Well, I am a little puzzled here and just want some opinions.. I know this falls under health, but it also falls under bitework so bear with me.

Tonight Gunther was on the backtie and let out a yelp while on the sleeve. I thought Harry clipped him with the whip, and Harry thought I stepped on his toes, neither happened. I have not had Gunther prelimed yet and was planning to do so in the next few weeks anyway so since no one really knows what the yelp was over. I asked Harry if he thought I should get his spine x-rayed at the same time. He said no, that they can see enough of it from the hip x-rays.

I am just wondering what if it is something in his neck?

The dog showed no sensitivity to the whip after so we are both pretty sure that wasn't it. There is a slight possibility that he was stung by a bee, but I can't find any swelling on him anywhere. (there was a bee's nest in the shed and I whacked it with a blind about 10 mins before this happened)

He is acting fine, moving fine and took several bites after that with no sign of pain. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Thanks in advance.

Deanna,

How old is Gunther now? I aks because we have periodicly had a similar problem with Ora. The best guess we could come up with is that it was her teeth hurting her. It was usually when she was pulling hard, though it did happen on a couple of entries. She was a little hesitant to work after each incident, though after a couple of days she had no problem going right back in.

I would't do anything for the moment. If it is anything significant, the dog will yelp again. An X-ray of the hips will only show the lumbar vetebrae (lower back, duh!) only.

Well, best guess is 12-14 months. He had all his adult teeth in January when I got him and they estimated he was 6-7 months old then.

He is a pound puppy and was a stray, so I have no background on him at all, but he is a fun dog. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Psycho Prey Monster <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> No universal GSD here <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Deanna,

I would leave it alone also. He probably just tweeked something either neck or jaw. If you are going to put him out for x-rays I would probably get some neck shots at the same time. I wouldn't do it as a seperate thing. I hate putting dogs out, so I do everything I can think of when they are out. I don't want to have to do it again.

Yeah that was my question. If I should have them taken while he is already out in case there is something going on there.

There is another slight possibility that his pano is coming back. He went real soft on me a few days before the last bout(I didn't know that was what was going on) and then came up lame. If that is it I will know in a couple days.

Hi Deanna,

I agree w/ Richard that if you are concerned about a spine injury then seperate films of the neck need to be done.I also feel though, that to visualize any problem radiographically, there would have to be a bony abnormality or a severe muscular spasm. Many slight injuries are not visible by way of conventional x-rays, as soft tissue injuries are better visualized by MRI...hope this helps <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Great to hear that Gunther is a pound puppy!!!I have always had strays before and I love them so much!

I am curious though,why a prelim is nec. for a dog w/ no papers.I am new to working dogs and so my knowledge is limited..please forgive my ignorance <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I always thought that hip x-rays are only nec. for dogs that are going to be bred?

Looking forward to your reply!

 Quote:

Originally posted by Jeannette:


I am curious though,why a prelim is nec. for a dog w/ no papers.I am new to working dogs and so my knowledge is limited..please forgive my ignorance <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

I always thought that hip x-rays are only nec. for dogs that are going to be bred?

Looking forward to your reply!

Well, while many people use them as breeding checks, it's wrong to reserve radiography for skeletal problems and other health checks for breeding stock.

They're really for the dog's benefit, not ours -- for us to find out early what problems there are and to be able to structure its lifestyle and treatment appropriately so as to maximise its comfortable time on Earth. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Also, for a non-breeding dog bought from a breeder, doing health checks and reporting the results (good OR bad) to the breeder gives them much-needed information on the actual results of their breeding.

Just my two cents (and you get change),

Dei.

Naa-Dei said it pretty well. It is not "necessary", but I want to make sure all the right parts are in all the right places before we get too far into training.

It doesn't help that I already have one dog with HD that I will have to PTS sometime soon. Makes one a little paranoid.

I won't bother to certify him at 2 it is not required to compete, and he has no nuts. I just really want to see that all is well.

I can see the point, that you want to know that the dog is physically stable before you invest alot of time and $ in training.Very logical.

I guess that I was also under the mistaken impression that a dog w/ HD will seem lame or not smooth in motion or something obvious! :rolleyes: I guess I have alot to learn!!!Nothing like X-ray vision <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> ( ps.-I'm an x-ray tech!!)