We have some sort of mystery problem with our dog, and will be calling the vet tomorrow to see whether it warrants bringing her in. This is very strange as the dog just had a clean bill of health check-up about a week ago.
She’s a somewhat older dog (exact age unknown) Catahoula mix we adopted last year from the animal shelter…very laid-back dog, not excitable at all.
During the first incident, which must’ve been a few days after we went to the vet, she yelped suddenly as she was lying down. We checked her legs, haunches, and the floor to make sure she hadn’t sat on something like a pin or staple. Though she was a little tentative about lying down for the next couple minutes, she acted completely normal the rest of the day.
Then this morning when I went to let her out, she was stalking a squirrel across the yard and tore off in a run. After the squirrel dashed up a tree, she trotted back towards the house and suddenly broke out in pitiful whimpering, seeming a bit unsteady on her hind legs. We rushed out to look at her but by the time we got there she had stopped whimpering…like before, she was tentative and a bit fearful immediately afterwards but has been fine the rest of the day.
We’ve run our hands over her body/legs and there doesn’t seem to be any soreness, and I’ve checked her paws for thorns, etc. Appetite, temperature, bathroom habits are all normal and she is her normal self. Any thoughts on what might be going on?
Did you check her mouth? My pup yelped just this morning when she cut her gums on a stick. Though the first thing I thought of when I read the OP was a back problem.
Might possibly be a little arthritis in the hips? I am going from the human interpretation of “ow! Oh, what was that that?” I see when our hips “catch”
Your vet might ask you to come in for x-rays. My baby Dolly has some horrible hip displaysia and she never “told” me about it. I can push her and poke her and prod her every which way and she doesn’t flinch a bit. But she groans when she lies down, and an accidental x-ray (we were x-raying her belly and the tech went too low) showed that her joints are in pitiful shape.
“If it were you or me, we wouldn’t be walking anymore,” the vet told me. But dogs, she said, are just plain stoic.
Anyway, I would get some x-rays and then they will probably have you give her glucosamine supplements for her joints if she has arthritis, and maybe go as far as an anti-inflammatory if it doesn’t help.
If you decide she needs some rest from jumping and whatnot, let me recommend the PetStep ramp. It has been a godsend for us as Dolly gets up in years. We actually got it when she last had an actual injury, but we’ve used it every day since because she plain needs it. I looked at a ton of other ramps and even bought 2 others and this one is by far the best.
Did you or the vet apply any of the topical flea/tick drops immediately before this behavior began? I’ve heard many similar stories to yours where it was a negative reaction to the drops.