# Odd behavior... Vet time?



## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

I need some opinions. My 23-month-old girl went to the groomer (as normal, individual groomer she knows/loves) on Thursday. She came back Thursday evening, acted normal, we went on a walk --she did get off her collar and scare us to death -- but normal night as usually. Friday she started acting odd. Normally, she's very interactive, up in your face if you call her, kisses anytime you want kind of girl. But she's been staying in her crate or under the bed, not excited really about treats, and just very malaise. She is eating (raw) fine and pooping just fine. Her nose occasionally gets warm at night, but other than that no illness signs. She will, I've noticed, occasionally bite at her back and and then sit promptly and usually run to her crate. Something is bother her it seems but we've felt every inch of her and visually inspected every inch of her more than once. Nothing on her where she jumps when a spot is touched or anything....

Should I take her to the vet? I'm not one who runs to the vet very easily. There are no holistic vets in the city I'm in, so I'm cautious of just picking up the phone and calling any vet. We haven't lived here long enough to find a vet yet... Curious what others think.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Sounds like something isn't right....could be her anal glands. I would take her in to have them checked. Full/infected/painful anal glands can cause a dog to act very lethargic and weird. 

Keep us posted!


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

She has been going poo normally?


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## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

whiteleo said:


> She has been going poo normally?


Yes, just fine. No runny, no extra straining, just pooping. She had pooped on Thursday, then Friday when it started she didn't poop that day or Saturday so I thought maybe she's constipated. But then Sunday AM she did a poop and she also pooped yesterday.


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## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

DaneMama said:


> Sounds like something isn't right....could be her anal glands. I would take her in to have them checked. Full/infected/painful anal glands can cause a dog to act very lethargic and weird.
> 
> Keep us posted!


Okay. I'm been thinking it was time for the vet as I've held out a few days and it's not getting better... not getting worse either, thankfully.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

That sounds odd for such a young dog. I would think anal gland, maybe is she coming into heat? she could even have a pinched nerve or pulled a muscle during the grooming? If she isn't better soon I might go to a vet. I would try some cool and very warm compresses to the area throughout the morning first. If she doesn't improve I would have her checked out, I am not a run to the vet either type so I understand your feelings. Please let us know if she improves.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

If it is her AGs...I would get them checked sooner rather than later. Nasty infections can cause lifelong issues. You could check them yourself but....I don't recommend it unless you've had experience doing it.


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## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

Liz said:


> That sounds odd for such a young dog. I would think anal gland, maybe is she coming into heat? she could even have a pinched nerve or pulled a muscle during the grooming? If she isn't better soon I might go to a vet. I would try some cool and very warm compresses to the area throughout the morning first. If she doesn't improve I would have her checked out, I am not a run to the vet either type so I understand your feelings. Please let us know if she improves.


She's spayed  I went ahead and call a vet near me and asked, first off, if feeding raw was an issue because I could see them saying it's an obstruction or something if it came up (lol) and they said no. I told them the issue and they said it sounded like anal glands. I made her an appointment for 1:30. I might as well because I'm going to continue to worry and I am starting to feel guilty. She has gotten to where she thinks I'm doing whatever it is. I was petting her and it bothered her and she looked at me and ran into her crate and won't come to me anymore... even for a treat!  I'll let you guys know. Maybe I should ask the groomer if anything happened she can think of...


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

Do groomers usually do their anal glands when grooming? I'm not sure since my dogs don't get groomed but maybe something did happen........

I'm sure it will all be fine once you get her to the vet and they figure out what it is. Good Luck!


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## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

whiteleo said:


> Do groomers usually do their anal glands when grooming? I'm not sure since my dogs don't get groomed but maybe something did happen........
> 
> I'm sure it will all be fine once you get her to the vet and they figure out what it is. Good Luck!


Yes, she emptied them. She said they were pretty full which is odd because usually they're empty. Hmmm...


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

whiteleo said:


> Do groomers usually do their anal glands when grooming? I'm not sure since my dogs don't get groomed but maybe something did happen........
> 
> I'm sure it will all be fine once you get her to the vet and they figure out what it is. Good Luck!


Groomers do usually express them, BUT most only do it from the "outside" which doesn't always do the trick. I will also say that most groomers don't do as good of a job a lot of the time just based on how busy they are, the fact that they work alone and its usually a two person job. Not many dogs will allow it period so it usually takes two...one to hold/restrain while the other expresses them. 

This isn't to say that groomers are lazy or bad at what they do, it just means that you shouldn't necessarily assume that the groomer fully expressed them. I don't know how many times dogs have come back from the groomer and a week later had full AGs still.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

I still have to have Cayenne's AG's done, not as often as before but I always let the vet or vet techs do it.


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## lily (May 16, 2011)

Hope all is well,karen


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## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

Well, we're back! The doctor did check her anal glands from the inside but they were perfectly fine. Upon being in the there, she felt some poop (Lily hadn't pooped out her dinner from the night before) and she pulled some out. Lily had eaten a duck head last night so her poop was dry due to the bone... the vet wasn't used to seeing poop like that and was so disturbed! She was okay, though, once she found out it was normal for a raw fed puppy.

She couldn't find anything wrong with her and spent about an hour with us talking and getting to know Lily and asking many questions. She told me it might be the shampoo but her skin wasn't dry or irritated. She said Shelties are just reallt sensitive and something might have upset her. She kept going on and on about how healthy she looked and her teeth! I was really impressed with her. She told me to call and let her know how she's doing in a couple of days and it's something we will have to keep an eye on.

She's felt her all over, listened to her insides and did all kinds of hands-on stuff, but didn't notice anything. She talked about how healthy and slim she looked! She's very slender and you can see her muscles really good. She's only 12lbs and has the body of a bedlington terrier and the vet made that same comment! She was impressed Lily didn't have fleas and wasn't on any flea preventative. She didn't push heart worm medicine on me when I told her she wasn't on any. She even told me next time I come in to bring some information on my holistic approaches (for the fleas and the diet) for her to read over.... amazing huh?


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## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

DaneMama said:


> Groomers do usually express them, BUT most only do it from the "outside" which doesn't always do the trick. I will also say that most groomers don't do as good of a job a lot of the time just based on how busy they are, the fact that they work alone and its usually a two person job. Not many dogs will allow it period so it usually takes two...one to hold/restrain while the other expresses them.
> 
> This isn't to say that groomers are lazy or bad at what they do, it just means that you shouldn't necessarily assume that the groomer fully expressed them. I don't know how many times dogs have come back from the groomer and a week later had full AGs still.


That's exactly what the vet explained about the inside part. I take my dogs to a personal groomer at a house and she takes about three hours (only does one dog a day) but she does a really good job. She's part of the reason I don't want to move away from this area LOL


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## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

Do you guys think she's too skinny? She was 15-16lb and then I guess she lost some weight because she's 12.1lb now. She eats about the same amount. She is turning two next month. Vet said she liked the look but a lot of people would say too skinny.

I like her this way because you can see how defined her lines are and stuff. It's kind of hard to tell from a picture, too... but I guess does it jump out that dog is skinny?

http://i80.photobucket.com/albums/j170/marymrumfelt/photo2.jpg


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

I am glad you had a good vet visit. She sounds like a nice woman and it is a pleasure to hear a vet is interested in learning more and open to other view points. I am glad you were open to her and let her know how you care for your animals and really happy that she was respectful of your knowledge. 

I think your pup looks nice - a pound wouldn't hurt but she looks solid and well built.


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## RedneckCowgirl (Oct 28, 2011)

I keep my dogs pretty slim (moreso then others it seems) but I think she looks great!


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## Savage Destiny (Mar 16, 2011)

DaneMama said:


> Groomers do usually express them, BUT most only do it from the "outside" which doesn't always do the trick. I will also say that most groomers don't do as good of a job a lot of the time just based on how busy they are, the fact that they work alone and its usually a two person job. Not many dogs will allow it period so it usually takes two...one to hold/restrain while the other expresses them.
> 
> This isn't to say that groomers are lazy or bad at what they do, it just means that you shouldn't necessarily assume that the groomer fully expressed them. I don't know how many times dogs have come back from the groomer and a week later had full AGs still.


A.G.s are rarely a two person job. Most dogs aren't fond of it, but it's easy to do once you know how. We usually only have a couple dogs a week that require two people to express the A.G.s. And we're very... er... anal about getting the glands completely empty. I suppose some groomers aren't, but a lot are. The only time we ever get dogs that are full a week later are dogs with some sort of issue going on.


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