Rubys having a bad few days....dont know whats wrong

Not sure what has happened to my little Girl but she has been so so poorly the last two days.

Woke up Sunday morning- far more subdued that usual- wouldnt get up from bed. Wouldnt go in the garden for a toilet stop.
Wouldnt eat anything but I managed to hand feed her a small amount of dried food.
Just collapsed in a heap on the sofa.
Charlie wouldnt leave her side at all- not like him at all.


Had to go to work but called the dog walker to explain the situation and I asked her to call me when she got there in a few hours to let me know how she was.

Next thing I know I get a very concerned call from Tina saying she thinks I should come home and that she would wait for me to get there. She was flat out on the sofa wouldnt even raise her head when I came in.

There were no tell tale signs of visible problems...
Gums- good colour
Temperature- normal
No dribbling or drooling suggesting tummy upset
No sickness or diarorhea
Still drinking and able to eat.
No groaning or whining with pain
No tearing or watering of eyes.

I was a little confused and couldnt think of anything.

She stayed subdued all day- at around 5pm she got up from the sofa so I took her out to the garden where she went to the toilet and went strait back inside.

Stayed with her all night- hand fed her dinner which she enjoyed.

Went to bed and woke up this morning in a far better mood- got excited when i picked her lead up. Took her for a very short walk around the block and have let her rest the rest of the day while Im at work.

Any ideas?????

I'm sorry Karen, no idea. Is she eating by herself today? :hug:

Did you take her to a vet? If so, what did they say? If not -- I would do that immediately with those signs (even calling an emergency vet if it is out of hours -- could be anything but this is seriously worrying behaviour). I would always advise professional advice for a dog that listless and poorly -- even if just to call the vet, explain the situation, and get their suggestion. Even i she is much better now then I would still call the vet, tell them what happened, and see what they suggest.

Ps forgot to say as she has SM I would call Dr Rusbridge's office -- this sounds very much like a serious pain session, maybe headache as opposed to body ache. Given that it has gone on several days, I would be talking to both vet and neurologist. This is not unusual behaviour for SM dogs in serious pain. Pain of the type they have with SM is not always expressed in groaning and whining -- but an inability to move or eat (really, she wasn't eating -- she only ate if hand fed and encouraged to eat rather than by choice) and reluctance to even relieve themselves (the strain of going to toilet can create pain with SM) is all known to be connected in some SM dogs with pain. I would at least have a talk with Clare? :flwr: Hope she is much better.

I would make a guess at headache related pain.Daisy has had days where she just goes from her crate to the garden and straight back in the crate and shows no interest in participating in family life at all.Hopefully it's just an isolated flare up which has now passed.It's awful though when they're off form and you can't pinpoint why.
Sins

Poor Ruby, thinking of both you and hope you get to the bottom of this. Molly had a similar episode, it was pain due to her her sm. :hug:

What a worry - how is she now? It would be interesting to know what your vet thinks - maybe you need to have an extra strong painkiller in the house ready to give if she is like that again. Our neurologist gave us Loxicom to keep at hand if ever Ruby has a bad time with head rubbing etc. But as we all know, each dog is different and just because my Rubes has Loxicom your little one may need something different. This episode really does need investigating by your vet.

Love Dawn x

Hi Karen ,
Just wondering what age Ruby is and if she is spayed ?
The reason i ask is if she is not spayed there is a possibility of a pyometra,this is where the uterus fills with pus .This can leave a bitch very flat and lethargic they do not always show an initial temp and are usually disenclined to eat but will drink usually a lot
Pyometra's typically present 6/9 weeks following a bitches last season .A trip to the vet would be in order for a white blood cell count ,dont want to alarm you but a pyo is an emergancy.

Her behavior as described would be very worrying to me, and I'd call the vet immediately, describe the behaviors, and I'm certain they'd squeeze her in that morning. It could be something serious internally that might require immediate attention.

I hope all is well with her now. :flwr:

Hi All

She is doing much better- she was up and about the next day getting excited about her walk- although she only got 5 minutes and hasnt been out to training this week as I havent wanted to push her at all.

I gave her some extra Metacam sunday and monday and tuesday and it seems to have done the trick.

I did call the Vet Monday morning and explained her symptoms (or lack of) and they agreed that due to the fact she was fine the next day and there were no other symptoms of anything more sinister that it was pain causing her listlessness.

I have been watching her VERY closely over the last week and I honestly feel like she is slipping a bit and that her pain releif needs adjiisting.

Im desperatly trying to save up some money to get her back up to Clare but will Email her in the mean time and keep up the Metacam.

Id say 80-90% of the time she is active and carries on her normal day- but the tears are re-appearing and the slowing down on our walks aswell.

The tears are my main worry as they have been pretty much non-existant since she first started on Pregabalin a year ago..

We'll have to wait and see but its a scary place to be at the momment

Karen, I am so sorry for you and Ruby, sending you both gentle hugs :hug:

So sad to hear this - I think all of us who have had or still have affected dogs have been on this dreadful rollercoaster


I would be very wary of doing too much with her right now in terms or training classes or longer walks - it's hard to get a balance between her enjoying a good quality of life and causing too much pain


Re the tears do you mean her eyes are runny?

Nicki said:

So sad to hear this - I think all of us who have had or still have affected dogs have been on this dreadful rollercoaster


I would be very wary of doing too much with her right now in terms or training classes or longer walks - it's hard to get a balance between her enjoying a good quality of life and causing too much pain


Re the tears do you mean her eyes are runny?

Click to expand...

Yes, sorry runny eyes indeed.

She has been on some gentle walks and at agility she isn't jumping just doing tunnels and see-saw and weaving.
She wants to do more bless her but im trying to keep her somewhat rested.

One thing that has suprised me and warmed my heart is Charlie. I have worried alot since getting him that he bugs her and gets on her nerves and gets too much for her BUT for the last week he has been SO SO good with her.
Very gentle and loving- cuddles up with her and is very respectful of her indeed.
Its so lovely to see him like that and being so good with her