Last week, while on holiday, I met Liza. Liza lives on an amazing Italian cascina (farmhouse) together with three cats, two kittens and an extended family of chickens deep in the vineyard land of the Valpolicella region.
Liza is a 10-year-old, long-haired, black cross-breed, almost bear-like in appearance, very huggable and weighing in at about 33 kilos. Her ancestry was difficult to guess at, my not being too familiar with some of the breeds endemic to the region.
Liza’s owners welcomed us with generous hospitality during one of our stopovers in Valpolicella. The term, as explained by my hosts, was coined by the ancient Romans to describe this beautiful ‘valley of many cellars’ (val-poli-cella).
In keeping with the spirit of the region, we were treated to a wine-tasting session at a neighbouring winery. With Liza in tow, we descended to the lower levels of the wine cellar and, having sampled a couple of strains, we made our way back up the stairs when we suddenly realised Liza had not followed.
We looked back down to see what had happened and found she was still at the bottom of the staircase struggling to lift her rear end and ascend the first steps. There were plenty of willing hands to take some of her weight, and this helped her work her way back up the stairs.
Weakness in the hind legs first becomes apparent when your dog starts to struggle on an upward gradient, such as going uphill, getting onto a sofa, into a car, or going up stairs, as in Liza’s case.
It is certainly more common in older dogs and even more so in older dogs of a larger size or breed. Although not the only possible cause of these symptoms, one of the more common ones in an otherwise healthy dog isa medical condition called spondylarthritis.
The Greek word for vertebrae, spondyl, combined with arthritis, is used to define any type of inflammation between the vertebrae. Inside the vertebral column, also known as the backbone, we have a spinal cord that is, essentially, the long extension of the brain and contains all the nerves going to the extremities.
In the canine species, the backbone consists of seven vertebrae in the neck or cervical region (called C1 to C7), 13 in the thoracic or chest area (T1 to T13) and another seven in the lumbar or lower-back region (L1 to L7). Following these, there are three fused vertebrae which form the pelvic girdle (commonly known as the hip) and then come the smaller vertebrae which form the tail.
When dogs suffer an inflammation between the vertebrae, this results in added pressure on the nerves coming out of the spinal column. When this pressure occurs in the lumbar area, the nerves affected are those going to the hind legs, causing a weakness in the motility or strength of the muscles. Therefore, spondylarthritis affects the function and strength of the hind legs.
Spondylarthritis is, by no means, the only medical condition that could affect the vertebral column. For example, smaller breeds tend to suffer from intervertebral disk degeneration or disk protrusion (disk hernia).
Spondylarthritis affects the function and strength of the hind legs
Hemivertebrae is the name given to congenital vertebral abnormalities in certain breeds such as in pugs and French bulldogs. Of course, there can also be damage arising from fracture or dislocation due to trauma.
Liza will be taken to her veterinarian to be thoroughlyexamined and the possibility of other medical conditions causing muscle weakness eliminated. Her veterinarian is likely to X-ray her to visualise and, possibly, diagnose any vertebral disorder (spondylopathy).
Taking X-rays in such cases helps both the vet to plan an appropriate programme of treatment as well as visually communicate the prognosis to pet owners. X-rays are an invaluable medium for owners to better understand the reason for their pet’s disability and the importance of following advice and instruction. Doing so should help alleviate pain and possibly improve the situation.
I wish Liza of the valley of many cellars a speedy improvement, if not recovery, and thank her owners for allowing me a look into their life in an Italian country house.
thisweekwiththevet@gmail.com
Dr Martin Debattista is a veterinary surgeon.