Dog’s lameness may be neurological issue
Q
I am worried about my 10-yearold mutt, who is exhibiting lameness in her right front leg. This started about five weeks ago, and a specialty center found no specific issue and started her on a short course of a noninflammatory medication. She hasn’t shown any improvement. She hasn’t eaten much in the past three days, and she vomited early today. My regular vet took X-rays of her front leg, neck and back and did some blood work. The X-rays reveal a possible spot where she had a narrowed space between two vertebrae, but more significantly, they showed that when the vet flipped her feet over on her two right legs, she did not place them properly. The rear leg seemed worse than the front, but she had no pain. I was told that she likely has a neurological issue and not a pure lameness. Pending her blood work results, I was given some more antiinflammatory medication and was told that if she did not improve in a week that she should see a neurologist. What do you think?
A
Your dog’s poor reflexes concern me. This suggests a neurological deficit. Signals from the two right feet are not reaching the brain. This could mean that there is a central nervous system issue preventing normal nerve conduction, most likely on the right side and probably somewhere from the neck or behind it. If there were an issue in the brain, I would expect other signs, such as a head tilt, ocular signs such as a nystagmus or circling. While a disc herniation to one side may predominantly affect one side, it often shows signs bilaterally. Other issues that come to mind are circulatory issues, a mass in the spinal cord or close by and trauma.
I don’t think it’s likely that your dog’s loss of appetite or vomiting are related to the other signs, but see what the bloodwork reveals and give the dog some rest during the week of medication. Presumably she was given a drug such as an NSAID.
If things look the same after a week, I would concur that a neurologic consult would be in order. The dog might need a CT scan or MRI to diagnose the cause of the signs. This may lead to a diagnosis that might be correctable. The next few weeks will tell. Good luck!