# Falling down



## iGirl

Our 13 y/o Phoebe has had an increased (very occasional) incidence of having her back legs fail and fall down, but today she's really not doing so good. She can still get around a bit but it's clear she's not doing so well.

Particularly her right leg (she had an ACL knee surgery about 6 years ago) is very weak, but it has stressed out the other one from taking the greater load for these years.

Our house is about 50% hardwood floors and she's not good on that due to it being too slippery for her now. That's always been a challenge as she had to learn to walk slow and not run.

Anyway, we'll take her in for Xrays probably tomorrow, but at 13, I'm not sure what options are there other than pain management. Since both legs are giving out it seems likely it's her hips - but we shall see. Im just really worried - what happens if she can't get up any more? :frown2:


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## CAROLINA MOM

I'm sorry to hear about Phoebe's mobility problems. 

I have wood flooring in my house, when my 15.5 yr. old bridge boy started having problems with my floors, I put several rugs down for him. You can either use a towel and put it up under her to lift her up or you can buy a harness.


If you do a Google search you'll find a variety of harnesses available.

Do you have Phoebe on any joint supplements? If not, work with your Vet, they do help. She may need some pain medication also for arthritis.


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## LynnC

I'm very sorry for the problems your Phoebe is having. At the end my 12YO Harley had problems with her hind legs and could not get up from a lying or sitting position and at the very end could not walk. We also have hardwood floors so I put a path of carpet mats to the door. I also used a bath towel as a sling to help her up and walk to help her out to go potty . I know how sad it is to see the deterioration of their health and the helpless feeling we have. Talk to your vet tomorrow and in the mean time enjoy every moment with sweet Phoebe. Good luck


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## mylissyk

We went through a whole list of things to help Lilah when her back legs started giving out. Medication, rugs on the wood floor. If we put a rug under her back feet when she tried to get up it help with traction. When we added Gabapentin and Adequan injections she really got a boost in mobility.

Rimadyl
Gabapentin
Tramadol
Adequan injections

I hope your vet will have some suggestions to help her.


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## Pilgrim123

I've come to the opinion that old dogs and wooden floors don't mix. Like the others here, we ended up with carpet square pathways for our older dogs, even in the kitchen. Pilgrim, who'd also had a knee op, seemed to need it most. As mylissyk suggests, adequate pain control also helps and your vet should help you with that. Good luck with Phoebe.


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## iGirl

Thank you everyone! We just got back from the vet and she could tell without even examining Phoebe, she was in a lot of pain. At this point she's also now started to lean sideways and can't really lift her neck. The little walking she's doing is sort of a sideways stumble but we can make forward progress with a little guidance!

Anyway step 1 is to get her out of the spams and pain - she got a steroid injection and has been put on Methocarbamol and Tramadol. We are going to reassess in a week with regard to her hips or other issues. The vet did say she will probably have to be on pain management now long term. 

I asked about Adequan (we gave it to her some years ago after an ACL surgery) but the issue with that is it takes a long time to get into her system and work. I'm really not sure how much longer she has - we didn't talk about that yet. :-(

A lighter story - she did something really funny yesterday while still in a lot of pain - she stole the TV remote control (always a favorite thing to steal) - the thing that was unique was, for the first time ever she went and put it deep inside her box of toys. If I hadn't seen her do it, we would have never found it. Mischievous through and through. lol


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## Pilgrim123

Thanks for making me smile. What a lovely way of being naughty. It just shows us old girls still have a lot of life left in us!


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## jennretz

I loved your story of her being naughty....still a golden through and through


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## iGirl

Her head is still tilted, but she's feeling a little better on the meds. She can walk around a bit and go outside on her own but doesn't want to leave the carpeted area in the center of our family room (about 30x26) - or the extra carpet I've rolled out for her to bridge that area to the sliding glass doors outside.

She knows the hardwood floors aren't good - too slippery so I'll be going over to Home Depot to buy at least a couple more longs strips of carpet off of the big rolls they have there so she can get to a couple of other rooms.


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## LynnC

Sweet Phoebe. Glad she's feeling a bit better . Sneaky thing hiding the remote. She obviously wants all your attention & no distractions with the TV.


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## CAROLINA MOM

Phoebe's beautiful.......... these sugar face Seniors are so special. 

Too funny about the TV remote, atta girl. 
Hope the meds will help her.


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## mylissyk

She is so pretty. I'm glad she a bit better. I didn't realize she had a head tilt previously. Did the vet think it might be vestibular syndrom? If so, she can recover almost fully.


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## iGirl

So here we are 10 days later - she is doing much better. Only a very minor head tilt and only part time. The vet didn't mention vestibular - but reading up on it that seems very likely - for a while there it was like she was drunk - but always falling over to the LH side. There has been marked improvement on this and she's walking straight lines again and is well balanced, but a little cautious. I originally though it was due to pain in the RH side (keeping weight off) but it could have been either - or both.

I went to the Home Depot ad got some 4' wide strips of the super cheap carpet they keep on the rolls (it's 12' wide) That made some long runners for her to keep off the hardwood. Then I had to buy non-slip matting for underneath off of Amazon because it was not staying in place. But it works great!

She was afraid to leave the carpet for the first week, but has started pushing it and sneaking onto the hardwood even though we tell her not to. She seems to be feeling much better and not showing signs of pain or stiffness at all. A huge difference on the meds. In this photo she even just climbed up onto the couch on her own to be next to me... Though I'm pretty sure she can't get down or she would right next to me here in the other room. I'll probably have to go help her. 

I was afraid she didn't have much longer with us, but now - who knows? She seems 80-90% back.


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## Pilgrim123

That photo looks right into her soul, and it is beautiful.


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## jennretz

I love that photo...


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## mylissyk

She is a lovely girl. I'm so glad she's doing better.


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## CAROLINA MOM

She's beautiful, great to hear she's doing so much better. 
These Seniors are just priceless........


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## B and G Mom

Yay!! So glad she is doing better!!


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## tikiandme

She's gorgeous. I'm glad she's feeling better.


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## LynnC

Sweet Phoebe  . So glad she's doing better. Each day is a gift. No one knows what tomorrow will bring for any of us.


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## GoldenHearted

She's gorgeous! That picture of her on the couch made me tear up. It's so great that her meds are improving her quality of life. I hope she's around to steal your remote for a long time to come!


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## iGirl

Thanks so much to everyone - everything is looking good for the holidays!


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## Pilgrim123

That is a wonderful picture of her. She has beautiful eyes.


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## Our3dogs

So happy to hear your girl is doing so much better! I also did the same thing as you, getting the carpet at Home Depot for our gal. When the tile floors became too hard for her, I purchased enough strips to cover the entire hallway. We just taped it down with silver duct tape. I didn't care what it made the place look like, I just wanted things to be easy for our girl. Have a super holiday with your girl!


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## gdgli

My vet recommended putting socks with those rubbery lines on the bottom on my dog.


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