Advice Please

I have a 10y/o lab that we actually inherited. Two weeks ago he had to have an enucleation on his left eye. He recovered so well, had his follow-up this past Tuesday and had a great report. Then, Wednesday, all of sudden he cannot get up on his hind legs. He was very slow to get up, but did. Yesterday it was a little worse. Today, he can't even get up on his hind legs. He doesn't seem like he is in pain. He just cannot seem to put weight on those legs, almost like they are paralyzed. He wags his tail and still has an appetite. The only way he could have injured himself was possibly getting out of my car on Tuesday. We have one of those doggie ramps for my car and his one back leg slipped a bit, but I caught him in time and helped him down. Other than that, I am not sure how else he would have injured himself. I am beside myself because he can't get up to go outside, and now I will have to see how he will be able to eat from his bowl.

He is overweight, and has been slowing down. But this really seems to have happened quickly. Any thoughts/advice is greatly appreciated.

Could be a couple things. Could be an injury like a slipped disc, or it could be a spinal stroke (FCE), or perhaps just a severe muscle tweak. You could take him to the vet, but I’m not sure how they would diagnose spinal issues - MRI possibly? Scully, shortly before we lost her to kidney failure had an FCE but was starting to recover when she developed other issues, but it was diagnosed mostly by attempting to rule out other options. They might want to try him on some anti-inflammatories or steroids though. If he doesn’t seem to be in pain, your other option is to let him rest for a few days - help him around as needed to get out to relieve himself, etc, but otherwise keep him quiet and see if he shows any improvement with rest.

Sorry you are having to deal with this. I’m having similar issues with my almost 16 year old - he has had a series of seizures this week which has left him very weak, especially in his rear legs. He can’t get up on his own but with some help can at least walk a bit. He eats perfectly fine laying down though - we just put his bowl in front of him and he goes to town.

Thanks...I do have Deramaxx and just gave him a dose. It just seems like it happened so quickly. I am so sad for him because he did so well with the whole eye removal and now this!

Hello and Welcome!

So sorry your boy is having problems. He may have pulled a muscle in the ramp incident. We home seniors and always use a ramp but there have been a few slips, luckily no injuries.

I would suggest rest for a few days, like over the weekend. If no improvement a vet visit is warranted. Also, if he gets worse, to the vet right away.

Sending good thoughts.