Before even a year old, my harlequin Great Dane was diagnosed with a debilitating condition called Wobbler Syndrome. This condition is common in Danes and Dobes, but can occur in just about any breed.

Wobblers presents itself with a loss of function in the limbs, potential severe neck pain, and a "wobbly gait" giving the condition it's inappropriately goofy name. Essentially, instability in the neck vertebrae cause excess buildup of ligaments and calcification thereby choking off the spinal chord. The options for treating this condition are few, it can never truly be cured.

I chose to try an alternative procedure called "Gold Bead Implants" to treat Mickey. The procedure consists of implanting hundreds of gold-plated magnetic beads in the area where the condition exists, this provides the same benefits of acupuncture but on a permanent basis. Not only did Mickey receive these implants for Wobblers, but he also had severe spinal arthritis that needed to be treated as well.

Here is a picture showing Mickey post-surgery, you can see all the little dots where the implants were done:


He also wore a neck wrap to retrain the muscles and ligaments in his neck, this helps to relieve the pressure on his spinal chord.

I am happy to say that this treatment has been extremely successful for Mickey, he now has MUCH more movement and stability on his feet, and is a much more happy and healthy than he has been in a long time.

Thanks for taking time to read this, obviously this whole experience has been very emotional for me. The good part is, I have been able to help so many other dog owners who have gone through this same terrible ordeal.

I have been keeping a blog since Mickey's procedure a little over a year ago. http://goldbeads.blogspot.com
If you have time visit his site and leave Mickey a comment telling him how much you enjoyed reading about him.

Wow, that sounds fascinating and makes me Happy! I look forward to reading it.

How wonderful for Mickey and for you. I've met with a few dogs with Wobblers Syndrome, one a Rottweiler the other a Bullmastiff...and a Dane years ago. all were devastating. Thank you for your insight and experience, I will be sure to pass this information along to the next owner going through this.

The Bullmastiff as far as I know was PTS as the breeder will only replace the dog this way. I did mention the "Gold Bead Implants" but, she chose not to do any research or contact a holistic vet

Colleen, that makes me so sad to hear that. Though, I suppose if someone isn't up for the challenge of treating the dog, best off the dog isn't kept around to suffer.

One of Mickey's litter-mates also came down with Wobblers, unfortunately they didn't contact our breeder until after their boy was put down. If they had contacted her earlier, when he was diagnosed, the breeder could have put them in touch with me. Since Gold Beads worked for Mickey, I bet his brother would have had a good chance at recovery too.

Anyone who has a dog from a breeder should always contact said breeder when a health condition pops up. Not only will this help the breeder adjust their breeding program, but you may recieve some good advice too.

Very interesting. I'm glad the treatment worked for your guy.

fascinating! My mini-dachshund is going through acupuncture and aquapuncture following a herniated disk. We haven't done the aquapuncture yet, but I am very excited based on his response to the acupuncture. I love having a holistic vet who has so many different skill sets to choose from when dealing with a health issue!!

Awww! I'm a former dane owner, and that just breaks my heart.

I have heard a lot of great things about gold bead implants though, and I'm glad to hear Mickey is responding well!

Good luck with his further recovery!

I'm glad to hear about Mickey.

A local university chose to operate on my boy, leaving him paralyzed and with an infected spinal cord.

I'm glad you opted for the beads.

I'm so sorry to hear about your baby.

When I researched surgery, I found a low success rate of 60%. And by success, that means the dog actually just got up and walked again, not that he was any better. Since Mickey is over 190 lbs., I knew it would be much harder on him, and probably even less a chance of success. Considering that and the cost, it was an easy decision to make.

Thanks for sharing your story with me.