# My first GSD rapid decline in mobility (need advice/experiences please)



## Vara (Aug 11, 2019)

Hello all
Odin, my male GSD, turned 12 just recently. He was doing really good, up to about 5 months ago. I mean, he ran around, played in the snow, eyesight perfect, hearing, perfect, goofs around plenty, etc. I expected a health decline associated with age, to be, well, somewhat linear. But issues started happening on February, where his walk was way slower and he became increasingly stubborn (he wants to choose where to go, where to walk). As for the stubborn part, I thought best not to give in, to actually me choosing where to walk, but after some time we kind of have an agreement, where he gets to have his pick sometimes too, this has worked out good. But he walks so slow and he scratches his rear paw nails suddenly very often, but no bleeding yet and it seems that can be held under control by mostly choosing grassy parts. He has ups and downs, today, he walked on concrete and you never even heard him once scratch his rear paw nails, however, he often interlacks his rearlegs and walks a bit like a drunk with the rear legs. He still has strength to lift his leg to pee, but started also to pee like 1/8x standing on all four. Recently, he very often "drops on one rear leg", like, not falling, nor stumbling, but you can see an abrupt stop and he continues on. Front legs, brain, everything is perfect, just those darn rear legs suddenly, and it appears to worsen weekly now, I was totally not prepared and thought this is more linear.
The Vet suspects he has DM, and my dog is now taking next to all extra fish oils, vitamins and the krill/muscles stuff for the joints, he takes Karsivan (Propentofyllin) twice a a day which the vet prescribed, he is reacting well, no side effects.

This about sums up so you have a better idea what I am dealing with. I kindly want to ask for experienced GSD owners (by this I mean, everyone that has already had one pass through senior age), what your overall thoughts are. Is this normal?

He also appears not to shed any hair at all since approx. 1 year now. He loses always the same quantity of hair. I live in the Swiss Alps, so we have very cold winters and very hot summers in the valleys, which is odd. He used to lose so much hair (middle-hair length GSD), I mean, you could fill a whole trash bag in a day's combing.

Please tell me what I should do? Give in a bit to his stubbornness? I do some easy stretching on his hind legs after the morning walk, and he still manages the ramp alright going up the car and down (with some help ofc).

His walks are down to about 1.5 km mornings , 1.2 km noon, 1.2 km evening and 1 km before bed time (total of about 5-6km/3.4 miles) a day now. He is not fond anymore of the sun, and started hating the rain, like he makes a scene with one drop of water, it pains my heart that I actually have to somewhat as smooth as possible force pull him to start walking. It pains to say, I love my dog so much but these extreme sudden very slow walks kill me, because I could never get used to it! Like 9 months ago he was everywhere, exploring, jogging ahead, doing his thing, now the complete opposite. My patience was also rigorously tested initially, it got way better, but as an active person myself, I finally somewhat adapted to these extreme slow walks. All these people constantly commenting also annoys the crap out of me "oh the poor dog", "is he blind?",like I hear crap like this daily now, I know people mean well, but that annoys the crap out of me.

Psychologically, I am also very down. He was a very active dog, like, we used to walk and walk and walk, play, swim, like do so much, and I expected a linear degression, instead, it all happening so fast. I finally got used to walking very very slow, like really slow (perhaps 1/3 of normal walking speed), he just trails behind me. He still enjoys sniffing around, eats normal, all is under control, just those hind legs.

Another thing that kills my heart is I can't play with his favorite "catapult" arrow throwing toy anymore. Like, he loves that thing so much, he keeps calling my attention for it, on walks he puts his nose in the pocket I usually have the toy in, now I can't because he actually still runs/bunnyhops good, but instead of gradually decelerating, he would make a full stop and tumble over himself. So hard not to be able to use his favorite toy anymore.

Any help/experiences is appreciated, life expectancy estimates at this point also, I need to start psychologically prepare here. Thanks a lot


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

I'm sorry you're at this point, many of us have been and it's difficult.
I'm very patient with age/mobility issues, it is what it is at this point and the pace we set is now their pace, route as well, what do I care? A half hour walk now covers 1/2 the distance, that's OK too. I can deal with deafness, a bit of sight loss, no big deal.

What I personally draw the line is incontinence as it's embarrassing/unhealthy for them and crosses a quality-of-life line for me. Extreme mobility issues the same. I don't have time for people that keep their dogs struggling for selfish reasons, we owe them so much more than that.

And no, aging is often not linear and the slope can be steep. Do the right thing before you have to.
PS
GSD are notorious for purposely masking pain.

I'd love to see pics of your Odin!


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## Honey Maid (Dec 25, 2020)

My first impression is Degenerative Myelopathy: Degenerative Myelopathy (DM).

Years ago, my Oscar developed DM when he was about 11 or 12. I got him a cart, he was able to romp around with the cart for another 2 years. Their front legs need to be strong enough for a cart. 









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## Saphire (Apr 1, 2005)

The decision is the worst to make, it tears our hearts out and leaves us broken for awhile, or it does for me. When quality of life deteriorates, it is up to us to make that decision at the right time for the dog, not us.
I’m not saying your dog is there yet but definitely something to be mindful of. My Vet told me “it is better to do one week/day to early rather than one week/day to late”. 
I recently had to make that decision for my heart dog due to an injury. It sucks but as WNGD said above, we owe them that much.


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## Dustinb80 (10 mo ago)

Just went down this road not long ago myself. Enjoy the time you have left with him. Like it has been mentioned, we owe it to them to let them go out with dignity. Good luck.


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## Rosebud99 (9 mo ago)

I am so sorry for you and your pup. I had a GSD mix who developed DM at around 9 years old. She started with the dragging rear feet, scraping nails. She was not too bad for the first 6 months. After that I got a loaner doggie wheelchair. She did great for a year. I would take her to a soccer field and she would chase her ball and was very happy. When her front legs started giving out I had to let her go. The only good thing about DM is that it is not painful for the dog.

Enjoy the time you have left with your boy. Let him guide you on walks, etc. Now is not the time to force what you want on him. Let him enjoy the time he has left.


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## jone (May 4, 2009)

I’m sorry you’re going through this. I’m dealing with the same and it’s heartbreaking. I believe my dog has DM despite not having the double genetic marker for it. I’m not convinced that’s what your dog is experiencing though, because dm is slow to progress in early stages. My dog showed a couple early signs for over a year before hitting the next stage of the disease.
there are several health issues that mimic dm in some ways and I wonder if you’re in fact dealing with something else. Unfortunately dm is a disease of exclusion so there’s no way to definitively know without ruling everything rose out. Whatever is going on, I know it’s challenging on many levels and requires tremendous patience.
I put my 13 year girl on a natural diy diet. She wears boots on hind paws to protect from wounds when dragging on concrete. She started using a walking wheels wheelchair a month ago and that’s helped restore some quality to her life.She does hydro therapy weekly and I recommend it if available. I am doing my best to keep her back legs moving as long as possible. I’ve decided when her limbs go down I’ll call game over. Some people do diapers and wagon rides but I can’t imagine that being a fulfilling life for my dog. She was extremely energetic and an avid athlete.As she lost ability to do favorite things I’ve added other things for her to enjoy. We’re doing her bucket list adventures, all her favorite places, people, and things for whatever time we have left.
Enjoy him while you have him, it’s just a twinkle in time. Let him have special privileges, he’s earned them. And when it’s over you’ll be glad you did.


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## Vara (Aug 11, 2019)

Thank you all for the kind replies. I learned a lot from your experiences, and I will let him guide me more often now! Not that I never allowed it, I am a good guy to him ! He loves riding in the car, so I am getting up at 5:30 am here (since we got a heat wave), so we do a nice car ride with a good walk, so he's enjoying it ! Today was also the first day of Hydro therapy for him and it went great! No issues him getting in, and he felt a bit weird but for the first session he did a 8 min slow walk on it and it went fine ! Will do it weekly. Again, thank you all for the nice words and explaining all in detail


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## Vara (Aug 11, 2019)




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## Vara (Aug 11, 2019)

also added some pictures like some of you wanted 
He loves collecting sticks, and I think he must have been a person that enjoyed cigars a lot in the previous life.


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## Rosebud99 (9 mo ago)

Wonderful pictures! He's a nice looking boy.


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## WNGD (Jan 15, 2005)

Fantastic pictures, thanks made my day


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## Greta’s mom (Jul 1, 2020)

Vara said:


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Look at all the freedom you have provided for him. He has probably been a very happy boy all his life. I’m sorry he is getting older. bless you, and him


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