connersaunt Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 Hello! I am new to this forum and am looking for help/information for my sisters Border Collie who is ill. Late last night when she arrived home from work she let her 3 dogs out to go potty. They were only out about 10 minutes when she called them back in. Conner the Border Collie was laying by the fence not wanting to get up. Worried, she finally help him in. He layed by the back door and let out a little scream. She watched him go from the door to the couch and when getting on the couch he screamed again. She wasted no time in bringing him to the emergency vet which took a series of xrays that turned up nothing...hips are great and no broken bones. They did notice a small narrowing between the 4th to 5th vertebrate from the tail end. BUT, still no real answers as to what might be going on in Conner. The vet put him on pain killers and sent him home. He has been asleep most of the day now. The most pain he seems to be in is when streching out his back legs.Her vet is not open on Sundays and is closed for labor day. Tuesday she will bring him in to her primary vet. Until then I am hoping that someone who has knowledge on this breed may know of what might be happening to this sweet guy. She has had some complaints from neighbors recently (2 days ago) about her dogs barking too much. I am hoping that this is not a result from him being poisioned. When she questioned the E.V. he said there was no real way to tell if a dog is poisioned unless you know what he may have been poisioned by so they can run the test for that specific poision. My questions are: Are these symptoms somthing that might be a problem in the border collie breed?(he is only 4 years old)Could these be symptoms of him being poisioned? Are there any questions she should bring with her to the vet on Tuesday that may help in determing whats wrong? Sorry this is so long. Any help or information will be greatly appreciated!!! Thank you all for your time!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted August 31, 2003 Report Share Posted August 31, 2003 Poor Conner. I really don?t have anything useful to suggest as to cause (although a narrowing between vertebrae could suggest some nerve problem like sciatica in humans). I guess the most important thing for her to do is to keep observing him, and writing down those observations, so she has more info for the vet on Tuesday. Is Conner eating and drinking normally? Is he going to the toilet normally? (I would probably be going out with him and checking this.) Can he walk normally? If not, how is he walking ? is he e.g. dragging a foot - actually, thinking about this, she can check the response that brings a hind foot from turned (gently) back along the floor when he?s standing to being in normal position. I would also be checking his gums to make sure they are a normal color, and checking to see if he seems to have a temperature. If the most pain he seems to have is in stretching out, and he?s reluctant to walk, chances are he?s done some musculo-skeletal damage. But if there?s any dramatic change in him before Tuesday, or he seems to be getting worse, another visit to the EV would be a good idea. Don?t they always do these things on a holiday weekend. How do they know? I do hope Conner does well - post back to let us know how he gets on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nancy Posted September 1, 2003 Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 Sure sounds a lot like I was just before I started with a chiropractor - after my doctor authorized an MRI. Of course, it takes a medical professional - a vet in your case - to decide. I have that same thing with the vertebrae, and sciatica. Before I started chiropractic, a 1-1/2 hour flight to Florida was agony. Less than a month into chiropractic, the 8 hour flight to ENgland didn't bother me any more than it did anyone else. And a few months later I flew to Lithuania, via London and Hamburg, with no problems. I know there are chiropractors for dogs. If you vet agreees, it might be worth trying. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
connersaunt Posted September 1, 2003 Author Report Share Posted September 1, 2003 Barb(Tassie)and Nancy,Wow, Thank you so much for all the great advice! I am on my way over to her house to help her with a few things today. I will pass on all this information to her. I sure hope he is feeling better today. I will keep you posted on his progress. Again, Thanks! What a great board! ~Jill~ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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