# Dog is hesitant to walk around and seems to be in pain.



## soccerz71 (Feb 23, 2009)

Hello everyone. I have a 4 year old cocker spaniel and about 4 days ago I noticed some symptoms occurring which had occurred about 4 months ago but went away about a day or so later. This time the symptoms have not subsided even with medication from the vet. He is usually a very active dog and always plays with our other dog and likes to be around people. Now, my dog is hesitant to get up and when he does get up he crys out at times. Also at certain times he crys out when we pet him or try to pick him up or if our other dog touches him. His behavior has changed completely and he seems depressed and out of energy; except when we go on walks. When we are out on walks he seems fine, in fact you probably wouldn't even be able to tell anything is wrong with him. But back at home he tends to lay around all day and he is very hesitant to actually get up and walk around. When he does get up, he doesn't travel very far and before laying back down he often just sits up-right for long periods of time and his back legs shake. When he is up and traveling around the house he will cry out when he moves a certain way or if our other dog bumps into him. He doesn't stand on all fours for very long periods of time and tends to just sit upright when not laying down. He usually always sleeps on my bed but since the symptoms have started he can not jump onto the bed. He also hasn't barked or played with our other dog at all since the symptoms came about. 
The first day his symptoms appeared I could hear him cry out when he was walking towards me and he also urinated at the same time. when I went to comfort and examine him he just started crying out more and continued to urinate. We took him to the vet and she could not find anything wrong with him. But since these symptoms have occurred before and because our dog does get into the trash bin and drinks from the toilet occasionally, she said it could be pancreitis. She gave us some medicine , a painkiller (rimadyl), an antibiotic (cefa) and a stomach coater (carafate). My dog has been eating and drinking fine and using the bathroom regularly. I am starting to doubt it is pancreitis and I think it could be a pinched nerve, a slipped disc or a sprain maybe. Today is the 4th day since his symptoms appeared and he doesn't cry out as much as he did the first day but he is still very hesitant to get up and he does cry out if our other dog bumps into him. The vet said she could do blood work and x-rays but I really don't have the money for that right now and I really feel bad for my dog. I really want to help my dog out in any way I can. Has anyone experienced similar problems or know what may be wrong?


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## Pepper (Jan 27, 2008)

I would suggest some vet tests and maybe a second opinion.


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## w8ing4rain (Sep 4, 2008)

I had a dog with similar symptoms from a back injury. She was much easier to diagnose because I saw the incident. She jumped over a baby gate. She was fine up to that point. She had it happen again when jumping up on top of her crate. She liked to sleep on top of it instead of in it. 

I guess the main difference I see here is that our vet was able to diagnose and treat it as a back injury. If you can find a way to get the x-ray I would recommend it. It's hard to know what to do when you don't know what you are dealing with. 

I hope he gets better soon.


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## cshellenberger (Dec 2, 2006)

Sounds like X rays are in order, the vet should have done more tests rather than just delivering a diagnoses.


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## naoki (Jun 19, 2007)

I'm sorry to hear that. I know you stated that you can't afford the x-rays and blood work but those are pretty good to tools to determine his condition. If the x-rays show no apparent problems, then they can rule out any bone/ligament related issues. Blood work also can determine his internal condition. 
I hope you'd be able to find the way to do those tests on your dog so that they'd be able to narrow down the problems he has.

-n


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