Possible hurt back?

[Dano2]

Not sure what my dogs problem is, she almost acts as though maybe her back is stiff or strained.

The day before she started acting like this, we just played our usual couple sessions of fetch. Sometimes I'll have both labs out at the same time playing fetch, and my yellow(the one acting funny) goes after it like shes thinking , she'll be the one to get that dummy if it kills her doing it.

Also brought her for a short run that day, nothing she cant handle.

The next morning she just about crawled out of her kennel, real slow about going up and down stairs, acts like her back legs are stiff, its been like this for a couple days now.

Today its not any worse, maybe even a TINY bit better. Even still, she finds something in the ysrd and wants to play fetch, so I gave it just one small toss to see how she reacted, she got it, but it was a small trot to pick it up and a small trot back.

Shes eating and drinking, and crapping and peeing normal, and I haven't seen anything wierd in either one.

I fealt her up , (you know what I mean) and didn't feel any strange lumps or bumps.

What da ya think?

should I keep her kenneld up for a couple days, see how it goes. shes only 2 years old, so dont think its arthritis, but ya never know, and ya, I feed them a good food.

Not sure what more can tell ya.

any input appreciated .

Funny this should happen this time of year, last year she was out for the entire season, got run over right before season. Had to take the black last year, but hate to, she chomps the bird too much.

[sid05]

First thing to come to my mind is hip displacia (not sure on the spelling).

[LABS4ME]

When you say run over... do you mean "run over"? Seems I remember a post a year ago about a dog getting run over and potentially missing the whole season.

This probably coincides with the 1st cold mornings of the fall. Maybe some muscle pull? If she was run-over as you posted, she may have developed some arthritis or potentially some other injury that is just beginning to show it's face right now. I wouldn't hesitate to bring her in and have a couple of films taken of her back and pelvis/hips. Also he could check out ligaments/tendons and torn muscles.

Good luck... I hope you find out what is wrong so she doesn't have to miss another season!

Good Luck!

Ken

[metrojoe]

I guess I'm not sure what youy mean by run over either, but it sounds like she needs a trip to the vet.

I wouldn't rule out Lymes. Check for a fever.

[ccarlson]

Lymes or a muscle injury would be my guess. I've got a one year old setter that's occassionaly limping on it's back leg. He had Lymes last year and it may be time to get him tested again.

[Kodiak]

check her feet, maybe something in her pad or a pad injury, they walk real rigid and tenderly with a pad injury.

[catman71]

nothing is worse than a sick dog. I have a 6 year old yellow with OCD (bad knees at 6 months old) and "poor" hips and arthritis. He has a U of M knee tune-up. He doesn't exercise well and is pretty heavy as a result. BUT with a warm bed (after), asprin and Rimadyl he hunts pretty well at a slower pace. he does great in the duck blind and since he is so fat, he floats like a cork. Anyway, if your problem is serious (I hope it isn't) you can still manage. He is plenty happy and has a lot of years left and when he doesn't get excited to see the shotgun, I'll quit bringing him. Good luck with this...

[Dano2]

how do they get lymes, ticks?

guess I could have explained the run over thing abit better, the wheels didn't role over her but the front and rear axles of a pickup truck took her for a tumble, she got lucky after that one, had a fracture in her front shoulder. her eyes were abit bloody too from getting hit in the head, but the doc. said its fine.

What are other symptoms of lymes I could look for.

I must say, she seemed a little perckeyer(how do you spell that) this morning.

Another thought that came to mind was, she has always slept on a harder surface, her kennel with a piece of carpet. few days ago I tossed the old hunk of carpet and put an old sleeping bag in there. Maybe from being use to sleeping on something firmer, this made her sore sleeping on something softer.

That may seem odd, but if it effects us , then maybe it could affect dogs as well.

[ccarlson]

Lymes comes from a deer tick. The tick is only a carrier, as the white footed deer mouse is the original source of the disease and deer and other mammals only help spread the ticks.

Symptoms are stiffness, fatigue, and sometimes a high temperature.

The only way to know is to have a blood test done.

Do you vaccinate for lymes? Even if you do, they may still contract it. Mine did.

But, if you never had the dog in an area where there are deer ticks, that is probably not it. We are loaded with them around the Brainerd area. I pull hundreds off each dog each spring and fall. Frontline helps but the dog still gets bit before the tick dies and falls off.

Both my kids have also had lymes and one daughter also had erlichiosis, another much more serious deer tick born disease.

Deer ticks are thick in North central MN.

ccarlson

[Dano2]

Thanks for the info. now that brings back memories when me and my bro used to bow hunt together, he always thought he had it.

I'm pretty sure I can rule that out.

She seems better today, so I'll just keep an eye on it, and make sure she takes it easy for a couple more days.

anything over the counter one can give a dog for pain?

I see they actually sell a dog aspirin, but do you have to pay that extra just because it says dog on the bottle?

I've heard Ibuprofen isn't good for them, what about those chewable bay aspirin, how much should a guy give them, saaay, after a hunten trip and you can tell their a hurten.

thanks

[catman71]

both of your kids had Lyme? Are they ok? How long until you or the doctor diagonsed it?

[ccarlson]

Yes, we built a new house 4 years ago in a wooded area that I cleared. Tons of deer and at the time, a lot of whitefooted deer mice as well. My oldest daughter became very ill. High temp (104-105!!)and her whole body hurt so bad she couldn't move. We took her to the Pediatrician 4 times in as many days. Each time he would say "I've been practicing medicine for 30 years and I know a virus when I see one. She'll be better within a couple days." We asked him to do a lymes test but he refused saying that if we didn't find a tick on her then there wouldn't be lymes. He said they can't just bite and leave, they need to be attached for at least 24 hours. Turns out he was wrong, almost dead wrong.

It continued to get worse and we became very frightened. We took her to the ER on day 5 where a younger and very bright doctor knew right away she had Erlichiosis (also carried by deer ticks and much more serious than lymes). He said we were very lucky, one more day of that infection building in her system could have been too late to control. Erlichiosis has a 13% mortality rate when left untreated. Too high for any parent. He prescribed the only anti-biotic known to help and we prayed she wouldn't be allergic to it. Within 24 hours she was much better. Then, 2 months later they did a follow up test and found that she also had Lymes which will often times not show up immediately after being exposed. They treated her and she shows no signs of any problems nearly 4 years later.

My other daughter was diagnosed a year later after just feeling down and we asked for a test. It was positive. No effects after treatment.

Last year my younger dog began limping, yelping when he moved and just acted like he had no energy. Sure enough, he tested positive. We test him occasionally but the vet said he will always show a slight positive on a test since he had it at one time. Humans apparently do not.

My 9 year old dog has had more deer ticks on him than I could count over the years and he has never had it but I do vaccinate.

There are currently 4 diseases that can be carried by deer ticks. Lymes, Erlichiosis, Babilosis(sp?) and a new one I heard about on the news but don't know the name of.

Since our grass has come in well, and the cat takes care of the mice in the yard, the kids get less ticks but the dogs still get them from the woods.

ccarlson