what could possibly be wrong with our dog?

[AngieW in Texas]

It started a few days ago. She's a 7.5yo golden retriever.

 

Several days ago, I was throwing her ball for her. After about 5 or 6 throws, she was running after the ball and suddenly yelped like she'd been stung and immediately walked back to me with her tail between her legs. I couldn't find a cut or a bump anywhere on her and she didn't seem to be bothered at all by my inspection of her paws. She wasn't limping, so I thought that maybe she had just moved funny and pinched a nerve momentarily.

 

Over the past few days, this has happened a few more times. I have looked and felt all over her legs and paws. She seems perfectly content to have me look her over. She still doesn't limp at all and is very excited about going for walks.

 

She seems very subdued. I plan to take her to the vet tomorrow. Any idea what could be wrong?

[BethInNH]

Did she maybe injure/loosen a nail? Or maybe she has a a sliver that's too small to be seen, and only hurts her when she puts pressure on it? Poor thing, hope everything checks out okay at the vets.

[KidsHappen]

Is it possible she got a bee or wasp sting? If it continued too much longer, I would take her in simply due to the fact that she is a 7.5 year old GR and they have a tendency towards hip problems.

[dsmith]

We had a similar situation with our 10 yr old choc. lab. She would yelp if she jumped up, but was walking ok. Once or twice she would limp for less than a minute after jumping. I think it ended up being a tendon, but I can't remember. Anyway, it was easily treated with an anti-inflammatory/pain med, and a period of less activity. The meds were so effective that she was like a puppy again for a while!

[AngieW in Texas]

I took her to the vet on Monday. The vet did a very thorough exam manipulating each joint and checking the spine, but Goldie never yelped or showed any indication of pain. The only thing she did was hold her breath whenever the vet manipulated a big joint (like hip or shoulder). The vet said we could do an xray, but it probably wouldn't be helpful. She suggested just starting off with Rimadyl 2x/day. She gave me one week's worth and said to come back at that point so she could check Goldie again. She did bloodwork while I was at the office.

 

Goldie doesn't seem to have improved at all. She hasn't gotten any worse either.

 

The psychological change in Goldie was an even bigger reason for taking her to the vet's office than the physical one. Since this started, she is extremely cautious and acts like she's afraid she's going to be hurt. She's extremely subdued. She doesn't want to go outside at all. She spends a lot of time lying on the floor next to my bedroom door.

 

These aren't changes due to the medicine she's taking because all of this started before taking Rimadyl. I'm not sure whether to just wait until Monday to give the medicine more time to take effect or go ahead and try to get her in today or tomorrow.

[Tammyla]

Poor girl. Our old cocker spaniel developed arthritis, and did grow reluctant to go down steps. I hope your girl gets better and feels like herself soon.

 

I took her to the vet on Monday. The vet did a very thorough exam manipulating each joint and checking the spine, but Goldie never yelped or showed any indication of pain. The only thing she did was hold her breath whenever the vet manipulated a big joint (like hip or shoulder). The vet said we could do an xray, but it probably wouldn't be helpful. She suggested just starting off with Rimadyl 2x/day. She gave me one week's worth and said to come back at that point so she could check Goldie again. She did bloodwork while I was at the office.

 

Goldie doesn't seem to have improved at all. She hasn't gotten any worse either.

 

The psychological change in Goldie was an even bigger reason for taking her to the vet's office than the physical one. Since this started, she is extremely cautious and acts like she's afraid she's going to be hurt. She's extremely subdued. She doesn't want to go outside at all. She spends a lot of time lying on the floor next to my bedroom door.

 

These aren't changes due to the medicine she's taking because all of this started before taking Rimadyl. I'm not sure whether to just wait until Monday to give the medicine more time to take effect or go ahead and try to get her in today or tomorrow.

[lionfamily1999]

If she is having joint problems, then she's subdued because she knows that jumping around hurts. I'm not an expert, but I know that people will tend to be more careful after having thrown out their back. Even once the injury is healed, they will still walk slower and sit more carefully for a while, until they "forget" that they hurt themself.

 

:grouphug:

[AngieW in Texas]

The vet called a little while ago and asked me to drop her off there until closing so they could observe her. My car should be ready at the shop around 1pm and I'll take her then.

[Shelly in IL]

Check out the brand and ask questions. Our dog was on Rimadyl and she now has to have special liver medicated dog food ($50 a bag!!!), because it did liver damage.

[AngieW in Texas]

The vet still couldn't find any physical issues and there wasn't any improvement with Rimadyl, so she took Goldie off of Rimadyl and put her on Tramadol instead. She is doing a round of bloodwork to compare to the bloodwork they got back in May to see if the problem is due to something internal rather than her joints.

 

Goldie yelped in pain as she jumped up into the van for us to leave.

[lisabelle]

To me, it sounds like she pulled a groin muscle. The tramadol should help, as should her cautious behavior.

[ChristusG]

Our dog does this occasionally....and it is always one of two things. First, he has a disk in his neck that bothers him occasionally. But when this happens, he holds his whole body stiff afterwards. It doesnt sound like she's doing that, so this is probably not the issue.

 

More likely, she could have injured her tooth. When is the last time she had a dental and the vet really looked over her teeth? My dog injures his tooth sometimes when playing ball or playing with a toy. He will yelp really loudly and run to me with his tail between his legs.

[AngieW in Texas]

After 3 vet visits and $500, we still don't know what's wrong. The vet is going to take all the test results and the xrays and consult with another vet. Right now she's not on any medication because the pain meds didn't help at all. She said that she has referred some dogs to an acupuncturist and that sometimes helps. She didn't know the cost, but that vet is only 10 minutes from my house.

 

She still acts like she's scared to get up on the sofa (presumably because it will hurt). She doesn't have a problem with going up the stairs though. She lays in front of my bedroom door at night and won't move for an hour or two after I get up in teh morning. When I put the bowl down a few feet from her, she slinks over to it without standing up all the way.

[Catwoman]

I hope you're able to get a diagnosis soon. It's so hard to know something is wrong, but not know what it is.

 

Cat

[lionfamily1999]

After 3 vet visits and $500, we still don't know what's wrong. The vet is going to take all the test results and the xrays and consult with another vet. Right now she's not on any medication because the pain meds didn't help at all. She said that she has referred some dogs to an acupuncturist and that sometimes helps. She didn't know the cost, but that vet is only 10 minutes from my house.

 

She still acts like she's scared to get up on the sofa (presumably because it will hurt). She doesn't have a problem with going up the stairs though. She lays in front of my bedroom door at night and won't move for an hour or two after I get up in teh morning. When I put the bowl down a few feet from her, she slinks over to it without standing up all the way.

:( None of the painkillers are working? Oh Angie, how hard :grouphug:

[ktgrok]

If it is her back steroids will work much better than rimadyl, but you have to wait 3 days at least between drugs.

[SonshineLearner]

Kinda a crazy suggestion, maybe.. but do you have a pet chiropractor around? Sorry for you and your pup!! Let us know what happens!! :(

[AngieW in Texas]

This morning, she came into the kitchen for her food for the first time in over one week. I'm hoping that whatever is wrong is getting better.

 

The first day she didn't get up for her food was a complete shock. Her food sat in her bowl in the kitchen for over an hour before I realized that she had never gone to eat it and I took it to her.

 

The vet said that steroids are a possibility, but she hates to prescribe them without knowing what's going on. She has her consult with the other vet on Thursday, so she'll let me know what she recommends at that point. I'm going to call the other vet (the one who does acupuncture) today to find out how much that costs.

[lionfamily1999]

This morning, she came into the kitchen for her food for the first time in over one week. I'm hoping that whatever is wrong is getting better.

 

The first day she didn't get up for her food was a complete shock. Her food sat in her bowl in the kitchen for over an hour before I realized that she had never gone to eat it and I took it to her.

 

The vet said that steroids are a possibility, but she hates to prescribe them without knowing what's going on. She has her consult with the other vet on Thursday, so she'll let me know what she recommends at that point. I'm going to call the other vet (the one who does acupuncture) today to find out how much that costs.

:party: I'm glad she's moving around a little better.

[lionfamily1999]

From my friend (a vet):

ok, first of all, let me say, that it sounds like your vet has done a great job of working her up. I really couldnt say that theres anything she hasnt done that we would do. It does however sound like she's kind've exhausted her options and experience at this point. and while steroids may help her, they may not, and they are hard on the body. I would not rule out trying accupuncture, but it sounds like she may need to be seen by a university hospital, or a specialist. the steroids will make her more hungry and thirsty, but thats not a solution to our problem.... sometimes when dogs wont eat thier food, they will eat a bland food thats made for easy digestion, like science diets I/D or an equivalent. it sounds like you are doing everything you can for now, and although i wish i could tell you something more, I think your vet sounds very capable and is doing everything she can for her. I hope that you find some answers soon, and Goldie finds some relief... keep me up to date.

 

[ktgrok]

I just thought of this, have they done tests for lyme and erlichia? there are actually several tick diseases that can cause joint pain and lethargy. Idexx labs have a new tick disease panel that tests for all/most of them, or there are the snap tests that some vets have in the office.

[AngieW in Texas]

We're going to try acupuncture on Monday next week. When I called on Monday this week, that was the next available appointment.

 

There seems to be a psychological component to whatever is going on as well. Goldie is now terrified to step on the grass in our backyard. We have to take her out front to use the bathroom. She has no problem walking on the grass in the front yard.

 

She has pain bad enough to cause yelping just 1-2x every day. It can happen at any time when she's moving. She may go up and down the stairs 10x, but then yelp when just walking along the floor.

 

She actually got up on the sofa a few times, but then she had a yelping episode when she started to get up on the sofa 2x in a row, so she stopped.

 

She is getting up for her food with no problem now.

 

She enjoys going for walks and doesn't limp or show any signs of problems while on a walk. That's good since she won't use the bathroom in the backyard anymore and we have to put her on the leash and go for a walk to get her to go.

 

The problem with the grass in the backyard started a few days ago when we put her in the backyard while we were at the mall for about an hour. When we got back, she was yelping in fear (definitely was fear, not pain). She acted like she was absolutely terrified to be in the backyard. She was even shaking (not from cold, it was about 70 degrees). She tried to get up on the sofa when she came in and yelped in pain at the attempt. She tried again about 15 minutes later and yelped in pain again, so she hasn't tried again. She will sometimes go out in the backyard during the day, but she stays on the patio and acts like she's terrifed of the grass.

[LittleHouseHomeschool]

Our shepherd/lab mix did this. Our vet put her on Glycoflex II for one month, one tablet twice per day. Then after one month, he reduced the dosage to a maintenance regimen of one tablet once a day. The initial thirty days builds up the joints and then the maintenance dose keeps it up to par.

 

It's basically chondritin and it has worked a miracle in this precious dog. No more limping, no more sudden yelps. She hops up and down and runs vigorously without concern now. She is like a pup again. She'll be nine next month. We started her on the Glycoflex three years ago.

 

From the website where I purchase mine: "It helps hydrate healthy joints by increasing the production of molecules that bind and hold water in the cartilage. Healthy cartilage provides cushioning which helps protect a pet's joints while exercising. Many believe that it provides clinical benefit in the synovial fluid by strengthening cartilage and aiding glycosaminoglycan synthesis. Further research on the effectiveness of glucosamine is still needed, but many of our customers find it to be very beneficial to their pets."

 

I've used Rimadyl with another of my pets, now deceased. Had I known about Glycoflex back then, I would have used it. It's amazing stuff.