Back legs

Hi vets, I have an 11 year old Border Collie cross CKCS. He has mitral valve disease stage B2 and a grade 5 murmur (only had his scan done Friday so I don’t think it’s connected to his heart) he also has slow progressive hind limb weakness which is worse in his right back leg. He’s showing no pain, still plays, gets excited for walks etc. the bit that’s concerning me is both times we’ve taken him for a walk, the next morning he’s woken up a little wobbly (kind of like his legs haven’t woken up with him) after about 30 odd seconds of him trying to move, he eventually gets up and is fine the rest of the day. This morning though, he got up and went straight into our kids room like every morning but he urinated a little bit. It was only a small puddle and he then came downstairs and went straight out for a wee. It was kind of like, he didn’t realise he was peeing at first and then suddenly realised and came downstairs quickly. What could cause this in the mornings only? He’s fine the rest of the day

Hello - lots of possibilities here.   It could be neurological ie the nerves to the brain down the spine aren't working efficiently, so the 'full bladder' message and the 'move back legs' messages aren't quite doing their thing.  Your vet can do tests to assess the nerves.  Your dog could still be painful, in which case arthritis may be possible - I hear you, but its good to keep an open mind.  (Many owners who don't think that their dog is in pain do have a dog that is in pain, but not showing it as humans would expect).   Very frequently however, signs like this are also connected to the prostate gland, which can be troublesome in older boys.  They can get cancer down there or benign overgrowth.  This may be close to the top of your vets' differentials (possibilities) list. Your vet will examine him, may check the urine to address the possibility that excess urine is being produced, and possibly choose some other tests in order to help you to get to the bottom of it Please will you let us know how you get on?

Hey! Thank you for your reply, I will speak to the vet about a possible urine sample and maybe blood tests as well, scans etc we aren’t looking at doing due to the heart disease and his age.. As every scan/X-ray the vet has suggested would mean anesthetic or sedation. I did a genes test for Degenerative Myelopathy and both copies of the gene were clear, our local vet has said she doesn’t feel arthritis in the movement of his hind limbs (I’m not sure how you look for it with movement but she did feel it in his wrists). I will definitely let you know how we get on and will phone our vet today.