Wobbler's Syndrome

Many of you have met my great danes, Drake and Raisin, here at Metro during daycare. I bring them with me pretty much every day and they have an absolute blast playing with all their friends in the big dog room.

Recently Raisin started doing some things that made me very concerned - when he would get up from laying on his dog bed at home his back legs were very unsteady, and he even fell a few times, and he started to noticeably drag one of his rear legs. He also was very slow to right his rear paws if we turned them upside-down while he was standing. All of these things made me think that something neurological was going on, so off to the vet we went.

The vet said that Raisin is displaying many of the classic symptoms of early Wobber's Syndrome, or Cervical Spondylomyelopathy. This is a condition common in great danes, dobermans (pay attention here MJ) and also horses, and results from malformations of the vertebrae in the neck while the dog is growing. Those malformations in the bones put pressure on the spinal cord, and the results can vary from minor neurological symptoms like Raisin's all the way up to complete paralysis of the rear legs. The name Wobbler's comes from the severe wobbling movements that the rear legs of the dogs tend to do in the later stages of the disease. Most veterinarians believe it's a combination of genetics, nutritional and bio-chemical influences that cause Wobbler's.

An MRI will be needed to confirm Raisin's diagnosis, so we're currently saving our pennies for that procedure, which runs around $1500. Until then, Raisin is on very restricted activity, which he does NOT like, and we're talking with the vet about anti-inflammatory drugs and acupuncture to help with the swelling around his spinal cord. The only real "cure" for Wobbler's is spinal surgery to remove the portions of the vertebrae that are putting pressure on the spinal cord, and even that is not 100% guaranteed, so we're not sure what the future may hold for Raisin.

All of us here at Metro definitely appreciate any good thoughts you want to send Raisin's way, and we'll be sure to keep you up to date on any new developments in his treatment!