[AbbyandBrady]

Once again, my Brady is playing games with my head...Friday night, we had company and Brady acted extremely skiddish...the husband has a lab who loves to rough house and he can be little rough with ours. It's fine for Abby and she loves it, but Brady is a little sensitive...anyways, he didn't start getting skiddish until later in the evening but at that point, he was just sitting so hard on my feet, I could barely move and he was absolutely shivering!!! I thought he may be a little scared of the guy, bc if I was at the kitchen island and Brady was at my feet, if the guy called him, he would peer out from behind the island, then run back to my feet.  At one point, he rnai n the family room and hid in the blankets on the couch...he NEVER leaves my side, so this was extremely wierd.  But I just figured this guy was making him nervous I wasn't too concerned...maybe a past memory, maybe he was a bit too rough, who konws. After they left, he got extremely playful and was fine.

Yesterday, I was working in the mudroom so I just left the door to outside open so they could come and go as they please as I could see them the whole time. It got extremely windy in the afternoon and Brady came running in....he ended up dozing on their bed which I put near the mudroom so they could rest, but still see me.  He was shaking when he came in, but again, I didn't think much of it, because he is always nervous about loud noises, and I figured the wind was upsetting him. But he was still shaking after he fell asleep.


In and of themselves, neither event is too significant, but a few nights ago, he went spastic chewing on the tip of his tail, I ended up giving him a baby aspirin and putting some lidocaine on it..he finally dozed but the skin was RED and it continued in the a.m....that has improved although I still see him chew on it for a moment here and there, but nothing significant. Taken altogether, should I be worried? We were in Vermont last weekend and we did find 2 ticks on him...anything that raises an eyebrow to you? Other than these events, he seems fine, his appetite is good (and he really shows his health through eating...he is extremely picky and it seems if ANYthing is off with him, he stops eating), he has been extremely playful with Abby and very happy...in fact, I keep laughing lately because he looks at me like, come ON let's play and I swear, he's smiling at me. Potty habits are fine.

 

[sharonL]

Well reading through what you have said, I dont really see anything that sounds out of the way.  It sounds like with the guy that Brady just did not like him or trust him for some reason.  It may have been the rough play.  Dogs have a funny sense about things like that.

On running in from the back, it could have been a sound that made him scared, but I would think the shaking would stop after he has gone to sleep...Unless maybe he was wet, damp or cold in some way.

I am guessing that you dont feel these shakes were something that you would relate to having seizure activity...(fixed eyes, stretched out legs, foaming at the mouth, losing control of urine)....Did not sound like anything like this was happening.

On the tail chewing....it is very normal for dogs who have tails docked to chew on the nub.  I relate it to them saying that people who have a leg cut off still feel like their leg has an itch even though it is no longer there.  When they are docked the nerve is cut, so I feel that sometimes they will jerk the head around and bite at it like there is something there, when there is not.  This is not an issue unless it becomes a habit (doing it until blood/sores come up)

On the tick....If it were last weekend and you have removed them then there would be no remaining side effect as you are describing.  The number one thing besides Lyme is tick paralysis, the symptoms would be loss of coordination in the hind legs
change in bark, retching, coughing or vomiting, loss of appetite, progressive paralysis to include the front legs, difficulty breathing or fast breathing. All of these are generally a quick onset.  Within a day or two of having the tick on them.
Lyme Disease is an infection that causes arthritis and lameness. If it is untreated, canine Lyme Disease can cause heart, kidney, and neurologic problems.

So.....it does not sound like any of that either!!!! So I think taken all together it does not sound like anything to be worried about, it sounds like a few different events going on......

 

[AbbyandBrady]

Thank you Sharon...
No, nothing to suggest seizures at all....I just did think it was wierd that he was still shivering after he fell asleep and was asleep for some time.
I didn't think much of each individual event as there seemed to be something to explain each event, but my mom keeps asking about his tail (because I had told her that he was truly nuts that night...we were up from 2:15 until 3 a.m. just trying to calm him, he wouldn't let us near his rear end to check and it took both of us holding him to apply the lidocaine compress) and when I told her about the other two events, she just got concerned that everything was related.

No other signs of damage from the tick, it was dead when we pulled it, so I am a bit questionable on how long it was there, but none of the signs you pointed out have arisen.  

Thank you for comforting me...this little guy's craziness always has me on my toes. Never know when to make something of it and when not too.

 

[sharonL]

The only other thing I thought of is a tapeworm.  Sometimes if they have tapeworms, they will turn and chew at the end of the tail like something is wrong.....You generally can see tapeworms in the very first poop of the morning, it will look like a grain on white rice.  Sometimes you can find them in their bedding but it will look like a grain of yellow rice because it has dried up....

 

[AbbyandBrady]

Thank you! I will check for that then to be sure!