# Yelping when playing



## cheffjapman (Jun 8, 2017)

We have two GSDs. Arrow is our 7 month old female, and General is a rescue that we recently took in. They absolutely love each other and play on a regular basis.

Whenever they are playing (chase or just wrestling around) Arrow will yelp pretty regularly. Often times when General isn't even doing anything that would warrant a yelp. Like, they might be running next to each other and Arrow will let out a yelp before General "catches" her. It never slows Arrow down, she always continues to play, so we have let it go. So, I guess my question is if this is normal? We don't feel as if General is playing too rough, but we also don't want to be encouraging negative behavior or play that is too rough.


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## GraveyardStuffers (Jun 6, 2017)

I'm not too sure if it's normal, but my 5 month old GSD does this with out very calm lab when they play. 
She'll yelp loudly even though the lab wont even touch her, but they'll continue to play and they're completely fine.
My best guess is that it's more of a puppy play attention thing or submissive play?


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom (Apr 24, 2011)

Could you video their play when Arrow yelps. I would help folks better be able to answer your question. Could the yelp be excitement? It could be the play is to rough or it could be Arrow is vocal. If you can video them while playing until you catch Arrow yelping and continue filming for a couple more minutes. This way people see what your seeing.


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## cheffjapman (Jun 8, 2017)

GraveyardStuffers said:


> I'm not too sure if it's normal, but my 5 month old GSD does this with out very calm lab when they play.
> 
> She'll yelp loudly even though the lab wont even touch her, but they'll continue to play and they're completely fine.
> 
> My best guess is that it's more of a puppy play attention thing or submissive play?




My initial thought was that she was being submissive. It took all of about 5 minutes of General being in our home for Arrow to completely submit to him. She will bring him toys and approach with her head down until he acknowledges her then she licks him all over.


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## cheffjapman (Jun 8, 2017)

Daisy&Lucky's Mom said:


> Could you video their play when Arrow yelps. I would help folks better be able to answer your question. Could the yelp be excitement? It could be the play is to rough or it could be Arrow is vocal. If you can video them while playing until you catch Arrow yelping and continue filming for a couple more minutes. This way people see what your seeing.




Yes I will try to get a video tonight.


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## cheffjapman (Jun 8, 2017)

There is a video of them wrestling. I managed to get one yelp towards the beginning. As you can tell, it didn't slow Arrow down. They played together until I told them it was time to go inside.


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## Daisy&Lucky's Mom (Apr 24, 2011)

It looks like normal play, both tails are wagging and no hair raised. It looks like our shepherd and lab mix playing. The yelp seemed like she was excited..


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## Aly (May 26, 2011)

Lovely dogs in a thoroughly enjoyable video. It looks like puppy excitement to me. If so, be grateful that she's a yipper and not a screamer. LOL. 

On a serious note, I'd remove _all _collars from _all _dogs before allowing them out to play. Even from the adorable fluffball who's avoiding the action. I've seen and heard of far too many happily playing pups get a tooth (or the entire underbite) caught up in a collar, sometimes with fatal results. Choke collars are the worst IME. Stuff can happen very quickly and the last thing anyone would want is a totally preventable trip to the ER. 

ETA: Just looked at the video again (cause it's enjoyable, thanks for posting) and wanted to ask if something's going on with General's hind end? Particularly his right hind? 

Aly


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## cheffjapman (Jun 8, 2017)

Aly said:


> Lovely dogs in a thoroughly enjoyable video. It looks like puppy excitement to me. If so, be grateful that she's a yipper and not a screamer. LOL.
> 
> On a serious note, I'd remove _all _collars from _all _dogs before allowing them out to play. Even from the adorable fluffball who's avoiding the action. I've seen and heard of far too many happily playing pups get a tooth (or the entire underbite) caught up in a collar, sometimes with fatal results. Choke collars are the worst IME. Stuff can happen very quickly and the last thing anyone would want is a totally preventable trip to the ER.
> 
> ...




Thanks for the advice, we will remove collars during play from now on. 

As far as his hind end, not sure yet. We adopted him 7 days ago from the local SPCA because someone threw him over their 6 foot fence and drove off. We wanted to let him adjust to us being his home before we took him to the vet. But he has an appointment Saturday morning to get checked out. 

The "assessment" from the shelter vet said that he might have hip problems because of the way he walks. When he walks he sometimes drags his feet. Not just his rear feet, but all of them. However, his right side is definitely worse than his left. He especially drags when he's been running around and is tired. He also has weak pasterns in the front. Our trainer, who specializes in GSDs, said that she thinks it is a lack of muscle and that he will improve as he gains weight back. She also thinks he might have some arthritis issues. Yesterday was an especially draggy day though, but we attributed it to the fact that it is 95 degrees outside and he only has about 5 minutes of energy every couple of houRs. He weighed 55 lbs upon arrival to the shelter and after 10 days (when we adopted him), he weighed 60. Not sure what he weighs now, but will find out at the vet. 

He is on a joint supplement (for 5 days) as well as ester-c (1 day) now. We are hoping that is the case, because I don't know how I would explain to my girls (who are absolutely in love with General) if it turns out to be something like DM. But, hopefully we get a definitive and positive diagnosis on Saturday.


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## Aly (May 26, 2011)

Welcome. Bless you for adopting General, he's quite the handsome guy. I'm not a vet (nor do I even play one on tv), but I'd consider two things during your upcoming vet visit. First, I'd want the vet to _really _watch General move, especially cornering or turning about. You may need to go outside of the exam room (to a sidewalk, for example) so that the vet can see the movement clearly. Walking around an exam room or even the waiting area may not cut it. You also may want to bring the video. Second, I'd push for xrays of his hips (and/or possibly his spine) if it were my dog. Worst case scenario (again IMO), it's best to know what you're dealing with and how to manage it. 

Enjoy your lovely pack and good luck!



Aly


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## cheffjapman (Jun 8, 2017)

Oh I am definitely asking for X-Rays! He's made a lot of progress. This was the condition he was dumped...I forgot to add in my last post that he has had some injuries to his hind leg (but moreso his right hind leg). You can see some of the scarring in this picture.


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## Aly (May 26, 2011)

What a kind, noble face General has! How someone could dump a spirit like that....Sigh. Bless you again. Let us know what the vet says, please. 

Aly


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## cheffjapman (Jun 8, 2017)

Aly said:


> Lovely dogs in a thoroughly enjoyable video. It looks like puppy excitement to me. If so, be grateful that she's a yipper and not a screamer. LOL.
> 
> On a serious note, I'd remove _all _collars from _all _dogs before allowing them out to play. Even from the adorable fluffball who's avoiding the action. I've seen and heard of far too many happily playing pups get a tooth (or the entire underbite) caught up in a collar, sometimes with fatal results. Choke collars are the worst IME. Stuff can happen very quickly and the last thing anyone would want is a totally preventable trip to the ER.
> 
> ...




Just wanted to give you an update. The vet wanted to wait 2 weeks for an x-ray. He did a full physical exam and thinks that the foot dragging is a sign of a pinched nerve combined with lack of muscle mass. He prescribed 2 weeks worth of rimadyl to take while he puts on weight. In two weeks, if we see no change from the rimadyl and weight gain, we have an appointment scheduled for x-ray. 

General is up to 65 lbs now and the vet said we should try to keep him lean at 75-80 lbs. Other than the legs, he got a clean bill of health!


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## Aly (May 26, 2011)

Thanks for the update and the (fingers & toes crossed) good news! Did the vet say where s/he thought the pinched nerve was and/or give you any recommendations about stairs? 

Another thought and I hope that some of the more experienced folks will chime in here: Whenever I've had a dog on painkillers, I always switch up the feed routine. They go on a bland diet (e.g., shredded, poached chicken mixed with cottage cheese/youghurt and canned pumpkin [puree not the pie mix]). I also keep them on Pepcid (given 20 minutes before meds and feeding) for the duration. Before coming back to GSDs, I had IWs which are _notoriously _prone to bloat. Painkillers are hard on the gut so my concern was to keep things moving smoothly and without incident. YMMV.

Keep us posted; more pics of your handsome boy wouldn't go amiss either. 

Aly


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## cheffjapman (Jun 8, 2017)

The vet said that he believes it is pinched right where the bottom ribs are. 

We have some canned pumpkin purée, so I might start with that. Thanks for the tip on the bland diet. We just had a boxer mix die in January from bloat. It was awful. Definitely don't want to go through that again. How much Pepcid would you dose? We also just started him on ester-c, would you recommend stoping that while on the rimadyl, since they both have the side effect of upset stomach?

I might end up posting in the health forum, it might get more traffic there.


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## Aly (May 26, 2011)

So sorry for the loss of your boxer. I had to euthanize my last wolfhound because of GDV. It was, as you say, awful. 

Don't know about the Ester-C, but I'd think about stopping it too. That said, you'd do best to post the question on the food/nutrition forum (or whatever the proper name is) and see what the gurus say. And/or raise the question with your vet. Just realized that in my last post I said Pepcid, but the important thing to keep in mind is that the active ingredient is Famotidine; think I spelled that correctly. I've had great success using store brand generics. The dosage is .25 to .5 mg per pound. Here's a link: Using Famotidine For Dogs: The Complete Guide 

Another thought. You also might want to keep some simethicone (aka GasX) on hand, as well. Here's a link: Gas-X For Dogs | Veterinary Place I keep both meds on hand in the dogs' first aid kit. Do talk to your vet about this though to make sure there're no concerns. 

Just realized that I left out an ingredient in the "chicken mush" recipe that I mentioned earlier: Brown rice. It's about 1 cup poached chicken to 1/2 cup cooked brown rice, 1/4 cup yoghurt/cottage cheese and 1/4 pumpkin. Or, thereabouts. It's all very, uh, "organic." 

Thanks for the photo! He's a beautiful dog. 

Aly


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