not have the physical strength in his hind end and also he has a very diminished sense of paw placement in space. He gets caught sometimes in his blanket or coming up a step and goes sprat. I help him up and once up and stablized he does very well.
2 things I have found that helps - converting his diet to the best grain free kibble you can afford. Decreases the quantity of the poop so he doesn’t spend very much time trying to poop.
I put him on Glycoflex III - does seem to help. It’s not a miracle drug but it’s given him more comfortable time.
Also continued controlled exercise - muscle memory is a fantastic thing and helps to keep the joint more moveable, as much as possible.
An orthopedic bed to give hm support if you can get him to lie on one.
What I do notice is the RH is the weakest. That’s the hind leg he always lays on. Very hard to get him to lie the other way to take pressure off that leg. Sometimes changing the position of his bed can help to force him to lie the other direction but dogs like people and horses are very one sided and there’s nothing you can do to change the way the dog lays.
I know what you’re feeling Op. This is a soul dog and trying to determine the time to put him down is hard. I do know the dog is not ready to leave yet and as far as I’m concerned that’s the only true sign there is. I’m not mother nature and I don’t feel I have the right to put him down to end the inconvience to me. We all get old and decrepit. That’s just life.
I did the rug thing too. We have all laminate floors, so at Home Depot and Lowes I found what are basically really really big bathroom rugs in varying colors and textures, with the rubber backing. So I got a whole bunch of those and threw them all over the house, and he has tons of beds in every nook and cranny that he might want to rest in. The rugs really help a lot, plus they still fit in the washing machine and if one of them is defiled enough not to wash and i have to toss it out, no big deal.
It does seem to help.
His biggest problem with the slipping right now, besides that he has a lot of problems with his left hind,
is that he has furry paws, long fur in between his paw pads. He has always been funny about his paws being handled but it has worsened with his old age. Part of the problem may be his arthritis and so forth, but the long paw fur makes him slip plus he has gotten bad about having his nails trimmed. But hubby will help me this week while we are off and we will get it done.
Yep, our whole house is covered in ugly, cheap rugs! Good thing we don’t entertain much 
Marty always seems to find the space between the rugs to wipeout, unfortunately. He actually has better traction outside on the grass, but our yard is very uneven, which makes him tired.
We have to keep trimming the paw hair too.
He is not on anticonvulsants at this time - his seizures have not been regular enough to warrant them and I’m glad for that. The side effects seem like they can be rough.
We have valium here for his seizures, which I had to use last time. Is that what you mean by rescue protocol? How does omeprazole help? Same as it does for horses?
Susan
Over my laminate floor (the rest of the baths, kitchen, inside the outside doors was ceramic tile) I used regular area rugs, and in the rest of the room space I used the big sheet vinyl remnants you get at the big box stores, on the back wall behind the flooring section. You could also get big (and ugly) rug remnants too for a great price. My dog walked on the vinyl just fine, and it was easy to clean, plus the rugs were great next to the beds, and in the living room.
[QUOTE=TBFAN;6079956]
We have a wonderful old Aussie who will be 15 this summer. He has been my heart dog and best companion all his life and it’s been so hard to watch old age catch up to him.
Last year he had a couple of short seizures, of which we haven’t been able to determine the exact cause. He has been doing very well since the last one in Sept, and cognitively is now back to normal (for an old dog). He started developing weakness in his RH last fall, and it got worse after the seizures. We thought it was some arthritis in his hips, from a lifetime of jumping over whatever was in front of him
Xrays show no orthopedic problems, though. He has very healthy joints for a dog his age, so we are now looking at neurologic issues. His RH has little to no response in reflex and he tends to drag when he walks. He’s like a 3legged table - he tips over very easily, and moves somewhat like a chimpanzee with his hind end.
Its disturbing to watch him, and stressful and very tiring for him to move. He can get about 12steps normally, and then he either topples over, or has to crouch on 3 legs and then falls down. His hind legs are often straight under him, like a donkey would sit down. The worst part is he can’t hold himself up to defecate, and often falls backward while he’s going.
The vet can’t see any masses on the xray that might indicate a tumor, but she is thinking there may be one on his spinal cord, or perhaps on his brain. We are going to a neuro specialist at the college in two weeks for more tests, but I’m not sure what we would do if they did find a tumor…
Does anyone have experience with a dog who can’t use his hind end? I know they make carts and such to attach to them, but not sure he would accept it. He is a happy, healthy dog otherwise - though we have to support him while he eats, his appetite is great and he still wants to play and “herd” the other dogs.
Thanks for any suggestions.
Susan[/QUOTE]
I don’t want to be the “voice of doom” here, but the symptoms you describe are 100% exactly what we went through with our Doberman years ago. Happy, healthy - but senior - dog who suddenly started having seizures & then severe hind-end weakness. She’d topple over at the slightest provocation. This was back in the mid-1980’s, & while we carried her outside & used a sling to help her around, it eventually became apparent that her time had come. She was 14.
We didn’t have an autopsy done, but had her cremated & still have her ashes in a wooden urn hand-carved by a friend.
