As you all may know my 4yr old JRT Milo has many health problems and is under a specialist but things are not looking good.
However the last couple of weeks or so he hasn't been able to jump on the sofa or onto my bed as normal or get up the stairs.
A few times also he has had a lot of difficulty getting up from laying down. I thought perhaps he had pulled a muscle in his back and have kept him resting apart from 2x5min lead walks a day so he can go to the toilet.
I spoke to the specialist on the phone a week ago and he got my vet to give me some antis and Rimadyl.
This morning I took Shady out for a run and when I come back saw Milo laying in his little bed through the window, when I got Shady in and went to get Milo he was standing just inside the door unable to move with his back arched shaking from head to toe, which I expect was in pain.
I carried him to the garden to see if he would go toilet there instead of putting him on a lead and taking him out. But he staggered uncomfortably to the back door and I lifted him inside.
I then put his harness and lead on popped him in the car and tollk him to the lane where I know he will go to the toilet. Once in the lane he trotted along like any normal healthy dog, I lifted him back into the car and he stood on his back legs looking out of the window as we drove back up our road to home.
Now he is in he has gone straight and laid down in a little ball again.
I spoke to my vet on Friday but he said the Rimadyl was the correct treatment if he had hurt his back but he didn't want to do anything else till he heard from the specialist. Only problem is the specialist is not in till Monday.
Have any of you any ideas what could be wrong. I don't think its connected to all his other health problems, if its his back what could he have done? I don't think Shady has landed on him or jumped on him at all but obviously can't be 100% sure.
I'm so worried as his future looks bleak enough without this and if it is his back injured how can he suddenly trot along so normally on his little walk?
I'm at a loss so hoping some of you more knowledgable  people can help me.

Hi Bev, I have no idea about any possible diagnosis but found when my staffy was having mobility problems, acupuncture worked great.  The vet used to come to the house and missy would lie on the rug with me and the vet and would be totally chilled out with all the needles in - but I would have had to peel her off the ceiling if it had been done in the vets.

Best wishes for Milo and I hope it isn't anything serious.

Do you think he may have trapped a nerve?

Bev,b
A trapped nerve does sound possible or a small muscle tear, the latter can be very painful according to how you move. I once tore a muscle after lifting in between my ribs- a tiny injury but boy was it painful and it did depend on what way I moved, so not consistently painful, if you see. An injury like that can take ages to heal too.

Not sure if JRT's get it but parsons get spinocerebellar ataxia.  for more information try the northern parson russell club.  not sure if he is too old for the condition, he probably is, but not familiar with his other medical history.

No idea what it could be but our GR had something similar last year.  After numerous trips to the vets two courses of rimadyl and £750 worth of x-rays the vet still had no idea what it could be.  She was just about to be referred to a specialist when she started to move a bit more freely and slowly she got better and now she is back to her old self.  We just assume that it was some sort of muscle problem that has healed itself.

studying medicine at the min and although we are talking dogs, its more similar than you think! personally i think rimadyl is the wrong choice, although an anti inflamatory it seems to have more side effects than doing good. i agree that an anti inflam is needed, but i would personally ask your vet for metacam (to use as inflam) and a stronger pain killer such as tramadol (also used for people) as this will allow your dog tomove without pain as sometimes rerst can be the worst thing. ask about alternative treatments such as a chiropractor and hydrotherapy. things like trapped nerves may need small amounts of manupulation which can be done by a professional or my the dog itself through gentle exercise, such as swimming.
a common misconception is that "bad backs" should be treated with rest, when in turn this could do more harm than good. swimming is recommended for people as it is non weight bearing exercise but gets things moving so to prevent stiffness, so i would imagine the same should be said for dogs. worth having an over the phone consultation ie 5 min chat with vet over phone, its cheaper and if your dog is anything like mine, gets stressed and tenses up at the vet anyway, so examinations can be misleading. hope this helps a little, keep us informed xx

> ask your vet for metacam (to use as inflam) and a stronger pain killer such as tramadol (also used for people) as this will allow your dog tomove without pain as sometimes rerst can be the worst thing.

The thing is, as dogs can't tell us what sort of pain it is & where, anti-inflamatories, without additional painkillers may be used as a way to diagnose/rule out conditions. Eg. if anti-inflamatories ease the situation on thier own then maybe xyz can be ruled out, but if strong pain killers are used at the same time, the cause of the symptoms (& the subsequent treatment) can be impossible to see as the piankillers have taken away all the pain (if you get what I mean?).