Coon Hound Paralysis ?

I’d never heard of it. Although not limited to any specific breed, anybody (particularly those that actually hunt coons with dogs) have any experience with this in their dogs?

Unfortunately, we are currently dealing with our near 5 year old yellow lab Bailey for what the Vet suspects is Idiopathic Polyradiculoneuritis, colloquially called Coon Hound Paralysis. Bailey always did sit a bit side-saddle and I did suspect we would be dealing with potential hip dysplasia in later years, but this is different. It is described as a sudden inflammation of nerve roots and peripheral nerves. It can be attributed to contact with raccoon saliva (hence the colloquial name) but there are other suspected causes.

Last Friday he started the day seemingly normal, even on our morning walk. However as the day progressed, his side-saddle sit became more pronounced and I noticed him laying down often. Later that evening, his hind end became weak which is the typical starting point of this affliction and it can eventually include all limbs and neck. He’s on meds since Saturday so I hope we got a quick start. From what I’ve read, there isn’t really any continuous med regimen for this. His front legs and neck seem not too bad. Recovery can be measured in months but we hope we got started before it got too advanced.

At this point, the “diagnosis” of Coon Hound Paralysis is the Vets best guess based largely on there not really being much pain as there might be if it were a herniated disc / nerve pinch or other spinal injury. I keep massaging the legs and “tickling” the paws to see if he jerks them in response. The right-rear leg is the worst with the left-rear leg more responsive but still deficient. Such is the downside of pet ownership that we have all had to experience one way or another. We’ll just have to ride this out and see where we end up. It does not appear to be life-threatening in Baileys case as it hasn’t progressed much and there are subtle hopeful (wishful?) signs of improvement so that’s good and most (not all) info on-line suggest recovery from Coon Hound Paralysis is a high probability. We hope so. This affliction was cited on-line to be fairly “rare” but once you start researching it on-line and find so many discussions/reports of it, one has to wonder.

I’ve read that one of the other suspected causes has been reported as reaction to recent vaccination. Although the Vet doesn’t seem to think so, it still makes me wonder. Bailey got his “usual” updates for Lepto and rabies in early June, but he has had these exact same shots before I believe, but I changed his worm & flea/tick meds to new ones this year that also started in early June, separated by a couple of days each (BAYER Advantage Multi & K9 advantix II, both topical applications). I haven’t found anything on-line indicating any such connection but I used to use chewable worm meds and Bravecto (topical I think) for flea/tick.

Anyway, it is a wait and see situation for now so that is what we will do.https://www.oodmag.com/community/ima...2102_grief.gif

I hope he pulls out of this ok. I’ve had several labs and retrievers over the years and have never heard of this.

I've had a terrier present similar symptoms when blasted in the face by a skunk in a tight space. She recovered.

Sounds like big bucks but :

"As part of a standard physical examination, routine laboratory tests will include a complete blood count, biochemistry profile and urinalysis. Usually the results of all these tests are found to be within normal ranges. More specific tests will also be done, including specific testing for determination of abnormalities of electric activity in peripheral nerves, and an analysis of the spinal fluid, which will require a spinal tap, and the brain fluid (cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF), to look for specific infections that may be causing the paralysis." quote

The Virus can also be in coon poop, which dries and can be inhaled as dust as the dogs are sniffing around places with coon poop. Sister in law's dog got that way. She stopped feeding the raccoons, but the guy next door did not.

Yeah, blood tests were all normal, SNAP series all negative too. I don't think outlandish neuro tests will be in the cards. He is his usual self save for the legs. He had accompanied me multiple times up to the back of the property when I go to check the cams and I do get raccoons on cam, so I guess he could have encountered fecal remains, etc. He has free roam of the property however I doubt he had any direct confrontation with a raccoon (no war wounds) but anything is possible. He is more of a house pet than an active hunting dog (much to his chagrin I'm sure, lol) as he does love the bush.

The symptoms you describe make diagnosis difficult at this point. They are consistent with EIC which has become more common in retrievers. Exercise conduced collapse is now very testable with a cheek swap and very economic. Dogs who are 'affected' show little pain with rear end collapse and later are back on their feet making you wonder that maybe nothing is wrong. The test confirms whether your dog is clear, a carrier or affected. The later one being the concern.
Most breeders check parentage for EIC and CNM , not just hips,eyes,and elbows. You might inquire if your breeder tested the pups or the parents for this such that it can be ruled out. Some Vets were very slow to incorporate this testing but many now can.
You might just want to test to rule out but the DNA marker is very clear for this condition.
Hope for the best!

I only just quickly looked up EIC and CNM, so am not knowledgeable on them as you might be. However, he is almost 5 years old so would that not suggest CNM isn't the issue as info appeared to relate to issues showing up with much younger dogs, even puppies? I didn't come across anything in my very brief research about how it would be treated 'after the fact', most info was about screening for it, so those articles were more targeted to breeders I guess.

Also, as I said, he is not an active hunting dog and was not over exerting himself last Friday that I observed although it was a hot day. Further, his back legs still show weakness/paralysis after several days whereas recovery from EIC would be quicker as you alluded?

University of Minnesota has been the leader in EIC research and developed the testing protocol. Further information can be seen here -
https://www.vdl.umn.edu/services-fee...sked-questions

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Originally Posted by Dakota Creek

University of Minnesota has been the leader in EIC research and developed the testing protocol. Further information can be seen here -
https://www.vdl.umn.edu/services-fee...sked-questions

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An excellent resource, thanks for posting Sue.
To the original poster it would be worthwhile to get the testing done to rule out either/or. Both tests are relatively inexpensive and results come fairly quickly.
We are still seeing many breeders who do not get clearances for parents nor confirm this for puppies yet believe they provide a good puppy/warranty package for their clients. And certainly those breeders not providing papers/registration have not got a clue when it comes to breeding and selling a healthy puppy because they have no record of clearances by parentage or clearances for the pups.

Could be an Embolism as well. Polyradiculoneuritis is progressive, FCEM is not. Both have a reasonable chance of recovery and no definitive treatment other than supportive care.
https://vetspecialists.com/fibrocart...dogs-and-cats/

I'm in the security line in the airport in Albuquerque and my wife just called. Our 9 mo old lab girl could hardly stand up this morning. Back legs aren't working so well. This just came on very suddenly. They are going to get her to the vet asap. Going to be a long day travelling back to Toronto.....

I hope it turns out not to be serious; good luck.

My wife said she was better at the vet's. They have her on a round of anti inflammatory meds. Tonight when I walked in the door I was greeted by a bouncing happy pup. Need to make sure she stays on the leash when outside and cant let her run for a few days.

:thumbup::thumbup:

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Originally Posted by M_P

My wife said she was better at the vet's. They have her on a round of anti inflammatory meds. Tonight when I walked in the door I was greeted by a bouncing happy pup. Need to make sure she stays on the leash when outside and cant let her run for a few days.

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Wow, that’s a big relief . We should be so fortunate. We are entering week 4. The only med that continues is 4mg Dexamethasone (glucocorticosteroid) every other day for another week or so. I did hold back on two days worth of Gabapentin (for pain/seizures) as the dog never really showed signs of pain but the pills would have originally been depleted last Thursday leaving us on a long weekend with nothing if things went South.

We see the left rear leg gaining strength while the right rear is just starting to show responsiveness of any kind. It never developed further thank goodness. He now rolls himself over, belly down, but the right leg sometimes folds at a weird angle, so I move it into a more proper position. I continue to massage & work both rear legs through the day.

He has never vomited or had diarrhea through this and urination incontinence seems to be abating which is good but when he does let loose its ark building time, lol. We are using “puppy pads” through the day to contain urination. Kirkland brand from Costco are lousy but Hartz brand is good. We recently started using a “dog wrap” (a belly band diaper of sorts) overnight with good success.

His appetite seems even more voracious than before even though he has lost mass along the spine and maybe in the right thigh, so more protein and a bit more fat will be added to his diet.

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Originally Posted by canthitathing

Wow, that’s a big relief . We should be so fortunate. We are entering week 4. The only med that continues is 4mg Dexamethasone (glucocorticosteroid) every other day for another week or so. I did hold back on two days worth of Gabapentin (for pain/seizures) as the dog never really showed signs of pain but the pills would have originally been depleted last Thursday leaving us on a long weekend with nothing if things went South.

We see the left rear leg gaining strength while the right rear is just starting to show responsiveness of any kind. It never developed further thank goodness. He now rolls himself over, belly down, but the right leg sometimes folds at a weird angle, so I move it into a more proper position. I continue to massage & work both rear legs through the day.

He has never vomited or had diarrhea through this and urination incontinence seems to be abating which is good but when he does let loose its ark building time, lol. We are using “puppy pads” through the day to contain urination. Kirkland brand from Costco are lousy but Hartz brand is good. We recently started using a “dog wrap” (a belly band diaper of sorts) overnight with good success.

His appetite seems even more voracious than before even though he has lost mass along the spine and maybe in the right thigh, so more protein and a bit more fat will be added to his diet.

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You feel so helpless when your best bud is ill. Hope his recovery continues.

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Originally Posted by M_P

You feel so helpless when your best bud is ill. Hope his recovery continues.

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So true, M_P.

I'm only chronicling this at this point for others that may incur similar occurrence, so they can have an inkling of what they might expect, although each case may be a bit different. Following the Vets direction is of course the thing to do, but a bit of foreknowledge enables asking enlightened questions instead of just being bewildered.

My conundrum right now is that he is due for the monthly application of the topical meds for heartworm, etc. and the flea/tick med. I'm inclined to only go with the worm meds and hold off on the flea/tick med since he will not be outside for the foreseeable future. Granted, the same argument about potential exposure might be made for both meds. I have brought him out onto the veranda a couple of mornings before the heat of the day to address his "cabin fever monotony" but that's all.

This is something I would definitely ask the vet about.

Yup, scheduled to communicate with the Vet on Thursday.