Lenore and her no good terrible back

When did we see signs of Lenore's impending back issues? Near the end of 2023, we took Lenore to a Seattle Mariner's Bark in the Park along with Lulu and Patty. In the excitement, they ran up the ramp at full speed, except Lenore started dragging her hind legs. Until that moment, Lenore had shown no hesitation with stairs or jumping, and had never dragged her legs. She went home and we rested her, and she was fine for several months.

She walked fine for months, went up stairs and jumped on couches. Then one day, she stopped jumping as much. This progressed over the course of a few month to her not jumping or doing stairs at all.

Initial Diagnosis?

We started carrying her up and down stairs to give her a rest and made an appointment with her vet. A quick exam led to a diagnosis of Pug Myelopathy, which unlike Degenerative Myelopathy is not a death sentence. While she does sometime drop her poop before she gets a chance to squat, she is not incontinent and pees normally. As the disorder progresses, many pets need to be expressed. In Lenore's case, because of her bladder stones, she has no problem squatting and peeing whenever and wherever. (According to the latest x-ray, her stones are under control at moment, but she is just getting over a UTI.)

Pug Myelopathy is often referred to as subarachnoid diverticulum (SAD), Pug ataxia, facet hypoplasia, or Constrictive Myelopathy (CM). Once thought to only occur in pugs (hence the "nickname" pug instead of Constrictive Myelopathy), the condition has since been found on other breeds as well. Whatever you call it, the condition leads to paralysis of the hind legs over one to four years. Unlike Degenerative Myelopathy, it does not spread into the forelimbs or rest of the dog’s body. Dogs with this condition are good candidates for a wheelie (dog wheelchair).

Lenore's Treatment Plan

Lenore is only 12 years old so we wanted to maintain quality of life. She's a spunky pug and wants to be in the center of everything. Lenore has been doing sessions of PEMF--we use a  Respond Systems Pet Mat on low intensity--mixed with cold laser treatments. With Pug Myelopathy, dogs are not in pain, so the PEMF is mostly to control inflammation and hopefully slow the progression of the disease. We noticed she responded unusually well to this treatment.

As for cold laser treatment, we picked up a Heliopet Pro for home use, which is not as strong as a laser used at a vet, but also doesn't cost $30,000. We use the home laser to supplement the therapy she receives at the clinic. If you want to invest more or have a super squiggly pug, the My Pet Laser is just about the strongest you can get to use at home. The stronger the laser, the shorter the treatment needed. Lenore get a couple treatments a day when she's relaxing. We use the high setting for about 15 minutes focused on her spine, but also along the hips and legs.

When she's been consistent with her laser and mat, she visibly lifts her hind legs instead of dragging her knuckles. When she isn't consistent, because of our travel schedule, she often falls down. 

Supplements

Because of Lenore's risk of bladder stones, we have to limit her diet significantly, and many of the common supplements contain outlawed ingredients like sweet potatoes, apple cider vinegar, or turmeric. We saw marked improvement in Lenore's gait using Jope (Referral Link gets you $20 off), but unfortunately her bladder stones returned and we had to discontinue use. They really seemed to work miracles. Since then, we have kept her to a strict diet and limited the supplements. We are currently using Vetri-Science Ultimate Strength (formerly GlycoFlex), which includes green-lipped mussels. Another option is Wuffes, which people love, but have ACV in the treat form; the liquid has been sold out for ages, so we haven't tried it yet. She is also on herbs to assist with her bladder stones and crystal formation, and hemp oil for general relaxation and inflammation.

Getting a Second Opinion

That hind leg weakness could be IVDD, like Chewie, or something else, like Lenore, so it's important to have a consult with a neurologist. I feel that many regular vets are quick to diagnose in pugs without further exams if the pug doesn't show obvious signs of pain. With the way Lenore gets over excited at the vet, it's hard to see if she's in pain.

Now that Lenore's UTI seems to be more under control, we've made an appointment for a consult with a neurologist. Lately, we've noticed Lenore running around a lot more, but still not wanting to do stairs to the couch. She just doesn't even want to try. To. me it feels as if she's in pain and choosing not to use the steps. She's also soothed by the CBD and the PEMF pad, so maybe it's helping with pain as well as inflammation after all.

We have an appointment to confirm Pug Myelopathy or figure out what is actually wrong. We'll keep you updated on Lenore's treatments and prognosis as we maneuver this together.