Where is my Dog's pain coming from?

[A_Hill18]

Hi,

Just in the last day or two, my dog has been exhibiting signs of pain. I have been able to detect no limping, but she seems to favor her back legs. Sometimes she yelps in pain for seemingly no reason, but I've started to see a pattern to it. she likes to get under our front porch deck which is rather low to the ground, but still plenty of room for her. But this morning as she was trying to crawl out from under it, she would get halfway out and then yelp and go back. We finally got her out, and then blocked it off so she couldn't go back under there. Later, she jumped/stood up on the bumper of our truck (she loves to get in the back of the truck, but the tailgate was up) and yelped and got back down. Later, again, I was playing with her with a stick, and she jumped up into the air to get it, and yelped really loud and kept whimpering for a few seconds afterwards. I massaged her back and rear end and she seemed to love that. I've gently palpitated her all over, and she exhibited no signs of pain. She also has no hesitancy to walk and run, but like I said, she seems to favor her back legs a little, and she does seem slightly "down".  I don't know what to do. It has just started in the last 24-48 hours to my knowledge, and she is still quite young, only around 4 years old. Any advice?

[Margot49]

Well, that's good to hear and hope there are no more problems.
Thanks for updating

[A_Hill18]

Well, it's really crazy, but the problem seems to have gone away as suddenly as it came on. She's been super rambunctious. We had boarded up the spaces she was using to crawl under our front deck, since it hurt her to come out, but she kept finding other holes to crawl through, and one time I made her come out the same way she came in, so I could see where she was getting in, and so I could see if it hurt her. But even though she had to push, and shove, and work her way out, she never gave any indications of pain! After that, I unboarded the other spaces, but she still insisted on coming out by that tiny hole. She's so silly. :) But all that to say, she seems to be completely better! I haven't been able to get to the chiropractor yet, but I'm still going to ask him when I do. Haha, this should be interesting! :)
Anyway, I'm still keeping a close eye on her, and if anything changes, I'll let y'all know! Thanks for your help! :)

[Skeanderson]

How's she doing? What did the chiropractor say?
Shepherd dogs tend to get hip dyspepsia (I may have spelled that so wrong that there's an entirely different word there. Sorry. Sounds right, though.)
Collies are normally pretty healthy up until they get old.
My girl, Daisy, is 80 pounds with a bad knee. She ripped some cartilage when she was a year old escaping from a pack of coyotes. Long story- for another time.
vet said the surgery would be $6000 with a 50 percent chance of success...
Instead, I started giving her glucosamine tablets every day. They ended up substituting treats... Saved me money, actually... And Daisy is normal again. Took two years, but she can run and Junp like when we first found her.
Crazy dog. Lol

[ginger899]

I would try to get her examined by a vet if you possibly can, and try to restrict her exercise in the meantime. Walking on a level surface would be OK, and 'bathroom breaks' only. Try to stop her
Jumping up onto anything,
Going up/down stairs,
Running,
Doing anything agile or athletic.

Just until you have seen the vet.

Just in case she has hurt her spine/ a disk slightly.
This might be no more than a pulled muscle, but best to err on the safe side.

[A_Hill18]

Thanks for the advice guys!
Margot49: I did take your suggestion and went over her again all over, but without any results. I've been looking into taking her to a vet, but she is not technically mine, she belongs to my brother to is temporarily out of town and contact, so I have to reach him to make sure it's ok with him.
Skeanderson: She is a Border Collie mix. probably some German Shepherd in there too. Not really sure what else, we got her from the Animal Shelter. She is quite large, probably around 40-50 pounds. The pain does seem to be related to the back legs somehow. However, over the past couple of days, the pain has seemed to fluctuate. Some days she'll run and play exuberantly and be almost normal. She almost always seems to guard her movements to some extent though. Thanks for the suggestions, I'll check out the supplement you recommended. It's funny that you should mention a chiropractor, that crossed my mind as well, but I didn't know that there are even chiropractors that will even consider adjusting canines! :) Anyway, I should be going to my chiropractor this week, so I might as well ask him. :)

Thanks again!

[Skeanderson]

What breed is she? Large dogs tend to have hip problems and can start early on. I would start her on some glucosamine chondroitin from your pet store. The brand that walmart carries is not... Effective... For large dogs. Or, rather, you have to give them twenty chewables a day... So, not cost effective.
I would take her to the vet and have x-rays done to make sure there isn't some type of serious injury or spinal misalignment that could cause sciatic pain. Stretching out her legs and hips would do some good too. Make sure to keep an eye/ear/feel out for any grinding, popping or pinching.
If it happens to be a misalignment, see if you can find a chiropractor nearby that will offer his services to canines?

[Margot49]

Sorry,should check this stuff.  On the iPad which has a mind of it's own, :-)

[Margot49]

Oh, so sorry,  yes, obviously something is hurting.
Go over her again from head to back.  Lift each legs and she if there are signs of resistance or pain.  Check her feet and I between the toes and each pad.
Take your fingers,start at the base of the neck, and apply a little pressure and run them down  along the spine, slowly.  See if anything seems tender.  She may not yelp but you may feel her quiver which can indicate a tender area.
Flip her over and feel the abdomen and groin area for any tenderness or lumps or swelling.  This may or may not give you some help.
She may have a spinal issue or ACL going on so it would probably be best for you to get a Vet exam.
Good luck and please let us know how things go