Dog's fear of outside is making her sick?

[Karen]

Well, I disagree -- if she is having trouble walking this is a serious situation and needs to be addressed NOW by a specialist. The wait and see approach is not recommended once they have difficulty walking. This usually means the swelling in the discs is hitting the primary nerves and perhaps even the spinal cord. Continued contact results in death of the nerve and there is no way to recover from that.

I've seen too many dogs go this route and end up being paralysed and so, euthanized. Please call the specialist and get your dog seen asap.

Her vet is keeping her dog today for observation, so we should wait for her to find out what they find, and report back to us!

[poodlemom]

We believe that she has hurt her back, she is in pain and she doesn't want to put any weight on those back legs because it hurts. When she does try to walk you can almost see her wince and draw a leg up and almost hop toward me. I've compared it to myself or a friend who has back pain - sometimes it wrenches when you move a certain way. She know it hurts and she doesn't want to put weight down.

From everything I've read online, her symptoms fit a back injury completely down to the constipation and refusal to potty.

My concern with a surgery is the same with humans I know who've had surgery and I haven't heard a lot of good results. Right now we are cautiously watching, controlling he pain as best we can, giving anti-inflammatories and praying a lot! We have found a place we can carry her down the street a little from our house where she will potty every morning (so far). We have baby proofed our home and keeping her still and quiet.

If she doesn't show some signs of improvement by the end of the week we will see a specialist. In the meantime I am exploring holistic options for her such as massage therapy, chiropractic, natural herbs or supplements, etc. I plan to try her in her stroller for a morning walk in the morning, she has always loved our morning walks before so maybe that will make her feel better.

I'm so thankful to have a friendly place to vent. Only a true pet lover would understand the fear and frustration.

[Karen]

You and she will be in our prayers, this is one of those times we wish our dogs could speak and understand English!

[CesarMillan56]

Thank you for giving the information regarding fear behavior of dogs.

Thank you

[kaycountrygal]

6.19.14
poddlemom, What is the name of your sweet girl? I am so sorry she (and you too) are having to go through this ordeal. No, I have nothing to add re her care. I just know how upsetting it is when one of our furbabies is not well. I understand your concern and hope she gets well soon.

What's going on now with her?

[poodlemom]

I am happy to report that my Bitsy is much better. Her pain was quite intense and I can tell that she is feeling better. I am still being extremely cautious about keeping her activity level as quiet as possible so she doesn't re-injure herself. We are starting to wean her off anti-inflammatories and watching her closely.

Giving her the treats helped with her fears of being outside but I also discovered that putting her harness and leash on her and just setting her down in the grass with a little slack in the leash was helpful. It seemed to give her a sense of security to be tethered to mom so to speak.

I'm so glad I found such a great place for help and I thank you all!

[Karen]

Oh, I am so glad she is feeling at least somewhat better! I smiled think of her "tethered to mom" like a balloon!