My 8 year old cocker (Maud) is lethargic.  At first I thought she had hurt her back legs as she was reluctant to walk last night, having checked that and nothing was broken, she still refused to walk up or down the stairs and although doesn't appear to be in pain is rather distressed.  She is eating and drinking and toileting normally, but really really reluctant to walk or stand.  Her belly is quivering (she is spade) which is rather odd. 

I have been really remiss with worming I'm afraid, could that be something to do with it?  Haven't seen any in her toilets.  I also do not vaccinate.

She is booked for the vets at 8pm this evening but I just wondered if anyone had any ideas.

Thank you

I would say I would want her seen before 8pm, like as soon as possible. i cant tell you whats wrong with her, but i would say if you really can't get her seen before tonight, keep her quiet, stay with her, and if anything else out of the ordinary occurs then take her to the vet straight away, phone first to say you are coming, make sure a vet will be there.

I'm at work at the moment but my husband is with her.  If she gets worse I'll do as you say.  She's quiet at the moment but something is certainly not right. I'll post later when back from the vets.
Thanks

She may have done something to her neck or back, whatever, it doesn't sound good so I'd get her to the vets ASAP. 

Don't delay, get her to the vets asap ;)

Let us know how she gets on

Lucy
xx

The fear, I think, is bloat but this is not common in Cockers and I have certainly seen mine have quivers when I assume they have colicy pain.  It is hard to tell when a dog is in pain and lethargy can be a sign of it.  She certainly needs seeing but if she is drinking, eating and pooing an obstruction seems very unlikely so if your husband is observing that things do not deteriorate such as starting to vomit, pale gums, another drop in level of alertness, or any other doubts I would phone the vet again rather than wait for tonight.

Thank you for the replies.  I don't know much about bloat but I believe there are lots of threads on this site so I run a search.  She is wagging her tail reluctantly when coaxed but is is not happy.  Thank you again for suggestions.  Will update asap.

I must confess, it does sound like bloat.  Vet has agreed to see her at 3pm.  Will get back to you all.

If she tries to be sick and cant, or shows more pain symptoms, blows up, don't wait till 3, get her there as an emergency ring them, say you suspect torsion, make sure a vet is waiting. Torsion kills. A real medical emergency.

I hope my post didn't confuse you, I meant I did not really think it was bloat but if you are being seen sooner it does not really matter :)

If she has bloat she will not want to eat or drink, if she has twisted (torsion) she will be in a lot of pain, unable to eat or drink and may be trying to be sick, but only bringing up a white froth. Her tummy may swell with both. She could have a heart problem, when my old girl went ill it was sudden. She had been eating and drinking, but the one day she seemed to lose her back end a bit, in fact thats what my vet thought, she had twisted herself outside or going up and down the stairs and home, and maybe slipped, and hurt her back. With nothing else to see at that time, she had some pain relief, and came home. i sat with her, she stopped wanting food and over night she just lay in her bed downstairs as she didnt want to climb the stairs. She had some occasional tremours in her belly area. At around 5 am she got up, and went upstairs, me following, and let me know she wanted to be on our bed. She got in beside me and hubby, and for a couple of hours was happy beside us. (her normal sleeping place) Then she wanted down, so I lifted her off, and we went downstairs. I let her out, but she just nosed around, and came back in. Then things changed, and I could tell she was going into pain. Shot off to the vet, she covered pain well. He didnt understand why I was so over concerned (not my usual vet who knows I dont panic) until he heard her heart. That was it Im afraid, no happy ending. I'm not saying this is the case with your dog, not at all, could just be tummy ache, or 101 things, but I would want to see someone a bit sooner than tonight. Just to be on the safe side. keeping everything crossed for you. :)

Hope all's OK, the symptom of quivering can also be related to back or neck pain.  Along with the chattering of teeth.

Got everything crossed that it's nothing too serious.

That's ok Isabel, I read up on the symptons of bloat and they are very varied.  Its the crouching and hard stomach that is really worrying me (and at least we have an earlier appointment) Until I see her this afternoon I can't tell if she has got worse (I always think I can assess her better than husband but he would disagree).  I do think it seems to be stomach related than actual harm to her back or neck, but we'll hopefully find out this afternoon.  Thanks again, I haven't been on here for ages but when something happens to one of my dogs this is the first place I come.

Good luck, will be thinking of you, with fingers firmly crossed :)

I hope it is nothing serious.  Cocker's are devils for scavenging when out and about so maybe something that is getting a bit of revenge :)  Let us know as soon as you are able.

Spanishwaterdog was right!  It is her back that she has hurt as indicated by the yelpng and subsequent mauling at the vets when he pressed on a certain spot.  We are hoping it is just a pulled muscle, so she has had an anti-inflamatry jab and some oral medication to take this afternoon, upon which she is going back to the vets this evening for another check over.  Hopefully things will be better (there is a slight improvement) and she won't have to have a scan.

Thanks for all your replies, they have helped.

Oh, fantastic news! Well, not that she has hurt herself, but that its hopefully nothing serious and she will be on the mend soon! :)

This fella trains Canine Osteopaths (bones and soft tissue) all over the country if you need it?
Mr Stuart McGregor - Phone: 01235 768033

I only know because I have a bouncing Spanish Water Dog who has landed on top of her mother twice and then she did it to my eldest boy a few weeks ago, didn't know at the time but he was crying when I got home from work once.

It took 2 to 3 weeks for my old girl to recover from it!

Glad that it's nothing too serious and I hope that her back is better soon :d

Poor thing :(  I hope the pain relief makes her feel a lot better very soon and that the whole thing settles down just as quickly :)