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Question
I have a mini schnauzer 10 years old with fatty tumors on his stomach, teeth have been falling out and has always exhibited hind leg shaking which has persisted all of his life. After a walk last night he came in with acting as though his hind end hurt, began walking low to the ground and sideways, ears down. He was panting with rapid heart beat and obviously in distress. I gave him some dog tylenol and tried to comfort him the best I could. This morning his behavior is the same, walks sideways, ears down, ate a good breakfast and went to the bathroom outside without a problem. Wanted to just get on the couch and lay down. I gave him another dose of tylenol. What could be causing the pain he obviously feels in his hind end area?
Submitted: 17 days and 12 hours ago.
Category: Dog
Value: $15
Status: CLOSED
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Optional Information
Pet's Sex: Male
Pet's Age: 11
Already Tried:
TLC and tylenol
Posted by
vetlori
17 days and 12 hours ago.
Answer
Hi,
The pain could be coming from a few different areas.
1. he could have arthritis in his hips and or knees. This tends to be chronic pain--trembling legs, slower getting up in the morning, hesitation before jumping or not jumping up as much, but if a small bone fragment breaks off (arthritis causes new bone growth to occur around the joint), then there can be acute pain.
2. he could have a "trick" kneecap that is suddenly painful. These can be common in small breeds of dog and may not cause any problems at all. But the joint is prone to developing arthritis and he may have twisted the knee in an abnormal way to cause pain.
3. anal gland problems. If the anal glands (scent glands around the anus) get overly full, they can develop a bacterial infection inside and actually cause an abscess. You should be able to look under your dog's tail, around 4 o'clock & 8 o'clock around the anus, and see if there is any discharge, redness, or swelling there.
4. spinal issue--perhaps a cyst on the spinal cord (or other growth) that has just gotten large enough to start putting pressure on the spinal cord and causing problems.
I recommend you take your dog to your regular vet for a good exam and maybe some x-rays and anal gland expression.
I'm a little concerned about what is in "dog tylenol." Could you tell me what the active ingredient is? How much are you giving and how much does your dog weigh?
Thanks,
17 days and 11 hours ago.
Reply
I gave him Nutri-Vet K-9 Buffered Asprin - 1 and a half tablets.
Aspirin (min) - 120 mg Small Dog 100 ct.
Aspirin (min) - 300 mg Large Dog 75 ct.
Inactive ingredients:
Calcium carbonate, Beef Liver Powder, Maltodextrin, Whey Powder, Microcrystaline Cellulose, Stearic Acid, Magnesium Stearate.
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Spencer weighs between 25-30 pounds. Spence means the world to me as I got him right after my dad died 10 years ago...... My husband was laid off in January and so we are struggling.... I appreciate your help and advice........ unfortunately if we have to do x-rays and labs that is just not something we could afford right now.
I appreciate your kindness in answering my question.
Accepted Answer
Thanks,
Spence shouldn't get more than about 250 mg aspirin every 12 hours. So if you are giving the 1.5 tablets of the small dog, that should be fine. To save a little, you can use human aspirin--1/2 of a 325 mg would be a good start or up to 3 baby (81 mg) aspirin.
Look under Spence's tail--that will give you an idea about the anal glands. If those seem ok, then we'll hope it is just some arthritis acting up. Continue with the aspirin and keep Spence somewhat confined--short leash walks, not much jumping, etc, until he seems to feel better, than you can slowly increase to normal activity.
If the aspirin and confinement seem to help, then I would get him started on a glucosamine supplement. It won't help with immediate pain, but can improve joint mobility in about 4-6 weeks of use.
If, however, Spence starts to decline--decreased appetite, can't use either or both rear legs, lethargic, vomiting, diarrhea, etc, you will need to take him in.
Expert:
vetlori
Pos. Feedback:
100.0 %
Accepts:
Answered:
11/5/2009
Dog Veterinarian
I am a practicing small animal veterinarian with 13 years experience.
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