Reluctance To Lie Down

[Guest happygrey]

Tatam, our 8 year old, has developed this weird reluctance to lie down in the last 24-48 hours or so. He stands around looking sort of lost or near us for pets. A couple times he's laid down and then got back up. He's not panting or showing any other outward signs of pain. We felt him all over his body and he didn't yelp at all. He's not lame. Eating, poops and pee are normal. There's maybe a slight increase in water consumption...but if so, it's slight -- not major. But he definitely seems clingier than usual. My only guess of what's going on is that he's in some kind of pain.

 

He was standing up at bedtime last night and wouldn't lie down till we brought another dog bed into our room and put it right next to our bed. He usually lies on his bed with our other two dogs at the foot of our bed. In the middle of the night he got up after I left the bedroom to use the bathroom and took a long time to settle back down. We had to put the lights on and cajole him to lie back down a couple of times. It's all very unusual for him.

 

Unfortunately, our vet does not have weekend hours so we can't bring him in until Monday, which we will do as soon as we can get an appt. We gave him a tramadol about an hour ago and he's now sleeping.

 

Just wondering if anyone has any ideas of what might be the matter.

Edited September 29, 2012 by happygrey

[Guest kess]

I rarely take any medication so had to google tramadol to find out what it is, sounds a pretty strong painkiller. (my medicine cabinet consists of some paracetamol and some antihistamines)

 

Hope your doggie is better soon

Edited September 29, 2012 by kess

[Robin1017]

I have no idea what could be wrong, but that is what happens when Robin is in pain (like when he's sore from running), or when his stomach is upset (usually followed by "issues").

 

He stands there looking at me wanting me to fix it. :-( But I don't always know what's wrong at first, except that he won't settle and lay down. I think he can't find a comfortable position, and when he goes to lay down, it causes pain, so he gets right back up. What he doesn't know is that if he would just lay down he would feel better--all he knows is that twinge of pain as he goes down. (This is for muscle pain and stomach pain as well--the behavior is the same.)

 

Just my thoughts. Good luck!

[Guest RICHandJUDE]

My ,soon to be 11yr old , greyhound is doing the same thing. She has been doing it for about 10 days. She acts like she wants to lie down but when she starts to stoop , she sometimes lifts back up as if to find a better spot. She does her business without apparent pain, she eats well and her tail wags as normal. I have been trying to keep her quiet but she wants to run with our two other dogs. She is not limping. I took her to the vet about a week ago. The vet felt her all over. The vet couldn't not get her to whine or flinch. It could be her back, it could be her neck, etc. Or she might have strained something while playing with the other two.

 

She was put on Rimadyl. She takes 2 tablets per day. We have two weeks worth. If that doesn't help then we will procede with X-rays etc. She does seem to drink a little more but I think it is the Rimadyl. After about 4 or 5 days with the Rimadyl, she is about 95% better. Good Luck to you.

[Guest happygrey]

Thanks, everyone. We went this AM and now we're waiting on the results of tests to see if it's a UTI. In the meantime, he's on tramadol which will hopefully help to make him feel better so he can relax and settle down.

[Guest zombrie]

Sounds like it could be his back? I hope the boy feels better soon.

[IndyandHollyluv]

Hi there. Hope Tatum feels better soon. Not sure what's at issue but something went horribly wrong for my sweet angel Lure in February. (He had back issues when at adopted him at age 9; he had been a resident blood bank donor until released at age 8).

 

Anyway, there was something sinister going on in his cervical or upper thoracic region. He couldn't get comfortable - especially at bedtime. Stood, paced, looked uncomfortable. Meds, chiro adjustments (he was also severely subluxated at the thoraco-lumbar junction) - nothing helped. Unfortunately, when I took him in for xrays I neglected to request cervical radiographs; the other back x-rays were negative. Neurological problems won't show on x-rays.). I went the MRI route with another dog -- but surgery was not an option for him.

 

Long story, but eventually Lure couldn't hold his head up and his hind end weakened and collapsed. It was so awful for him. So it could be Tatum's neck??? Hugs.

Edited October 1, 2012 by IndyandHollyluv

[Guest happygrey]

Thanks Brie and IndyandHollyluv. He did have a full exam and she couldn't get any reaction of pain from him with she examined his neck and back. His lymph nodes are not swollen and he has no fever. We are hoping that it's just a UTI. If not, we will pursue other tests. She thought the next step might be an u/s of his prostate and bowl region and/or an MRI. One thing that was concerning is that he has lost a pretty good bit of weight since his last annual exam -- which was just in April. We'll know by tomorrow AM about the urinalysis.