Worried about daughter's chihuahua (allergy, terrier, patella, biting)
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A couple days ago he started acting weird. But for him it's not too unusual. He's an odd little guy. His back has been really itchy and he's always biting at it. It's progressed and today when he was in bed with me he got close and I noticed he was starting to get stinky. So I called the vet and made an appt for tomorrow morning at 8. I figured it was his anal glands; he's had problems with them before. He also has been digging at his ears for a couple days so I started him back on his MalOtic. He's had chronic ear infections since we found him.
But tonight he seems worse than he did even this morning. He isn't his usual happy playful self. He looks like he's in pain. Hubby took them all out to potty a bit ago and Copper wouldn't even come up the stairs on his own; hubby had to pick him up and carry him in.
My initial concern was he'd eaten something that caused a blockage. We had a terrier that did that and had to have surgery when medications couldn't get things moving along. But we felt his tummy and it's not tender. He's not been throwing up which the terrier had been doing. I'm not sure if he's having bowel movements. With a dozen dogs in the house it's hard to watch everyone when they go out.
Just now hubby put him on the bed with me and said he saw him pick his back leg up funny. He palpated both legs (was a paramedic for a long time so he's good at that) and they don't seem to be hurting him in a way that would indicate any major damage. But the patella seems to be making a popping noise. As stupid as it sounds, that's a HUGE relief. I was scared to death he had a blockage or something and would need emergency surgery.
He's breaking my heart now. All he wants to do is sleep. We gave him some pain meds about 15 minutes ago. He's usually an incredibly active 3 year old bouncing off the walls boy. Hate seeing him not feeling well. Will update when we get back tomorrow.
This is Copper in case anyone hasn't seen him before:
leg...i would put money given age and breed is a luxating patella its EXTREEMLY common in chihuahuas and chihuahua mixes, and in low grade is actually fairly painless (tends to bother more when chilly) a very common sign is lifting a leg when running/ running on 3 legs. essentially the knee cap pops in and out too much and causes joint discomfort...if its higher grade it may eventually need surgery...and given you said he was reluctant to come up and down the stairs and seems to be hurting...id say its likely a slightly higher grade luxation.
in order to avoid making it worse, no jumping on/off the couch/bed or big jumping in general...stairs can also agrivate it.
as for the itcyness...form what you described id say theres a couple of possibilities...
1: an ear infection and anal gland problem...
2: a yeast infection (it can effect ears and skin) which will give him an off smell and hed be itchy
3: an allergy, again can cause smellyness and itches.
not being himself... pretty much all could cause it.
chihuahuas are certainly not afraid to tell you when there not happy, and can be drama kings and queens (i was raised around wowies lol)
Skin yeast infection? Smells just awful and causes itching. No clue about the leg unless it's coincidental.
I think the itching is a reaction to the new shampoo I just started using this week. The old female GSD we have gets yeast infections in the skin and ears and he's not even close to that. She can get so bad in days that you gag until it's back under control.
Quote:
Originally Posted by foxywench
leg...i would put money given age and breed is a luxating patella its EXTREEMLY common in chihuahuas and chihuahua mixes, and in low grade is actually fairly painless (tends to bother more when chilly) a very common sign is lifting a leg when running/ running on 3 legs. essentially the knee cap pops in and out too much and causes joint discomfort...if its higher grade it may eventually need surgery...and given you said he was reluctant to come up and down the stairs and seems to be hurting...id say its likely a slightly higher grade luxation.
in order to avoid making it worse, no jumping on/off the couch/bed or big jumping in general...stairs can also agrivate it.
as for the itcyness...form what you described id say theres a couple of possibilities...
1: an ear infection and anal gland problem...
2: a yeast infection (it can effect ears and skin) which will give him an off smell and hed be itchy
3: an allergy, again can cause smellyness and itches.
not being himself... pretty much all could cause it.
chihuahuas are certainly not afraid to tell you when there not happy, and can be drama kings and queens (i was raised around wowies lol)
Oh, I'd be shocked if it's not luxating patellas. Between him not wanting to run up the stairs or play with the other dogs and those patellas clicking when he manipulates them........I'm sure that's it.
The itching and smell I'm sure is anal gland / ear infection. He's not showing any signs of yeast. There's a very different distinct smell between the two. The allergy is possible though as it's a new medicated shampoo we got from the vet less than a week ago and I bathed him in. I'm still putting my money on anal glad / ears.
He's definitely one to let you know when the other dogs are ticking him off, but he's not usually a drama queen. He'll wrestle with the big dogs and kick their butt and he takes some abuse. So acting the way he is, I'm sure he's hurting pretty bad. Just can't imagine it came on that quick. Thought LP was something that got worse over time.
leg...i would put money given age and breed is a luxating patella its EXTREEMLY common in chihuahuas and chihuahua mixes, and in low grade is actually fairly painless (tends to bother more when chilly) a very common sign is lifting a leg when running/ running on 3 legs. essentially the knee cap pops in and out too much and causes joint discomfort...if its higher grade it may eventually need surgery...and given you said he was reluctant to come up and down the stairs and seems to be hurting...id say its likely a slightly higher grade luxation.
in order to avoid making it worse, no jumping on/off the couch/bed or big jumping in general...stairs can also agrivate it.
as for the itcyness...form what you described id say theres a couple of possibilities...
1: an ear infection and anal gland problem...
2: a yeast infection (it can effect ears and skin) which will give him an off smell and hed be itchy
3: an allergy, again can cause smellyness and itches.
not being himself... pretty much all could cause it.
chihuahuas are certainly not afraid to tell you when there not happy, and can be drama kings and queens (i was raised around wowies lol)
lp does come on slowly, BUT the early stages are generally so mild (an occasional hop ect) that its typically not noticed...
once it excalates a little it can be made worse by weather conditions (just like arthritis) so if its been colder than usual (or damp) it can definatly turn a mild luxation into a real achey problem.
my parents have a male wowie with a very mild luxation, never bothers him, but with this past couple of snow stors weve had its realy bothering him more than usual. we had the vet take a look and she said its not gotten any worse, and that its more than likely the cold/damp air associated with incomming snow storms.
were simply on a baby asprin and glucosamine regime while it bothers him and keep him nice and toasty (which he apreciates)
your little guy is adorable by the way, hes got a realy spitzy look about him and that smile! love it!
Ahhhhhh......... That makes sense. He does very rarely hop if he's running. The pictures of him with the toy - I remember that day when he was running like a mad man he'd hop every once in a while. We've got a few of the chis that do that.
We usually don't get more than an inch or two of snow here but right now there's about 8 inches in my yard. He's been spending a lot of time out there the last couple days playing with the other dogs when they all go out to potty. I have to call him back in a few times before he'll come in. Maybe that's what's made him hurt worse.
As I was posting I had hubby give him a baby aspirin and he took a nap. Woke up a bit ago with more of a sparkle in his eye than he's had the rest of the night. His tail was wagging and he even did his 'chicken legs' pose, where he lays on his belly with both front legs in front of him and both back legs stretched out straight behind him. So it must have helped. He's in my lap now helping me type! LOL
Thanks. Someone dumped him when he was six months at a farmer's market in Florida when I went to see my Grandmother. They'd spent a day trying to sell him and when no one would buy him they just took his leash off and walked away. I saw him the next day on my way out of town and stopped to pet him. A lady told me I could have him and I laughed at her and said 'sure I can'. She explained what happened to him and said he'd been there all night and everyone had been feeding him the fried foods at the market. Ugh!
So I bundled him up and brought him home thinking he'd be easy to adopt. He's so cute and friendly and outgoing. Just a total doll. He was okay with me, no problem, but when he and my daughter locked eyes, no one else existed in the world. He spent the entire summer attached to her side. Hubby said when she finally went back to school he did nothing but cry the first week while she was gone. She did a really good job training him - was only 14 at the time. He's just a great little boy with wonderful manners and a fabulous little personality.
When my daughter moved back to Florida to live with her father I kept him here. Her father doesn't take care of himself and never took care of our dogs so I told her when she turned 18 and got her own place she could have him back. Until then he's fine here with us. She's on her own now and very eager for him to come back to her. Told her once he's done with his vet appointment if all goes well I'll drive him down in the next few weeks. So I'm waiting to see what they say now. I didn't tell her he's not feeling well, just that he's got another ear infection and needs the AG done. Hoping you're right and it's just the weather making it worse. Which makes total sense. I walked in to find hubby in the fetal position last night because he was hurting so bad from the weather. He broke his back and neck years ago and the weather does exactly that to him. Guess if it's LP it would make sense that it would do the same.
Well dang! I thought I was going to hear about a new designer dog....
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