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Avatar universal

yelps when picking up at different times, inactive, not sleeping well, shivering alot/no fever, cautious when shaking body

I have a little Chihuahua around 5 yeas old and is 4 pounds. She started acting different about 5 days ago when she stopped playing, making high pitched yelps when she was picked up at certain times in different ways, but not always. She has been eating and has had normal bowel movements. She has been shivering a lot, whimpering at times, and when she goes to shake off like a lot of dogs do it seems as if she is doing it extra gentle because it appears she doesn't want to hurt herself. Her neck seems a little puffyand she seems to get somewhat more sensitive around her neck. She has been taken to two vets. One did a range of motion tests with her to make sure of pain in her joints or neck and she never yelped when the vet checked each extremity. They also did an urinalysis on her and everything was normal, The vet figured it was muscular pain and gave her a pain medication to take, but she still looked and acted sick.  The second vet couldn't find aything wrong ither and just gave her B-12 to boost her immune system. Her temperature was normal at both vets.Se is gettinga dark discharge coming out of her eyes and they are watering more than usual, she also has a slight whistle sound when she is breathing now, shestill isn't playing and doesn't seem to be sleeping much. Any help would be a great help because our vets don't seem to know what is wrong with her and this is one chihuahua that doesn't ever yelp unless something is wrong, in fact she hardly ever makes any noises at all.

Thank You!

Stephanie
17 Responses
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Avatar universal
Here's the link I mentioned in my earlier post: http://www.dogingtonpost.com/where-is-my-dogs-pain-coming-from/
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Avatar universal
It sounds like your little Chihuahua might have a slipped or ruptured disc. Only a qualified veterinarian can diagnose. The diagnosis is usually made through an MRI. I will try to post a link to a helpful article separately.
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Avatar universal
My 7 yr old female chi has had the same yelping problems just out of the blue. I believe she is suffering with some kind of pain but as above, we've taken her to the vet several times and he has done full skeletal checks moving all her joints, neck, spine, checking her teeth, and she exhibited no pain. It troubles me that she shows signs of pain when she walks oftentimes folding her front leg over and cautiously taking the steps down our front door to go outside. Then other times she's o.k. but not like she was before. I'm terribly worried she is going thru some very debilitating issue and am afraid of losing her. Hope someone has an answer to this problem which seems to be plaguing our dear ones.
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Avatar universal
My dog won't stop shaking as well. He yelps in a certain place on his lower back. He walks fine and I can pick him up. But he has this painful look on his face. I'm worried about him
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Avatar universal
How do you solved the problem of a pulled muscle if i cant afford to go a vet
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Avatar universal
Has your vet rechecked your dogs mouth after she finished the antibiotics?  Possibly there still is a problem with her mouth.
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Avatar universal
did u ever hear what was wrong with the dog with all the soreness & yelping symptoms?  I can't find any answers, responses or diagnosis of this.  i have posted here to find answers & I have taken my pet to the vet & he thot it was the teeth & gums.  did antibiotics & pain meds for 10 days.  i hate to keep her on pain meds indefinitely.
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Avatar universal
did u find any answers for ur pet's symtoms?
Mine has the same
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Avatar universal
my 9 yr old chihuahua just came down with these same symptoms.  she's lost weight & she was only 6 lb 8 oz before.  she doesn't always yelp but she use to dash around, jump on things, was assertive to other dogs...she was very active. now all she does is lay around and she acts like she's fearful of everything.  same wheezing, yelps, etc.  Still can go to bathroom fine. she eats sometimes & she use to eat fine.  I lost the rest of her pack (3 dogs) within 9 months of each other with the last June 8, 2014.  I thot at first it was mourning & then took her to the vet & he took out teeth, cleaned her teeth, gave her antibiotics, pain meds. She's still this way.  I have checked her spine, joints but it is only when i rub into her muscles she yelps. Has anybody here gotten an answer?
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Avatar universal
my 9 yr old chihuahua just came down with these same symptoms.  she's lost weight & she was only 6 lb 8 oz before.  she doesn't always yelp but she use to dash around, jump on things, was assertive to other dogs...she was very active. now all she does is lay around and she acts like she's fearful of everything.  same wheezing, yelps, etc.  Still can go to bathroom fine. she eats sometimes & she use to eat fine.  I lost the rest of her pack (3 dogs) within 9 months of each other with the last June 8, 2014.  I thot at first it was mourning & then took her to the vet & he took out teeth, cleaned her teeth, gave her antibiotics, pain meds. She's still this way.  I have checked her spine, joints but it is only when i rub into her muscles she yelps. Has anybody here gotten an answer?
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Avatar universal
my chi is male aprx 10 yo he was badly abused when i found him skin&bones  scars bad healed bones in ribs and leg today he began crying out a lot when i move or pick him up his belly seems full and hard and hasnt pooped since last nite he did eat a bowl of mac&cheese when i got up to use bathroom i know she diddnt get kicked or stepped on any ideas
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Avatar universal
Hi, my dog has just recently started yelping when being picked up (not all the times), shivering randomly and when trying to shake seems to do it very carefully. I am not sure what the problem is but it sounds alot like this dog. Has anyone figured anything out?
Thanks
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441382 tn?1452810569
It's so sad when they're so obviously not feeling well and aren't able to tell us what's hurting them!  :(

I am not sure, from what you have written, that you're not possibly dealing with multiple issues here.  My first thought when you mentioned the yelping was that there was a disc problem or a musculosketal problem.  Has there been any incident that you are aware of in the last five days where she has jumped up onto something or off of something, or has she maybe been stepped on or had to dodge out of the way of someone or something?  I ask because it certainly does sound like she may have either pulled a muscle or there is a disc problem somewhere that may be impinging on a nerve.  An X-ray would not always show this type of problem, some more sophisticated diagnostics might be in order.

As far as the discharge from the eyes, this is the time of year that goldenrod and ragweed are running rampant outside.  My pets that have had allergies have always seemed to suffer more from them in the fall than in the spring, and it could just be that her allergies are bothering her more now because of the time of year and not because it is connected to whatever is causing the yelping and reluctance to move normally.

As far as the shivering goes, Chihuahuas DO shiver, and they do it a lot.  Excitement can cause it, as can anxiety, pain, not feeling well, just about anything that means a break in their normal routine, really.  It almost seems to be a coping mechanism with the breed.  

Have they checked her throat?  If her neck is swollen, it could be because of a pulled muscle, but it could also be swollen lymph nodes.  Dogs CAN get tonsillitis and sore throats,and if her lymph nodes are swollen, they could also be causing her pain.  At this point, however, I would definitely either take her back to one of the vets or find a totally different vet to take her to, but with the discharge from the eyes and the puffiness in the neck, it COULD be that she actually needs an antibiotic at this point.  Try not to let too much time go by before calling, I know today was a holiday but I'd be on the phone in the morning to get her in there tomorrow, if possible.  If she does need an antibiotic, the sooner you start giving her one, the sooner she'll be back to her old self.  

Please post back and let us know what the vet says.

Ghilly
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Avatar universal
Did you ever get to the bottom of this as my basset hound of 1 year is suffering with exactly the same problems. His eyes are watering more than usual, he cannot get comfortable and whines when falling asleep, yelps when we try pick him up or move him gently and also has a weezing sound when sitting in a certain position. Generally seems in severe discomfort.

I have just returned from my second vet visit in 3 days, first visit a full examination and blood work was done it came back with a high white blood count in the blood steam. He was given a broad antibiotics, pain releaf and a gastric acid control because gastric problems are common in the breed.

Tonight he was up and down shivering and whining, could not get comfortable so I called the emergency vet number and took him up at 3am.
She too could not find any real issues, did a full exam and gave him a strong pain shot but I feel they are masking the issue and would just like to get to the bottom of this as it too distresses me to see him in pain.
I thought it might be a broken or cracked tooth as neither vets checked his teeth or ears, but I am not entirely sure.
If you managed to get any more info I would greatly appreciate it.
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462827 tn?1333168952
Stephanie, This sounds like a disk problem to me, too....Sometimes disk disease DOES NOT show up on a xray. A Cat Scan can be used to find the problem. However, the scan is expensive. I would go ahead and treat for a disk problem whether it showed up on an xray or not. The protocol for a disk injury is as follows: Pain meds., antinflammatories (Steroids), and strict cage rest for 2-4 wks. Although the cage thing sounds hard, it is do-able. Once the inflammation starts to go down, I feel her wheezing will stop. Don't give up.... Please, keep us posted about her.....Good luck....Karla
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765775 tn?1366024691
I am not sure but you dog could have an infectous Tick Bite or even injured a disc in her neck. You should find an Veterinary Emergency Hospital that has specialists in different fields on staff to get to the bottom of it.

Your dog is in distress and that is why her eyes are tearing and discharging. The wheezing is especially worrisom to me.

As Ginger said you need some X-Rays on the neck and now I would say the lungs also.

Good Luck, I hope everything turns out fine.
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675347 tn?1365460645
COMMUNITY LEADER
The poor little thing! It does sound a bit of a mystery, but there will be a logical reason for this. She IS in pain or discomfort of some kind (the shivering, and yelping tell the story!) When a normally playful happy dog starts behaving like this it has pain.

The vet checked her neck with the movement tests, but did he X-ray?

I have to be honest with you and say I do not really know what this could be. It has me stumped.
You could try posting on the "Ask a Vet"(Pet Health) Expert forum. If you scroll right down the page here, on the right you will see a link through.
And do keep a watch on this post because you may very soon get an answer from Ghilly, who knows a great deal about veterinary medicine, and may be able to help you.
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