Back Pain? - YorkieTalk.com Forums

lwright82 · 05-08-2006, 01:45 PM

My little guy, Bode, just turned a year old. We moved into a new house and he was with his grandma for a week. He came home and was acting strange so we thought it was because we were in a new house. He used to jump up and down on the couch and now sits and waits for us to pick him up. When we pick him up he breathing becomes really heavy and sometimes he yelps. We have taken him to two vets and they can't really figure out what is wrong. They gave us pain medication and muscle relaxers and told us to keep him in his kennel most of the day. They took x-rays and they don't show much. It has been almost 2 weeks now and he is not getting better. The vet thinks it is his back. We took him back in today to spend the night and have more x-rays taken. Has anyone had a similar problem with their yorkie. He is my first dog and has turned into my child. I feel helpless and heartbroken to see him in so much pain.
Thank you.

tmatherly · 05-08-2006, 04:32 PM

I'm so sorry to hear about your little guy. I don't have any experience with this particular thing, but I'm glad he's going back for more tests. Hopefully the Vet can come up with some answers. Let us know how it goes, and welcome to YT!

SnowWa · 05-10-2006, 01:30 PM

I put one of my dogs to sleep because of a back problem last October. Her problem sounds very different from yours (remember this!) She couldn't lie down for more than a minute without getting up and moving around and then trying to lie down again. This got progressively worse. And during her last month, I spent more and more nights up all night just carrying her around. When I chose to put her to sleep, I had been up with her and trying to carry her and comfort her for more than 24 hours. She was even trying to sleep leaning against a wall because she couldn't lie down.

This sounds different from your dog's problem. But, after having worked in X-ray, neurology, and other medical fields for more than 30 years, I can share with you how hard it is to pinpoint the cause of any back problem. Of course, the source of the problem isn't evident to the naked eye - and more often than not - nothing shows on an x-ray, and to make it even more difficult, our little dogs can't talk and describe their symptoms to the vet. Sometimes further testing with myelograms, MRIs, etc. can help to better diagnose - and finally with a diagnosis, surgery may be an option.

So - please never blame your vet - if they can't pinpoint the cause for any back problem.

I wish I hadn't put my dog to sleep. If I had it to do over again, I would remortgage my house to try and keep her. But, she and I were both so worn out, and she was so uncomfortable (we were beginning to be up all night most nights) - plus we were looking at myelograms, MRIs, visits to specialists, and probably surgery with costs possibly of $5000 to $6000 dollars....and I would certainly also have had to miss a lot of work getting all this done. Then there was the possibility that even with all these tests and surgery - she may have ended up no better. In my tired, heartbroken state of mind, I decided not to put her or me through all this. Very sad!

But - because there are a hundred different types of back problems - and some much more tolerable than others - from your description, I'm sure you are dealing with an entirely different problem then I was.

Just wanted to let you know - that with these types of problems - most vets would be having a problem finding the cause.

Nevertheless, steriods and pain medications often help a great deal -

Good luck - Carol Jean

05-08-2006, 01:45 PM	#1
lwright82 YorkieTalk Newbie! Join Date: May 2006 Location: blaine Posts: 3	Back Pain? My little guy, Bode, just turned a year old. We moved into a new house and he was with his grandma for a week. He came home and was acting strange so we thought it was because we were in a new house. He used to jump up and down on the couch and now sits and waits for us to pick him up. When we pick him up he breathing becomes really heavy and sometimes he yelps. We have taken him to two vets and they can't really figure out what is wrong. They gave us pain medication and muscle relaxers and told us to keep him in his kennel most of the day. They took x-rays and they don't show much. It has been almost 2 weeks now and he is not getting better. The vet thinks it is his back. We took him back in today to spend the night and have more x-rays taken. Has anyone had a similar problem with their yorkie. He is my first dog and has turned into my child. I feel helpless and heartbroken to see him in so much pain. Thank you.

05-08-2006, 04:32 PM	#2
tmatherly Razorback Yorkie Lover Donating Member Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Bentonville, AR Posts: 1,909	I'm so sorry to hear about your little guy. I don't have any experience with this particular thing, but I'm glad he's going back for more tests. Hopefully the Vet can come up with some answers. Let us know how it goes, and welcome to YT! __________________ Tiffany Pippa, Scout, and Ranger's Mom http://www.dogster.com/?198523 http://www.dogster.com/?198525

05-10-2006, 01:30 PM	#3
SnowWa YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: USA Posts: 2,991	I put one of my dogs to sleep because of a back problem last October. Her problem sounds very different from yours (remember this!) She couldn't lie down for more than a minute without getting up and moving around and then trying to lie down again. This got progressively worse. And during her last month, I spent more and more nights up all night just carrying her around. When I chose to put her to sleep, I had been up with her and trying to carry her and comfort her for more than 24 hours. She was even trying to sleep leaning against a wall because she couldn't lie down. This sounds different from your dog's problem. But, after having worked in X-ray, neurology, and other medical fields for more than 30 years, I can share with you how hard it is to pinpoint the cause of any back problem. Of course, the source of the problem isn't evident to the naked eye - and more often than not - nothing shows on an x-ray, and to make it even more difficult, our little dogs can't talk and describe their symptoms to the vet. Sometimes further testing with myelograms, MRIs, etc. can help to better diagnose - and finally with a diagnosis, surgery may be an option. So - please never blame your vet - if they can't pinpoint the cause for any back problem. I wish I hadn't put my dog to sleep. If I had it to do over again, I would remortgage my house to try and keep her. But, she and I were both so worn out, and she was so uncomfortable (we were beginning to be up all night most nights) - plus we were looking at myelograms, MRIs, visits to specialists, and probably surgery with costs possibly of $5000 to $6000 dollars....and I would certainly also have had to miss a lot of work getting all this done. Then there was the possibility that even with all these tests and surgery - she may have ended up no better. In my tired, heartbroken state of mind, I decided not to put her or me through all this. Very sad! But - because there are a hundred different types of back problems - and some much more tolerable than others - from your description, I'm sure you are dealing with an entirely different problem then I was. Just wanted to let you know - that with these types of problems - most vets would be having a problem finding the cause. Nevertheless, steriods and pain medications often help a great deal - Good luck - Carol Jean __________________ http://tinypic.com/ipxhmb.jpg A Yorkie is worth a thousand words.