3 yo Chihuahua

Question
i have a 3 yo Chihuahua who on occasion will start screaming and my sister's friend seems to think it might have something to do with her spine (when she starts screaming she archs her back) how can i find out what it is without a costly vet visit? it has gotten worst over the past few months. PLEASE HELP

Answer
Hello Chris.

I'm sorry to hear about the problem your little Chi is having, but I really think that the best think to do is to have her examined by a vet.

A couple of things I could tell you however, if she doesn't seem to be in pain otherwise or has no trouble with her legs (normal activity), it is probably not her spine. You would see other indications that something was wrong if it were in fact her spine. Some signs of spinal problems would be loss of use of hind (or all) limbs, instability walking, chronic pain, and sometimes loss of appetite. These are not the only things, but just a few that you'll want to be aware of.

You really don't give enough detail for me to get an idea of the possibilities. For example, when does she do it, what is her other behavior during an event, is she otherwise behaving normally, how are her "stools", does she eat and drink normally, any vomiting, has she been "fixed", excessive cleaning of anal area, etc.

It is important to take note of the way a dog behaves (even the little things that don't seem important) in order to be able to translate your dogs signs to a professional. Some things are hard to pin point without great notes, but if you had notes, a vet may be able to say "AH HAH, she's been licking her anal area alot. Maybe it could be her glands" Low and behold it the glands were impacted. This is just an example of course, but as you can see, the little clues are important. Another thing you can do is to take some video of one of these events if possible. This greatly helps a vet understand (since it's hard to describe) the pets actual behavior during an event.

Again, I'm sorry your fur-baby is having this problem and that I couldn't be more help. Feel free to follow-up this question with more details and I'll do the best I can with my opinions, but I do believe you should consider getting her in for a vet check (just in case).