Spine

The most common cause of weakness and pain associated with the spine is intervertebral disc trauma or disease. The unfortunate thing about our choice to build this site in a question and answer format is that the most common diagnoses are often not covered as extensively they should be - because there is less question about the problems at the vet’s and because people tend to understand them a little better.

The spine is composed of a long series of bones connected through a series of ligaments with a shock absorber - the disc - between each connection. If support was the only job of the spine there would be a lot less pain associated with injuries to the disc area, probably. But the spine serves as a conduit for the spinal cord, too. This very large bundle of nerves runs through the center of the spine and the individual strands of the bundle exit between the vertebrae at whatever level is necessary to do their job. The nerves pass between the outer edges of the disc and the boney protrusion of the spine. As long as everything is in its place this arrangement works fine. When the disc bulges or is damaged and calcifies it can put pressure on the exiting nerves leading to visible clinical signs of dysfunction in the area served by those nerves. By carefully considering where weaknesses and pain are exhibited it is possible to tell which discs are likely to be damaged.

If the disc is just putting a little pressure on the nerve there may only be pain. If the disc is damaging the nerve more significantly then weakness or paralysis will occur. In the case of pain alone it limiting exercise and utilizing a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication may be all that is necessary. If there is is weakness then corticosteroids or even surgery may be necessary to alleviate the problem.

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Spay/Neuter - Early (dog)

There is not a lot of data on the effects of spaying dogs and cats at younger ages than the “traditional” 6 months that has actually been published, at least that I am aware of. There are reports of two or three places studying the effects of early spay and neuter at the present time and I have seen references to data from these studies but am not aware of published data. I am only aware of one study of long term effects of spaying and neuter dogs at 7 months of age that followed the dogs for their entire lifetime. In this study, there were no problems attributable to spaying or neutering at this age other than a slight increase in the likelihood of estrogen dependent incontinence in female dogs. A lot of vets are spaying pets at 4 months of age pretty routinely now and humane organizations have been spaying animals in their care as early as 8 weeks for several years. Soon, there will be enough of these early spay and neuter patients and they will be old enough to figure out if there are long term effects. At present, no one is reporting any problems as far as I can tell.

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Schnauzer Comedone Syndrome

This is a condition affecting Schnauzers that produces comedones, or pus filled bumps that are usually mostly on the back of affected schnauzers. This is an inherited condition that will be present throughout the dog’s life if it is the problem. There is no cure but good nursing care can make this much less of a problem. Applying benzoyl peroxide shampoos or gels can help a great deal. Usually twice weekly bathing or gel application is sufficient. Clipping the hair over the affected areas and keeping it short can help in some cases. Application of astringents such as witch hazel has been recommended by some vets and may be beneficial as well. Some Schnauzers will respond to isotretinoin (Accutane Rx) but I think this is still a pretty expensive treatment, especially considering the need for long term use.

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Schnauzer Comedone Syndrome

This is a condition affecting Schnauzers that produces comedones, or pus filled bumps that are usually mostly on the back of affected schnauzers. This is an inherited condition that will be present throughout the dog’s life if it is the problem. There is no cure but good nursing care can make this much less of a problem. Applying benzoyl peroxide shampoos or gels can help a great deal. Usually twice weekly bathing or gel application is sufficient. Clipping the hair over the affected areas and keeping it short can help in some cases. Application of astringents such as witch hazel has been recommended by some vets and may be beneficial as well. Some Schnauzers will respond to isotretinoin (Accutane Rx) but I think this is still a pretty expensive treatment, especially considering the need for long term use.

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Separation Anxiety (dog)

Separation anxiety may be the most common behavioral problem in dogs. Dogs can not ask you where you are going and when you will be home. They can’t be comforted by leaving a phone number where you can be reached. If they are worriers, their only option is to worry. This can lead to behavioral problems related to their stress if they exhibit it as inappropriate defecation or destruction of your home or possessions. It is a tough situation.

A dog is a social animal. It wants to be with the family and being alone is not an entirely natural situation. Some dogs can not adjust to this situation without help. As a puppy, a dog learns that making sounds brings its mother to it. So barking, whining and crying are natural reactions when the dog wants to be reunited with its family. It may also consider digging, scratching at the door or window and other behavior designed to allow it to escape the house and rejoin its family to be “normal”. Dogs may become so anxious that they tear up objects indiscriminately, defecate or urinate without control. If a dog is punished for these actions, the resulting increase in anxiety can make the whole situation worse. It is best just to ignore the destruction if at all possible. In order to treat the disorder, it is necessary to set aside some time to figure out exactly what is happening and to help your dog adjust to separation.

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Seizure Control (dog)

Acepromazine seems to lower the seizure threshold in some animals and can apparently allow a seizure to occur that might not have without the lowering of the seizure threshold. Paradoxically, it can raise the seizure threshold associated with some anesthetic agents (most notably ketamine).

Diazepam (Valium Rx) is helpful in reducing seizure activity in most dogs but it does have a paradoxical excitatory effect in a few animals. I don’t know if this stimulates seizure activity but it does occur.

When to medicate to control seizure activity is a really debatable question. The pro treatment side of the argument for early treatment is that “mirroring” and “kindling” of seizures are recognized in dogs. Mirroring is when an area of the brain causing seizures on one side induces the development of an area causing seizures in the same place in the other half of the brain. Kindling is the process in which seizures make it easier for other seizures to occur — in effect lowering the seizure threshold a little bit every time one happens. The con side of the argument mostly revolves around the side effects of the most consistently successful seizure control medication in dogs, phenobarbital. It can cause incoordination and a general lethargy for several weeks on first administration. Most dogs overcome these effects in a few weeks, though. It also causes increased hunger, often increased water consumption and therefore urination and it causes severe liver damage in some patients. Not many, but enough to be very worrisome.

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Seizure Activity ( Dog)

Dogs definitely have a wide variation in seizure activity but it is hard to say whether seizures which might not cause recognizable clinical signs occur because it is so hard to judge the mental state of the dog. I assume that almost any type of seizure possible in a human probably occurs in dogs as well, though

Most people use the terms seizure and convulsion interchangeably but it is probably more accurate to say that the seizure is the brain activity that leads to the physical symptom of convulsing.

Convulsions can occur as the result of toxins and there have been reports of them occurring due to allergies in people. I am not sure if this has been documented in dogs. If there is a problem with food or with the stuff your dog eats on her runs, allergy to a plant or a particular ingredient of the dog food is the most likely problem. In this case, changing foods will only help if the offending ingredient (like beef, chicken, food coloring, etc.) is not found in the new food.

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Reproduction - When to Spay (dog)

It is pretty much universally agreed upon by vets that the best time to spay is BEFORE the first heat period. If a dog is spayed prior to the first heat, the odds of developing mammary cancer later in life are less than 1%. If spayed between the first and second heat periods the risk increases to about 8%. If spayed at any time after the second heat period, the risk of mammary cancer is about 25% in the dog (same as in an unspayed dog). There are no reasons not to spay prior to the first heat that I am aware of. A few dogs do develop incontinence from low estrogen levels after spaying but this does not appear to be affected much by the time the dog is spayed. Some dogs just develop this problem after spaying.

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