Tripod spaniel falling over - any advice?

[lisab]

Just wondered if anyone could help a friend of mine who's spaniel had a front leg amputated a month ago. He keeps losing balance and falling over.
When Mace lost his leg he recovered so quickly and had the odd occasion when he fell but poor Ollie is falling a lot.
Any advice anyone? X

[Milothemonster]

Has she taken the dog back to the vet for a check up, and how old is the dog etc. If the dog is an oldie it may be a condition unrelated to the amputation such as an inner ear infection, vestibular syndrome etc

But a vet visit is in order to examine the dog and make sure all is well etc

If it is simply the dog taking time to find its feet after losing its leg, well some dogs learn to adjust better than others and 4 weeks isnt really that long a time yet.

Herbie is an old dog and had serious problems post op which put his recovery back somewhat and he was still unsteady on his feet for over four weeks.

Its also harder on the dog with balance to lose a front leg rather than a back one, they have to put more effort into balancing walking etc

Also if a dog is over weight or heavier , well this too can cause problems so the dogs weight needs to be kept in check!

The dog may also have lost confidence in its ability. Its apparently quite common for some dogs to do well initally and then regress a while and also become a bit depressed. We certainly had this with Herbie too and I have heard of a lot of dogs who have gone through this down stage. They do tend to fall more then as they think they cant cope and panic and therefore fall over.

The only thing practical to suggest if the owner hasnt already is to get a harness with a handle to aid the dog when it walks and just give a helping hand et. Or a carry sling which we used with Herbie which wraps around them and supports their weight when needed etc

I hope the dog starts to improve very soon.

[lisab]

Thank you. Ollie is quite young, but he's your typical hyper springer spaniel. She's trying to limit his exercise while he adjusts and has a harness etc.

I do feel guilty as thought he'd bounce back quickly, as Mace did (same front leg gone), but he seems to be struggling more. She definately thinks he's depressed too. He's not overweight but has put weight on due to enforced inactivity.

Vet said to leave it a bit longer before doing anything, but I was wondering if hydrotherapy might help?

[Milothemonster]

Yes hydro would definately help him build up his muscles and his stamina.... I should have mentioned that too.

Its helping Herbie very much.

The depression as I said is quite common and we got around that by taking Herbie out in the car for trips even if he didnt get out and walk. The change of scenery did him good.

I do think that some dogs take their time adjusting to being a tripaw and almost kind of grieve the loss of their limb. Some refuse to walk altogether or even to get up and you then have to be quite stern with them and encourage them firmly to take more interest. I have heard of people having to do this.

But fortunately it seems that this down period doesnt last too long, and most will start accepting their new found status as a happy hopper quite quickly!

Its is such a huge adjustment as it would be for humans and of course the drugs they are on in the early days make them feel not quite right and less energetic too, but I am sure in time the dog will soon be bouncing around!

As for the weight gain , it will come off when they start moving more but in the mean time feed less carbs/ kibble and more meat/ protein and fish in particular especially the oily type as that aids their joints too!

[vickyb]

Gracie didn't fall over but our ruffwear harness was invaluable for keeping her steady.

She started hydro as soon as the wound was all healed up. Unlike Herbie we were told absolutely not to have her on a treadmill but in a pool and we went to a great place where Kate is always in the water with them. The hydro worked on the muscles across her chest and shoulder as she has a stump not a full shoulder amp which helped to keep the muscle tone and so made balancing easier for her as everything was adjusting - as well as working the rest of her too. She went twice a week for about 3 mths but the insurance paid for it so we were able to give her plenty. It was winter too, the very snowy one and it meant she kept her fitness and built her muscles up without risking the snow and ice every day as she didn't have walks on hydro days.

Gracie has physiotherapy every few months now which really helps. In some of her first sessions she did exercises using a big ball and stood on a wobble cushion, which the vet gave us to use at home for a few weeks which helped strengthen her core which is really important. I wonder if being a young fussy dog if that could be part of his problems too? Gracies core is now so strong after 3 yrs that she can hold herself up on her back legs for what seems like ages.

She was definitely depressed for several months, there were times when she would lay on a bed and turn her back to the room which she never did before and doesn't do now. Once the weather got better she was much better. I guess this awful weather isn't helping your friends Spaniel either. If Gracie slips in the mud it really knocks her confidence for a few days.

Hope he gets more stable, I'd definitely be looking at physio and or hydro if they can.   

[lisab]

Thank you again - i will pass this on. xxx