CJ's little scare

CJ gave us a little scare recently. For a long time CJ has always acted like he was stiff and sore... we figured he was getting old. Along with this, CJ has arched his back for quite awhile as well. A few months ago we told the vet about a 'praying' stance CJ will sometimes stand in (front legs on the floor, hind end up in the standing position) and she said this usually occurs from stomach ache or upset. She ran some blood tests and everything came back normal.

About one month ago, CJ stopped putting his head all the way down - so if food fell to the floor he wouldn't pick it up. Two days later it stopped so we figured it was a kink in his neck. Well, around July 10 he started doing it again, only this time it didn't go away. So, off to the vet we go on 7/14. She suggests a full x-ray of his neck and spine and since we always thought he had hip dysplasia she ordered x-rays of the hips too. It was clear he was in pain - panting, wouldn't let us touch him on the back, wouldn't pick anything up from the floor, etc.

The vet immediately takes him back and sedates him for the x-rays... and I pick him up an hour later. Originally we were thinking of a spinal disk degeneration disease called IDD or IVD. The vet showed me each of the x-rays with her thoughts but said it needs to be read by the radiologist.

The next day I got the radiology report: A lump near his left femur bone is calcification due to an old injury of his iliopsoas muscle. For the spine, no obvious significantly narrowed invertebral spaces noted, with the possible exception of T10-11, which is usually considered a normal variant. We'll just keep an eye out if any discomfort presents itself. For our last concern the radiologist confirmed distention of the stomach... so, we now think we have it narrowed down to a tummy problem.

While talking to the vet we discussed other things CJ does and pinned most all of it to the stomach. Poor CJ has had these symptoms for a long time, but I never put 2 and 2 together. The next question is, what is causing the problem: Sensitive stomach, ulcers, bacteria or a combination of those. So, we put him on a chicken and rice diet, Sucralfate pills to help coat the tummy lining and yogurt with live cultures and pro-biotics to kill any possible bacteria.

I know - this is a long story to read, and I'm getting to the worst of CJ's little scare. The morning after the x-rays CJ wouldn't lie down, at all. He was pacing the house (and had been for a few days). When he'd stop pacing his eyes would close, tongue would stick out and he'd fall over. I was TERRIFIED! I called Daryl in tears 'Something is wrong with CJ'. Daryl almost left work...

Since CJ didn't have his pain pill and stomach pill the night before or that morning the vet thought he was in pain and needed sleep, but couldn't lie down so he was falling over due to fatigue. I gave him his pills, put him in the kennel and covered it to make it dark. I added some soft music so my walking past the room wouldn't disturb him. He did sleep, but only for a little while. However, when I let him out of the kennel a few hours later he was better.

After a few days on the pills, yogurt and chicken/rice diet CJ has turned a new leaf. I forgot how much energy this dog has! I can't believe he's been feeling like this for so long and I never knew it. There are symptoms I never would have attributed to stomach issues, but that's why I'm not a vet! :-)

So, for all of you out there still awake and reading this post - here are the symptoms - and never dismiss something unusual... it's better to call your vet and ask questions!!

Arched back (we just figured he was stiff and sore)
Eating a lot of grass (never throwing up though)
Praying position (I thought it was from sore hips or back)
Doesn't eat his food well (poor dog was always full and I was making him eat!)
Gagging (I thought he was clearing his throat, turns out the vet said it was probably gastrointestinal fluids coming up)
Loud burping (I thought he just burped a lot)

Then the more serious things which alerted us to a problem: not putting his head all the way down (gastrointestinal fluids causing a burning sensation in his throat), pacing and the heavy panting/breathing. Also, the burping got louder and more frequent about 2 weeks prior to the vet visit.

Now, he scarfs up his chicken/rice every day, he doesn't arch his back, he's not breathing heavy anymore, he puts his head all the way down to pick stuff up and I haven't heard him burp or gag in days. He still eats grass, and he still goes into the pray position though.

So, it would seem that CJ is going to be allright. I got such a scare out of this episode though, I'm reserving my celebrations until I can observe him a little longer. I promise you CJ, I will do my best to pay more attention to the signals you send us................