11 week old and SM??

[xoxHannaHxox]

Oh gosh I'm so worried, Charlie was bombing around the garden this evening and I heard him screeching for about 5-10 seconds while running. I dropped my tea and ran out but as soon as I called him he sat and stopped.

Are SM symptoms possible in an 11 week old pup? Or am I just being paranoid??

[Soushiruiuma]

It's possible. Go through Reptigirl's posts for the story of one such example.

There are a lot of other things that could be going on though. Patellas especially. But even stepping on a thorn could be upsetting enough to cause a squealing.

[RodRussell]

Something must have hurt him, but I would not leap to the conclusion it was SM in a young puppy. SM takes time to progress.

Check him over. Maybe a bee stung him. We have fire ants on our property. If you do too, maybe one bit him. Can you move his limbs naturally without him whimpering? It could be he has a luxating patella which popped out of place and finally popped back into place.

[Nicki]

Sorry to hear you are worried about Charlie, but honestly it is very unusual to see symptoms in such a young puppy.

It does sound like he hurt himself somehow, if you are still worried in the morning, take him into the vets for a quick check over just to make sure.

Puppies do have wee accidents and they are still exploring the world, and learning to modify their behaviour, sometimes if they are running around they do run into things or catch themselves, even older Cavaliers. Kayleigh recently ran into a wooden board whilst running and really yelped, fortunately it was just a minor bump and she was fine.

[Hopeful4now]

Hi, I'm sorry you're so worried! I know how that goes, trust me.

It's highly unlikely your pup has SM although it is possible. My pup was diagnosed at 4 months, but I noticed symptoms when we got her at 13 weeks. Ask yourself these questions: Is this the first time you heard your pup make a noise like this? Or does he do it every few days? Does it ever happen when he's still or resting? Like jumps up out of nowhere to yelp? Any other symptoms like scratching, strange walking, face rubbing, etc.?

If this was an isolated instance, I agree with Rod that maybe a bee stung him or he got a thorn from a plant stuck in the pad of his paw. I know it's easy to think every little thing is SM and it's so great you're educated on it. Like I said, if this was an isolated occurrence, just let it be. Now if he starts doing some of the stuff I mentioned above, and often, maybe there's more to it.

Good luck!

[cheekyAlfie]

Check him over thoroughly! Alfie was racing round the garden and I heard the most awful squealing and he came scampering inside still screaming I was terrified. He went straight to his bed and lay down! I pulled him out and rubbed everywhere down to making sure all limbs were ok then left him for a minute. When he'd totally settled I sat him on my knee and got a good look all over and there on his side was a tiny scrape with a tiny patch of hair missing :0( he'd obviously caught it on something but goodness the noise!! My neighbour was worried she had heard him too! Hopefully it's something like that your pup has hurt himself .

[Karlin]

I doubt it is SM -- especially if you have never seen anything else suspicious. Just enjoy him and keep an eye out for anything unusual in future.

However maybe keep him inside unless you can be outside with him? He's so young and small still, and they can get into things, and if there is a problem, it is very hard to know what caused it/started it etc which could mean all the difference in an emergency (eg knowing a pup just ate a particular plant or slug pellets or was stung) -- and there are so many thefts where people just hop a fence, grab a puppy and run. I've heard of so many unexpected dog thefts at this point that I don't consider any unwatched garden, regardless of fences, safe from an opportunistic thief. I wish it weren't that way, but there are constant 'missing cavaliers' on the Lost Dog website in the UK and over here too where cavaliers, especially puppies, have been stolen from gardens.

[Alana]

I asked the exact same question when Bella was younger. Try not to worry!

[sunshinekisses]

When my boy was about 4 months old he was out with me in the garden and stumbled into a wasp nest. He was stung on the foot and hollered a long time. Well, two days later we took him out on a walk and he step on a thorn, he cried like he was dying for 2 long minutes! It wasn't the same foot that had been stung but I just assumed the wasp experience had a lasting impression. I thought all the neighbors would come out to see the commotion he was so loud!

[xoxHannaHxox]

Thanks everyone! I know I'm paranoid at the moment I will try to relax and just enjoy his puppyhood