Our 4 year old dog became stiff on Monday 7/20. We watched her for a few days and it got worse, so on Thursday 7/23 we took her to the vets. They did "normal" blood tests (lyme, heart worm, etc) and said that all was fine. We decided to give her antibiotics for lymes and joint meds and the vet agreed. She improved within a day. We went on vacation and left her with our friends who cared for her very well, gave her meds, carried her up and down the steps etc. When we returned and picked her up on Friday 7/31, she looked sad and we thought that it was just because she missed us. Our friends told us that she was not herself all week, but they thought that she just missed us too. I again took her to the vets on Saturday, 8/1 for x-rays and the vet said that nothing was wrong. When she goes to the vets she acts like nothing is wrong because she is so scared to be there (walks normal, sits and stands without much trouble, etc). They gave us more joint meds and told us to come back Monday 8/3 for more blood tests. Her symptoms include sudden stiffness, trouble standing up from a laying or seated position, loss of appetite, not happy, hot to the touch on her legs by her paws, swelling at night of the paws at the joint area. Please help us, we feel that the vet thinks that we are crazy. We actually are video taping her so that he can see what she does at home. Thank you