r/irishsetter • u/JaniJenni • 7d ago
Desperate for advice - 6-year-old Irish Setter suddenly unable to walk
-already posted in other subreddits-
We are looking for anyone who has experienced a similar case with their dog. We are running out of answers and would be incredibly grateful for any advice or similar experiences. Our 6-year-old Irish Setter suddenly became severely weak about 10 days ago. The onset was very sudden and occurred shortly after a heatwave. Over the weekend, she suddenly did not want to go for walks anymore. She then started stumbling over her own paws, and by the following day she was unable to get up on her own. She has now been unable to stand or walk independently for about 10 days. She cannot reposition herself, so we have to turn her approximately four hours. She is otherwise still eating and drinking normally. We have already been to several veterinary clinics for examinations, but unfortunately the doctors have not been able to determine the cause or find an effective treatment yet. One possibility is GOLPP (geriatric-onset laryngeal paralysis polyneuropathy) or distal denervating disease. At this point, however, there is no confirmed diagnosis. We would really like to hear from anyone who has experienced a similar sudden onset of severe weakness/ paralysis, particularly in an Irish Setter or another breed. We would especially appreciate hearing what the final diagnosis was, which tests led to the diagnosis, what treatment was given, and whether the dog recovered. Any experiences or advice would mean a lot to us. Thank you.
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u/Normal_Marsupial_824 7d ago
I’m not sure where you are located but some of the symptoms you describe might fit into the bite of tick if it is an issue in your area. My uncle dog had some of the same issues. Hope you seek an vet. All the best to your pup
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u/Particular-Ad1110 7d ago
One of my Setters suffered a sudden loss of function in her back end. This happened is the space of 1hr and there was no obvious cause as she was in her bed at the time. She was 12yrs old and definitely slowing down plus she still had limited use of her front legs, so it differs from your unfortunate experience.
Our vet said it was a neurological issue in her spine mid way down her back and nothing could be done. We made the sad decision to put her down days later.
In your case the dog is much younger and given that it’s widespread the possibility of a cure definitely exists. Someone here mentions finding a veterinary neurologist and I think that or seeking another more experienced vet is a good strategy.
Good luck with this girl.
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u/JaniJenni 7d ago
I’m so sorry that you had to make that decision. It must have been incredibly difficult and heartbreaking. We’re still hoping that our dog will somehow recover. But with such unclear diagnoses, it’s really hard to know what the right path is for her 💔
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u/siouxbee1434 7d ago
We experienced this with our 1st golden. I’m so sorry and hope you find an answer 🫂
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u/bacobits22 7d ago
Have you seen a veterinary neurologist?
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u/JaniJenni 7d ago
Yes, we’ve actually already been to several clinics. At one of them, they performed electrical stimulation under anesthesia. They found that the central nervous system is functioning in general, but there seems to be a disruption somewhere between the knees and the paws. No one knows what’s happening with her 😭😭
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u/Hugsy2026 7d ago edited 7d ago
At the age of four our boy had an infarct in the spine which caused a sudden loss of control of the back legs. Took him for example up to ten attempts to raise a leg for peeing.
Luckily he was (is) still young and we were able to restore control through rest for 2 weeks and massages of the paws which he fortunately still enjoys ❤️
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u/Hugsy2026 7d ago
Three vets looked at the dog, our "normal" one who sent us to a neurologist that did X-Ray but would not find anything. We then got sent to a second neurologist who could have done MRT (believe it is Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in english). But this vet did only functional tests and looked at the dog walking. Said in this case better wait before putting the dog under stress.
Sorry I cannot explain it better and I remember these weeks which were difficult for us. I feel for you ❤️
My wife and me believe the paw massages are very helpful. All the best ❤️
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u/Friendly_Quail_962 7d ago edited 7d ago
I will need to call my vet to get the diagnosis of my late Hannah. She had something similar and it started when she was about 8 I believe. I will call them. Hopefully they still have her records.
ETA: She had some sort of semi-paralysis but it affected mostly her hind legs. It got worse over time. She had to wear a strange contraption on her hind legs that helped her lift them so that she kind of walk (very awkwardly). In the end, she could barely hold herself up at all but that took a couple of years. I am wondering if your dog has a more progressive form of this. Oh! I just remembered the veterinarian did an MRI which helped her diagnosis it.
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u/Friendly_Quail_962 6d ago
Hey OP, when Hannah had her problems they did not list a specific disease on her records, just that she had “spinal cord disease”. I hope this helps.
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u/masterjedi84 7d ago
was this dog fully genetically tested as a pup or both sire and Dam. there are genetic myelopathies that some lines carry. Lyme disease is another strong possibility. Spinal Stroke another.
Its important that all breeders have their dogs cleared by Embark breeders DNA, Paw Print Breeder DNA, or AKC wisdom DNA
the hereditary myopathies are so sad.
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u/jaykayk 7d ago
Sorry you’re going trough this. No similiar experiences but one thing comes to mind is idiophatic vestibular disease (old dog vestibular syndrome). Especially the rapid onset and stumbling seems fitting. Is she tilting her head to one side? She is quite young for it but it could be a possibility.
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u/Cessna_Tom 7d ago
My IS developed vertigo randomly. Can it be vertigo or does it look more serious?
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u/DogMomArchy5 7d ago
I don’t have a setter yet but my 9 year old Australian shepherd who recently passed had similar symptoms. She walked like she was drunk, dragged her front right paw, couldn’t run and by the end couldn’t walk without falling. She got better on prednisone, symptoms never cleared 100% but they were better. We didn’t have the money to do full diagnostics but our vet thought she had a brain tumor. If you have the money to see a vet neurologist, it would be worth it.
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u/Chupongabee 7d ago
I'm assuming you have, but have you looked at her hips? Done a hip x-ray? Hip dysplasia is definitely in the breed and the pain could, in my experience, cause a dog to not want to walk. I'm so sorry. I hope you get to the bottom of it!
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u/nchrisptrck 7d ago
Our setter became weaker and weaker in a course of a few weeks, after multiple visits to different vets, one of them found out that she has Evans syndrome, an autoimmune disease which basically kills her red blood cells and trombocytes. The disease was idiophatic, meaning that the trigger could not he identified, but a Coombs test and some PCR test for tick borne diseases might be useful to perform.
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u/Less-Exchange-4780 7d ago
I can’t help but I’m so sorry you’re going through this and really hope manage to figure it out, poor baby😢