can a dog fake an illness

Question
I have a 3 year old cocker spaniel who has been acting funny.  On Tuesday, he was whimpering, an did not want to walk upstairs and had his tail between his legs.  At first, I thought he might have been constipated, but I watched him make 3 seperate bowel movements, all of which were good and consistent.  I then thought something might have scared him, or his leg fell asleep which it sometimes does.  As the day went on, he was still whimpering and mopey and was having a hard time relaxing.  I then decided to take him to the vet when my husband came home.  He did managed to get in and out of the truck okay, but had some reservations about doing so.  When we got to the vet, his temperature was fine, his legs were good, back seemed fine, but when the doctor touched his underbelly, he growled and yelped all at the same time.  The doctor took xrays and found nothing, he looked fine.  He gave him some medicine, a relaxer to help him sleep. My husband could have barely picked him up into the truck on the way home because the dog was yelping when he touched his belly. Since Tuesday, he still has his tail between his legs, and will not climb the stairs or jump on the couch. If I hold a treat up, he will not stand on his hind legs. He is moving his bowels fine, has a good appetite, is playing with his toys,and is sleeping well. He looks like he wants to get on the couch and climb the stairs, but is hesitant. Some friends came over last night, and he was wagging his tail a little, playing with toys, and did not whimper once.  He still did not want to jump up on anything.  Tonight he whimpered a little (not in pain) and when I look at him or talk to him, or even pet him, he stops.  We have a 4 month old baby, and the dog is very good with him.  I dont know if the dog is doing this to get attention, since one of us has been sleeping on the couch at night to keep the dog "company."   Could the dog be looking for attention?  Could he have pulled a muscle? Should I be sleeping downstairs with him?  And how long should I wait before I should be really concerned?  Thanks for your help.  Linda

Answer
Hi!

Yes, dogs sometimes do things like that to get attention. But of course, your problem can really be an illness. Since your dog doesn't want to jump up on a couch, I would suggest to get your dog's spine x-ray to make sure everything is ok there. Sometimes they can have problems like spondylosis and that may cause the pain.

Kind Regards