Hello everyone,

My recently turned 12 years old husky, Ghost, has been having back legs issues for awhile, about a year or a year and a half.

I'll try to desbribe it: He has little strengh in his back legs. The vet said it is something in his spine, the discs I believe, but it's also neurological. His back paws don't react normally when he walks, it's like it has a delay when it comes to putting the paw back on the floor. It gets dragged a little. The vet also showed us, that when he does something to the leg, it kicks like a horse. She said that is not normal, it's like a reflex that Ghost doesn't control.

Well, lately, he's been a littlle worse, so he is on medication. Outside, he can walk better, but at home he slips alot on the floor. This is also putting pressure on his front paws; and to make things worse, he also has arthritis in one of those legs. The vet recommended boots or socks, but I can's seem to find one that fits well. On saturday I bought "Trixie Walker Care Comfort", XL size (it has a german sheperd on the pack), but it doesn't seem to fit quite well. It doesn't cover all the paw till his ankle, but at the same time, looks big on the front part of the paw. When I tie the boot, it's always a little loose and Ghost can't walk properly.

Does anyone has some advice? It would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you all,
Michell

I've no experience with the boots but my now deceased older dog had trouble with walking and slipping. I ended up putting rubber backed throw rugs on wood floors and some carpet stair treads for the 2 steps down into the family room. This food help some. It sounds like you're guy may have degenerative myelopathy, maybe? I'm sorry to hear that. Best of luck.

Shadow is going through severe arthritis in his back end along with an acl issue. Twice ive thought i was going to have to pht him down when he couldn't make it up 2 steps. Last time assumption was he slipped, tripped or walked into something and tweaked his back. I have him on major meds, he sleeps on a couch a d we use rugs and yoga mats to help with the falling. Shadow is in bad shape all around. Have you looked into a doggy wheelchair or splint boots? Downside to splint boots is that over time they will cause weakness if left on too long. Ive never put them on a dog but my showjumpers all wore boots and so did some of our race horses.

So my 11 year old is having the same issue you seem to be. He has always had hip dysplasia real bad and now that he's older his spine is deteriorating and there's a lot of weakness in his rear to the point we are not climbing stairs well and he drags his rear legs in a way when he walks that is causing his nails to get ground down in a weird way. I have boots and I too have never felt that they fit well enough and if anything because of the way he drags his feet the boots are more of a tripping hazard than anything. I haven't tried socks but think they would work better. There are also protective pads for dogs. Both show several options on amazon. I like the idea of the protective pads but they are basically a sticker and I don't imagine they would hold on through too much nor is it a good idea to leave anything on their feet too much since they regulate temperature through their paw pads. I would look for a sock and aim to size it on the tight side like a compression sock and see how that goes. I have mostly been trying to make sure Kye's nails are kept short and the hair between his toes stays trimmed. He has fabio feet and his hair can get wild to the point they don't allow his paw pads to actually contact the ground which is slick. I've added grippy sandpaper-like stuff to my stair treads on the porch to help with slipping on those. I've always had my hip dysplasia dogs do a lot of climbing so their front half is strong enough to compensate for the shortcomings of their back half but there comes a point where they are just old and tired. If I need to I can loop a towel under his belly and use it to assist him up.

Thank you all for you help! I will look into rugs and yoga mats. I'll also check the splint boots. I haven't heard of them before.

Emily, I'm so sorry for your pup. It's really hard watching our dogs health deteriorate and being unable to help much. It's hard to see Ghost go through that. He used to be so full of energy. Even now, if he sees a dog that he really likes he wants to run after them, but his legs fail him

"It sounds like you're guy may have degenerative myelopathy", it does. The vet didn't gave me a name for the condition, but I searched on google after reading your post and it does sound like his condition. Thank you for your help

Hi Jenn,

Your dog situation is very similar to Ghost situation.

"... the boots are more of a tripping hazard than anything" that's exactly what happens. I have a pair of socks that seem to fit better, but they are small for his paws. The lady at the pet store told me they would strech, but they don't strecth that much. Still, he seems to walk better with the sock than the boots.
I saw the protective paws on amazon, but read several complaints that they don't work well, so I didn't get it.

Thank you for the help. Best of all gor your pup. I know it's hard watching get old and fragile

I have a almost 11 yr old 108 lb german shepherd. Even in good health its still borrowed time and the pain meds help but they do nothing for the canine cognitive dysfunction or that he is 100% blind. I know any day something could happen. And shadow is doing really good right now if by really good i mean not getting any worse, and thats all i can hope for with him.

Its sad but it happens.

I know what you mean, it's the same thing with Ghost. I know it will just get worse, but I'm always hoping for some improvement