04ctd

its a dark day when your old pal can't walk so good.

7 year old Japanese Akita, about 45 pounds.
had a seizure last year, Doc said "just watch her"

if you think about it, you only spend prolly 10 hours a week with your eyes on your dog, she has probably had a bunch since then.

having problems walking yesterday, back legs don't want to giddy up.
just noticed last nite.

called Vet today, they said check her tonite, and she's same.
they said maybe have been left over from latest seizure, should clear up. but it has not.

don't appear no pain, just back legs don't do what they should.

they said they could check for all kinds of stuff, sort of like a chiropractor.

she's a good girl. makes me want to cry to think of putting her to sleep.

Hvytrkmech

First off I'm sorry to hear of your dogs problems, secondly get a new vet, her siezures could be coming from a variety of ailments, first up I would recomend a major blood work up to check for cancer, arthritis. The Akita line is known for having hip issues. I had a male Akita years ago, he weighed 45#s at 5 months old, 165#s at 2 yrs old, even female Akita's normally weigh in around 80-100#s so her weight seems really low to me. My Akita did not start having hip problems till he was 11 years old, we had to put him down when he was 13. I would get her in as soon as you can.

Best of luck to you and your buddy, Tim

Justwannabeme

beautiful animals, just gorgeous and built to run, protect.

got to agree, weight is low-

second, some nerve damage does come back with therapy (got a pool?)

agree with Tim- try a more experienced or city vet. If they can't offer the next step in treatment- usually it is above their experience, or don't want to invest the time or take away from the doggie walk thru money makers....


my experience was with only one dog, but the owner is a champion breeder and gets her dogs from only one breeder. was the OFA check done for hip dysplasia? that is my question to you.
these dogs have most of their strength in the legs and can do some amazing
things with their quickness and agility. only dog known to hit and block you like a football player. worth it to try a medical vet center or a college for a chiropractic assessment before any MRIs or expensive stuff.

I can contact this lady and ask for her input as well, if you would like..

a pat on the back in comfort for you John, my thoughts are there.

Heidi knowing how ya feel.....

madhat

John, sorry to hear about your pooch... LMK if I can do anything.

04ctd

there are "bear" akitas that are huge. her dad had one, HUGE dog.

dunno what breed she truly is, found her in snowbank in Council Bluffs Iowa.
just matches most of the Japanese Akita traits.

they did a battery of tests last time, when we saw the one seizure.
i will call back & see what and all they did.

this vet has been awesome so far. i will ask him about a specialist, or what he recommends for treatment.

she was out running & having fun late last nite. looked fine

her & Junior curled up on the same blanket last nite to keep warm.

Totallyrad

Hey John, back end not responding after a seizure is pretty common, although not easy to watch. We had a lab/chow mix with epilepsy which is fairly common. He had times when his backside wouldn't work right afterward but mostly he would just look drunk. He'd stand up and stagger, couldn't do anything but watch. Seizures were treatable but we could not eliminate them.

04ctd

Vet said was just an injury (fighting with the other dog, he is ~90lb puppy, she was 52lbs this visit)

or arthritis.

he gave us some pills, and reviewed the lab work from last time.

both he & the Vet Asst got a whimper during the spinal check.

problem is, she is SO HARDHEADED, she won't take the pills, even wrapped in cheese. gonna get her canned food, and put it in there.

Totallyrad

Might have to get a pill popper, the vet should have them.

sawmill

try ham my dog got smart about the cheese pills meat works alot better.sad to hear about the pooch I would be crush to have to watch my dog go through that.

6WHEELER

Sorry to hear about you dog,
Mine is a 4yr old, 45lbs mix, he had his first seizer in june, then three in july in about 12hrs, the last one at 3am, the vet put him on some pills. All was fine till this week, he had 7 in 24hrs. "It the hardest thing to watch and hold him so he doesn't flop into something and hurt himself more, the look in his eyes tears me up". Sometimes he would not even try to get up for an hr afterwards, some he got right up in mins. he might sway and might not. they would last for a min up to alittle over 5mins, the vet said that the duration of the attack can last from seconds to mins, and the recovery can take the same time or longer. we go back in 3 weeks for more test. so we doubled his meds and he got a shot of valume, he has been fine so far. but still everytime I hear his tags on his collar rattle I go looking for him. Keep your chin up and think positive. small peices of hot dog work for us, heat them in the microwave and then put the pill in it and let it cool abit. Even if the pill falls out he licks it up because of the hot dog smell.

Equalizer 2

Sorry to hear about your dog.

I have to give my dog a pill every day. I just break a dog vitamin up into 2 to 4 pieces and drop the pill in with it and she licks it up. Sometimes she even crunches the pill. I tried cheese and several other things but she kept spitting the pill out. With all these suggestions you should find one that works for you.

tbarbee1

Put the pill in Peanut Butter

04ctd

had to search to find this old thread....but she is still here.

having seizures a lot more frequent.
the other day, she had her tail tucked in between her legs, and acting all sick & puny & whiny after a seizure (she was whiny when we came home, we have not SEEN one in a while, just find her scared & shaking)

so we made it outside, she seems to recover better out there, she went down the few steps (about 5) and flopped down like she was miserable.

i went back in and got the cat's food, and it is HER JOB to get the empty cat food bowl and LICK IT FOR HOURS. she was laying down there, and I thought, i will take it to her....

and she came RUNNING up the steps and grabbed it...and took off, made it a few feet, and set in to working on the cat's leftovers.

so I don't know, she acts like she is hurting, but sometimes she shows that old speed & agility.

if we got her in 1999, she is ~13 or so.

the Vet did another full screening this year, and they said she has a tumor on her spine, and that is causing it, but it's not operable.

we have been walking both dogs about a mile in afternoon to get the wife some exercise, and she just plods along, pretty happy (the wife, and the dog...)

Bark

Wow, thats great! I remember reading this thread back when I was still lurking and not posting (ya I know--shutup).
I am so glad you have gotten to spend more time with her.

SIXSLUG

In my rot's last 2 years she had a pinched nerve in her spine between the shoulders that would kick in randomly, she would go face first into the ground, lay there a minute or two, hop up and keep on goin like nothing happened.

Hard to watch, but not really anything we could do. Vet said just watch her and treat her well, since she was in her "golden" years and all that. He was an excellent and highly valued vet where I grew up, so the advice may not be that far off.

Seizing is another thing entirely, I know, and difficult to watch/experience. I am hopin she is doing better!!