Doodle with back leg problems/Portable Ramp Question too.

[Julia Deardorff]

My 4 year old goldendoodle, Snicker, woke up yesterday unable to stand on his rear legs. We don't know what happened as he hadn't had any problems that we knew of when he went to bed. We rushed him to the vet as soon as they opened at 8am. The vet checked his rear legs and manipulated them and found nothing wrong. He checked along his spine for sensitivity and "suggested" that he could have a disc problem but he doesn't know. We were able to get Snicker walking very stiffly after a few minutes in the vets office. Vet gave him a steroid shot w/B12 and has him starting on rimadyl on Sunday.

Snicker is walking now and manages to get up from a laying down position which he couldn't do just yesterday.  Vet said he will probably Xray him on Monday after he has had time for the shot and meds to work.  Of course I am stressing out and imagining the worst case scenarios. I have to take him out on a leash now as he can't manage the rear steps from the deck (we have a basement rancher with an upper level deck with two levels of steps). I take him out the front door now and walk slowly around to the back.  He does seem to favor his right rear leg a lot so I don't know if he injured it somehow and it just manifested itself while he slept or if the injury is somehow in his spine and he feels it in that side.

Anyway, I wondered if anyone else has had this happen to their doodle or seen something similar.  The vet says he is overweight (weighs 81 lbs) and for me to only feed him one meal a day - in the morning. I usually feed both doods twice a day - 1 cup kibble at each meal with some yogurt, chopped meat or canned meat dog food and usually a little pumpkin or other treat. Snicker tends to gain weight and weighs about 10 lbs more than our other doodle, Harley,  even though they eat exactly the same. Snicker has more of the golden retriever and has a deep chest while Harley has more of the poodle characteristics.   I hate to cut him off completely from the evening meal so am thinking of feeding him about a cup of green beans w/a spoon of yogurt in the evening. Any ideas appreciated on how to get this weight off since he can't walk well so can't exercise. He loves to romp and chase his red kong ball and I'm afraid that is over for a while (I hope only a while).

Also! I can't get him into the car easily (Jeep Liberty) so am wondering if any of you have experience with any of the portable ramps. I've been researching them by looking at reviews on Amazon and am now more confused than ever.

[Debbie Penny]

Oh Julie, I am so sorry for Snickers situation. I pray for him to heal and be back to himself. It sounds like you have a good vet, Get Well Snickers. Hugs from our family.

[Melissa & Porter]

Porter is still in the process of getting over a front leg/muscle injury. He has been tested for lyme and other stuff, as well as had a CBC. His platelets are low and nothing else is abnormal. Vet is watching for now. Not a single joint is swollen or tender. Vet was even a little skeptical he was in pain.
But 2.5 weeks ago, Porter stopped being able to jump on people, counter surf or jump on things as high as a bed (chairs he can climb onto). He also stopped lying on his back--his fave way to sleep. After 1.5 weeks, he finally could stretch again--the play bow. I know he pulled something.
Just yesterday, I bought this:
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=4033067

It gets decent reviews. The ones available in the store are flimsy and for toy breeds it seems.

Here is a store with carpeted and/or cedar ones

http://www.petclassics.com/Cedar-Stairs/3-step-cedar-dog-stairs.14....

but they are well over $100. Plus my lung problems are so goofy, I could see myself reacting more to cedar than to plastic stink.

They sell ramps too, I think.

Best wishes for a quick recovery!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm so sorry to hear this, Julia.
A good friend has a 4 year old female labrador retriever who had something similar happen to her this past year. She was also overweight, and she did have to have surgery for a herniated disc. The good news is that she is now fully recovered and back to her usual carefree active self with no limitations.
I hope Snicker's problem is not as drastic, but even with a worst case scenario, the outcome can be excellent.
What food is Snicker on? There's a big variation in calories from one to another. A food that has fewer calories per cup might help. We can help you look at this in TFG if you would like to do that.
I hope you get some good news on the X-rays. Hang in there!

[Julia Deardorff]

Thanks for the comforting words Karen (hugs Jack). I think the not knowing is so stressful. He has had some problems with his back end from time to time, like getting up from flat on the floor. It's like his rear legs don't "push" him up like Harley's do. Harley just bounces like tigger and has a nice swagger to his walk. Snicker seems to plog along and always has. I hope we don't have to have an operation.

I'll go over to the TFG and see what help I can get on taking some pounds off this boy. He needs to walk and walk and run after the ball, but with his back problems we'll have to just deprive him of goodies.

I trust our vet. We have a group of three and all of them seem to be very good.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

Julia -- So sorry to hear about Snickers. I certainly hope they find the problem and get him all back to normal real soon. I just thought I would pass along that many years ago we had a little poodle that was over weight (from too many treats) and the Vet wanted her to lose weight. She weighed 24 lbs and should have probably been about 19 lbs. The Vet suggested that we use raw, baby carrots for treats instead of puppy treats. We did this. She loved them, felt like she was getting people food, and she dropped 5 lbs in the first month (which is a lot when she only weighed 24 lbs).

[Dr. Judith P. LaVorgna]

Hi Julie, I hope Snickers is doing better and that you have some news on his walking getting better. I thought to share with you that Chuck Holliman who posts here about his young Doodle with an amputated leg Rusty, and also on The Doodle Messenger http://Doodlemessenger.webs.com, told me about several sites he uses when ordering equipment for his home and car for Rusty. If I remember, Chuck is on a yahoo chat group called Tripod dogs where he recieved great information on multiple resources for equipment...some I think he's even made himself, to help Rusty get around. But I think I remember specific catalogues he pointed out for special equipment like ramps into cars, stairs, etc. You might want to find his Rusty blog and ask him for the name of a couple of those equipment resources...I remember thinking...oh I could make that, or oh that is something that would work beautifully. Good ideas anyhow. It also seems to me that I then followed up myself and typed tripod dogs into my browser and found some equipment and ideas also listed. If you are still in need of ideas these might be of help. Hugs to Snickers and the weight...oh dear, constant battle of how much, when, what. Wish I could help with that.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

We have had great success in building our own ramps. Pete went blind around 9 years old. We built two ramps to get him in and out of house.

We also built steps so our dogs could climb up into bed.

Possibly some inexpensive wood ( hoping your situation is temporary) and a handy person with carpenter skills can customize your situation at a low cost

Also look into Skate Board Ramps. Typically they are made out of polymer materials, last longer, are light weight for portability, and are less expensive. Look in the Toy Sections.

Best wishes and hope is better real soon.

P.S. Maybe continue to feed twice a day, but half the bowl instead of once per day. Makes more sense to me and a lot less disturbing to you and your dogs.