3 Yr Old That Doesn't Like Joints, Butt, Tail Touched

[demismom]

My 3 yr old new-ish adoptee male does not like to be touched in the butt/tail area and does not like to have joints touched. What I mean by this is that I have difficulty getting his front legs in the arm holes of winter sweaters -- it's like his joints don't bend properly. And the more pressure I apply to bend the more upset he gets with what I'm doing. He will nip at my hands and then when I'm done, he'll lick his ankles. With the tail, I once moved his tail out of the way so that his greyhound sister could sit next to him and he bit me. In the face. Drew blood. Scared me so much I thought I might have to give him back to greyhound group. (Literally thought that for about a day. I then decided that I was his and he was mine and we would work it out together.) His tail isn't very bendy, is usually sticking out straight and I realized recently that I had never seen him wag his tail. . . . Odd. My other grey has helicopter tail and is generally a joy. She's the sweetest thing. I love them to pieces.

 

I've mentioned this to the vet a few times and he said that my boy has signs of arthritis but didn't recommend that I do anything differently. For the record, they both still have hooks from Palm Beach. It's been very frustrating. He doesn't have any issues running or playing. Or getting in and out of the SUV. No issues jumping in/out of bed. No other medical issues that I'm aware of. My boy gets CBD oil that helps to manage his anxiety and behavior. Both get Omega 3+6, glucosamine, chondroitin and MSM. We have not had any X-rays or other diagnostics yet at this point. Blood tests are all within normal range. As an aside, when I scratch his pelvic/croup area he does this crazy movement with his back legs that makes it look like he's dancing. I can't tell if it's painful or if it's itchy and he's enjoying a good scratch.

 

We've come a long way and he trusts that I'm not trying to hurt him so he'll let me scratch his backside without issue now. I just don't want him to be in any pain. Has anyone had issues like this? What could it be? Arthritis at 3???

[cleptogrey]

The first thing that comes to mind is check for tick borne diseases. Some one will chime in and mention the name of the more accurate blood test that checks for antibodies. Also maybe a complete blood test as a starting point. There will be some excellent suggestions coming in.

[MP_the4pack]

That's what I also thought. So another vote for a tick panel.

[NeylasMom]

TBDs can definitely cause joint pain so a full tick panel through NC State would be a good idea.

 

One simple, inexpensive thing you can do to see if it is pain is a trial of NSAIDs. But if TBDs are suspected I would address that first

[macoduck]

On the non-medical side of this, maybe he doesn't want to wear the sweater. Could be he feels the static electricity from it. Have you tried a coat that slips over the head with a band at the waist?

 

Is it extremely cold where you live? Even on our rare snow days here, all of my greyhounds hated to wear a coat. I did make the senior boys wear a flannel coat from Houndtime http://www.houndtime.com/ though, and as a plus - much less static electricity than a sweater or fleece coat.

Edited December 5, 2018 by macoduck

[tbhounds]

Im with Ducky-I think its that act of putting on the sweater.

[demismom]

Thanks for the suggestion on TBD. I will push for that at the next vet visit.

[cleptogrey]

and keep some static guard on hand!

[PatricksMom]

I rub mine down with a dryer sheet before putting coats or pjs on, solves the static problem. Hoping you'll find an easy fix too.

[Sambuca]

I agree with everything above, but also think you should work on conditioning him to get used to being handled more. Gently stroke his legs and tail and immediately give him a treat. Until you know if it's pain related I wouldn't bend or manipulate him though. If you know it's not pain related start bending his joints, but only into comfortable positions. Don't force it. Keep giving him treats while you're doing this so he starts to think it's great