Living with Degenerative Myelopathy part 1

This is one of those posts where I have so much to say, but no idea how to present it.

If you're friend, family, or long time follower you know Athena has had a hard life prior to our adopting her.  Rich fell in love with her beautiful picture and didn't care about the rest.

BACKGROUND

She's always been a special case.   From getting her well from her multiple infections and then teaching her to do stairs and even run.   Teaching her to jump up on furniture and all the other fun stuff that dogs should know how to do.

It made our day during one of the many visits to the dog park when she was able to keep up with the other dogs running.   It took a long time to get there, but it was so worth it.

Athena LOVES being a dog.   Play with other dogs--CHECK! Get attention from people--CHECK!  Eat snacks and treats--CHECK! Get cuddles from Mom & Dad--DOUBLE CHECK!!

Athena began to really thrive when we brought home Peryn.  He really turned the 3 of them into a pack.   Peryn loved his ruff and tumble times with Duchess and equally loved light wrestling with Athena.   Lada was icing on the cake. She adored wrestling with Athena.

Athena's most favorite thing in the world though? Playing with her pack!  In the house, in the back yard, at the dog park and at play care-- if her siblings were having fun, she was right there in the middle.

Now for Athena, her idea of having fun with them was nothing more than running after them as they played and barking.  Peryn & Lada want to play, there begins Athena's barking. She had to be right in the middle of it all.

Now, as I've said she's always had issues with the back legs.  If she overdid it at the park or playcare, she'd be limping.  We'd have to allow her a few days of downtime before she could join in the shenanigans again.  

Eventually that limping became more common.  We'd notice her drag her back paw when trying to keep up with them.   Based on her history, everyone (Vet included) assumed she over did it.   Rest and a break from running.

THE SIGNS
October 2018 she came home from her day at play care and was limping a bit--nothing out of the ordinary.  The next day however she was not normal. She could not walk straight--her body was curving in a C like shape and she struggled to walk.

Immediately called in for an appointment and had her seen.  X-rays showed severe arthritis (which was expected).  We were given medication and instructed to let her rest  

She never really recovered.   She would have a good afternoon, where she would walk normal, but then later than evening she was dragging her body.    It hurt us to watch, but she never cried out in pain.

We reduced her park time and kept her out of day care for months. 
I found tools that could be used to make our lives easier (harness to help her walk and pick her up).   Living in a colonial made things difficult for the both of us.

She would throw fits if we left her in one room and went to another, on another floor.

April we decided for everyone's sake to build a ranch.  

August of 2019 we moved into our new home and she loved it. She can move among the rooms without worrying about stairs.   She could walk herself out the front door since there was only a small step.    




Also at this time, I began searching for a cart for her.   She has so much life and energy, but her body is not cooperating.   Finally found one and ordered it. 

During this time, while researching carts and other tools I found the phrase Degenerative Myelopathy.  I looked it up to see what it was and felt like I had taken a hit to the gutt.

There were pictures and videos and descriptions of ATHENA!!!  
I now knew what really was the issue and it really sucked.  REALLY REALLY SUCKED.

Initial

• Loss of coordination (ataxia) in the hind legs
• Dragging the hind feet causing wearing down of the toenails.
• Hind end weakness (difficulty climbing stairs, jumping up into the car, going for walks)

Intermediate  (ATHENA)

• Knuckling of hind feet (weight bearing on the tops of the feet rather than their undersides)
• Difficulty supporting weight with hind legs
• Inability to walk without support
• Urinary and/or fecal incontinence

Advanced

• Paraplegia (paralysis of hind legs).
• Weakness in front legs.

Although this degenerative process is not painful, affected dogs can develop discomfort because of overuse of other body parts attempting to compensate for the hind end weakness.

I'm going to leave you here with a few links regarding the disease. 
http://www.caninegeneticdiseases.net/dm/basicdm.htm

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/degenerative-myelopathy-in-dogs



http://www.pethealthnetwork.com/dog-health/dog-diseases-conditions-a-z/canine-degenerative-myelopathy-its-dna


Athena's cart has given her a new lease on life that her body was robbing her from.   She can once again join in on the fun with her family......for a bit.

Next post will be about the day in and out of having a dog with DM.

UPDATE: Athena

Watch out world!

Athena Pupdate
For the past few years- we've noticed and remarked on Athena's back leg issues.   As it's been documented here, we've been aware of her weak legs and possible contributing factors.

Last November, when she began having the severely noticeable issues, we took her to the vet.  He took x-rays and determined she has severe arthritis AND her knees and hips are shot.   Again, not surprising as again this goes along with her suspected history.    

She's been on meds, soon going on a year.   She has some really good days and some really bad days.  We have talked about getting her wheels for the past 6 months.    FINALLY she received them on Friday.   
While there has been some slow "realization" of what she can do in them, she's quickly learning.  She got to play with her siblings in the back yard yesterday. She's going to enjoy being able to be part of the pack again.   

HOWEVER, this morning I found some very sad, yet not surprising news.  In trying to research how long she can safely be in the wheels, I stumbled on some not so surprising, but sad information. 

Degenerative Myelopathy
SOURCE
"Degenerative myelopathy is a progressive disease of the spinal cord in older dogs. The disease has an insidious onset typically between 8 and 14 years of age. It begins with a loss of coordination (ataxia) in the hind limbs. The affected dog will wobble when walking, knuckle over or drag the feet. This can first occur in one hind limb and then affect the other. As the disease progresses, the limbs become weak and the dog begins to buckle and has difficulty standing. The weakness gets progressively worse until the dog is unable to walk. The clinical course can range from 6 months to 1 year before dogs become paraplegic. If signs progress for a longer period of time, loss of urinary and fecal continence may occur and eventually weakness will develop in the front limbs. Another key feature of DM is that it is not a painful disease."

The pictures associated with this disease are what caught my attention initially. They were a perfect representation of Athena. 
EVERY SINGLE description of this disease's symptoms are Athena.   

I'm not saying the vet misdiagnosed her.  We took her immediately when she began having issues and with her history of weak legs. She does have arthritis.   What we didn't have was all the "symptoms" yet.    

Unfortunately breeds affected by this disease

How do we treat degenerative myelopathy?

There are no treatments that have been clearly shown to stop or slow progression of DM. Although there are a number of approaches that have been tried or recommended on the internet, no scientific evidence exists that they work. The outlook for a dog with DM is still grave. The discovery of a gene that identifies dogs at risk for developing degenerative myelopathy could pave the way for therapeutic trials to prevent the disease from developing. Meanwhile, the quality of life of an affected dog can be improved by measures such as good nursing care, physical rehabilitation, pressure sore prevention, monitoring for urinary infections, and ways to increase mobility through use of harnesses and carts.

Symptoms of degenerative myelopathy
DM symptoms progress slowly over the course of months to even years. From beginning to end, DM affected dogs typically remain alert and animated. The symptoms typically progress as follows:

Initial

• Loss of coordination (ataxia) in the hind legs
• Dragging the hind feet causing wearing down of the toenails.
• Hind end weakness (difficulty climbing stairs, jumping up into the car, going for walks)

Intermediate

• Knuckling of hind feet (weight bearing on the tops of the feet rather than their undersides)
• Difficulty supporting weight with hind legs
• Inability to walk without support
• Urinary and/or fecal incontinence

To come:

Advanced

• Paraplegia (paralysis of hind legs).
• Weakness in front legs.

Although this degenerative process is not painful, affected dogs can develop discomfort because of overuse of other body parts attempting to compensate for the hind end weakness.

SOURCE http://www.pethealthnetwork.com/dog-health/dog-diseases-conditions-a-z/canine-degenerative-myelopathy-its-dna

So essentially, it's not a great prognosis.  Considering she's in the intermediate stage, we don't know how long she'll stay here.     SO essentially we are going to be giving her the best life we can with what she's got left in her.    

We'll be sure to keep you updated.