Dog injury or is she faking it?

[disykat]

Yes to the possible fear response. DH and I talked about that last night that maybe all the shrieking was fear. It was just so intense! I'll be curious to ask the neighbors if they heard it the next time I see them. We're on pretty big lots, but it was LOUD!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

I’ve never heard of dogs faking an injury, if anything they are great at masking pain.

I think it's more of a mimic injury or a learned response. Both cats and dogs are capable of doing that.

An owner may have been favoring one leg or not putting weight on it and then the dog (or cat sometimes) mimics that, usually right then but sometimes later on.

But then they can also learn that X elicits Y response from owner and goes with that.

I don't think the OP's case was that way from the description and doesn't seem that way from the updates.

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

My initial thoughts were either something stuck in her paw that got agitated when she jumped down or she landed wrong/hard and she yelped in pain but otherwise was fine. It's possible if it was something stuck in the paw it was dislodged when you were manipulating the area and then if she landed wrong/hard that worked itself out quickly enough after.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Her bones and joints are likely arthritic, and jumping down like that after exertion on the beach could’ve caused a searing pain, but the fact that it went away is a good sign. You might have to consider that he’s older now and try to gently lift him down from heights and things like that as he ages. I’m glad it worked out. We’ve had lots of leg pain issues with various dogs over the years. I spent a lot of money on vet appts but only rarely was there an issue. Like a pp, one of my dogs had an osteosarcoma of his front leg, and it revealed itself with pain in the leg, and over time it grew so the leg got swollen and really painful just to walk, etc. But mostly strain issues that resolved themselves with rest.

 

[disykat]

Good points. It's going to be interesting to see if she gets less interested in jumping. She is a jumper by nature and likes to dance around on her hind legs etc. We're definitely going to require her to wait to be lifted out of the car as a starter.

 

[DodgerGirl]

My mom used to have dogs when she was a teenager because every so often my aunt's and uncle's friends would give them puppies as gifts but my grandmother would keep the dogs outside and my mom had to take care of the inside dog which was my grandmother's dog because he was very friendly to my grandmother's cats. But my mom never witnessed any of her dogs having injuries but my grandmother's dog would always shriek whenever he had to ride in my grandparents car because although according to Mom the dog liked car rides but not when it was time to go to the vet and my mom and uncle had to give him dog treats just to get him into the car. Of course when my mom would take care of her other dogs that were outside she would bring them inside so that my grandmother would check them for bee stings ticks fleas and other injuries and to give them baths. It could be that your dog could be in a lot of pain or faking injuries might be a sign that your dog thinks you'll be gone forever and she has a fear that she will never see you again. Have you ever tried giving your dog a bath just to see when you wash her leg if she will shriek when you touch her leg with a towel? Because when dogs are in really bad pain they will react by shrieking but they may try to bite if you're not careful. So I think your dog might've gotten a cut from being on the beach because the sand at the beach sometimes has glass from people that bring glass bottles that can really do damage to your dog's leg
Good luck with your dog and hope it goes well for you Disykat,
Dodger

 

[LuvOrlando]

My dog had picked up a few burrs in between pads at a local beach, never brought him back to walk in the area again.

Could be glass or even a tossed away needle from substance abuse, used to be these were common, not so much now with people being more conscientious but I'd never say never.

 

[DisneyTeacher]

My dog had a bone chip in an elbow that would cause intermittent pain. If it was in the wrong place he would yelp and limp. He got used to it over time and didn’t yelp much but limped on and off.

 

[disykat]

It's been very helpful to hear all the possibilities and it makes me feel better to know possible reasons. Thanks.

I'm still a little freaked out by the shrieking - and afraid to take her to see my mom and the other residents in her memory care in case it suddenly happens again. Can you imagine? Yikes!