[Shelbydoo]

She is 9 years old. 106lbs. She gets good walks every day.

In her last annual exam we explained to the vet that she trips from time to time. We thought she wasn't seeing well and afraid to walk in certain areas of the house- usuallly thresholds or passways. The vet did an eye exam and found everything fine. He said it behavioral.

:help:Recently its been getting really bad. She'll stay in one spot for long periods of time. When I try to get her up she gets anxious. I've tried walking through the house with a light hold of her collar giving her treats every couple steps. Once she gets to the wood flooring her back legs go outward. It looks like she's pushing them out- like falling like Bambi. Once she gets to carpet or outside- she's fine.

She has no trouble jumping up or getting out of the back of our SUV.
Don't know where this falling anxiety is coming from.

One more thing- Whenever she gets a new scarf (every couple weeks), she prances around the whole house without falling!

 

[trudy]

try helping her loose about 20 pounds,( she will probably need to loose even more but put that as the initial goal, female Gs should be lighter) she is probably very over weight and that is putting too much strain on her, and her legs are shakier so slippery floors with limited gripping makes her uncomfortable. Try longer walks and less food and treats, that will make a difference

 

[Shelbydoo]

Hmm, that makes sense except her walks are usually at least an hour long and vigorous. My husband walks her, he is a runner. The vet said she could loose some weight, but it's not excessive.
Is anxiety common in GS's?

 

[trudy]

just like older people are anxious if they feel unsteady or unwell so does she. She should probably be at a correct weight at between 60-70 pounds, and walking on carpet where her nails can grip will give her reassurance, also if you start babying her when she shows anxiety it will only increase. Try cutting her food down by half, and maybe see if you can add some running to her walking, start the running slowly in case she is sore, but after dropping 10 pounds you will start seeing some difference, and then amp up her running, maybe add in some ball chasing, or swimming. good luck, I'm sure dropping the weight will revitalise her

 

[vat]

She probably prances with the new scarf because she is not thinking about her surroundings but something else. My old girl used to walk up the stairs backwards, I know silly. But if she stopped to think about what she was doing she stressed, if she did not she just zoomed right up the normal way.

I agree loosing some weight should help. And when she is having problems just ignore her and don't baby or it will get worse.

 

[shannonrae]

WOW! Guess I missed the pictures . . .

 

[BowWowMeow]

Can you post a picture of her if you want advice on her weight?

Also, I would install runners or carpet remnants between the wood floor and the carpets in your house so that she has traction.

And I would be very, very cautious about running with an overweight, 9 year old dog. In fact, I would probably skip that entirely. You could add an extra power walk and, if possible, start her swimming somewhere.

 

[RA'S Mom]

If carpet runners don't work or you are unable to afford recarpeting you might consider getting a set of Griptrex boots and using them on her back feet only. They are made by a company called Ruffwear and I think might cost about $50 for a set of four. Often if you watch E-bay you can pick a set up for maybe $30-35 She will probably kick up a fuss the first few times, they do like a moon step kind of walking, but they get used to them pretty quick and it worked really well for my sons dog who died at the old age of 17 and used them for about 4 years or so. We use them pretty often as we live in a neighborhood where they salt our sidewalks with tons of de-icer during the winter and my 11 year old GS has had an ACL repair so we are proactive about her having good traction for ice as well.

 

[Blstr88]

Hi, I've got an 18-month of GSD and she always slips on the hardwood. Just like you said, her legs will slowly slide outward heh. I don't think its any problems other than a lack of traction!

If she's only tripping/sliding on the hardwood, not on carpets why would you think its anything other than a lack of traction??

 

[Shelbydoo]

She probably prances with the new scarf because she is not thinking about her surroundings but something else. My old girl used to walk up the stairs backwards, I know silly. But if she stopped to think about what she was doing she stressed, if she did not she just zoomed right up the normal way.

I agree loosing some weight should help. And when she is having problems just ignore her and don't baby or it will get worse.

This is it exactly! Sometimes she'll go backwards! We ignore the goofy behavior so we're not reinforcing it.

I know she has lack of traction- but it's selective. It's only when she's stressing. Otherwise she walks through the house fine. I want to know why she is stressing, and if there is maybe a medicine to help with it.
We are going to the vet today. I will try to avoid medicating her because I don't want it to change her personality. I just don't want her to stress so much that she falls and hurts herself.

I posted the question because I just wanted to know if anyone's dealt with it before? How can I upload a photo? Can I upload a video? Then you could see!

Thanks for all the info everyone! I appreciate it!

 

[patti]

Did anyone mention long toenails? My 15 year old lab mix stumbles and we have been struggling to shorten his nails. Just a thought.

 

[Shelbydoo]

No more tripping!!!

We were to the vet. He did an exam, said she's in good shape. She's actually lost 10 lbs. since last visit. He prescribed a medicine that's used commonly for thunderstorm anxiety (she has that too). She's only had two doses so far and hasn't tripped or had any anxiety. She isn't stressing anymore and back to playing with her squeakers!!!