Dimond Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 My Jack Russell who is 6 years old has come down with a second bout of paralysis in all 4 legs and can’t walk. 6 months ago this happened and was very serious as he was totally immobilised for 8 weeks. Vet couldn’t definitely explain why. Suggested it was a bacterial infection spread into the bloodstream. My dog was extremely healthy prior to this then one day we noticed him stumbling and couldn’t walk as the front legs were giving way. Next day he lost mobility in the back legs and eventually wholbody. Couldn’t go to toilet or move. At this stage I thought he would die. He couldn’t be left alone. I had to feed him with a siringe and give him water this way. It took 8 weeks of constant care for him to recover. 2 days ago it’s all happening again and I am totally confused as to what is causing this. Vet is as well. He’s only had about 3 cases similar in his career. Can anyone shed light on this - I thought it wS extremely unlucky to experience this once let alone twice. I have another jack Russell as she is fine. They both have the same food each night so I’m at a loss to explain or understand what is causing the paralysis. Any help you maybe able help with would be appreciated. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 Have you had blood tests and xrays done to rule in/out possibilities? A basic blood test will definitely show if your dog has an infection at the very least... and a basic xray will show up any spinal/neck anomalies. Do you live in an area where there are paralysis ticks? Or had visitors from areas that do? Visited an area yourself that does? Is your boy a lot more adventurous or physically active than your girl? An injury perhaps? A cranial xray done to highlight soft tissue may show if there is a tumour in play in the brain... as a last resort possibility, an MRI may be beneficial if there is no other cause found by the above diagnostic methods. At 6 years old, your boy is far from being a senior dog... he should be fit and active and full of beans... T. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_PL_ Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 (edited) I'd try getting your vet to call an immunologist and have them review his file. It could be related to an auto-immune disease similar to the one in humans that leaves them paralysed from the neck down. (Paralysis in cats; happened to mine out of nowhere. Completely incapacitated. He had every test possible/showed nothing and recovered at the vet on a drip. We didn't go the specialist route because it never happened again). But that's leaping way ahead. What testing have you had done so far? It's baby steps but don't be discouraged. Edited August 2, 2022 by Powerlegs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deeds Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 Could it be Leptospirosis? Are you on acreage? Those symptoms are the same as what happened to one of my dogs years ago. They did all the tests at a Sydney Specialist Centre and couldn't find anything. I thought it may have been Leptospirosis so my normal vet treated him with antibiotics. He got better but was never the same. He was never diagnosed with a specific condition so we don't know if we treated it correctly or not. https://kb.rspca.org.au/knowledge-base/what-is-leptospirosis/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dimond Posted August 2, 2022 Author Share Posted August 2, 2022 Thanks for your responses. We did have a blood test and X-ray done 6 months ago when he had the first episode of paralysis in all legs - unfortunately it didn’t shed any light on his condition. He has been given antibiotics and charcoal tablets to assist if it is an internal in free cation. We live on a farm in Victoria so we have ruled out ticks. it’s day 3 since we first noticed him stumbling and finding it difficult to walk. Front legs went first and by day 2 back legs followed. Day 3 and he is just laying in his bed and his ability to move is greatly restricted. I have to carry him outside to try to get him to go to the toilet - although he hasn’t yet. Keeping him hydrated with a syringe. I think I’ll have to try and get another opinion from another vet as it is obviously very difficult to diagnose 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Little Gifts Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 This is one of those times when I'd be asking my vet for recommendations for a specialist to assess him. If you live rural they may also be able to do some of it by phone or video and work with your local vet for more testing. I have great vets (and it is a vet hospital) but there comes a point when they need to refer over to someone with more specialist knowledge and experience. I hope they can work out what's going on for your boy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted August 2, 2022 Share Posted August 2, 2022 Hmmm... is it possible he has gotten access to some sort of poison, like weedkiller? Some organophosphates can cause paralysis in dogs... The administration of charcoal tablets seems to point to the vet having a thought along those lines. Have you or the neighbours sprayed for any weeds recently (and around the time of his last episode)? If he's had a chomp on treated grasses/weeds, as dogs are wont to do, that could be a lead... Alternately, do you feed your dogs raw chicken or duck? Apparently some bacteria on raw poultry products (particularly chicken necks) can also cause this sort of issue - specifically Campylobacter... worth seeing if your vet can test for that. T. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dimond Posted August 3, 2022 Author Share Posted August 3, 2022 I think it’s Coon hound disease 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dimond Posted August 3, 2022 Author Share Posted August 3, 2022 22 hours ago, Deeds said: Could it be Leptospirosis? Are you on acreage? Those symptoms are the same as what happened to one of my dogs years ago. They did all the tests at a Sydney Specialist Centre and couldn't find anything. I thought it may have been Leptospirosis so my normal vet treated him with antibiotics. He got better but was never the same. He was never diagnosed with a specific condition so we don't know if we treated it correctly or not. https://kb.rspca.org.au/knowledge-base/what-is-leptospirosis/ On 2/8/2022 at 4:56 PM, tdierikx said: Have you had blood tests and xrays done to rule in/out possibilities? A basic blood test will definitely show if your dog has an infection at the very least... and a basic xray will show up any spinal/neck anomalies. Do you live in an area where there are paralysis ticks? Or had visitors from areas that do? Visited an area yourself that does? Is your boy a lot more adventurous or physically active than your girl? An injury perhaps? A cranial xray done to highlight soft tissue may show if there is a tumour in play in the brain... as a last resort possibility, an MRI may be beneficial if there is no other cause found by the above diagnostic methods. At 6 years old, your boy is far from being a senior dog... he should be fit and active and full of beans... T. I think it’s Coon Hound Desease Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Papillon Kisses Posted August 3, 2022 Share Posted August 3, 2022 I think it would be a good idea to have input from a specialist if that’s an option available to you. If you’re unable to travel to a referral hospital and there aren’t any specialists that will travel to your local vet, you might find they’re happy to give your vet (or a second opinion vet) some guidance over the phone. I wouldn’t know whether you’d need an internal med specialist or a neurologist or other sort of specialist, but it seems this is a complicated case where a vet with further qualifications and perhaps more diagnostic capabilities could be useful. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deeds Posted August 3, 2022 Share Posted August 3, 2022 @Dimond . I had thought of this as well because a dog nearby had Coon Hound Disease some years ago. Very unusual I would have thought to get this disease in Inner Sydney but that was the diagnosis.. The owners had it diagnosed by Specialist Vets ( SASH in Sydney) and the dog did make a slow but full recovery. It was a bigger dog than a JRT. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deeds Posted August 3, 2022 Share Posted August 3, 2022 https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/coonhound-paralysis https://geelongcreatures.com.au/2017/04/08/coonhound-paralysis/ You may find these articles on Coonhound Disease useful. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdierikx Posted August 3, 2022 Share Posted August 3, 2022 Interesting to note that Coonhound Disease in Australia may have a link to eating raw chicken... does your boy eat raw chicken by any chance? T. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dimond Posted August 4, 2022 Author Share Posted August 4, 2022 15 hours ago, Deeds said: https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/coonhound-paralysis https://geelongcreatures.com.au/2017/04/08/coonhound-paralysis/ You may find these articles on Coonhound Disease useful. Thanks for your response- I was lucky to get a cancelled appointment on Friday with Geelong Creature Comfort in Belmont. I had noticed that info on the web and although I had taken Poppy to a vet nearby he really needs specialised advice and treatment. Coon hound disease in Australia is quite rare so I’ve found it difficult to get the right advice. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rebanne Posted August 4, 2022 Share Posted August 4, 2022 I wish you luck, my dog was tested/investigated for coonhound disease some years ago, turned out to be steroid responsive meningitis. She never got to the paralysed stage though. It was a very scary time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moosmum Posted August 4, 2022 Share Posted August 4, 2022 (edited) Macadamia nut poisoning ( I think) causes paralysis similar to this? I know it can take only a fraction of a nut to cause severe reaction in some. Edited August 4, 2022 by moosmum 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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