brady's mom Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 -- This is not about a border collie, so if it should be in Coffee Break, let me know! -- My mom's Chi has been acting weird for the last month. It started around the time of my last hospital visit (bad reaction to some thyroid medication) and has persisted. It was very gradual. Initially, he was becoming a little anti-social, choosing to stay in his crate all day instead of cuddling or playing. He was eating less of his normal food, but ate treats, pumpkin, or rice just fine, and he was drinking less. And then came the shrieking. At random intervals, he would just start screaming in pain. The first time it happened, my dad was going to wipe his feet, and Peanut, as per usual, had already started running to the treat pantry. My dad took a single step towards Peanut, was not touching him or stopping over him, just casually stepping towards him, and Peanut began shrieking in pain, eliminated on the floor, and ran into his kennel. Just to reiterate, there had been no physical contact whatsoever. He was shaking and obviously in panic mode, but he wouldn't let anyone near him, so we just left him be to see if he just needed space. Eventually he came out after I coaxed him with some pumpkin and chicken broth. A few days later, my mom picked him up to snuggle, because he's always been really attached to him, and he did the same thing. He started shrieking and panicking. He peed on her and then took off to his kennel. Nothing she did harmed him, as far as we know. So we scheduled a vet visit because it was such odd behavior, and, by this point, he was struggling to go the bathroom because he hadn't been getting much of anything into his system, despite me trying to bribe him with pumpkin and broth. When we took him in, the vet could fine absolutely nothing wrong with him. She poked and prodded and stretched everything without reaction. He moved just fine, showed no signs of pain. She checked his neck, back, knees, teeth, you name it. It was very frustrating. It was only a physically examination and I still think blood tests or SOMETHING needs to be done, but we really don't have anything to go off of. After that visit, he was still pretty anti-social but he was coming out more often and suddenly became stuck to me like glue (much to my own dog's dismay), when he used to HATE me. He seemed to be general better, not the same as he used to be, but better-ish. Until a couple days ago, when I bent to pick him up, he started shrieking again. He panicked, you could see the whites of his eyes, and he peed on the floor. I hadn't even touched him, just bent over. He's going back to the vet, but I imagine it'll be another dead end. Have you ever had anything like this before? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 Oh no. So sorry to hear this. So mystifying and so frustrating. How old is Peanut? Just a random thought--maybe a brain tumor? Yes definitely you need to do some bloodwork, but if it is cancer of some sort, blood panel results can often still be 'normal'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brady's mom Posted March 7, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 I've been kind of dreading that conclusion. He's a sweet little guy when he's normal. He's about 11. We got him from some friends going through a divorce about 5 years ago so we're not too sure about his exact age. He also has horrible breath and bad teeth, we've been wondering if his teeth are part of it as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 I would be looking at the teeth and considering other problems before jumping to brain tumor. (ex: IVDD in the neck, lyme, other) I've seen the exact same scenario in a dog with rotten teeth. Did a dental and he went back to his normal self. (This is not me diagnosis the dog, just saying I wouldn't give up yet.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gideon's girl Posted March 7, 2015 Report Share Posted March 7, 2015 My dog that did this exact same thing had spinal arthritis. Meds brought her back to near normal for a long time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aschlemm Posted March 8, 2015 Report Share Posted March 8, 2015 Hi, I would be concerned about the teeth but I have a feeling that this is a cervical (neck) disc issue. Chihuahua's are prone to disc issues and often display pain strangely. But if you look at it from their point of view- if you've even had a back issue and muscle spasms you will have horrible pain that comes out of nowhere you you don't know how to move without setting it off. If his neck hurts he is reluctant to put his head down to eat or drink. He hides to get away from the pain and so he doesn't get bumped. Since he isn't moving much he isn't going out to go to the bathroom as much so when he has bad pain, he pees himself. Probably you should have a CBC/Chem screen done to rule anything else out and an X-ray of his spine to look for arthritis and check the vertebrael disc spaces. Good Luck!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brady's mom Posted March 9, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 Thank you all for your help! He'll hopefully be going in within the next week. I'm hoping it's a disc, spine, or teeth issue. I'll update y'all on the final diagnosis! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pam Wolf Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 Look for a GOOD animal chiropractor one who does both chiropractic and acupuncture if you can find it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Coyote Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I take care of a little chi that is having the exact same problems. He has a couple of disks in his lower back that cause problems. He would just cry all of a sudden. They tried a cortisone shot with Tramadol and he is a lot better. The only problem now is that he pees a lot and will just pee in the house. So he wears a little belly band in the house and so far that has worked well. He also just had about 6 teeth pulled. That really had a dramatic impact on how well he felt. He was like a new dog after that. It seems like little dogs just have a lot of teeth problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted March 9, 2015 Report Share Posted March 9, 2015 I've seen similar behaviors in dogs with disc problems as well. Best wishes figuring this out and helping your mom's dog feel better.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brady's mom Posted March 17, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 So, we went to the vet today. She did a physical on him, and, once again, he decided to be the world's most stoic chihuahua. Even with all the poking, prodding, and twisting, he didn't show much discomfort or pain. His knees were a little bad and his hips a little stiff, but we already knew he had luxating patella and guessed arthritis was setting in since he's an old man. She suggested an x-Ray, but my mom turned it down since there's no real confirmation that he could have a slipped disc or spinal issue. I personally would have gotten the x-Ray, but he's not my dog so not my choice. She did get a blood panel done on him, just in case. So hopefully that yields some results! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted March 17, 2015 Report Share Posted March 17, 2015 A video to show the vet can be super helpful in a situations like this sometimes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brady's mom Posted March 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 It's so hard to catch because it happens so quickly. It just happened again tonight when I went to go put him on his bed. I barely touched him and he screeched and shot away from me, shivering. At this point I'm thinking it's definitely a disc issue, but without an X-ray there's not much that can be done. :/ and after spending well over $600 on Brady for various issues the past months, my mom is not too keen on following the same path with Peanut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brady's mom Posted March 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 It's so hard to catch because it happens so quickly. It just happened again tonight when I went to go put him on his bed. I barely touched him and he screeched and shot away from me, shivering. At this point I'm thinking it's definitely a disc issue, but without an X-ray there's not much that can be done. :/ and after spending well over $600 on Brady for various issues the past months, my mom is not too keen on following the same path with Peanut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted March 28, 2015 Report Share Posted March 28, 2015 If it is a disc and it's not severe, the vet might recommend crate rest for about 6 weeks to see if it can improve without surgery. I wholeheartedly recommend taking the dog to the vet and getting the x-ray, but you could also try the crate rest, too, until you can do that. It sounds like what my neighbors' Shiba Inu, who had a bulging disc, just went through, and I'd once had a dog with a bulging disc. Both dogs recovered with crate rest, combined with steriods and pain medication. If your dog is in that much pain, you really owe it to him to get him to vet. It's just part of responsible pet ownership. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brady's mom Posted March 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 I've passed this all along to her. It's 100% up to her since he's not my dog and all I can do is make recommendations and try and bend her ear, because at the end of the day the choice is hers, not mine. I hope you don't think I'm irresponsible as a pet owner, I always make sure Brady gets care up front. That's why I've spent as much money as I have in the last few months on knee X-rays, aspirations, etc. Sorry to give that impression! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GentleLake Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 I knew the dog was your mother's, so I wasn't pointing any fingers at you. Perhaps you could approach her by reminding her that vet care for injuries or illness is part of responsible pet ownership (less critical sounding), even though it may be financially painful at times. My concern if it is a herniated disc is that he could make it worse if he isn't properly cared for. And if it's something else and doesn't get diagnosed it could progress further. My dog who had the bulging disc was originally misdiagnosed as having meningitis. If that had been the correct diagnosis and was left untreated, it could have been a life threatening condition. Either way, you could end up with a more sever -- and expensive -- situation than you have now. Besides, the dog's in pain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chene Posted March 29, 2015 Report Share Posted March 29, 2015 Either way, you could end up with a more severe -- and expensive -- situation than you have now. This, if she doesn't want to do it just for the dog. Things don't typically just go away if you leave them be, and quite often they get worse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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