[HappyHippy]

My big boy (German Shepherd) isn't looking too great 

He's not been right ever since he had the fatty lump removed from behind his front leg (and it taking 12 weeks to heal didn't help  ) he's losing body condition, seems really breathless and just last night his legs/back end seemed to give out on him a couple of times when he was trying to get up. He also seems to be going deaf and just looks so sad all the time 
He's just been wormed and spot on'd (it wasn't spot on, but it was a topical flea treatment) does anyone know if this could be a reaction to the meds ?
He's only 10 and a half and right up until 3 or 4 months ago was in pretty good shape for his age, but now he just seems, well...........done  He's not in distress and eating as normal, but he's just not his usual lively self.
I'm going to phone the vet on Monday, but I have always said that when his back end goes (as is so prone to happening with GSD's) I would have him put to sleep to save putting him through the trauma of endless medication, operations and stress - but now that I'm potentially facing making that decision I just don't know what I'll do without my hairy baby 
Here's a wee photo for anyone who's not 'met' my boy - positive vibes requested for Boris please 
Karen x

[Rosemary]

Poor Boris  maybe he's feeling the heat?

Hope he picks up soon.

This may be a silly question but why did you use tropical fish stuff?

[bloomer]

to be fair with his fur coat im suprised he doesn't feel the heat in midwinter, try getting him to lay down and rest somewhere cool.


i know thats not easy at your place...


hope all is ok with the big beast!!!

[HappyHippy]

This may be a silly question but why did you use tropical fish stuff?

It's not tropical, it's topical  I just mean an externally applied squeezy bottle of stuff for fleas 

Time for your eye test mrs ? 

I don't think it's the heat though - it's really not that warm here compared to earlier in the year when he was fine 

[smithycraft]

So sorry to hear about Boris, he looks such a beautiful boy.  Our last GSD suffered from CDRM (loss of the use of his back legs) and we managed to keep him going for a couple of years.  We thought he would hate the loss of his mobility but he seemed happy enough.  To be honest, it was harder on us than him.

Several years ago we had a 10 year old GSD who was becoming tired and lethargic and I read about a drug called Vivitonin which gave older dogs a new zest for life.  I got some from the vet and it certainly worked.  She perked up and went on to live to 14.  Maybe I should get some for myself!

[thestephens]

same story with my husbands last GSD whose legs gave up. We had to put our lab to sleep in May, she had kidney failure and was just getting sadder by the day so we made the hard decision.
xx

[lachlanandmarcus]

Has his heart been checked, its just that some of the symptoms are similar to Monty Doberman before he was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and I have to say he has been transformed by the heart tablets (small tablet twice a day, not too expensive and very doable).
And yes, with horses and I imagine with dogs, flea treatments and wormers can have rare but very serious side effects (eg neurological with horses, some have nearly been PTS before it was realised).
So I would def investigate that too.
To me it sounds as if there are several problems and some of them might be addressable, and perhaps that will give quite a good quality of life. The collapsing back legs might not be so addressable, but it depends if it is standalone and degenerative or whether it is linked to some of the other things. For eg it could be the heart too.
worth considering before any drastic decisions.
all the best

[Fleecewife]

Anti-flea treatments can be neurotoxins - depending on the particular one - but it does sound as if poor old Boris needs his heart checked out.  Meantime keep him calm and cool.  We can suggest all sorts of possibilities but you won't know until the vet sees him.
We had a wee Heinz57 bitch whose back end eventually gave out and she was miserable, not so much because she couldn't get about, but because she became incontinent with it. 
 
Sad times     Give him a big hug from me and I will send him the positive vibes.  Let us all know how you get on at the vet.
 
Hugs for you too Karen 

[Bionic]

Karen, I am sorry to hear about Boris. Lets hope the vet has some good suggestions.
In the meantime sending you both some best wishes
Sally

[Mammyshaz]

Boris is a handsome lad    I have a big soft spot for GSDs 

Sorry to hear he is feeling down, hopefully it's something easily sorted. Best to get him vet checked at his age just in case it's the start of problems more associated with old age, which can often be helped with meds.

Just a bit worried when you say topical flea treatment. If it is a petshop product them some of these have contents in that can cause severe side effects which should be checked out ( if the symptoms started after the application ).

Hope he is  feeling better soon.    they are such a worry as they get older, but we wouldn't be without them, they are so worth it 

 

[sabrina]

Was the lump checked in case of cancer, its common for wounds to take a long time to heal when cancer is present. I left Fallon too long when her back end started giving her problems so when the same happened to Tanya I let her go to save her the stress and pain. Its never easy knowing when the time is right and only you know your dog well enough to decided. Vets make money out of treatment's and now a days its not always in your pets best interest I feel.

[HappyHippy]

The lump was checked for cancer (that was why it was removed really) but it was purely fat. The reason it took so long to heal was down to bad vet work (it's a long story, but a new vet opened close by and since Boris gets so stressed in the car we went there instead of our usual, trusted vet - BIG mistake ) but he'll just have to get a bit stressed because I'm taking him to someone who knows what they're doing this time 

The more I think about it I think it maybe is a reaction to the flea treatment, we got it from the aforementioned new vet and I can't for the life of me remember what it's called  His breathing seems a bit better today but he's still a bit wobbly and his back end seems weak - I'll phone first thing in the morning to get him an afternoon appointment with the vet and get him a full check over 
Thanks for your support and kind words everbody 

[HelenVF]

Hope everything goes ok at the vets tomorrow. Fingers crossed here Boris is ok.

Helen

[lachlanandmarcus]

good for you, fingers crossed that most things can be treated and any that cant can be managed for Boris to give him good quality of life a while longer with you.
 

[little blue]

poor Boris, sending him lots of love from us & Sheba

One of our cats get really dopey for a day or so after flea treatment and injections. 
Sheba is feeling the heat and back to sleeping in the damp shower tray (!) , she is still casting off her winter coat, think the funny weather has played havoc this year

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