Kelly_Louise Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 (edited) Last night Sasha was napping on her blanket outside in the entertainment area. I heard what I thought was a little yelp… but thought because she wasn't doing anything and no one was near her that I must have been hearing things. Then all of a sudden she comes running to me, yelping pretty constantly (although small breaks in between) and they were getting louder. You've not seen anyone move faster than OH and I did. We looked her all over and nothing appeared to be wrong, but OH seemed to think she had a muscle cramp from the way she was holding her back leg. So here's me yelling at her 'what's wrong Sashy?' – like she's going to say 'well I'm glad you asked Mum….', I listened to what OH thought it was and got her to walk it out. By this time, her yelping had stopped. I laid her down on the floor and felt her stomach (thoughts of bloat or tummy obstructions even though she hadn't eaten since morning and had been quiet all day due to the rain), I manipulated her legs… nothing. I checked for spiders/wasps/bees in the area… I couldn't see anything. I have to admit, the pattern of her yelping was consistent with a muscle cramp… they started little, then stopped, then became louder and more urgent… and then would calm down, and then start again. This went on for about 10 or so seconds. After that, she was fine, ate her dinner, has toileted normal, and is not limping or have the appearance of being injured. So I guess my question is, is it possible it was a muscle cramp/spasm? Does that sound familiar to anyone (bearing in mind that Sash is a bit of a sook, and reacts very badly to pain)? I've never had a dog that has suffered from obvious muscle cramps or spasms before – but OH seems sure that's what it was, and it does seem possible. I'm just a worry wart – I watched her like a hawk all night. It's my worst nightmare to have my baby come to me yelping and in pain and have no idea what's wrong, what to do or how to help… I was shaking like a leaf. Edited March 30, 2010 by Kelly_Louise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 Is she an older dog KL? One of my bitches used to do this when she got out of the chair after sleeping for a while, she had arthritis in one of her hips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted March 30, 2010 Author Share Posted March 30, 2010 No, she's only turning 4 years old this year I don't think she has any injuries or arthritis that could cause it, she's never shown any sign of them (and I always watch my girls constantly for limb injuries after Chloe had her 2 ruptured cruciates). It was more of a sudden thing, and then it just went away... and it's the first time anything like this has ever happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted March 30, 2010 Share Posted March 30, 2010 (edited) Maybe she'd had the leg in a cramped position and cut off the blood flow, it can be painful for a short time until the circulation comes back. I wouldn't worry too much, maybe get a vet check if it happens again. Edited March 30, 2010 by Miranda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sas Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Dante gets muscle spasms in his legs sometimes but he has Osteo-Arthritis so I'd say his are connected to that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erny Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 (edited) KL - Yes, they can get cramp. My boy suffered a bad one when he was only about 14 months old. This was at a workshop/seminar and I'd had him in his crate for a couple of hours. The cramp itself left him (he was yelping and obviously very sore) but it took 24 hours before he was completely ok due to the cramping leaving his leg muscle a bit tender afterwards. My boy has complications with his health so I won't profess to be able to tell you exactly why this might have occurred with yours (could be a one-off thing) but perhaps look into dietary factors if they re-occur. I know with humans, magnesium tabs do the trick (I have had cramps every now and again and yes, by golly they hurt - I take magnesium when they start to happen more than just once in a blue moon). ETA: For my boy's cramp, to my knowledge it is not related to any other issue such as arthritis and I do suspect it related to dietary insufficiency given that he does have digestive issues. Consequently I don't think he was/has been absorbing all the vitamins/minerals that he should have been, one symptom manifesting itself as a cramp. Edited March 31, 2010 by Erny Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted March 31, 2010 Author Share Posted March 31, 2010 Phew.... thank goodness that it's a possibility it was just a cramp. She hadn't moved around much all day due to the rainy weather, didn't get walked - so maybe she just cramped up. I can only hope so. If it happens again and it appears to be a cramp, I will look into magnesium tabs (or maybe I"ll just have some on hand - just in case ). One of my legs cramps frequently at night, so maybe one for Sasha, one for me ;) Could possibly be diet related. Sasha has always been a really fussy eater (although she has improved). She had alot of upset tummy episodes at the start, lots of runny poos. After some elimination, it came down to the fact that she just can't stomach anything more than very small quantities of raw meat - and not consistently eating raw meat everyday. I don't know why... it's just how she is. Ever since I put her on Advance dry and Advance canned food - she has fairly consistently had nice firm poos, and she is fed twice a day as she was starting to vomit in the afternoons due to an empty stomach - I think the stomach acids were aggravating it when it was empty. However, although Advance is good food - I guess that it is certainly lacking something somewhere in her diet... I'm just afraid to add anything as her stomach is very sensitive (although when someone fed her pavlova from my birthday cake the other day - she seemed to handle THAT just fine ) Will keep an eye on her and see how she goes... she doesn't appear to be tender, although when I was picking her feet up to wipe them so she could come inside she didn't seem to enjoy it as much as usual - but maybe I"m just reading too much into it ;) It was just awfully scary, both for her - and for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogsfevr Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 I have a dog who use to get them often.he has no arthritis & sees a bowen person 6 weekly. I added magnesium tabs to his diet for a few months & he hasnt had one since,he was obviously lacking in that area so we have tweaked his diet to cover it. His worst was his back which spasm alot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelly_Louise Posted March 31, 2010 Author Share Posted March 31, 2010 Ohhhh, very sad to hear... however good that a simple diet change has seen such a big improvement. I never want to see Sash go through that again... Thank you for sharing your experience, it's at least made me less worried that it could have been caused by something much worse (however will keep my eyes on her). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iggy mum Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 I'm just afraid to add anything as her stomach is very sensitive (although when someone fed her pavlova from my birthday cake the other day - she seemed to handle THAT just fine ) ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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