dog was attacked

Question
So my 7 year old Brittany spaniel was attacked on Sunday by another dog. The dog was grabbing onto her neck but we stopped the dog before it got worse. There was no blood or teeth marks or anything. We took her home and noticed that when we pressed this one area on her neck/shoulder she squealed and snapped at us. Other then that she was acting normal and eating and drinking and pooping/peeing. I took her to the vet on Tuesday but she absolutely HATES going there, I have to carry her in there and freaks out and shakes and so when the vet was examining her, she never squealed or let her know if it hurt. I'm assuming because she was so tense and scared because right when I took her out to the car and touched the area it bothered her and she squealed and snapped at me. The vet gave me some pain meds for her and I've been giving them to her every 12 hours. So it's Thursday now and she still squeals when I touch that spot. I might be overreacting but I just want to be safe! Is the area just sore because the dog was biting her? I just think since it's been so many days that it's weird that she's still squealing when we touch it, I feel like it should be getting better and it shouldn't bother her as much, especially because she's on meds. Could something of happened to her? I'm not sure of the injuries they can get in that area or what I should do in this situation so any advice would be great!

Answer
Hi Kylie

Thank you for writing to me.  I apologize for the delay in responding and I hope that your dog is feeling better now.  If not, I would ask the vet to check again.  When you call for the appointment, explain about your dog's high level of stress and that you feel it interfered with the potential for a correct diagnosis and that you therefore want a perscription to keep your dog calm for the examination.

At this point, no one knows if your dog's reaction is to the injury or the trauma of having been attacked.  What you can do is administer Rescue Remedy for a few days and see if that helps. You can also look up Bach Flower Remedies and choose the remedy that best correlates with the emotions that you feel your dog is experiencing.  

Another approach is to lightly touch the spot and then give your dog a special treat...a very small piece of chicken or all natural hotdog will be sufficient.  Keep doing this and build up so that you are actually pressing on the spot without your dog reacting.  This is called desensitization.

I wish you the very best of luck and I am so sorry that your dog was so traumatized.  

Take care,

Shelley Davis