My 12yr large lab mix cant walk cant hold himself up to relieve himself

[Lovebigdogs]

We noticed a slow down a couple of months ago but the last 2 weeks my dog has had a lot of trouble walking.  The vet tech noticed when he was in the kennel and alerted the vet.  When we brought him home he was really bad but the vet thought it was maybe because he wasn't getting up enough in the Kennel.  We put him on rimadyl and took him for lots of short walks.  He seemed better and then after about a week he was having trouble with his front legs too.  The vet put him on tramadol too but it has not helped at all.  Now he hasn't pooped in 2 days and fell down peeing.  We use two towels to help him walk outside but he wont go with the towels on and falls when we remove them.  Help!  He was doing ok but now is depressed.  I have a call into the vet tomorrow but I cant get him into the car.

[ginger899]

I am so sorry your dog is feeling bad like that. Is it arthritis? Or does he have a disk problem? Has there been a diagnosis?

Tramadol is a pretty strong painkiller and is a narcotic. I am surprised it hasn't relieved his pain. One side effect of narcotic painkillers can be constipation.
However it sounds more as if he is unable to get into position to do his business properly.

Do you have anyone who can help you to get him into the car without causing him more discomfort? If I were you I would just call on a neighbour to help you -if there is someone nearby. Most neighbours won't mind helping for a few minutes like that in an emergency situation. You may even find they are very compassionate.

If that is impossible or you live in a remote place, then you will have to arrange for the vet to make a house call. That will take longer, as they may only be able to come outside surgery hours, so you may have to wait a few hours. There will also be a call-out fee of course.

Your poor dog, Bless him and I hope he can be relieved of his pain. I would think X rays at least of his spine and hips are in order, and a good pain relief plan. It may be that a drug combination will help (such as pain relief coupled with muscle relaxants) I don't know. See what the vet advises.
My kindest thoughts, and hope he will be okay.

[Lovebigdogs]

I will talk to the vet today.  The other issue is that my husband is out of town for the next couple days and my 16 yr old son has been helping me with the dog.  I want to wait until my husband gets back to do anything because it is too hard on my son.  I think as long as the dog is comfortable we can wait a couple days but I am concerned about the dog not pooping.  My son and I were able to get the dog outside this morning before school and he did pee.  But it is really hard and it takes two of us.  Any tips on how I can make it easier for the dog to be able to poop?  We use two towels with both of us helping him walk.  I was able to remove the towels and steady him so he could pee this morning and he didn't fall down.