I"m very concerned about her actually. LAst night she sat at the bottom of the stairs and cried instead of coming up them like she normally does. I called her and she tried 4 times before she got her back feet up one step. I was on my way down the stairs when I saw she was having trouble, but she kept trying anyway. When I got her upstairs I checked her out for back pain, loss of function in her back leg(s) etc. and there wasn't anything blatently wrong. She was just moving slowly and she even climbed up her ramp to the big bed without having to be told. I left her to sleep there while Elf finished her bath and I got her ready for bed. At some point while Elf was bathing, she came down the ramp and pooped at the top of the stairs then went back up. (I know it was her rather than Gretchen because there is a difference in the poops.) I checked her out again as soon as I got Elf to bed and she still didn't have anything wrong I could put my finger on although she didn't seem "right". She woke me up at 1 am crying although she was snuggled up against me to sleep. I once again felt all over her and she didn't twitch or cry out or give any indication that she was hurting and she went back to sleep. She never crab walked or anything and she had fully functioning control over her back legs and never stopped wagging her tail when I'd speak to her. I know in my heart there's something wrong and it sounds like her back although the "big signs" aren't really there only a bunch of small things that don't seem right. I have an appointment with her vet tomorrow morning and she is to be given rimadyl and kept quiet until then. Of course if something seems worse before then she will go to the vet earlier. I left her locked in the kitchen sleeping in her bed this morning when I came to work and I'm getting ready to go home and check on her to make sure things are still OK. Please keep my little sweet goat girl in your thoughts. Rays would be great.
Rays coming your way! I hope it isn't anything serious...please keep us posted :pray:
Rays and prayers coming your way for Cajsa! Poor baby....let us know how she is doing.
I'm just scared for her. It may be nothing, or it could be something bad. I just don't want her to hurt for no reason. I want her to be better.
Of course you are scared. It is so hard when we just don't know. Sending rays in full force and we will be waiting to see how she is when you get home and after the vet visit. Poor baby girl...... :comfort:
Oh April I just hate when there is somethign wrong and you don't know what. That sick feeling in your stomach! You are wise to keep her confined and calm until you know for sure. With her history of stomach problems could it be her tummy? Is she eating fine? Did her poop look normal? My first thought too would be she is having some back pain, but all her other signs are good so if she is it doesn't sound bad. They don't necessarily show pain when you palpate them, when my Jessie had her first bout of pain (and surgery) the vet pushed and pulled and manipulated her every which way and she exhibited no pain response. But she was in pain, maybe it is something like when you have a painful joint and it doesn't hurt to press on it but only when you move it a certain way? Could be the start of some disc herniation, irritated a nerve or something and with rest she'll be fine again. You are definitely doing the right things, I'd keep her quiet a good while to be sure, will be good to know what the vet says tomorrow. The not able to do the stairs is a classic sign, is there a way you can keep her from doing the stairs on her own? It's so hard to get these little guys to understand they have to be careful!! Try not to worry too much (impossible I know) but even if it is her back, it is mild in the scope of things at this point and you have a good plan ahead, stay in the moment and we'll all think positive thoughts!! Let us know!
Well the only time she does the stairs is to go to bed at night and to come downstairs in the morning (if I can't carry her). I had asked the vet about them and he said it would be good for her to do stairs if she wasn't having trouble, but when comparing going up to going down, going down put more pressure on her back. I decided that she could go up the stairs and I would carry her down as long as that worked and he was supportive of that as long as she wasn't having trouble.
Now that you mention it she's nto been eating like she was, prefering to stay in her bed when Elf and I feed breakfast. This morning I picked her up and sat her in front of her dish to eat and she ate - slowly. Yesterday she didn't eat breakfast but ate dinner without problem. Her poops are normal and her tummy seems to be fine. It's not hard or sore that I can tell and she's always let me know if she hurts when I feel around on her.
I just don't like the "something's not right but I don't know what" feeling. I feel like a lead weight is in my stomach.
BIG RAYS YOUR WAY!!!
I can only imagine what your going through. They are babies,we love them and when they hurt, we hurt. The thing about our furbabies is they cant actually tell us what is specifically wrong, so that makes it a little harder.
Hope all is well and please let us know as soon as you can.
Paula
April how was she when you went home to check on her? Hopefully acting normal!!
(http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/getwell.gif) (http://www.millan.net) from eLlIe(http://www.millan.net/minimations/smileys/getwell.gif) (http://www.millan.net)
Sorry I couldn't update yesterday when I got home. I gave her a rimadyl then waited for nearly an hour for it to take effect. It didn't seem to be taking effect so I called the vet and went in last night. (She was shaking out of her skin even when bundled up in a fleece blanket and cuddled against me. Her back feet were "slipping" when she walked and she was walking very slowly, carefully and just not right. She was also being very clingy to me and growling at anyone who came near. That was more than enough for me to take her in last night instead of this morning.)
She was checked from stem to stern and has strict orders to do nothing! He felt her spine and checked her back feet, watched her walk a few steps. Pretty much everything he could do to check her out without x-rays or invasive tests and decided that the meds had finally kicked in and were masking the symptoms. So she has voluntarily been staying in her crate (another thing she normally doesn't do for long periods of time) and watching Gretchen run and play. She doesn't seem to want to get involved and I'm grateful for that because I don't want to hear her crying to play when she can't!
David is home with her today so she will have a lap to sleep in when she doesn't want to be in the crate resting. I can also get updates from him on occasion as well!
It sure sounds like something IS going on. Are you going to have x-rays done, or wait and see how she does? I just wonder if she pulled something or possibly has a pinched nerve from playing with Gretchen? Will continue to send rays so baby goat girl feels better. Please update us throughout the day!
The next step suggessted (if the meds don't work for her this time) is a mylegram to see if/where the problem is, because he is sure it's her back. He pulled out her x-rays from last summer and saw a "narrow" disk space in one, but of course couldn't be sure if it was causing a problem or if it was the positioning for the x-ray or something else. (the x-rays were taken to check for intestinal blockages and the like when she was having all that trouble with her gut...She ended up having an endoscope done to figure it out.)
I'm hoping the meds work she gets Rimadyl 2x day until Sunday then 1x day till Tuesday. Keeping her quiet the entire time and the rest of the week so it'll be about 10 days of severely limited activity (for her) then moderate activity after that.
More (http://tcwozere.co.uk/smileys/fairy.gif) to Cajsa (http://tcwozere.co.uk/smileys/fairy.gif) from eLlIe (http://tcwozere.co.uk/smileys/fairy.gif)
April,
I am so sorry to hear about Cajsa :sad7:
You might consider at least 4wks of crate rest... most vets really don't know seem to understand just how much crate rest actually aids in a dogs recovery not to mention it lessens the risk of further injury. You may also want to look into supplements like Glucosamine & Chondroitin and Ester-C.
If you are not already a member of dodgers list you might consider joining the group is a huge wealth of information.
http://www.dodgerslist.com
Poor girl hope she recovers quickly!
Jen & the Crew
Jen, I am already a member but I just read mostly. I don't think I've ever actually posted anything... I was planning on keeping her quiet for at least a month, but *really* still and quiet for the 10 days. She had a very minor hitch a few weeks ago and I made her stay quiet for a week. She seemed better and things got hectic so I relented before I should have. I'm not going to do that again.
She does get a Glucosamine/chondroiten supplement every day or two. I wasn't sure what dosage was appropriate for her and since the one I got was for humans I decided it should probably be every other day instead of daily so as to not get too much! Should I do it everyday instead you think? I've never given her ester-C although I do give her a vitamin E every other day. I have been giving her that because of her tummy troubles since it helps with tissue repair (that's why it's good for hair and skin!). Her little tummy was all messed up for the longest while.
Ah shoot April I had so hoped she'd be back to normal by the time you got her home. :doah: So sorry you guys are going through this but the good news is she is up and walking, the hard part will be when she's feeling better in a few days and wants out! Then you have to do the tough love thing. The way it was explained to me is her disc right now would be like a tube of toothpaste with the cap off. If she stays still, the toothpaste will stay in the tube but if she turns wrong or gets jolted, etc, it could compress the "tube" and she could herniate or rupture her disc. Not to scare you...but that did help me to understand it and realize they do have to be as still as possible until they heal. I think you will be surprised at how fast she feels better and how well she does though. That little girl sure has kept you on your toes between her tummy and this! Give her a hug for us, hang in there she'll be ok!
You should give her 500G/400C everyday and start off with 500 of Ester-C. Hopefully those supplements along with rest will help her recovery. Give her a belly rub from us. :pray:
Jen & the Crew
I really hope she feels better after her rest. We'll keep her in our thoughts.
Sending more rays for Cajsa... :bandaid: :pray: :heart:
Sorry for responding late. We're sending mega rays Cajsa's way. Crate rest sounds like a very wise thing to do, along with the supplements. :pray: your way.