Tag Archive for: wheelchairs

Paralysis in dogs

, which makes the animal unable to move its hind legs, front legs, or four legs, has various origins. It can be caused by trauma, but also by illness. It can also be gradual or sudden, be irreversible, or offer possibilities for improvement or healing.

Silla de ruedas para perro Ortocanis

Wheelchair for Ortocanis dog

In any case, it will be necessary to provide the animal with all the necessary care to facilitate its recovery. For this, it is essential to know the cause of paralysis to apply the most appropriate treatment. We could not only alleviate your symptoms, but reverse them in certain cases, and if not possible, provide you with the highest possible quality of life .

Main causes of paralysis in dogs

Fundamentally, paralysis in dogs is caused by either trauma or disease. This can be congenital or infectious. Among the congenital diseases that cause paralysis in dogs, especially in the hind limbs, is a degenerative pathology of the intervertebral discs. Dogs that suffer from it, usually due to age, lose mobility, since the membrane that surrounds their spinal cord progressively decomposes.

As for infectious diseases that cause paralysis , there are two that are particularly dangerous. They are rabies and distemper. On the other hand, the animal experiencing paralysis may have a tumor somewhere on its body that affects its mobility. For example, if you have one in your spine, it can affect your limbs.

In addition, the dog may suffer paralysis from an injury to the neck or spinal cord. Generally, these types of injuries are the result of a hard blow or an accident. In these cases, the paralysis is usually permanent.

On many occasions the dog does not want to move because it has pain. It is common to find cases of ligament injuries or osteoarthritis where the dog avoids using the affected limb. We would not talk about a paralysis itself but we must know these cases since they are more frequent. Normally we will see that the animal complains if we manipulate the affected area. In these cases the veterinarian could recommend the use of an
orthosis
.

In another order of things, paralysis in dogs can also be psychological, as a result of shock. In these cases, since there are no spinal cord injuries, the paralysis will be temporary. It can also cause the intake of spoiled food, contaminated with botulinum toxin. It can even be caused by the bite of an insect, since there are animals that with a bite can cause paralysis in dogs. This is the case of some families of ticks.

Symptoms and treatment of paralysis in dogs

In addition to being unable to walk, paralysis in dogs can have other symptoms. For example, difficulties getting up. It can also be an indicator that the animal cannot urinate, or that it has trouble controlling urine. In the latter case, it will drip constantly. This can also happen to the animal when defecating. In addition, you may also walk in pain or as if you are dizzy.

In these cases, it is best to take the animal to the veterinarian to examine it and decide the best way to help it. In case you suffer from incontinence apart from paralysis, it will be necessary to keep it as clean as possible. This will prevent the animal from having infections (and undesirable odors). In these cases you can use special
diapers
for dogs and protective coats.

On the other hand, we must ensure that he rests in the most comfortable way possible. For this it is advisable to use an orthopedic bed for dogs. In addition to providing them with better rest, these beds are designed to distribute the weight of the animal, avoid pressure points and ulcers on the skin due to prolonged use.

In any case, having a paralysis is not currently an obstacle for dogs to continue moving and enjoying. There are wheelchairs adapted to them, with which, if they have mobility in the front legs, they can continue walking and moving as if all four legs worked well.

Ortocanis Writing Team

Myositis in dogs is one of the canine diseases that most affects their quality of life. Not only because it can affect your ability to move and perform your usual daily activity. Also because it is a very painful pathology that limits them a lot. It is an inflammation of one or more muscles that can affect different parts of the body. Its origin can be multiple, and can be due to wounds and muscle breaks as well as overexertion. But also to the effects of age.

It mainly affects short-haired pets, such as various breeds of dog. It can occur at any age, although it appears more frequently in adult and older dogs. There are three types: eosinophilic, rheumatic and purulent.

Miositis en perros: principales causas, síntomas y tratamiento

Causes and symptoms of myositis in dogs

Myositis in dogs can be due to several reasons. Among them, a muscle tear or a hematoma, both the product of a blow or a fall and excessive physical activity or a jump from a high height. But it can also appear after bearing an excessive load without the animal being prepared for it.

Sometimes it also occurs as a result of hypothermia that a dog can suffer when it is in an environment in which it is excessively cold and without being prepared for it. Then, the muscles have trouble moving, since the cold paralyzes them, and inflammation appears.

When it appears in an older dog, it is simply about the effects of age, which produce various pains and ailments. Or by parasites that nest in the muscles and other mobile areas of the animal’s organism, and cause displacements and erosions.

Obviously, one of the main symptoms that a dog has myositis, in addition to the difficulty of displacement if it affects the legs or the area of the joints and spine, is pain. Affected dogs will have so much pain that they usually won’t want to move (or won’t be able to), and they will moan in pain. They will also refuse to touch the affected area, and even caresses, even if they are soft.

The dog may feel better first thing in the morning after sleeping, but he will already appear tired. And the pain will increase as the day goes by. It is especially indicative of the presence of myositis pain in the area of the pelvis or shoulder, two of the points in which this ailment first manifests.

In addition, myositis presents other additional symptoms. Among them, the difficulties to pose one leg or several, the curved position of the dog’s back , etc. All together with an evident tension in the neck area, product of pain and difficulties in moving, and swelling of the affected area. It can also increase body temperature, and blood appears in the urine. And as a consequence of all this, come decay and loss of appetite.

Treatment of myositis in dogs

When myositis is detected early, and it is a mild form, it will be enough to take the animal to the veterinarian to put an appropriate treatment after finding the cause of the disease. It will usually be fully restored within a couple of weeks. But when it comes to severe myositis or its treatment is postponed, it may take longer to heal, and you may have sequelae.

Among these sequelae are the shortening of the affected muscles, muscle atrophy and the paralysis of one or more limbs. In these cases, in addition to a treatment to eliminate the pain and try to repair as much as possible the damage, the dog may need rehabilitation and various supports to be able to move. These range from a protector for the affected limbs to a wheelchair adapted for more severe cases involving paralysis of the hind legs.

Peque, el perro en ruedas

On April 27 I approached the Fira de la Terra in the Ciutadella Park, in the heart of Barcelona.

There I had stayed with my friends from Bichosraros and kat’s Club, associations with which I collaborate and that take care of disabled dogs and cats. I had the luxury of seeing how their great work grows, and how more and more people are sympathetic to them. Each association has dozens of protégés, each with a different story, but all with a common denominator. They have found their place.Perro con lesión de médula

I got to know Toya and Peque up close, two charms that use self-adjusting wheelchairs. Toya is a dog with a paralyzed hind leg and the other amputated. Peque is a little boy of a year and a half, incredibly affable, who suffered an injury to his spine that left his back legs totally immobilized. Both collected from the street. Both saved from a terrible end and lucky to have the best care. We leave you some images so you can see them.
Toya en su silla de ruedas de Ortocanis.comPerro en silla de ruedas
Toya y peque, perros discapcitados en su silla de ruedas

 

Carritos y sillas de ruedas para perrosWant to see them on the go? watch this video:

Toni Fernandez

Ortocanis.com

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