What are Leg Paralysis?
Peripheral spinal nerve damage is often the cause of leg paralysis. This can have a spiral effect, causing secondary damage, pain, and loss of nerve connection to the muscles, leading them to wither. Conditions that can affect the nerves and cause paralysis include injuries, infections, muscle or spinal conditions, or severe toxic exposures to certain chemicals. Paralysis can be partial or full, affecting one or all four legs. While some conditions can be remedied through surgery, others may not be able to be treated and will require supportive, lifelong care as the limb will not be functional.
Leg paralysis in dogs occurs when one or more legs lose the ability to function. Often seen as limping or dragging of the limb in dogs, it can point to nerve or muscular damage. This can lead to destruction of the nerve sheaths, tissue decay, joint and muscle damage, or atrophy as the affected dog loses the ability to flex or move that limb.
Leg Paralysis Average Cost
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Symptoms of Leg Paralysis in Dogs
Symptoms of leg paralysis in dogs include:
- Inability to flex joint in affected leg
- Inability to bear weight on affected leg
- Pain
- Lameness
- Weakness
- Abnormal gait
- Shift in weight
- Limb dragging
- Horner’s syndrome, or issues with the eye on the same side as affected limb
Types
- Front leg paralysis is often caused by damage to the neck and shoulder nerve roots, or in the radial, median or ulnar nerves in the affected leg
- Hind leg paralysis is associated with nerve root damage in the tailbone or lower back, or in the tibial, femoral, peroneal, or sciatic nerve in the affected leg
Causes of Leg Paralysis in Dogs
Conditions that can cause leg paralysis can include:
- Neurological condition
- Musculoskeletal condition
- Degenerative myelopathy
- Tumor
- Viral diseases, including distemper and rabies
- Fungal diseases
- Protozoal diseases, such as neosporosis
- Tick toxicity
- Granulomatous meningoencephalomyelitis
- Injuries and trauma
- Severe exposure to pesticides and insecticides containing organophosphates
Diagnosis of Leg Paralysis in Dogs
Cases of leg paralysis can offer a myriad of causes, and your veterinarian will take into consideration many factors when coming to a positive diagnosis of this condition. Observations including your dog’s gait and posture, any pain present, conditions of muscles in the affected limb, and spinal reflexes can help to locate the source of injury. Recovery is better the closer the associated nerve damage is to the muscle. Your veterinarian will also look at how well your dog can flex an associated joint, reflexes in other places in the leg, and how well he can bear weight on that limb. Electrical stimulation can be used to see if the nerve is still intact.
Information that can help guide your veterinarian to a correct diagnosis of the cause of the paralysis can include any signs noticed, exposure to pesticides or insecticides, exposure to other animals, exposure to tick ridden areas, and medical history. Other tests that can provide valuable information include CT scans, MRIs, X-rays, myelography, surgical biopsies, blood tests, cerebrospinal fluid tests, tissue samples, physical examination, and the visible presence of a tick or skin crater.
Treatment of Leg Paralysis in Dogs
Treatment of leg paralysis is often targeted at the underlying cause. Many joint and muscle issues can be remedied through surgery and supportive care. When the cause is nerve related, recovery will depend on the nerve sheath condition and the distance between the injury and where the nerve ends. While some nerve damage can resolve over many weeks or months, more severe cases can require surgical reattachment. A light bandage is often applied to the affected limb during recovery, and a sling can be added to prevent the leg from dragging. Supplementary care includes giving your dog massages, applying heat and stretching the tendons to keep them healthy while the nerve regenerates. Acupuncture may be prescribed.
In the case of tumors, surgery might be used for removal. Nerve sheath tumors can affect many nerves at once, and can be more difficult to remove. Recovery for this type of tumor is poor.
Viral diseases have no treatment, and recovery is poor in affected animals. Fungal infections can be difficult to treat, and recovery might be uncertain. Very severe cases of tick toxicity can call for artificial ventilation. Treatment involves tick removal and antibiotics, and recovery is often good.
With granulomatous meningoencephalo-myelitis, dogs can temporarily improve with drug therapies, but long term recovery is guarded. There are no treatments for degenerative myelopathy, and often supportive care is all that can be done. This is through physical rehabilitation, pressure sore prevention, monitoring for conditions like urinary infections, and creating an increased mobility with harnesses and carts.
In some cases, amputation of the paralyzed leg may be recommended. Many three-legged dogs can live happy and functional lives.
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Recovery of Leg Paralysis in Dogs
The recovery of leg paralysis in your dog will depend entirely on the underlying condition and the state of any damaged nerves involved. While there is a good chance of recovery in many cases with supportive care, surgery and other treatments, there are conditions without treatments available. In cases of a viral infection, prevention through vaccination is the best course to ensure your dog is not affected.
Your veterinarian will create a treatment and recovery plan based on your dog’s specific condition, which may include home supportive care and monitoring. In the case of degenerative myelopathy, efforts will be focused towards creating a better quality of life for your dog during the progression of the disease.
Leg Paralysis Average Cost
From 450 quotes ranging from $800 - $10,000
Average Cost
$5,000
Top
Leg Paralysis Questions and Advice from Veterinary Professionals
Shar-Pei Lab
King Triton
4 Months
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Limping
Left Back Foot Paralysis
I recently adopted a 4 month old shar- pei lab mix and yesterday we were playing at the dog park. He was running really fast and stumbled and rolled over on himself, I think another dog may have also step on him. When this happened he was holding up his left back leg and was crying so I went and carried him back to where I was sitting. When he settled down I checked to see where it hurt and he only whimpered when I touched his ankle. Once I got him home and didn’t wimper when I touched his leg at all. It is now been over 12 hours and he is still limping and dragging the paw. He also doesn’t flex that paw when he stretches. But he is playing, eating/drinking and being his happy little self. It is almost like he just doesn't have feeling in that paw.
July 29, 2018
Answered by Dr. Michele K. DVM
0 Recommendations
Since I can't see King Triton and he seems to have injured himself, and it hasn't improved over 12 hours, it would be a good idea to have him seen by a veterinarian. They can examine him, determine what might be happening, and find out what treatment he may need.
July 29, 2018
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Chiweenie
Fancy
5 Years
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0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Lethargy
Incontinence
Paralysis
Confusion
My dog Fancy was perfectly normal 32 hours ago. She went from the most energetic person in the house to the saddest person. She went to "her" room (my son's room...soft bed, carpet, nice and cool, nothing dangerous aka baby proofed) after a couple of hours my step son took her outside to potty and noticed her left hind leg was limp and she was dragging her knuckles and toenails on the ground. He came and told us and I took her out...she could still walk then and her right hind leg seemed fine. She started getting worse and couldn't move her left hind leg at all. We rushed her to the vet and he gave her a sedative and a prednisone shot and said it was most likely a degenerative spinal condition. During the night she lost use of her right leg somewhat...can stand but gets her legs tangled up. So we took her for an all-day at the vet and her condition did not improve though she tried to walk and it was heartbreaking. I'm worried that she won't be able to heal since she can't move and we will have to put her to sleep. My family is in tears because she was perfectly fine yesterday morning and early afternoon. Is there a way bed rest and cortical steroids will reduce her inflammation enough to improve her quality of life? She has had seizures before but we changed her diet and that solved the issue (Fancy has been seizure free for a little under a year). She also occasionally would get a "gimpy" left hind leg, but rubbing her hips and lower back always relieved the symptom in a couple of minutes. She's confused and scared in her new cage (she used to have free roam of the house) she wants to go play and run but cannot. Is waiting to see if she is going to be ok a bad thing? I feel like she's suffering silently while we all anticipate her dying. We are taking excellent care of her but it's just not the same. I am having a hard time not crying writing this and just want to know what I should do and if she has a chance of recovery. There are no spinal fractures or muscular problems...the doctor thinks it's a ruptured disc in her lower back. We cannot afford an $18k surgery or we would get it in a heartbeat. Thank you in advance and I really love this site. I think this was more venting than anything but I'm very sad, frustrated, and worried. Thank you.
July 26, 2018
0 Recommendations
Sudden issues like this can be distressing especially in a young dog Fancy’s age, there are a few possible conditions which may be affecting her but an x-ray (myelography) would give some detail about any disc protrusion as well as her general spinal health. In some cases corticosteroids and rest may give some improvement but it is really just a wait and see moment which can feel like a lifetime. Without examining Fancy and going the x-ray I cannot really give you any specific information unfortunately. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
July 26, 2018
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Rottweiler
Apollo
7 Years
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My pet has the following symptoms:
Lame
Our 7 year old 123 lb Dottie was euthanized yesterday, the vet recommended it. I am confused though bc she was not able to make a clear diagnosis. He had 106.3 fever, his legs were curling and and stiffing, his value on liver and kidneys were high,his jaws were clenched, his right side front and back legs were very swollen,his eyes were glazing over. She Xrayed,and did blood work. I feel so sad that I might have made a bad choice since there was no diagnosis. We did have an option of taking him to hospital, but knew that would be very costly. Also, he had hip dysplasia without and complications. For the last 2 days, we had to carry him out the potty, as he could not right himself. His front legs were also curling in and he couldn't stand. He didn't appear to be in any pain. What do u think he might of had with these symptoms? Thank you for your time!
July 21, 2018
0 Recommendations
This is a distressing time and it is normal to be asking yourself if you made the correct decision or not especially if you felt that you may have been rushed into a decision; based on the information presented here I cannot say for certain what the cause of death was, but his symptoms were severe and we cannot be sure whether the hospital would have been able to treat the cause even if a diagnosis was made. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
July 22, 2018
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Leg Paralysis Average Cost
From 450 quotes ranging from $800 - $10,000
Average Cost
$5,000
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Easily compare quotes from the most trusted pet insurance companies in the United States.
