All, your kind words and thoughts of compassion toward what my Husband and I have often considered are sweet words we needed to hear. He does not appear to be in pain, though I know that this breed often suffers in silence. I tried a 60-day regiment of CBD that didn’t work (I am a big supporter, as I have used it for my migraines with a great deal of success). We do carry him up and down stairs, but he is not a fan; and while he is still in good spirits, we can feel in our hearts this is the beginning of the end: he can’t even stand being in a harness for walks let alone a cart. We will keep this group posted on our decision.

You are absolutely right! I’m probably the anxious one. It’s worth a shot

He had an MRI, which was how we arrived at the diagnosis. I believe the medical term is Hip Myoplasia (sp?). Our vet, while not holistic exclusively, was who recommended the CBD route and has even suggested we try acupuncture if it wouldn’t cause Blaze to be anxious, which we know will be the case. My husband and I have discussed the quality of life piece also. Thank you again to everyone!

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!! I am so grateful for everyone’s opinions/recommendations/guidance. Our family in no way wants to relocate Blaze; and my prayer was that this community would suggest that we don’t put him up for adoption. He isn’t a burden to me, and I am in no way giving up or tired of caring for him. I’m running into roadblocks. To answer some of your questions...

• We have carpeting on all of our stairs/hallways and large area rugs in all rooms except the kitchen, which is tiled. We do have carpet-remnants down to help with transitioning, but he has 9-years of routine, so he hasn’t grown accustomed to using the “new” way of maneuvering.

• In terms of pain/pain management, he sees our vet regularly and we are on top of massaging and gently feeling for swelling/pain triggers. If he does have pain, it doesn’t seem to be muscular/joint related, so I haven’t gone the CQ10-route, but will try all of what you have suggested. We have Gabapentin, and have been giving CBD for the past 3-months (we haven’t noticed a change).

• His aggressive behavior starts after we bring him upstairs with us and put him down. He’s so anxious that he paces and whines, but when we try to comfort him he bears his teeth and snarls. He was sleeping at the foot of our 5yo daughters bed at night, which we thought was a breakthrough, but he has started bearing his teeth and snarling at her when she stirs.
  We don’t want him to bite her in the middle of the night, so we got him a dog bed that we keep in our hallway, so that he can be with us (I had it in our bedroom to start, but he wouldn’t go in it). Again, he is anxious, so he’s up all night whining; and when we take him downstairs, he’s quiet for a little bit, but starts crying because he wants to be close to us.‍️

We can’t take him on walks anymore, because he walks on the tops of his back paws, and walks result in a bloody mess. We bought him shoes and paw covers, but that seemed to make his dexterity worse. We do have another dog (a Cane Corso) who Blaze loved
to play with in the backyard, which was great exercise for him; but he is becoming increasingly aggressive and agitated with her, so the play doesn’t happen and she keeps her distance (which is crazy when you think about a 120-lb dog avoiding a 20-lb dog).

We are open to any/all other thoughts and suggestions!

I absolutely agree with you that adoption would be a disruption/major cause of anxiety; and we have and will continue to try the second food/water dish and bringing him with us. He just gets so upset: snarling and whimpering and growling when we bring him upstairs, and then crying when we take him downstairs. Open to any suggestions you have to help him acclimate.

We have a 9yo male (Blaze) that has a neurological disorder that makes it incredibly difficult for him to control his back legs (he has no pain, but it is degenerative). He’s more comfortable walking on carpeted surfaces and grass, but struggles navigating stairs and walking on hard surfaces. We live in Pittsburgh, PA and own a large Victorian house, where stairs and hardwood floors are inevitable, so I’m not certain our home is best suited for him. He is limited to our first floor, where we don’t spend much time, unless we are in the kitchen cooking/eating. He cries when he isn’t with us and his demeanor resembles that of someone who is depressed and it’s breaking our hearts. We carry him up and down the steps to be with us, but he panics, because he is floors removed from his water/food (he’s a grazer)/dog door - so he isn’t really enjoying himself. We are thinking about putting him up for adoption, but haven't considered any options or even know where to begin. I wanted to toss this out to the community for guidance and to gauge if anyone here who really cares about the breed is interested. Thank you in advance!

If I am not posting correctly, my apologies: your thoughts/prayers/words of comfort mean so much to me and my family (this is going to be a “first” for my Husband and I, and our 15, 12, and 4-yo). I will keep you all posted; and thank you for all of your comments/suggestions.

It is hit or miss... He still loves treats and peanut butter, but it could take him 3-days to eat 1 Cup of food. He is still drinking water and going to the bathroom regularly.

All, your kind words and thoughts of compassion toward what my Husband and I have often considered are sweet words we needed to hear. He does not appear to be in pain, though I know that this breed often suffers in silence. I tried a 60-day regiment of CBD that didn’t work (I am a big supporter, as I have used it for my migraines with a great deal of success). We do carry him up and down stairs, but he is not a fan; and while he is still in good spirits, we can feel in our hearts this is the beginning of the end: he can’t even stand being in a harness for walks let alone a cart. We will keep this group posted on our decision.

I have contacted the breeder, and there is no history in his bloodline of this disease ever manifesting. We adopted him from the breeder at 8-months: his previous owners had a child with autism who was terrified of him, so he was “returned,” and we aren’t sure what trauma (if any) he endured prior. The breeder was transparent that for the few weeks he was home with his parents, he would fight daily with his father for the “alpha” position.

Our 9yo boy has been diagnosed with Hip Myoplasia. It’s not progressing as quickly as it could; however, it has gotten worse over the past 6mos: he is knuckling on his rear paws, kneeling on his hind legs when standing still, and cries when having to navigate stairs. Our vet recommended we try a round of antibiotics, a trial of Gabapentin in the evening, and daily glucosamine - no avail. We even got a new puppy, because another vet in the practice suggested that the “play” could help stimulate brain activity - still nothing. His appearance is starting to reflect the condition: he looks dull. We live in a 115yo Victorian, so stairs are inevitable, unless we contain him to the 1st floor (this could cause a whole other set of issues, since he is used to sleeping with and retreating to our daughter’s bedroom). Any thoughts, suggestions, or any recommendations would be appreciated.