I noticed some time ago that my dog was limping on his back legs in the first couple of steps he took after lying down for awhile, like after a nap. It only lasted a few steps, then he was back to normal. He ran and jumped just fine, and had no problems when he walked.
It started to weigh heavy on my mind (and my husband's), since we had a girl who did have hip dysplasia. So, a couple of weeks ago I made an appointment for him, today was the earliest they could fit me in to see the doctor I wanted.
Monday, I gave him his monthly heartworm chewable, mixed in with cat food because he's not food driven and won't take anything like that in cheese, hot dog or regular dog food. He's never had bad side effects from it, except maybe being a little lethargic for a couple of days after, maybe loss of appetite a bit.
Well, Tuesday and Wednesday, he was acting very strange. He was very spacey and off in his own world. He would stand next to me and not even move, not lay down like usual, and his mind was somewhere else. He wouldn't eat dry or canned, and wouldn't even drink water. He stood in those still weird positions for the longest time, I would try and talk to him and figure out what he wanted or what was the matter, to no avail.
I had to really coax him to go out into the yard with me so he could take a peewee, once he was out there with me he just stood there. I had to gently urge him to follow me and take a few steps, because he usually is walking when he goes, then stops, does his thing, and keeps walking. Well, he wasn't doing anything.
I got him to go over the two days a couple of times, but he really wasn't drinking water. I was able to get him to drink a little by putting in in a small plastic glass and holding it for him, that got me thinking it was something to do with his neck, maybe he couldn't use the bowls on the floor for some reason.
I always wish that they could talk to us, I felt so sorry for him and did all I could to help him get out of that mindset he was in. Then we started thinking it had something to do with the heartworm meds.....or, the tick we removed from his nose on June 15th, I posted about it here. We started thinking he was having some kind of paralysis, or even a mild stroke.
My husband suggested it might have something to do with the fireworks in the neighborhood, but I didn't think so. He was weird like that early in the day when there was no noise, and he was okay with fireworks in years past.
Yesterday he seemed to be coming out of his trance, and even ate a bit of his kibble, still wasn't drinking water except a little out of the glass. Today he appeared to be back to his old self, thank goodness.
Since we had a dog who suffered with hip dysplasia, I was ready to hear the worst. My husband is still having issues with his legs, so he couldn't go with me like he always used to. I expected xrays to be ordered after a physical exam, and I feared they'd show bad hip joints. Also, he had a bump on his snout where we removed the tick a couple of weeks ago, and I was concerned that there was a problem from that.
Well, she said she didn't think the heartworm meds or the tick bite had anything to do with how he was acting. She was just guessing that maybe he hurt himself doing something and was reacting in that odd way. She thoroughly examined his face, nose, mouth and said the bump was probable a result of the tick bite, and it should go away. It was only in the skin, and nothing to be concerned about.
She spent a long time giving him a thorough exam all over, she checked his hip joint and manipulated all of his legs and joints down to his feet and paws. She pointed his head up and did a good examination of his neck, then she held him a certain way and turned his head completely from one side to the other.
She felt each and every bone in his spine, I heard some mild cracking. After everything, she also checked his heart and lungs, eyes, teeth, etc. She said her examination of him was unremarkable. He was fine and everything felt normal. He had no sign of any discomfort or pain throughout all of her manipulations. I was in the office watching the whole thing, I had seen it before with bad results, but he was fine, no yelping or stress.
She said there was no reason to take any xrays, he showed no symptoms of hip dysplasia or any joint or bone problems. She said that there are dogs that, after lying down for awhile, will limp in the first step or two and walk normal after that, so I shouldn't worry. She said if we noticed anything getting worse six months down the road, we could have him xray'd then, but now it was not needed, nothing was wrong with him.
He was playful with her in the office, and he ate well when he came home, and he's drinking water out of his bowl like normal. My husband was waiting for me to call him after I got out of there, and we were both relieved that he didn't have any problems or need any medications.
I'm glad I took him in, this was on my mind constantly. Like the other thread, I was making a mountain out of a molehill I guess. Good to have peace of mind, I worry about my babies.
It started to weigh heavy on my mind (and my husband's), since we had a girl who did have hip dysplasia. So, a couple of weeks ago I made an appointment for him, today was the earliest they could fit me in to see the doctor I wanted.
Monday, I gave him his monthly heartworm chewable, mixed in with cat food because he's not food driven and won't take anything like that in cheese, hot dog or regular dog food. He's never had bad side effects from it, except maybe being a little lethargic for a couple of days after, maybe loss of appetite a bit.
Well, Tuesday and Wednesday, he was acting very strange. He was very spacey and off in his own world. He would stand next to me and not even move, not lay down like usual, and his mind was somewhere else. He wouldn't eat dry or canned, and wouldn't even drink water. He stood in those still weird positions for the longest time, I would try and talk to him and figure out what he wanted or what was the matter, to no avail.
I had to really coax him to go out into the yard with me so he could take a peewee, once he was out there with me he just stood there. I had to gently urge him to follow me and take a few steps, because he usually is walking when he goes, then stops, does his thing, and keeps walking. Well, he wasn't doing anything.
I got him to go over the two days a couple of times, but he really wasn't drinking water. I was able to get him to drink a little by putting in in a small plastic glass and holding it for him, that got me thinking it was something to do with his neck, maybe he couldn't use the bowls on the floor for some reason.
I always wish that they could talk to us, I felt so sorry for him and did all I could to help him get out of that mindset he was in. Then we started thinking it had something to do with the heartworm meds.....or, the tick we removed from his nose on June 15th, I posted about it here. We started thinking he was having some kind of paralysis, or even a mild stroke.
My husband suggested it might have something to do with the fireworks in the neighborhood, but I didn't think so. He was weird like that early in the day when there was no noise, and he was okay with fireworks in years past.
Yesterday he seemed to be coming out of his trance, and even ate a bit of his kibble, still wasn't drinking water except a little out of the glass. Today he appeared to be back to his old self, thank goodness.
Since we had a dog who suffered with hip dysplasia, I was ready to hear the worst. My husband is still having issues with his legs, so he couldn't go with me like he always used to. I expected xrays to be ordered after a physical exam, and I feared they'd show bad hip joints. Also, he had a bump on his snout where we removed the tick a couple of weeks ago, and I was concerned that there was a problem from that.
Well, she said she didn't think the heartworm meds or the tick bite had anything to do with how he was acting. She was just guessing that maybe he hurt himself doing something and was reacting in that odd way. She thoroughly examined his face, nose, mouth and said the bump was probable a result of the tick bite, and it should go away. It was only in the skin, and nothing to be concerned about.
She spent a long time giving him a thorough exam all over, she checked his hip joint and manipulated all of his legs and joints down to his feet and paws. She pointed his head up and did a good examination of his neck, then she held him a certain way and turned his head completely from one side to the other.
She felt each and every bone in his spine, I heard some mild cracking. After everything, she also checked his heart and lungs, eyes, teeth, etc. She said her examination of him was unremarkable. He was fine and everything felt normal. He had no sign of any discomfort or pain throughout all of her manipulations. I was in the office watching the whole thing, I had seen it before with bad results, but he was fine, no yelping or stress.
She said there was no reason to take any xrays, he showed no symptoms of hip dysplasia or any joint or bone problems. She said that there are dogs that, after lying down for awhile, will limp in the first step or two and walk normal after that, so I shouldn't worry. She said if we noticed anything getting worse six months down the road, we could have him xray'd then, but now it was not needed, nothing was wrong with him.
He was playful with her in the office, and he ate well when he came home, and he's drinking water out of his bowl like normal. My husband was waiting for me to call him after I got out of there, and we were both relieved that he didn't have any problems or need any medications.
I'm glad I took him in, this was on my mind constantly. Like the other thread, I was making a mountain out of a molehill I guess. Good to have peace of mind, I worry about my babies.