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Dogue in pain.....

sadhbhsdad

Well-Known Member
Hi All,
Hope you and your dogs are all keeping well.

Over the past week Fódhla has started to whine / cry in pain when she is lying down.
This most often happens in the evening / night but has happened a few times during the day. I think it is coming from the right forequarter.
I was thinking Pano , but she is not walking with a limp, nothing is swollen and when I touch or probe in that area she is ok. Can Pano present without limping ? She is actually fine when out, walking, running and playing. I am not aware of any injury being picked up over the past week.
Any way I am taking her to the vet later.

Any ideas ????
 

Boxergirl

Well-Known Member
I'm sorry your girl is in pain and I'm really glad you're seeing the vet. Maybe our forum member Marke will see this. He's extremely knowledgeable about this kind of thing. Please let us know what the vet says.
 

Smokeycat

Well-Known Member
I hope it turns out to be nothing serious. I just wanted to share one thing I learnt about Kryten when he was first diagnosed with his elbow issues. Some dogs will allow an owner/trusted human to manipulate them without reacting even though it hurts. Kryten has no reaction when I manipulate his front legs but he has a very different reaction if some on else, like the vet, tries.
It was obvious something big was wrong with Kryten so I don't think your girl will be likely to have the same issue I just wanted to let you know about how she might be reacting.
 

Bailey's Mom

Super Moderator
Super Moderator
If this was a human, I would suggest growing pains...however, our dogs, notwithstanding how similar they can be, our shared physical similarities as mammals , can be hiding more sinister issues. I will email some of our more experienced DDB members, and ask them if they will speak to the issue. All of them have lost their DDB's now, after many years of love and affection, and they have a wealth of knowledge.

Remind me, how old is Fódhla? Has she been spayed? How do you feed her...Raw or Standard kibble or prepared meat at home? How much physical activity? How tall, How long, How wide? Do her ribs show? Are her shots up-to-date? What are her bowel movements like? Data Is Everything! We Need Everything Measurement-wise to help. AND, even then, it will be a Guess based on experience as versus blood tests and panels to narrow the field of inquiry.

Ask you vet to prepare a full screen, tox, hormones, everything. It will be a "COST" for sure, BUT, a "base line" is what you need to deal with any future issues. Everything can be compared to this "base line."

Let's hope it is just "growing pains", maybe the onset of "puberty", or a lack of some nutrients, BUT, a full blood panel will point you in the right direction.

NYDDB? Music Deb? Marke? All other DDB owners, Please, Weigh In and give us your advice!
 

sadhbhsdad

Well-Known Member
Hi Again,
Well to answer a few of the questions from Baileys Mom:

Fódhla is 27 weeks old (DOB 31 August 2019) not spayed.
She is fed a mix of raw and kibble. Exercise comprises of a short early morning walk approx. 10-15 mins, evening walk can be between 30-45 mins depending if on or off leash. If on leash we can walk for about 45mins, if off leash with free play about 30mins. There is also play in the garden with tug or ball.

She is just under 25kgs (55lbs) 60cm (23inch) at withers, chest roughly 24cm (9/10 inch) length neck to base of tail 66cm (26 inch)

We visited the Vet last Wednesday and he was unable to diagnose. He hoped it was nothing more that a trapped nerve or some sort of strained muscle, but cautioned a worst case of epilepsy.
He prescribed an anti-inflammatory (prednisolone) for 5 days hoping that this would be all that's needed but if no response to this a course of Phenobarbital.
After 4 days on the prednisolone we got through last night with no crying so I am hopeful that the vet is right and just some sort of trapper nerve/injured muscle.
My 11 year old son told me over the weekend that he was playing with Fódhla last week and things got rough and he believes he may have rolled her neck while in some sort of head lock !
I will inform the vet of this when we return this coming Wednesday.
 

sadhbhsdad

Well-Known Member
Hi All,
Just an update on Fódhla.
We were back to the vet last week and I was glad to report to the vet that there were no more outbursts of crying.
The vet gave her the once over and was happy that the injury was probably caused by some rough play with my son. My son came to the vet and explained what had happened and the vet reassured him that he should not feel guilty as when dogs and boys play things can get rough.
The vet decided to keep Fódhla on a reduced dose of the anti inflammatory for 5 more days.
We are now finished the meds and all is good.
Thanks all for suggestions.
 

sadhbhsdad

Well-Known Member
Hi All,
I have been absent from the forum for a while now and I thought I should give an update on Fódhla.
As stated above Fódhla seemed to be doing well in March and that continued into April but she took bad again in May so I returned to vet who re-prescribed a course of anti-inflammatory prednisolone (steroid) for 14 days. Again she was fine after the 14 days on anti inflammatory and all was going great for a few weeks. At the end of May we were back where we started so I decided to take he to a different vet for a second opinion. Again a dose of anti inflammatory meds was given but after 1 day I returned with a video clip of Fódhla in pain and the vet decided to refer her immediately to UCD Vet Hospital our (Ireland's) veterinary university hospital. Fódhla was admitted the following day and MRI was planned as well as full physical exam (given a body condition score of 5/9 with normal muscle mass), neurological exam, bloods and CSF (Spinal Tap) All this took 3 days and while in the hospital there were no recorded episodes. The bloods and CSF returned clear for infection / meningitis. The MRI did not show any abnormalities. The MRI was taken of brain and cervical region of neck. So with no proper diagnosis she was passed from the surgical department to the care of the medicines department and a course of more meds (gabapentin). As things only improved slightly the medicines department decided that she should be readmitted for a CT scan of the whole spine and another CSF was taken as the original dose of prednisolone could have still been present in her system and masked the presence of meningitis. The CT scan found a large subarachnoidal diverticulum extending from T9-T10 to L1 causing mild spinal cord comperssion. These results were sent to the UK for a specialist to review and upon review the conclusion was that the compression should not be causing the pain. So at the current time she is pain free and not on any medication since her discharge from the hospital over a month ago. She is actually doing great now even though we do not know what the cause was. This was a very stressful time for the family. We missed out on a lot of training and socialization due her condition but as she is in good health now she is coming on very well. By the way my pocket took a big hit and I know it is not ideal when you dont know what the cause of the problem is but I am just glad she is pain and meds free for so long. Fingers crossed it remains this way IMG_20200807_185954.jpg