Anyone Else Have A Stoic Pup?

[Guest SquanHound]

Ok, I have a pup who generally stubs his toe and cries bloody murder, but after two events in the last week I am starting to think he may actually be quite stoic when it comes to real pain and I am wondering if anyone else has such a pup? And if so, how do you know when something is really wrong?

 

So, here's the background. Ping went for a dental on Friday. Prior to our dental we went for our normal walk. I noticed his gait was a bit off, but nothing I could put my finger on exactly. We stopped at one point to chat with a neighbor and once we started to walk again I noticed that he was holding up his back, right paw. I looked at his paw and saw a small crack, but nothing else. So, when we went to the vet for the dental I mentioned it to her in passing. She looked at his foot, found no foot/ leg problems and then noticed the same crack I found and said she would check it out a bit more while he was under. Well long story short, when she checked it out it turned out that he had two glass splinters in his pad and it was infected. So, the pad had to be cut open to clean it out and clear all of the splinters out. So, vet called me with good news (no teeth pulled - yippee!) and bad news (3 stitches in his pad ). She said she was surprised that he didn't complain at all about it b/c greyhounds are normally drama queens and it really probably hurt.

 

Ok, now fast forward 5 days to today. This morning I went to clean his pad and put on a new baby sock and I noticed that the pad had split open a bit. So, I called the vet and she asked me to bring him back in. She confirmed that it had split and recommended putting in a staple to aid in the healing. I agreed and asked her if he had to go under. She said he could, but that she didn't think it was necessary. She told me that he would likely scream a lot, but it would be quick and that would be better than putting him under again. So, I held his head and talked softly to him, expecting the worst, while our Dr. cleaned the foot and prepared to insert the staple. Well suddenly I heard a click and I thought, well that couldn't have been it, he didn't even flintch. She turned around and said "hmm - wow, he really is stoic!" Yup, a staple inserted in his foot and not even a whimper.

 

So, has anyone else had this experience?

 

Oh and b/c I know the rules here at GT -- here's Mr. Stoic post-vet visit today.

 

[Trudy]

Ryan is stoic as well. He had a twig go through is foot and not a peep out of him.

He's yelped when Jet bites his ear in the car, but other than that, not a peep for pain out of him.

 

That's how we knew something was wrong a month ago when Jet bumped him and he yelped. He never does that.

[pabozem]

Recently I lost one of my babies. She had a break in her hind foot that was never fixed (before I adopted her) and she didn't put a lot of weight on that leg. All of mine were out in the yard and I heard a yelp -- checked on everyone and didn't notice anything off. When Sara came in the house she wouldn't lay down. I checked her foot over thinking she had done something to it. We went to the vet -- I had to lift her in and out of my SUV. We stood around at the vet's at least a half hour. Not a whimper out of her during any of this. It ended up that she had a broken femor -- close to her hip. The vet showed me the x-rays. The bone was completely off set and you could tell it broke because of cancer. Very evident, even to me. Considering where the break was, and that it was bone cancer, I made the difficult decision to let her go then. I've lost too many dogs to cancer, and didn't want to have her suffer when I knew what the outcome would be. Anyway, to answer the question about how stoic our pups are, I think Sara was the most pain tolerant of any of my dogs. Mr. Baby is another story. Talk about a whimp!!!

[Guest Snazzy_Chloe]

I think Greys and whippits also are very stoic when hurt badly (seriously). Minor things they tend to yip/yelp pretty good when something is done to them (or perceived to be done to them) by someone or something else. But if they do it to themselves - I have found that they feel stupid and don't make a peep. I had one break her leg and she gave the scream of death, by the time I got to her she didn't make a noise as I moved it (slightly) and felt it to see if it was broken, then as we loaded her into the car and ER vet. It is if they know that we are there to make everything all better

[Guest kaotic1]

Jordan was pretty stoic. When she was hit by the car (of course she yelled and yipped at first) she walked to the side of the road. I was giving the report to the police and they had to point out she was bleeding. She just continued to stand there. When we got her into the evet the vet asked "is she always this calm?" she never yelled or whined the whole time they were treating her!!

[Guest Tenderhearts]

Lori Ann was an absolute drama queen when it came to minor things, but was very stoic with big owies.

 

She came barreling across the yard one day while I was sitting on the steps, and as she started to jump over my leg, she stumbled a bit, and unbeknowst to me, her face went into the sharp corner of a shelf on the back porch. Not a sound out of her, and I had no idea what happened till I got everyone in, and she was standing in the kitchen dripping blood from the gash under her eye! :eek

 

Lots of kisses and hugs to the handsome Mr. Ping for speedy healing!

 

 

[Guest simile]

Mine (so far) are big cry babies over the little things - Daaaaaadddd, Jack's stepping on my fooooot! - Mooommm, Chloe's biting my tail! - but with the big things, not a sound. Jack completely ripped the webbing between one of his back toes this summer. He came trotting into the house, and if he hadn't be flinging blood all over the kitchen and dining room, we never would've known anything was wrong. He wasn't even limping. Not a sound out of him when we cleaned and wrapped it, or when the vet checked it out the next day. He did start employing the "I'm pathetic, give me treats and love" look as soon as we started fussing over him, though...

 

Ping definitely looks like he needs extra treats and love, sweet stoic boy. Feel better soon!

[Guest longdogs]

Unfortunately it's all too true. Many animals hide the fact that they have serious problems because weak or injured animals get picked on by their rivals or hunted down by bigger predators. Both William and Nugget hid serious pain until they were in a bad way. I'll never forget the nights I spent with Nugget dealing with first serious injury, then cancer, and her incredible fortitude. Yet she'd whimper like crazy if she got caught in a bush.

[Bevd]

Wallace is stoic. A couple of days before we picked him up (to foster him ) he cut the pads of both front feet on some glass. His feet were stiched and bandaged when we collected him and we had to take him to the vets every third day for bandage changes. He would stand up there on the table as they removed his dressings, cleaned his feet, prodded and poked to check things out and then re-dress his feet and he never made a sound or tried to get away. A few years later he had a limp and he had to have a toe removed and again, no complaints at all. Angel Maddison was extremely stoic.

 

Stanley is also quite stoic but not to the same degree as Wallace or Maddison.

 

And then there's Sally who screams and flails and tries to eat you if you even look her way in any medical situation and Angel Jessie who once keeled over at the vets and needed oxygen...because they were attempting to cut her nails

[Guest KennelMom]

I call it the Rule of Greyhound Injuries: the intensity and loudness the scream is inversely proportional to the degree and severity of the injury....small injury = scream of death. leg ripped from body = no sound at all.

 

I always have my hands on my dogs - feeling all over, looking all over and even smelling them. With our pack, it's easy to spot a wound b/c the other dogs will be sniffing it. With individual dogs, change is often a sign of pain - if a normally social dog is holing up on a bed or in a corner. If they normally greet you enthusiastically at the door, but start not greeting you or maybe with just a simple tail wag instead their usual celebration. Refusing food. Avoidance of contact they normally welcome. Obsessively licking a part of their body. Not getting excited or less enthusiasm about walks or treats or other things they typically enjoy.

 

With feet/leg issues that affect their gait, head bobbing is a sign of lameness. You may not see it at a slow walk, but you see it at a trot or vice versa. Just because a dog will run/sprint doesn't mean they don't have an injury. Many greyhounds will run on a broken leg if you let them. If you think your dog is limping, sometimes it's easier to see if you give the leash to someone else and have them do a down and back for you. Watch from the side, from the front and from the back. Foot shuffling or feet not tracking where they should can be signs. It takes a keen eye to spot subtle lameness and if you ever find someone who's good at it, become their best friend so you can pick their brain (horse people are often really good at seeing lameness even in dogs). Mostly I've learned (the hard way) to listen to my gut. If a dog seems 'off' but I can't pinpoint anything, it's either time for a trip to the vet or I go into "watch" mode after investigating every nook and cranny I can on them. I'm always always always watching the dogs...not just looking at them, but watching their movements, how they walk, trot, run, hold their heads/necks and tail, etc...so I can (hopefully) tell right away if something is off with their gait. Lord knows I still miss things. With minor lameness/limping I always start with the feet and look for cuts, corns, etc...

 

Hope Ping gets well soon!

[giadog]

Po'boy is our stoic boy....a couple weekends ago when he got in the fight with his brother, he had a hole clear through his cheek, a hole that went through 3 spots around his eye, and one bite that slightly punctured his skull. But he was so quiet that my DF didn't think he was hurt enough to require a visit to the e-vet. (Of course, I was smart enough to insist!)

 

I think he just has classic 'middle child' syndrome....Gia, his older sister, and Butkus, his annoying younger brother are such in-your-face drama queens that he just tries to occupy as little space and cause as little trouble as possible. Poor boy...I know how he feels!!!

[SPDoggie]

Kingsley is very stoic. He broke his leg to end his racing career, and we wonder if he made a peep. It is so hard to tell if he is hurt or feeling bad, cause he does not flinch at anything. I've hit the quick of his toenail twice, didn't even flinch. When the vet has to do something, you'd never know she poked and prodded.

 

Ruby will be our drama queen, as she lets out this howling scream when she trips upon exiting her crate!

[RobinM]

Yes and the reason most dogs (except my Beau) are stoic is so that they don't get preyed on by other dogs.

 

If other dogs see a weak dog, very often they will be attacked. Because of this, many dogs do behave "stoic".

 

When a dog cries out in pain, it's beyond stoic and at that point they don't care who knows. They are hurting bad.

 

I had that experience once when Beau ripped his tendons from the bone in his leg and I NEVER want to experience that again.

[Guest Spencers_Greyt]

Sorry about your baby!

 

Spencer is very much like that. If it's a little owie then he screams his head off but if it's something more major then not a peep out of him. He once gashed open his back leg on some glass and it was bleeding all over the place and I didn't even realize it because he was running around like nothing happened! And then once he fell into the pool and somehow managed to drag himself out and he cut up his front legs and belly trying to get out. He came inside and just stood in the foyer not making a sound until I went to find him. Needless to say I freaked out! So although the screaming freaks me out, I prefer it to silence as at least I have warning something is wrong!