Sudden Paralysis in a dog...

Question
This is an excerpt from an email I received from a dear friend this morning.
I am trying anyway I can to help him.
Please let me know what you think...
"It started two nights ago when I went to let him out
for the night to sleep in his doghouse, and he simply
couldn't get up. It was if his back legs were paralyzed
and no matter how he tried with his front legs, he
couldn't move. He didn't wimper, so I don't think he is
in pain. With some help, he was able to get up and
eventually can walk though with a slight limp. He's
gotten slightly better since that night in that he can
get up by himself now, though with obvious difficulty.

I've checked for bites to see if he got stung, but it's
hard to see through the fur and I didn't see anything
obvious.

For the past year and a half, he developed a skin
condition that I understand is common with pure bred
cocker spaniels. He gets hotspots and
chews/scratches/rubs and makes everyone miserable.
There have been times when I wanted to rename him
'Thumper'. We went through a round of various shots
with limited effect and extreme cost. The only thing
that has worked with some success is predesone pills
which aren't treating the skin per say, but makes him
not really care about it enough to scratch. Needless to
say, I hate putting him on it - but he's miserable
otherwise and we have tried many things from
medications to shampoos to various diets.

My current thinking is that maybe the prednesone has
done some new damage either in the nervous system or
even a stroke. It's really hard to tell, but I've been
on predesone for my blood platelets and know exactly
what that crap will do to the body.

I also thought it might be authritis, but it developed
too quickly. He was fine one day and not the next.

I cannot think of anything else that would cause him to
do this out of the blue. He's an indoor dog and runs
around in a fenced area and deck outside - so he's
never loose to get hit by a car or anything. My wife
used to take him almost daily on her jogs through the
park so he was always active.

Thanks for any help you can offer,

Jennie

Answer
Hi Jennie,

This is one of those cases where I'd say - you've tried everything else, and it's clearly something in the nervous system, so it's time to find a chiropractor.  Go to avcadoctors.com for a referral to a certified doctor.

Good luck,

Dr Larry