# Reece back end giving way.



## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

Hi Karen and welcome!
Unfortunately, that's a problem I think most of us have with our older goldens.
I have a female that's going to be 13 in March and a male that will be 12 in January. My male is having problems with his back end, too.
Is his problem pain or weakness or both? Usually it's both in the older guys, so sometimes anti-inflammatories will help them. Also fish oil seems to help a lot of them, it's also a very strong anti-inflammatory. Perhaps you could talk to your vet about either or both of those.
Is his problem more on slippery floors? Cutting the hair out from between his paw pads on the bottoms of his feet can help that.
And, be sure he's getting enough protein in his diet. Senior dogs need more, not less, than adult dogs and if they don't get enough protein they lose muscle mass quickly. 
There are a couple of exercises you can do to help strengthen him a little. The easiest one is to just stand in front of him with a treat or something and have him walk backwards. Work up to having him walk 20 feet or so backwards. It really helps with those muscles.
Good luck, let us know how he's doing, and of course, we love photos!


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## goldencontriever3 (Nov 7, 2008)

I have no experience with this but wanted to welcome you to the forum. We would love to see photos of Reece. I am sure you will get lots of great advice from others with moe experience.


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## karenb9 (Oct 30, 2009)

Hi there

thank you for that, he is very week in his back legs but no pain we had to take him off the medication as it was effecting his kidneys and making him ver lathargic after taking him off the tablets he has improved 100%, When he was 8 he snapped both cruchiate ligaments and as a result of an operation got arthritis in his right leg and this one seems now to be the worst but he is so happy in himself and it is so nice to hear someone haveing older dogs as my vet just keeps telling me at his age he shouldn't be here which i find most destressing. I will indeed put some photos on but at the moment i am on the works computer and not at home 

Karen


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## kruisyk (Jul 6, 2008)

We had the same thing as Jasmine headed toward 14. No expert, but I think its part of the aging process for our goldies. Jazzy did well on Rimadyl. Best wishes to you.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

you might ask about some fish oil supplements, maybe they will help him. They do seem to help a lot of older dogs.
He SHOULD be here! A lot of us have older goldens, and we enjoy each and every day with them.



karenb9 said:


> Hi there
> 
> thank you for that, he is very week in his back legs but no pain we had to take him off the medication as it was effecting his kidneys and making him ver lathargic after taking him off the tablets he has improved 100%, When he was 8 he snapped both cruchiate ligaments and as a result of an operation got arthritis in his right leg and this one seems now to be the worst but he is so happy in himself and it is so nice to hear someone haveing older dogs as my vet just keeps telling me at his age he shouldn't be here which i find most destressing. I will indeed put some photos on but at the moment i am on the works computer and not at home
> 
> Karen


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## karenb9 (Oct 30, 2009)

Thanks for all your comments i have posted some photos now but don't know if i have done it right as i can't seem to get my profile picture on!
talk about reece being old Ha

karen


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## mylissyk (Feb 25, 2007)

Welcome to the board. 

There are supplements that can help a great deal too, Glycoflex, Cosequin, etc. 

Vets don't know everything!


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Karen*

KAREN

WELCOME!

I have a 10 year old Golden Ret.,, Smooch, who just had ACL surgery in March-doing very well.
Both Smooch and our Male, Samoyed, Snobear who is 9 are on Glucosamine very morning.

I had a Samoyed Male who did very well with Rimadyl.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Karen*

KAREN

I JUST CLICKED ON YOUR SCREEN NAME AND CHOSE view public profile and I can see Reese's picture.


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## karenb9 (Oct 30, 2009)

*Profile pic*

glad you can see Reeces picture but how do i get my profile picture to come on the screen? it comes on to me as if it is but i can't seem to see it like yours????


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*How to*

CLICK ON USER CP in upper left Corner.
Then Click on Edit Profile Pic (in left hand Column)
You can either save your pic to a site like Photofinder and then copy the IMG link from there to upload from another site or you can save your pic to your computer, the second blank bar and copy that link to the second blank bar in Edit profile pic.
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/profile.php?do=editprofilepic
Does that make sense?


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## paula bedard (Feb 5, 2008)

Welcome. My Bridge Boy Sam had arthritis and a neurological condition that caused weakness in his back end. His rear was receiving the 'data' sent from his brain a second or two later than the rest of his body, which caused him to drag his feet a bit. He never did knuckle under, which does happen in severe cases. I used a harness around his midsection and supported him up and down stairs when he became very tired or stiff. Most days, he didn't need the harness, but some days he did. 

I used supplements also. Gluco/Condroit and fish oil. I tried the prescription pain meds but found a plain old coated aspirin worked best....just make sure it's coated to pass through the stomach before dissolving, so as not to cause stomach irritation. Your Vet can recommend dosage. 

It's bittersweet, to see our buddies getting old before our eyes...we're so blessed to have gotten to these Sunset years with them...but they are the Sunset years.


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## Maxs Mom (Mar 22, 2008)

Welcome Karen. Sorry about your worries with Reece. I want to back up the fish oil suggestion. I have dogs of various ages. Actually my youngest has the soundness issues. We put them all on salmon oil, can't hurt right? OMG the DIFFERENCE it made in my senior. She was a behaving like a young'un. It was a pleasant time. 

Did you have the cruciates repaired? If not that could be a big contributing factor. He would be much weaker there as a result. My senior also had her knees done both her cruciates went. 

Another thought acupuncture is supposed to be wonderful for pain. How we can be sure they are "not" in pain I don't know. You may want to investigate holistic methods and see if that helps him. I may have to head that way with my young girl, I am trying to stay off NSAID's as long as possible. She is only 3. So far for her the salmon oil, joint supps, and adequan injections are keeping her running around.


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## karenb9 (Oct 30, 2009)

HI

1st of all i have tried uploading my profile pic as instructed and it says that it is there but still can't get it on the forum oh well!!

I did have his cruciates repaired as he was only 8 years old when he done them and still had lots of life i do give him fish oil but i can see his back end getting worse and worse as each month goes by and yes i know it is age but i still want to do everything in my power to sort him out, he can't get up the stairs anymore so my husband carrys him at bed time but if he is on nights or out i sleep down the stairs with him as i couldn't bare the thought of him sleeping himself 

the things we do for our pets but i know you all feel the same as me and they aren't really just pets!!


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## Rob's GRs (Feb 25, 2007)

Hi karen,

It sounds like you want an avatar. You can go to your user CP and load a picture there in as an avatar and it will show up in the top left corner of each of your posts.


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## AmberSunrise (Apr 1, 2009)

karenb9 said:


> Hi there
> 
> <snip > but he is so happy in himself and it is so nice to hear someone haveing older dogs as my vet just keeps telling me at his age he shouldn't be here which i find most destressing.
> Karen


Welcome to the forum 

Okay, I need to say your vet is just plain WRONG!!. While not common there are goldens who are 18 and many goldens reach 12 - 14 years old. My first goldie was 14.5 years old and my second 12 1/2 when he died from surgical complications. Might be time to switch vets ...

My dogs do better on Metacam that Rimadyl.


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## sharlin (Feb 26, 2007)

Do you have a canine facility for water therapy?? Low impact water therapy can really help.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

Welcome to the forum!

I agree with the other posters and highly recommend anti-inflammatories, fish oils, supplementation, exercises, water therapy and acupuncture. I've had experience with 2 dogs having back end problems. With our first boy we consulted an orthopedic specialist about his back end weakness and did a trial run with neurontin. It didn't work for our guy but we were lucky to have access to a veterinary acupuncturist. She helped our boy until he reached the bridge at 13 1/2 years due to cancer. 
We started our second Golden with hip/spinal/back end issues with a holistic acupuncture vet about 2 years ago. His improvement is dramatic. She uses a combinationof acupuncture, acupressure, massage, B-12 injections, chiropractic adjustments, laser therapy and herbs/homeopaths. Barkley, at 12 1/2 years is now going upstairs like a dog half his age and we see a definite improvement in his back end issues and in his muscle mass. As an added serendipity, his allergies improved with the acupuncture too. The vet we use said all of her seniors seem to have a spark in their step thanks to the acupuncture sessions. Some of the herbs Barkley takes are targeted for his hips and joints. Judging by the dog they must be working. 
There is a new cutting edge treatment here in the states that is helping some dogs with orthopedic and arthritic issues (not sure about true neurological issues affecting the rear end)--stem cell therapy. A company called vet-stem is certifying veterinarians in this procedure. Our regular vet does this and she has seen improvement in several of the dogs. Our acupuncture vet also recommends it. After consultations we decided not to pursue it for Barkley because he is doing so well right now with the acupuncture. 
Best of luck in helping your precious senior Reece.


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## Florabora22 (Nov 30, 2008)

Carmella had this problem too. Her whole back end would sometimes just give away and she'd end up on the floor.  I always felt so bad, but she didn't seem to mind. The vet took xrays and I guess Carmella had a bony grown protruding into her spinal cord which was interrupting the signals sent to her hind legs, but it never progressed to any permanent paralysis. Rimadyl really helped, and we also had her on some omega-3 fatty acids. It never seemed to really get any worse, and she did just fine. She eventually stopped going up stairs, but that was really her only limitation.

Oh, I love oldie goldies. <3


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## Finn's Fan (Dec 22, 2007)

If Reece is limited in his walks because of his hind end issues, you can get him a doggie wheelchair (otherwise known as a cart). As long as his front end is strong, a regular cart would do nicely; if his front end if also week, you can get a counter-balanced cart. A nice one is an Eddie's Wheels; I think the website is www.eddieswheels.com. It is an American company but there was a fantastic rep in the UK a few years ago. An e-mail to them would tell you how to order. If there is a handicapped pet organization in Scotland, sometimes they will have loaner carts that you can borrow to try out.


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

Carol had this harness for Beau (if I remember right) and it could be a great aid in helping him get around. http://www.helpemup.com/flashmovie.html


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## molsonsmom (Sep 14, 2009)

Hi Karen,

Welcome to the land of Golden's. Reece is experiencing a very unfortunately common problem with our Golden Sweethearts'. Glucosamine and chondroitin are very helpful supplements to try. Having a 14 year old who has had hip problems since he was 12 I can suggest you go to the site www.animalassistanceproducts.com to check out the Hip Hammock. A sling that was created to help support the rear of dogs with hip problems enabling them to relax, walk and exercise in comfort. You will see a picture of sinking hips as you called it and then another with how the hip hammock helps lift and cradle the rear. The model is my dog Molson.

Hope this helps.

Molsonsmom J


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Reece*

Bumping this topic for Reece


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## Penny & Maggie's Mom (Oct 4, 2007)

molsonsmom said:


> Hi Karen,
> 
> Welcome to the land of Golden's. Reece is experiencing a very unfortunately common problem with our Golden Sweethearts'. Glucosamine and chondroitin are very helpful supplements to try. Having a 14 year old who has had hip problems since he was 12 I can suggest you go to the site www.animalassistanceproducts.com to check out the Hip Hammock. A sling that was created to help support the rear of dogs with hip problems enabling them to relax, walk and exercise in comfort. You will see a picture of sinking hips as you called it and then another with how the hip hammock helps lift and cradle the rear. The model is my dog Molson.
> 
> ...


 WOW, what a great product. I've bookmarked it so I can put it on my XMas list.


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

molsonsmom said:


> Hi Karen,
> 
> Welcome to the land of Golden's. Reece is experiencing a very unfortunately common problem with our Golden Sweethearts'. Glucosamine and chondroitin are very helpful supplements to try. Having a 14 year old who has had hip problems since he was 12 I can suggest you go to the site www.animalassistanceproducts.com to check out the Hip Hammock. A sling that was created to help support the rear of dogs with hip problems enabling them to relax, walk and exercise in comfort. You will see a picture of sinking hips as you called it and then another with how the hip hammock helps lift and cradle the rear. The model is my dog Molson.
> 
> ...


Thank you for the link, and by the way, I enjoyed reading Molsie's blog! I'm sorry the acupuncture didn't work for him. It's nice to know that if we need to get Barkley some mobility assistance the Hip Hammock and Barrel Booster are available.


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## karenb9 (Oct 30, 2009)

Hi There

Thanks to everyone for there advice and your goldens are just gorgeous
reece had a really good weekend and was carrying on like a pup last night. I have got the fish oil and will continue giving him this to see how we get on and it is really nice to hear that some of the golden are older.


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## mist (Jun 23, 2007)

hi and welcome to the forum, Reece is adorable, 

I get my fur gangs glucosamine, and fish oil from http://www.dorwest.com/default.asp i'm also concidering adding Garlic & Fenugreek tablets to their breakfast,


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## maggie1951 (Apr 20, 2007)

sharlin said:


> Do you have a canine facility for water therapy?? Low impact water therapy can really help.


 
That did my Sadie more good than anything also you ask honeysmum on the uk forum about hydro.
And my Charlie has week back legs and i use a harness like some of the other's on the site it just helps steady them if they are a bit wobbly.


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## twinny41 (Feb 13, 2008)

Hello Karen, My Meg, who is very sadly no longer with us, had trouble with arthritis and as others was weak in the back end. I had to help her up many a time but she lived to just 13 days short of her 15th birthday. I always felt very sorry for her when she was struggling to get up but she was more than happy to let me help her! She was on metacam for years and I gave her glucosamine with chrondoiton. Don't know if the latter did any good but daren't stop it incase she got worse as it takes weeks to take effect.
I am very surprised to hear what your vet said. I mean with medical advances in vet treatment living to an older age shouild be the norm now. 13 is a very good age but hopefully he has a few good more years to come yet. Reece is a lovely old cuddly teddy bear isnt he? Loved your pics.


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## molsonsmom (Sep 14, 2009)

Hi Karen,

As you can see by my site www.animalassistanceproducts.com your problem is very near and dear to me. And I am passionate about the products because of who they were developed for. And since you have read my blog you can tell that my Molson is top priority and just how far we will go for him!  (pretty far eh? lol)

I was going to mention today acupuncture but you beat me to it since you read my blog, so you already know that while it didn't work for Molson it works for tons of dogs. I can give you names of vets specializing in acupuncture all over North America so give me a heads up if you need a name.


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## Noey (Feb 26, 2009)

I think Fish Oil works in dog like it does in us. My spine doc. also said it helps with the distrabution of medication is the body. (I'm not a vet or a doctor)


"Studies have proven omega 3 fatty acids are important for fighting inflammation. Fish oils for dogs may provide an anti-inflammatory environment and help fight against chronic inflammatory diseases such as arthritis"


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## molsonsmom (Sep 14, 2009)

I feel funny everytime I write the site down ( www.animalassistanceproducts.com ) but the truth is I believe in it. 

Glad you enjoyed the blog, I kind of lay it all out there for everyone to see. It is kind of a no holds bar, but I figure if they are coming to my site it is for a reason and I want everyone to know that I understand and have been where they are or am where they are right now.

Hopefully Barkley won't need assistance but you know what I would say if he eventually does!


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## molsonsmom (Sep 14, 2009)

Dear Penny and Maggie's Mom, thanks, very much appreciated!

I think I have to learn how to include the original quote, then my answers will make much more sense! You would think since I have my own website I would be more tech savy but alas that isn't my talent! lol, so for that I have to thank my webmonkey as he likes to be called.

I love how everyone has pictures up, I still have to figure out how to load some to this site!


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## molsonsmom (Sep 14, 2009)

Dallas Gold said:


> Thank you for the link, and by the way, I enjoyed reading Molsie's blog! I'm sorry the acupuncture didn't work for him. It's nice to know that if we need to get Barkley some mobility assistance the Hip Hammock and Barrel Booster are available.


wow am I inept at answering the proper people!!! I originally thouth Karen had written to me. and my answer to her was actually for you.:doh: at least partially. ugh I will get better at this!


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## molsonsmom (Sep 14, 2009)

Hi Karen.

Actually I originally thought it was you who went to my site and read my blog. Anyways part of my answer does go to you if you need a name of an vet acupuncturist I can pass on names in your region. and for everyone else on this thread, I swear I WILL learn!


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## Dallas Gold (Dec 22, 2007)

molsonsmom said:


> wow am I inept at answering the proper people!!! I originally thouth Karen had written to me. and my answer to her was actually for you.:doh: at least partially. ugh I will get better at this!


No problem! I'm actually on the way in a few to take Barkley to his monthly acupuncture,chiropractic,massage,B-12 injection and lots of love and attention session. :smooch: He loves going. I would ask her for the website link listing all of the north american acupuncture vets, but I noticed the OP is in Scotland. I'm sure if you google it a list of names will come up. More and more veterinarians are becoming certified in this (a good thing!).


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## molsonsmom (Sep 14, 2009)

Dallas Gold said:


> No problem! I'm actually on the way in a few to take Barkley to his monthly acupuncture,chiropractic,massage,B-12 injection and lots of love and attention session. :smooch: He loves going. I would ask her for the website link listing all of the north american acupuncture vets, but I noticed the OP is in Scotland. I'm sure if you google it a list of names will come up. More and more veterinarians are becoming certified in this (a good thing!).


 
Hi, if you go to http://avac.ca/site-eng.html and press on the province flag it will give you the members in that province and for out of Canada you click under it. Also their link page will lead you to the American Acupuncturist Association. Hope this helps


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