Hi All,

My 7 month old pup isn't a well baby at the moment and is booked in at the vets today.

I wonder if any of you have experienced the following with any of your dogs?
When she lowers her head/moves fast she lets out a sharp yelp/shreik and lifts her left foreleg slightly. She is tucked up at the moment. She seems to be better one day then bad the following.
We have been holding her feed bowl up to her chin and she has eaten fine until last night when she wouldn't eat. We have also been holding her water bowl but this morning she didn't really want to drink so I filled a small bottle up and she drank out of it.
On her good days she leaps about like normal around the house with the others but then forgets herself and hurts herself again.
I have checked her out by rubbling various muscles but she doesn't really flinch. I originally thought she could have pulled her neck, shoulder?
I'm at a bit of a loss really and hoping the vet could shed some light on it.
Really hoping her microchip hasn't got into a joint or anything.

My Dobermann did the same when he slipped 2 discs in his neck. Awful screaming with certain neck movements and he would also raise one of his front legs. He was unable to bark without shrieking out in pain (but would still try if he saw a squirrel or the like!). He would seem to improve at times but the problem kept reoccuring. The vets were almost certain it was a disc problem but we were referred for an MRI to confirm it.

Good luck at your appointment. Hopefully it isn't a disc problem but in the meantime I would not apply any pressure to your pups neck at all - i.e. do not apply any pressure to the collar and only walk on a harness (if you have one).

Thanks Zara, what was the treatment?

Could also be tendonitis, where the tendon is stretching as they grow, if it is always the same leg she holds up. But does sound more like it is higher up in the body. Hope you get on okay at the vets, do update us as to what happens.

Jo

Yes, its always the left leg and she has grown about 1 ½ inches over the last month.

> When she lowers her head/moves fast she lets out a sharp yelp/shreik and lifts her left foreleg slightly.

Does she yelp from lowering her head, or does she lower her head when she yelps?

Buster has elbow displasia,  when walking his head would usually nod upwards as the 'bad' leg touched the floor, but sometimes it would just drop down as the bad leg touched the floor.
I'm not suggesting your dog has elbow displasia, just that head movements are apparent in fore-leg problems, not just neck problems. It may be usefull for the vet if you can get some video footage of her walking, seeing the gait can be a huge help for them and plenty of dogs can mask thier problem once in the vets.

Best of luck with her. 

She yelps when she lowers her head not the other way around.

She's not lame and is not scared to run down the hall. She just holds her paw about an inch from the floor after a yelp attack and sort of holds it from her shoulder - like we would tense our shoulder up near our ear rather than holding her paw up like she's hurt it.

I can't remember offhand. I do have it in his diary somewhere but it was basically rest/restriction and Metacam. I think it was no walks at all for the first several weeks, just out to the garden on a lead only, and obviously no jumping/bouncing around. Then I think it was 2 weeks of 3x5 minute lead walks, and then 2 weeks of 3x10 minute lead walks and so on for several months. I was also told to only ever use a harness for walks (he wears a collar for ID but I never get hold of it or attach a lead to it) and to never allow him to jump out of the car, off the sofa/bed etc (we had to get a ramp for the car as our dog is too heavy to lift).

The neurologist said that she would only recommend operating as a last resort, i.e. if the dog is literally paralysed anyway, as it is major surgery and can and does go wrong. The rest/restriction route worked for us. Talli has only had one relapse which was when when I switched to a different harness that had the lead attachment closer to his neck. I was told that the discs never return to the normal position but the important thing is to keep any inflammation down by modifying the dogs lifestyle. 

Please do update and let us know the outcome! I hope it is something easily solved.

Thanks everyone. My husband is taking her at 1pm so I will update once I hear anything

My vet was not sure really without any scans but my hubby says that he said hopefully it is a neck strain. She also has a slight temperature and wants to see her on Friday.

I forgot to say earlier but she did have some stringy discharge and he has given her some antibiotics for this, she also has some paste to take, some other liquid and tablets, plus she has 2 injections. I'm at work at the mo but I assume she had an AB shot and a pain killing shot not sure what the other items were.

Rest & meds are prescribed to see how she goes.

Won't stop her putting her paws up on the units though!

Poor pumpkin x