Sick Dog-Need Help (Jesvet?)
Now I'm really worried about Annie. She's limping again and she's been very lethargic, sleeping all the time and never really wanting to go outside.
Background: She had a full check-up in January, including every shots avaialable, in order to clear her for Therapy work. Vet gave her a totally clean bill of health and said she looked younger than she is (about 9).
We started visiting rest homes & other than getting stressed out initially, the little affection-begger really seemed to enjoy the work. I didn't think about it then, and no one with the therapy group ever really said anything, but I wonder if she could have picked up something from someone who was sick.
Around March she started lagging on our runs. I had her on-leash whenever we ran, I think, & I always felt like I was dragging her during the second half. This is totally unlike her; she can usually go for miles and still have energy to play afterward. I think this is when she started limping. Every once in awhile it would look like she was limping after a run, so I'd rest her for a few days & she'd be fine.
Then last month she got sick from some new rawhide we'd given her. She threw up & was lethargic for a day, and then was fine, until we gave her the bone again and everything happened all over. I called the vet & the assistant said she could have rawhide stuck in her intestinal track so I took her in. A cursory look, 2 X-rays & $210 later, the vet showed me a cloudy spot in her left intestine. He said it was probably gas, but it was in a very strange shape. A week earlier he'd operated on a dog with the same problem & it turned out to be OK, so he suggested we monitor her closely for a few days. She was just fine a day or two later (and we took the bones back to Costco). I also told him she'd been limping occasionally, and he felt around her legs, but she didn't yelp & he didn't say anything. The thing is, I don't think she would yelp if something's wrong. She puts her tail between her legs and acts scared.
Over the last month or so she's been acting very strange on our runs. I've been taking her off-leash & after a mile or two she'll just stop. The first time it happened I stopped running altogether, but then I realized she wanted to keep running. Now she'll stop every mile or two no matter how far we run, trot up to me when I turn around, then start jogging on her own, expecting me to keep up with her.
On Thursday evening I took her in the car (back seat) and ended up breaking hard once. She fell forward pretty hard, but other than being a little shaken she seemed OK. We first noticed her limping when we started a walk yesterday morning. It was very pronounced but she didn't seem to pay attention to the pain. She wasn't as energetic as usual, but she didn't hesitate to walk around & even run a bit. We decided not to take her on the walk & left her to sleep most of the day. When she was still limping in late afternoon I started talking about taking her to the vet. Jeff was pissed at the idea since last time seemed to be a total waste of money, and we don't have a lot of that flying around right now. I don't like the idea of taking her in for no reason, either, so I agreed to wait a few days to see if she improves on her own.
Last night I noticed her licking her left front fore-leg a lot, and she's still doing it today. She's also extremely lethargic and acting kind of needy whenever I look at her leg. I had to practically force her outside to pee & she came right back in to her pillow. But even though she limps, she's not afraid to use that leg, and hasn't made a sound when I look it over. So I'm totally confused. Can I wait a few days to see if she gets better? I always say it's better safe than sorry, but I can't afford to waste another $200-$300. I wouldn't consider it a waste if I knew something had to be done, but if she'll get better on her own in a few days, I'd rather wait it out. Anyone have any suggestions?
Background: She had a full check-up in January, including every shots avaialable, in order to clear her for Therapy work. Vet gave her a totally clean bill of health and said she looked younger than she is (about 9).
We started visiting rest homes & other than getting stressed out initially, the little affection-begger really seemed to enjoy the work. I didn't think about it then, and no one with the therapy group ever really said anything, but I wonder if she could have picked up something from someone who was sick.
Around March she started lagging on our runs. I had her on-leash whenever we ran, I think, & I always felt like I was dragging her during the second half. This is totally unlike her; she can usually go for miles and still have energy to play afterward. I think this is when she started limping. Every once in awhile it would look like she was limping after a run, so I'd rest her for a few days & she'd be fine.
Then last month she got sick from some new rawhide we'd given her. She threw up & was lethargic for a day, and then was fine, until we gave her the bone again and everything happened all over. I called the vet & the assistant said she could have rawhide stuck in her intestinal track so I took her in. A cursory look, 2 X-rays & $210 later, the vet showed me a cloudy spot in her left intestine. He said it was probably gas, but it was in a very strange shape. A week earlier he'd operated on a dog with the same problem & it turned out to be OK, so he suggested we monitor her closely for a few days. She was just fine a day or two later (and we took the bones back to Costco). I also told him she'd been limping occasionally, and he felt around her legs, but she didn't yelp & he didn't say anything. The thing is, I don't think she would yelp if something's wrong. She puts her tail between her legs and acts scared.
Over the last month or so she's been acting very strange on our runs. I've been taking her off-leash & after a mile or two she'll just stop. The first time it happened I stopped running altogether, but then I realized she wanted to keep running. Now she'll stop every mile or two no matter how far we run, trot up to me when I turn around, then start jogging on her own, expecting me to keep up with her.
On Thursday evening I took her in the car (back seat) and ended up breaking hard once. She fell forward pretty hard, but other than being a little shaken she seemed OK. We first noticed her limping when we started a walk yesterday morning. It was very pronounced but she didn't seem to pay attention to the pain. She wasn't as energetic as usual, but she didn't hesitate to walk around & even run a bit. We decided not to take her on the walk & left her to sleep most of the day. When she was still limping in late afternoon I started talking about taking her to the vet. Jeff was pissed at the idea since last time seemed to be a total waste of money, and we don't have a lot of that flying around right now. I don't like the idea of taking her in for no reason, either, so I agreed to wait a few days to see if she improves on her own.
Last night I noticed her licking her left front fore-leg a lot, and she's still doing it today. She's also extremely lethargic and acting kind of needy whenever I look at her leg. I had to practically force her outside to pee & she came right back in to her pillow. But even though she limps, she's not afraid to use that leg, and hasn't made a sound when I look it over. So I'm totally confused. Can I wait a few days to see if she gets better? I always say it's better safe than sorry, but I can't afford to waste another $200-$300. I wouldn't consider it a waste if I knew something had to be done, but if she'll get better on her own in a few days, I'd rather wait it out. Anyone have any suggestions?