Chelle
Well-known member
Bella is just going on 4 months old, and has so far been a happy and healthy puppy. But over the past week we've noticed a couple weird things. It's actually since she got her 2nd set of vaccinations a little over a week ago.
She was fine when she got her shots, and didn't seem have any adverse reactions, but later in the evening when I had her outside, I went to pick her up and rubbed her back, and she literally yelped in pain. Even the following day she seemed a bit tender between the shoulder blades. I figured it was obviously just some tenderness/inflammation from the vaccination, and she's been okay since.
When she's outside running around, her rear (right) back leg seems to want to scratch her neck, but never really makes contact, and she kinda hops.. then it goes away and she runs normally. It comes and goes. Now, it's important to mention that we just started her wearing a collar. I figured she's just cognizant of something being around her neck, and it's like an involuntary reaction to that.
The third oddity, and probably the most disconcerting.. and I'm not even sure I can explain this properly... is she's starting to do these jerky head/upper body movements. DH and I have been calling it "The Kramer" (if you've ever seen the TV show Seinfeld), where the character Kramer walks into a room and jerks his head/shoulders back kind of like a chicken, 4 or 5 times in a row in a quick jerky motion. She'll do this when she's sitting straight focusing on something, or if you start talking to her and she turns her attention to you, she does The Kramer. She doesn't seem to be in any discomfort, it's just an involuntary little 'thing' that she does.
We were sitting there tonight, discussing why she does that, and what it could be, and I noted that she's only been doing it since she had her last set of shots (last week). So, being the obsessive nut that I am, started Googling on neurological reactions to vaccines.
What I ended up stumbling on was this page http://sm.cavaliertalk.com/ and have just spent the last hour reading through it. I’m overwhelmed, and a little bit scared.
In the back of my mind I knew about SM as being a breed-specific health issue, as I read about it while I was researching the breed, but as we've only had her for about a month, and she's been so happy/healthy, I really haven't delved too much into it.
I really don't want to be neurotic and start freaking out, and a lot of what she's doing could very well be just normal dorky puppy behaviour. But, when you put everything together, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit concerned.
We have very good vet, and Bella has had 2 visits with her (one post-purchase checkup, and the 2nd shots with fecal exam), and has given her a thorough checks (with special attention to the heart and knees) and both time she’s declared her perfectly healthy.
The breeder we got her from offers a 2 year health guarantee, but I already know in my heart that if anything is wrong with her, we are going to take care of her no matter what it takes. I’m not giving her back for anything. But, if (God forbid) there is something wrong, I’d rather address it now.
So, does what I’ve mentioned warrant a vet visit, do you think? Am I being neurotic?
Any thoughts/advice would be greatly appreciated!
She was fine when she got her shots, and didn't seem have any adverse reactions, but later in the evening when I had her outside, I went to pick her up and rubbed her back, and she literally yelped in pain. Even the following day she seemed a bit tender between the shoulder blades. I figured it was obviously just some tenderness/inflammation from the vaccination, and she's been okay since.
When she's outside running around, her rear (right) back leg seems to want to scratch her neck, but never really makes contact, and she kinda hops.. then it goes away and she runs normally. It comes and goes. Now, it's important to mention that we just started her wearing a collar. I figured she's just cognizant of something being around her neck, and it's like an involuntary reaction to that.
The third oddity, and probably the most disconcerting.. and I'm not even sure I can explain this properly... is she's starting to do these jerky head/upper body movements. DH and I have been calling it "The Kramer" (if you've ever seen the TV show Seinfeld), where the character Kramer walks into a room and jerks his head/shoulders back kind of like a chicken, 4 or 5 times in a row in a quick jerky motion. She'll do this when she's sitting straight focusing on something, or if you start talking to her and she turns her attention to you, she does The Kramer. She doesn't seem to be in any discomfort, it's just an involuntary little 'thing' that she does.
We were sitting there tonight, discussing why she does that, and what it could be, and I noted that she's only been doing it since she had her last set of shots (last week). So, being the obsessive nut that I am, started Googling on neurological reactions to vaccines.
What I ended up stumbling on was this page http://sm.cavaliertalk.com/ and have just spent the last hour reading through it. I’m overwhelmed, and a little bit scared.
In the back of my mind I knew about SM as being a breed-specific health issue, as I read about it while I was researching the breed, but as we've only had her for about a month, and she's been so happy/healthy, I really haven't delved too much into it.
I really don't want to be neurotic and start freaking out, and a lot of what she's doing could very well be just normal dorky puppy behaviour. But, when you put everything together, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a little bit concerned.
We have very good vet, and Bella has had 2 visits with her (one post-purchase checkup, and the 2nd shots with fecal exam), and has given her a thorough checks (with special attention to the heart and knees) and both time she’s declared her perfectly healthy.
The breeder we got her from offers a 2 year health guarantee, but I already know in my heart that if anything is wrong with her, we are going to take care of her no matter what it takes. I’m not giving her back for anything. But, if (God forbid) there is something wrong, I’d rather address it now.
So, does what I’ve mentioned warrant a vet visit, do you think? Am I being neurotic?
Any thoughts/advice would be greatly appreciated!