Coon Hound Paralysis ?

[canthitathing]

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.

[rick_iles]

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

[Sharon]

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

[Snowwalker]

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.

[canthitathing]

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.

[krakadawn]

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!

[canthitathing]

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?

[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

[krakadawn]

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

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.

[be2man]

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/