7 mo golden with stomach cramps?

Question
Visiting son for Thanksgiving in the mtns. of N.C. Vet is many miles from current location. Please help if you can.

Have 7 mo. Golden Retriever. All was fine when River went to sleep last night after a long day playing with his older brother and another dog. Played hard, chased ball and swam, fairly normal stuff, but this time with two other dogs of about same size.

This morning, 5:30 am, River was panting, seemed anxious and walking around the cabin as though he needed to go outside. I took him out, he urinated and had a bowl movement, but remains anxious and continues to pant.

He will sit down, but then jerk, as though is biting him. When eating his food, he will eat a few bites and then jerk and walk away from his food. He then returns to eat more with the same reactions.

River plays with the ball and is able to interact with his older brother this morning, but he clearly is parasite that could be biting him - checked ears too. Found Nothing.

I then checked his hindquarters, thinking that he may have some kind of blockage, or merely stomach cramps. He was quivering around the hind quarters, and when he would jerk, his stomach muscles would tighten, causing me to think that maybe he pulled a muscle while playing yesterday, though symptoms didn't show until this morning.

Thank you for any help or suggestions.

Roger  

Answer
Hi Roger,

How has River's bowel movements been? Do they appear to be normal, or are they soft?
Is he vomiting ?

It could be that it's not a stomach problem at all, but it's a pulled muscle or even a back problem. The panting, trembling hind quarters, etc. are signs of pain or discomfort like it's more of a muscle or back problem.
When you feed him elevate his food bowl so he doesn't have to bend over. If you have a heating pad, try applying it (on the low setting) to the area that seems to be bothering him. Alternately, you can put him in a warm tub of water, to soak. Lift him into the tub, and out.

Try to keep River as still as possible. If he's crate trained, keeping him crated is a good way to restrict his movements. Don't allow him to jump. Also, don't allow him to walk any stairs or to jump on or off of furniture.

He he doesn't develop any symptoms of diarrhea or vomiting, then you know it's not a stomach issue. At that point, it's safe to give River a buffered aspirin for pain and inflammation (never use Tylenol on a dog!). Coated aspirin is not recommended in dogs because about half the time the coating isn't digested and the aspirin is excreted whole in the stool.

The dose is an aspirin tablet per 32 pounds of body weight, twice a day. So, for a 48 lb. dog the dose is 3/4 adult aspirin or 3 baby aspirins. For a 64 lb. dog, the dose is 1 adult aspirin or 4 baby.
Give the aspirin with food, otherwise it can upset River's stomach.

If he doesn't appear to be better by Wednesday, even though the nearest vet is far away, you should try to have him examined. After that, the Thanksgiving holiday kicks in, and it will be harder to find a vet that's open. River may need a prescription muscle relaxer, or other pain medication if he's got torn a ligament, pulled a muscle, or even a disk problem.

Best of luck!
Patti