Yelping- hurting or not?

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Archived Message

Yelping- hurting or not?
by mark
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
Yelping- hurting or not? My wife and I have a thirteen week old (Sophie) . Today, while playing with one of her toys, she got tangled up in it and began yelping. (The "toy" was one of my headbands that she has loved dragging around since the first day we got her)She untangled herself, and then throughout the day yelped suddenly several more times just walking, laying, or while eating. After she yelped, she just continued with whatever she was doing. This has happened about once every hour or so. Could it be that her teeth are bothering her? Although, she has been able to eat what we have given her with no problems. (except the one time she yelped) We have felt all over and she seems to be just fine - there are no sensitive areas that we have found on her body. This pain just seems to be sudden and then stops. Maybe it's "growing pains." She already has an appointment scheduled for Monday, should we take her into the vet immediately? We wondered if anyone else had experienced this. We don't know what to do, but it is breaking our hearts to know that she is experiencing this pain.

DISCUSSION:

Hi Mark, I'm sitting here trying to figure out what this could be and all I can think of is that it could be anything. For example, maybe she hurt something in her mouth from your headband she was playing with. Could a piece of it possibly got stuck in her little throat - not to the point of immediate danger - but just enough to make her uncomfortable? Or, maybe she was afraid when she was caught up in it as you said and she yelped out of fear? She could still be yelping because she is still a little shaken up from it? Or, maybe something as simple as she discovered how to yelp and she makes that noise now just to make that noise? Example - my friend had a dog that never barked until the age of almost two. One day the dog barked and jumped like he was afraid that noise came from his mouth. The rest of the day he would be sitting there and would bark just once and than go back to what he was doing. In your case though it may or may not be this simple. A bark and a yelp are two totally different things. I hope I'm not confusing you more here, I'm just trying to help you figure out all the possibilities. You can always call the animal hospital in your area and tell them this situation and ask them if you need to bring her right in or if it can wait until Monday when you take her to the vet. They will probably give you some signs to watch for and let you know what to do. Please post again and let us know what you find out when she see's the vet. I'm curious to know what this is?! I'll say a prayer for her. Good Luck to you and your baby!
Angel

She may have sprained or pulled something while extracating herself from the "toy". If you are going to the vet tomorrow, that should be soon enough, if you mean a week from today, maybe move the appointment up to this week. It could also be that she is just looking for attention (she yelped.. you comforted her.. she yelped again.. you did it again, etc.). But don't take any chances with such a young baby. Have the vet check her out and describe the incident to him as best as possible. Oh.. and don't let her play with any more headbands!
Aimee

Mark, I would get your baby to the vet. It sounds like something is wrong. Don't take chances,by the time you read this you will already have made your visit, let us know.
MaryP

Mark, it sound a bit like luxating patella. Does Sophie have even a tiny limp or what looks like a "hitch in her get-along" when she gets up after lying or sitting for a period? It's a common ailment in toys and can come and go. I think you need to get her to your vet to have him check it out. When he( or you) feel around on her, waiting for any sign of pain, you may be missing it since there isn't always pain involved. Also some dogs are especially stoic! It affects some differently than others. Mine has it and has never yelped...just that "hitch"!!
anne

Thanks so much for your concern and prayers! We also thought she might be doing this for attention and love. As if she doesn't already get enough! We visited the vet and mentioned all the possibilities you gave us. He probably thinks we are Hypochondriacs (sp?) ourselves after mentioning all the ailments! He stretched her and felt her and moved her all around, and of course, she didn't yelp in his presence! She was a very good girl about all of this! No whining, no wiggling, just wagging her tail! He figured it was probably a sore muscle and just hurts when she moves a certain way. She yelped like crazy after jumping up from her nap today! He asked that we call him if it worsens or if it doesn't go away within 7-10 days. We'll keep our fingers crossed. Thanks for your support! Oh - and she doesn't get to play with the headband anymore! (That was really suppposed to be my wife's head band in the previous posting - she just took over because she types faster than I do and put that phrase into first person perspective! I'm not a drag queen, in case any of you were wondering! : - )
Mark & Carrie

Mark and Carrie, so glad to hear that everything was okay at the vet! My Bailey never made a sound, not a whimper, not a bark, nothing, until she was a year old. The first time she barked, it startled her so much that she came running to me! I thought that perhaps she had hurt herself, also. Then, she would let out a yip here and there, at the oddest times, just to test out her new talent, and then came running to me! Hopefully, yours is also just discovering a new talent!
Ellyn

Ellyn, I loved your story. There's a children's (Little Golden) book called This Little Pony" about a little pony that has just learned to say "Boo." He goes around the barnyard scaring all the animals after he initially scared himself the first time he said it! I loved reading it to my children...many moons ago. It's still in print. Your story reminded me of it. You should write a book about "The Little Maltese..."!!
anne

Mark, I'm glad you cleared up the "headband" thing! I just figured you were an old hippie!! Please keep up posted about Sophie's yelping. I hope it's just a sore muscle like the vet suspects.
Jackie Smith

I'm married to an old hippy! I thought that was so funny, but he's a little too young for that era! Well, Sophie's yelping has subsided a little. It's not every hour, only once a day now! Although, she almost brought me to tears the other night at 4:00 in the morning. She yelped for about two minutes straight! And I couldn't do anything to help her. After that episode, I knew she wasn't doing it for attention. I think we finally have it pin-pointed to her neck, just as we had suspected. Saturday (tomorrow) will be seven days. If Tuesday comes, and she is still yelping, we'll take her back in to see the Doggie Doctor. Thanks for your concern, and we'll keep ya'll posted!
Mark & Carrie

Well, tomorrow will be ten days. In the past three days, my Sophie hasn't yelped. I guess that means she's on her way to recovery! Thanks for the concern and the wonderful stories you shared with us! Yes, Ellyn, I am planning on becoming an elementary teacher and that seems to be one of the pre-schoolers favorite stories around Halloween!
Carrie

Carrie & Mark, thanks so much for the update. Although I didn't respond to your original post mainly because I had nothing to suggest, I was wondering how Sophie was doing. So glad she is on the mend. There are so many stories on this board with no endings. Thanks for your thoughtful update.
Marie