[LuvourGSDs]

Ok, worked Shadow on agility course last night, all fine, running around the yard today playing & such, all fine, played fetch, all fine. Went to head to class tonight, opened Jeep hatch & waited for him to jump in, well he didn't, he has refused this a few times now. I encourged & he jumped in, well........... about 4 yelps later & holding up his rear left leg.

Went to class & he did the weaves 100% fine, no issues or yelps. Did weaves & added 1 jump & he did yelp at this jump so, class was done for us. Last night he hit many jumps, table, etc & not 1 sound out of him.

I am stummped as why he can jump on a 24" agility table & no yelps, but when it comes to the Jeep, not good.

I have no clue what to explore ???? Any ideas ?

We know his rear hips are a tad sloppy & were way worse when we rescued him. They have since gain good muscle mass & not as bad. He stills walks kind of toed in on the rear & what I call, kind of rubberband movement in the hips. Never has been a issues & runs like a Greyhound.

Wanted to keep him active & had agility hopes for him as he loves it.

PLease any suggestions ? ~Thanks~

 

[JKlatsky]

Muscle Pull? Anka pulled her iliopsoas muscle and it caused her to pull up in the rear and she was sensitive to extension like jumping and stretching. Maybe that?

 

[BowWowMeow]

Could be a lot of things: muscle pull, knee, hip...

I wouldn't be doing agility though until I figured out what was going on.

 

[LuvourGSDs]

Yea Ruth, that's the thing, I don't want to cause more damage, but do want to keep him active as that's bad also, just laying. He has had spells here & there, asprin & rest a day or 2 & back to normal. This is when he acted a bit funny, but not like today, big yelps. Just find it wierd only from that 1 jump up.

If I decide to go the vet route, not sure what or where to have the vet explore ? X-rays or a waste ? How do they find or tell if it's muscle, soft tissue, etc injury ?

 

[PupperLove]

It does sound like a pulled muscle. Does he do this often or just this one time he doesn't want to get in the jeep? Has he been tested for lymes?

My brother in laws dog seemed 100% fine on our yearly camping trip, he ran around all day, and played like normal. The next day he was having problems moving around and they found out he had lymes and they didn't even know it

If he went to class and seemed fine afterwards, it's probably not lyme, but something to keep in mind if it continues to happen. Like other's said though, maybe he just pulled a muscle.

 

[Lucy Dog]

It really could be anything. I'm actually dealing with the same exact thing for about the last two months with Lucy. Vet seems to think it's a nagging soft tissue injury around the hips that will hopefully heal itself with time.

I'd rest shadow for at least a week or two. No running, jumping, playing or anything. Just rest - as hard as that may seem. Pulled muscles, depending on their severity, can really be nagging injuries that can keep coming back if not completely healed. Rest is probably the best thing to do right now.

If it doesn't go away after a couple weeks of complete rest, i'd suggest making a trip to your vet for some x-rays.

Right now, as long as it's not causing him any discomfort, just rest and hope it heals.

 

[doggiedad]

i think you should stop him from
jumping and get x-rays. good luck.

 

[LuvourGSDs]

Thanks for comments so far.

He is walking fine & did once I got him out of the Jeep to go into class. I only have heard him yelp 2 x's & both were today. He has been lame in the rear a few times, but rest 1 day & back to normal with no issues. I just am stumped to why the movement up into the Jeep caused such an issue ??? The height ???

Our agility table is 2' high & he was jumping on it with no pain or issues yesterday. He only did the table maybe 2 x's.

I have noticed the last maybe 3 x's when loading him in the Jeep, he will act as if he doesn't want to jump in or will sometimes put his front up & want the rest of my help. Just find this funny & why the pain doing ? You should see him playing, running, etc !

 

[Lucy Dog]

I have noticed the last maybe 3 x's when loading him in the Jeep, he will act as if he doesn't want to jump in or will sometimes put his front up & want the rest of my help. Just find this funny & why the pain doing ? You should see him playing, running, etc !

Yep - that's the cue that Lucy was giving me that something was wrong. She was very hesitant to jump in my truck. She'll normally hop right in, no problem. This last time, she just sat there and looked at me with a weird look on her face. I kind of pushed it because I didn't think anything was wrong (she always jumps in without a problem) and sure enough, she yelped and went limp.

After that, I knew something was up. She was completely back to normal after about a minute after that yelp, but obviously somethings bothering her if that caused her pain.

I brought her in to the vet the next day and the doctor just put her on some deramaxx and wants me to rest for for at least 10 days. No running, climbing, or anything. Her muscles need to heal up. Pulled muscles aren't something that's just going to heal overnight. It can really take a long time.

 

[LuvourGSDs]

Yep - that's the cue that Lucy was giving me that something was wrong. She was very hesitant to jump in my truck. She'll normally hop right in, no problem. This last time, she just sat there and looked at me with a weird look on her face. I kind of pushed it because I didn't think anything was wrong (she always jumps in without a problem) and sure enough, she yelped and went limp.

After that, I knew something was up. She was completely back to normal after about a minute after that yelp, but obviously somethings bothering her if that caused her pain.

I brought her in to the vet the next day and the doctor just put her on some deramaxx and wants me to rest for for at least 10 days. No running, climbing, or anything. Her muscles need to heal up. Pulled muscles aren't something that's just going to heal overnight. It can really take a long time.

Oh wow........

Did the vet do any x-rays ? Your girl has been walking normal, just the yelp jumping in ? Yes, very hard to rest 1 when your have 3 & he wants to go do !!!!

 

[PupperLove]

I have noticed the last maybe 3 x's when loading him in the Jeep, he will act as if he doesn't want to jump in or will sometimes put his front up & want the rest of my help. Just find this funny & why the pain doing ? You should see him playing, running, etc !

Weird, and interesting, because my dog who I suspect has bad hips does this too, looks at me for help getting in my CAR!

I wonder if it's simply the angle he has his legs at when getting in. I know I sometimes have my hip "pop" out of place, or I need to crack it, and I can't move it a certain angle for sometimes a few days and this has always happened to me and it HURTS...I have no idea why, or if this can happen to dogs, but it's just a thought

 

[LuvourGSDs]

Weird, and interesting, because my dog who I suspect has bad hips does this too, looks at me for help getting in my CAR!

I wonder if it's simply the angle he has his legs at when getting in. I know I sometimes have my hip "pop" out of place, or I need to crack it, and I can't move it a certain angle for sometimes a few days and this has always happened to me and it HURTS...I have no idea why, or if this can happen to dogs, but it's just a thought

Good thought ! I to wondered if his hip popped out of place or something. These yelps were something I have never heard him do. He's a pretty tough dog. Seems that up forward push off at that height did it or something ???

 

[Lucy Dog]

Oh wow........

Did the vet do any x-rays ? Your girl has been walking normal, just the yelp jumping in ? Yes, very hard to rest 1 when your have 3 & he wants to go do !!!!

She had her hips x-rayed before all of this happened during her annual checkup when she turned two. Hips looked great.

She's only in pain when jumping up in the truck and it will only go limp for 30 seconds at most then she's completely back to normal.

During her vet visit, the vet bent her leg in every position possible and nothing really bothered her. I watched her playing around with her for a good 20 minutes. She practically fell asleep in the office while being examined.

Something about her jumping into the car is what's bothering her. I don't know what it is, but I'm really hoping it's just a muscle. If it comes back after these next two weeks of rest, she's going back for a full panel of x-rays, but for right now, it's just rest.

I know what you mean though about how hard it's going to be to keep him quiet, but it would really be for the best right now. I don't know if you're a sports fan, but pulled muscles are a constant issue with athletes and they're really hard injuries to get over. They can pull a muscle (hamstring, groin, whatever) and they won't be able to play for months. Literally, months without even being able to do any kind of activity. Pulled muscles really need to be rested and they're extremely easy to re-aggravate if not completely healed. I'd imagine, it's the same with dogs.

 

[BowWowMeow]

My dog Massie tore her CCL (knee ligament) and she just yelped once after a little jump for a frisbee.

 

[LuvourGSDs]

My dog Massie tore her CCL (knee ligament) and she just yelped once after a little jump for a frisbee.

How do you or vet know when something is tore ? Just vet examine & by feeling ? I know x-rays is ONLY for bone so, soft tissue, muscle, etc, unsure how they know ? I have never had anything like this happen, knock on wood.

 

[KZoppa]

How do you or vet know when something is tore ? Just vet examine & by feeling ? I know x-rays is ONLY for bone so, soft tissue, muscle, etc, unsure how they know ? I have never had anything like this happen, knock on wood.

have you looked into getting an MRI done? that is supposed to be able to show tendons and muscles and all that fun stuff.

 

[BowWowMeow]

They should do a drawer test. But I'm thinking if the limp goes away then it's probably not a CCL tear.

Hips could definitely cause a yelp like that. And so could something in his back being out of alignment!

 

[LisaT]

This was a knee problem in the following thread:

http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...6903-back-disc-problem-yelps-when-lifted.html

Max's problem when jumping in a car appears to be his low back, requiring continued chiropractic care.

 

[MaggieRoseLee]

I'd rest him for the next week, maybe some baby aspirin to help inflamation and pain. NO jumping and control the tears around the yard. My dogs are constantly injuring themselves and rest usually does the trick.

If it's more serious and doesn't seem to be improving in a week, then it's off to the vet we go...

 

[natalie559]

http://www.germanshepherds.com/foru...6903-back-disc-problem-yelps-when-lifted.html

Lisa beat me to posting the link! Above is from when Penny occasionally yelped while being lifted. The vet diagnosed her with lumbrosacral spondylosis, basically arthritis where her spine meets her hip/leg area, and she's been getting chiro and acupuncture since. She no longer yelps, but as Lisa pointed out she does have bad knees so she can't jump anyways. Checking the knees for the drawer test that Ruth pointed out is very simple and I would do that before xrays. If no drawer then xrays of hips and spine.

If you have a physical therapist they can be great for evaluating and diagnosing soft tissue problems.

Hope he improves soon!