Bob's Mystery Condition.
Bob has had his X ray. The good news is that there is no sign on the X ray of any functional problem or acute arthritis. He did his crawling thing a couple of times while he was there : they wondered if it was related to his poor eyesight, as he's less likely to bump into things when crawling. I think this is probably correct, and I also think Bob crawls when he's hoping not to have to go out for a wee last thing at night when it's cold.
BUT none of this explains the screaming. He still screams when he tries to stand first thing in the morning or late at night, though the last 3 days, the screaming has been only for a few seconds rather than the lengthy period of obvious distress we were getting earlier. I'm kind of hoping that it might just go away, though as we have no idea what is causing it, it's definitely a hope rather than an expectation.
So, Bob's condition is still a mystery. Craig feels that it's most likely to be a neck problem or a trapped nerve, but the only way to diagnose that would be an MRI scan.
There may be options to surgically correct Bob's neck problem if we can find out what it is, but an MRI scan would mean a referral to the veterinary hospital in Bristol, and would cost around £1100 (that's just the scan, not the surgery). The charity committee want to go ahead and get the scan done, so a trip to Bristol with lurcher is on the cards...
Craig thinks it does sound like a trapped nerve given the apparent suddenness and intensity of the pain. But that wouldnt show up on an X ray. And of course he's not done his screaming act at the vet. He couldnt' give me any indication whether this was likely to be a progressive problem or something that might go away with time either.
BUT none of this explains the screaming. He still screams when he tries to stand first thing in the morning or late at night, though the last 3 days, the screaming has been only for a few seconds rather than the lengthy period of obvious distress we were getting earlier. I'm kind of hoping that it might just go away, though as we have no idea what is causing it, it's definitely a hope rather than an expectation.
So, Bob's condition is still a mystery. Craig feels that it's most likely to be a neck problem or a trapped nerve, but the only way to diagnose that would be an MRI scan.
There may be options to surgically correct Bob's neck problem if we can find out what it is, but an MRI scan would mean a referral to the veterinary hospital in Bristol, and would cost around £1100 (that's just the scan, not the surgery). The charity committee want to go ahead and get the scan done, so a trip to Bristol with lurcher is on the cards...
Craig thinks it does sound like a trapped nerve given the apparent suddenness and intensity of the pain. But that wouldnt show up on an X ray. And of course he's not done his screaming act at the vet. He couldnt' give me any indication whether this was likely to be a progressive problem or something that might go away with time either.