My dog, Piyomi, is 11 and has arthritis in her back and legs. Most days it doesn't slow her down too much but yesterday she started having trouble walking and she was panting pretty hard just lying around. We called the vet for a quick weekend emergency appointment, in part because when her (dog) father died, he was panting like that in his last few hours from heart trouble. The good news is that her heart's fine and they're pretty sure it's not cancer. They think the arthritis in her back has caused a nerve to get pinched, and hope that after a couple of weeks' rest she'll recover. In the meantime she has a hard time coordinating her back legs so she kind of stumbles around, so we're supposed to be keeping her off her feet for best healing. I found a youtube video showing how to make a helper sling for things like taking her outside for a bathroom trip. Given that she's about a 50 lb dog the DH's back was already hurting from having to pick her up or bend over and hold her hands under her belly. At least that should keep us from having 2 beings in the house in back-related bed rest. So anyway, here's hoping this is just temporary and she'll bounce back. Her father lived until he was 16. Hoping there's plenty of years ahead, and that at the worst, she gets a little wheeled buggy for her back-end. Heh.

Owwww sunshine...sending you heaps and heaps of well wishes and prayers from this side of the world.. We have used homeopathy on several of our animals with arthritis and epilepsy... with good results.. as well as Rescue Remedy (Bach flower essence) for when they are stressed ..I don't know what the equivalent is were you are. They are available in chemist and health food shops in Australia, may be that is something to look at , plus we have also used acupuncture on one of our dogs.......once again I don't know if you have vets or animal therapist over there who use these modalities... an alternative to moving a big dog around is a scooter or skate board with a large bit of rounded foam on it with a rug over it ... dog is then draped over the foam... this elevated the dog of the ground allowing them to partially walk and support there stomach as well ..it look a bit odd but it still gives the dog some level of mobility without putting to much pressure on their legs.....ps make sure foam is very secure . Alternatively again you can buy canine nappies wishing you the best and lots of love, hugs and support...and extra prays tonight

Here's wishing the very best to your Piyomi, too, CW! *hugs* I can completely understand what you must be feeling!

Did the emergency vet give Piyomi any medication for her condition? It's hard when our pets have a problem--I wish they could speak and tell us exactly what's wrong, etc. Hoping that Piyomi gets some relief and is back to her old self, very soon.

Yeah she has 2 medications, one for pain and one for the swelling. DH says it's the same pain meds he got for his kidney stones, so it's "the good stuff," and that probably explains why she's so sleepy. That's for the best since she needs to stay off of her feet as much as possible. We'll have to ask about naturopathy. This is a very tree-hugging area so I'm sure we have people who do that around here. We were so, so relieved it wasn't her heart. At the moment it just kinda sucks that our house has so many stairs. We've rearranged stuff as best we can so she can easily get to her food and water where she likes to hang out most. It's also good that she can actually go to the bathroom, with paralysis that's not always possible.

Oh the poor baby, here's hoping things improve as much as they can for her soon.

Hope she heals soon. If it is just her back legs, maybe a canine wheelchair, like LW suggested, might be a good long term investment. It won't help with stairs much, but it will help mobility if this happens again.

I hope Piyomi feels better. Would a UV lamp to lie under maybe help her feel better?

We managed coordinate enough with her to use the bathroom while using the sling, so that was good. It also helps us make sure that she can move her legs. We're supposed to watch that. Right now she can move them but can't entirely control them, and one of her back feet tends to curl over while she's walking, but it's something. If this becomes a recurring or permanent issue, she's getting a doggie wheelchair for sure. She's spending most of her time in the TV room. We've got sliding glass doors and the curtains open so she's getting sunlight. We'll probably try again with a heating pad. We laid one over her hips the other day and turned it on and she stayed pretty contentedly under it. Moved and lowered her food bowls, too, so she can get to them easily.