My Boston Terrier went outside this morning, peed and came back in. Her usual 3 year old excitement we see every day. She went down the hall into a bedroom.
We suddenly heard this strange flop, flop sound. She was in the hall trying to use her back legs. She couldn’t stand and kept plopping down. Her neck was twisted oddly too. Thankfully, she didn’t seem in pain.
We got her in her crate and I started getting dressed. I was going to rush her to the vet. Next thing I know she’s standing beside me wagging her stubby tail. She seemed fine and we went ahead fed her.
Out in the yard she’s racing around a hundred miles an hour. Getting her exercise. You’d never know anything happened two hours ago.
I’m guessing a pinched nerve?
I got even more to be thankful for this Christmas. I love that dog so much. I’m so relieved she’s ok. I’m hoping this is just a one time thing. I will tell the vet when she has her annual checkup in a few months. She’s so full of energy, it was such a shock to see her in distress.
Something similar happened to one of my dogs (sudden major limp that as suddenly disappeared) and it turned out she had Lyme disease. Fortunately it’s not too severe for dogs and is easily cured.
I’m not a vet, but both extremities being paralyzed like that sounds like the spinal cord may have been affected in some way. Perhaps with being such an active dog she has a slipped disc in her spine or something like that.
If that happened to my dog, I’d probably try to keep the dog quiet for a while and I would definitely at least call the vet’s office to tell them what happened just to be on the safe side.
I didn’t see it, but it sounds a LOT like a seizure to me. My little guy used to get them (he dies of unrelated illness) and his legs would stop working and his head would go to an odd angle. I would talk to a vet.
ETA: it really doesn’t look like the way you think a seizure would, or at least it didn’t to me. It happened twice before I asked a vet (he was fine right after, like your dog) and I was surprised at the answer.
There really are different kinds of seizures. Many times they’re not that bad, though they’re scary as hell for the owners. I’ve had two dogs that had seizures they had to be medicated for. Another dog seemed to have had one or two seizures, but she didn’t need meds.
If in doubt, have the vet check the obvious things like thyroid. Or keep a close eye on your dog and note when/if you ever see any other similar behaviors. Take that info to a vet too.
Sounds quite a bit like my Dachshund when he would have an epileptic seizure. I would take your little girl to the vet or at least call and tell them what happened. My little guy went on meds and was right as rain after that.
I would have automatically thought “seizure” if a similar thing hadn’t happened to a senior Rottweiler of mine (RIP Bosco). In his case, it was a pinched nerve in the lower spine (google spondylosis dog) and a single cortisone shot fixed him up for the rest of his life. I came home to find him splayed out in the living room, unable to stand or lift his head. We lifted him into my truck, carried him into the vets office because he couldn’t stand - and 15 minutes after the shot, he walked out and climbed in the truck like nothing had happened.
But seizure is a very viable option too. Probably more likely, since your dog is young. Whatever it is I hope it’s easily treatable!
Lyme nephritis is indeed VERY serious in dogs, and most don’t live much past 6 months after contracting the disease. Any tick exposure should be treated VERY seriously in dogs and a 4-6 week course of doxycycline is standard of care if tick-borne illness is suspected.
As to the signs the OP’s dog displayed this morning, I would want to rule out seizures and the possibility of spinal issues, so taking her to the vet is a very good idea. There is also the possibility this was a syncopal episode (fainting), and so her heart should be checked out, too. If anything like this occurs again, please videotape it with your phone if you can. I REALLY appreciate it when clients show me video of what their dog or cat is doing, as it aids in diagnosis when the incident is not repeated in front of me.
Thankfully, she didn’t seem in pain.
She seemed fine and we went ahead fed her.