No Energy, Yelping When Picked Up, Won't Run Properly

[WhipItDevo]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

For the last few days Silas hasn't run fast at all like he usually does, just a disinterested lope around and just wants to sniff the grass all the time. He won't play with other dogs or chase a ball - before he loved it and got really spritely every day. It's particularly frustrating because we've only just got him onto a CSJ food where his stools are healthy for the first time in ages. He got the runs a couple of days ago for an afternoon and then all evening he was yelping randomly so clearly in some kind of discomfort. He slept with us that night and was yelping whenever we tried to move him but it faded in the early morning so I didn't go to vet as stools were back to normal. However today there's still the odd yelp when picked up and absolutely no energy - won't run properly and looks really glum, dull eyes. Going to vet in morning but feel a bit silly just saying "he looks sad, won't run and yelps occasionally". What might they check or test for? Am I wasting a vet fee? I'm really worried and hate seeing him like this.

 

[FeeFee]

I definitely wouldn't feel you are wasting time taking him to the vet if you are worried - you know your dog and you know if he's not right.

Has this just started since he's been on the CSJ food? It is a good food but (depending on which CSJ type you are using) it has quite a high wheat content, so I wonder if he may have a wheat/gluton intolerance? Obviously I don't know what foods you've tried before and if there have been any signs of this in the past so it's a stab in the dark.

One of my dogs was fine on CSJ in that she seemed well and happy and her stools were solid but she was producing enormous quantities of poo which I suspected was down to a slight wheat sensitivity. I've now moved her onto Wainrights salmon & potato, which is gluton free and hypoallergenic, and the difference was obvious from the first couple of days.

Good luck, I hope you manage to sort things out for your boy :luck:

 

[Lal]

Dietary problems aside, does he have any other symptoms? I went through weeks stretching into months with an 'off colour' dog, who was sometimes a bit stiff but a feature was his reluctance to be moved, to jump up onto furniture etc, even to the extent at times we could not touch him without him showing signs of pain. He was eventually diagnosed with Steroid Responsive Meningitis. It may be something worth discussing if your vet fails to reveal any conclusive diagnosis. Once Rifle received the appropriate treatment he made a good recovery, it is a relapsing condition but with the correct management Rifle is now a happy, healthy and active dog again. I don't mean to cause any alarm, it's just some vets are more aware of the condition than others.

 

[kirislin]

sounds like he's in pain somewhere, not necessarily a gut thing, I'd be more inclined to be looking at back, neck or legs. Can you take him to a greyhound vet, they're probably alot better at diagnosing such problems.

 

[eve]

I would go to the vet if he was my dog.

He may have twisted his bowel or done some damage when he had an upset stomach or could have a blockage in his gut. These can be life threatening and it is better to be safe than sorry.

Hope all goes well today.

I looked at CSJ sensitive for Daisy and did a lot of homework as it is half the price of her present diet and has good reviews. She gets Burns Pork and Potato as she has diagnosed Irritable Bowel Disease with a complete intolerance of Wheat, Chicken and Beef and a sensitivity to Rice.

I was not happy with the contents of CSJ and have stuck with the Burns P&P. It is about the same price as the Wainrights Salmon & Potato. Fortunately, my others seem to do very well on Aukarty (also Wheet & Dairy free and hypoallergenic but containing chicken) which is half the price at CostCo. They were on Beta Sensitive but Beta changed something in the contents last year and it started to upset Toddy's stomach so I moved back onto Aukarty. So far so good.

Let us know how young Silas gets on at the vets, poor we lad :luck:

 

[WhipItDevo]

Thanks for all your replies and well-wishing! On this morning's stroll before vet visit I got a better idea of what was up - he lay down on the floor to meet another dog quivering with excitement as he always does when he's on good sociable form, but the poor little guy tried to do his trademark sprint up to say hello and immediately started squealing and ground to a halt writhing in agony, even biting (gently) at my hands when I tried to comfort him. The pain passed and he trotted home fine. We went to the vet and when I said it was only a full run that hurt, not walking he had a prod around at his waist behind rib cage and sure enough there was the spot, he squealed and even at gentle pressure without him squealing his back legs buckled under him to the squeeze. He said the muscles round there only engage properly when running, so on-lead walking only for a couple of weeks should let it heal (boring though, for him I mean... well, and me) and gave me some anti-inflammatory pain killers. Good to know it's just muscle strain though, rather than a sinister deep internal condition. Hopefully. Thanks again for you advice and help, it's good to know you're all out there!

 

[Lal]

:thumbsup: Thanks for the update, I was wondering how he was doing and it's great to know that it is nothing sinister. It's so hard when symptoms are slightly vague. When Rifle was ill I was back and forwards to the vets and I think we covered just about everything, including spinal x-rays before reaching his actual diagnosis. Hope Silas makes a good recovery, even if he is in for a few boring walks in the meantime.

 

[eve]

Thanks for the update

So pleased that you have a diagnosis and that the vet thinks it is nothing major.

Hopefully he will be back to his 'old self' in no time.

I have to admit that I was quite concerned when you said that the problems started after his upset stomach.

Do keep us posted as to how Silas is doing.