# HELP: Puppy waking up yelping



## MoShannon13 (Jun 23, 2013)

We have a 10 week old pure bred GSD from working lines. We picked him up on June 6th and have had him ever since. We have not left him alone and his crate is in the living room, where we have been sleeping every night ever since. Last Tuesday, June 18th, he was taking a nap and he woke up yelping like we were butchering him alive. It happened to coincide with a thunderstorm and we thought he may have been afraid of the thunder. A few hours passes and he ended up eating more food than usual. He woke up yelping again around 9:30 and his belly looked distended. We ended up taking him to an emergency vet and they recommended x rays and blood tests but we declined as he seemed to get better and we could not palpate anywhere on him that produced pain. Tuesday night he yelped throughout the night. We tried putting him in bed with us and he wanted to go off by himself and would still wake up and yelp.

The next day, Wednesday, he woke up playing like normal and pooped twice after eating breakfast. We assumed his belly was ok since he had been pooping normally and eating normally. As the day goes on, he seems to get more whiney but only when sleeping. We thought since he was running around playing and not limping or showing any signs of pain while he was awake that it was just a transient thing. Well, Wednesday night was awful. He was waking up yelping every 15-20 minutes. Whenever he did this, he would change positions. By Thursday morning he was practically yelping just about constantly. We took him to the vet, they did x rays and watched him walk and palpated his whole body. She thought she found a sensitive spot on his right hip but she didn't seem concerned and the x rays were unremarkable. She sent us home with tramadol and told us to give him 0.1ml, 1-2 times per day. We gave it to him Thursday during the day because he hadn't really slept the night before. He slept for about 5 hours, woke up and was acting normal, running around playing. Thursday night he was still yelping. We gave him another dose in the middle of the night. Friday he woke up playing normally. Friday night, more yelping. Saturday, more playing normally. Saturday night (last night) a little less yelping. We have given him medicine for the past three nights and nothing seems to be working. He is napping now and is continuing to wake up and yelp. He will occasionally have bouts where he yelps very loudly for 30 seconds to 1 minute and there isn't anything we can do to comfort him.

The worst part is, he is fine when he is awake and then when he falls asleep, the yelping begins, every 20 minutes or so.

We are at our wit's end with this puppy. Everything was fine until a few days ago and now all of a sudden, it is a disaster. Our patience is wearing thin. We have emailed the breeder to keep her abreast of the situation and she hasn't said much one way or the other. If this keeps up much longer, I have a feeling we won't be keeping this dog much longer. I may try another vet this week. He gets his third round of shots tomorrow so we will see the vet again tomorrow. 

I have scoured the internet and have found nothing. If anybody has had similar experiences or has any insight, I would greatly appreciate it. I thought this was going to be a fun and happy experience and it is not.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Wow, the poor pup! 

Please don't give him vaccinations if he is having an undiagnosed health problem. The Tramadol is for pain--it's not going to fix whatever the problem is. I personally would not give that to a puppy. 

Did anything happen before the pain started? Vaccinations? He ate something weird? He played really hard that day? 

I would try another vet...it does sound intestinal but who knows! Can a pup that young have pano/growing pains?


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## MoShannon13 (Jun 23, 2013)

BowWowMeow said:


> Wow, the poor pup!
> 
> Please don't give him vaccinations if he is having an undiagnosed health problem. The Tramadol is for pain--it's not going to fix whatever the problem is. I personally would not give that to a puppy.
> 
> ...



His last set of shots was on 6/3, a few days before we got him. We are hesitant to continue the tramadol because it doesn't seem like it's doing much anyway. We can't think of anything that happened before this started. The breeder did send us home with a five day supply of antibiotic ad he would have finished that on 6/11. She sent it to prevent giardia and coccidia. I looked online and it said dogs typically don't start to have growing pains until 5-6 months. We do have a friend of the family that is a vet but he is about an hour and half away which is why we don't take him there for routine things. But, it may be worth a shot.


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## Fade2Black (Apr 30, 2012)

Just guessing throwing it out and this might sound stupid but its worth a shot. Does your puppy yelp only when its lying on one side?? Reason I ask. Look carefully to see if he somehow got a tiny splinter, tiny piece of glass. Anything small he might had got that is stuck on in his shin. I grew up in AC. Used to take my Baron on the beach. One time I walked him on this vacant property right before the boardwalk. He started limping. He would hold his foot up. Turned out he walked in some plant that had tiny balls with thorns on them. Got them off his paw and he was ok. But that night he would once or twice yelp and turn off that side. Took awhile but somehow he got a sliver of that sticker in his side. I was lucky I found it. Looked like a tiny splinter......Everyone has gotten something tiny in their finger or hand that might be hard to see but it hurts if ya press right. Think small object....


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## Narny (Sep 8, 2010)

I would do the xrays. 

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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Actually my rottie mix got a 2 inch long splinter in her paw and it wasn't at all apparent until she started biting at her paw and pulled it out. That is something to look for if you can figure out if it's when he lies on one side or one hip or anything. My dog Basu was quilled and the quills went underneath his skin and he would scream if he moved his leg at all. He had to have emergency surgery to have them removed. So I would feel very carefully to see if he has something stuck under his skin or even in his fur that is poking into him--certainly worth checking out! 

What antibiotics was he on? Flagyl? That's not given as a preventative, that's given when there is a problem! Giardia can be very painful so that could also possibly be what's going on. What are his poops like?

You can give the homeopathic remedy Arnica for pain but obviously you need to figure out the source of the pain right now. So sorry the vet wasn't much help.


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## MoShannon13 (Jun 23, 2013)

BowWowMeow said:


> Actually my rottie mix got a 2 inch long splinter in her paw and it wasn't at all apparent until she started biting at her paw and pulled it out. That is something to look for if you can figure out if it's when he lies on one side or one hip or anything. My dog Basu was quilled and the quills went underneath his skin and he would scream if he moved his leg at all. He had to have emergency surgery to have them removed. So I would feel very carefully to see if he has something stuck under his skin or even in his fur that is poking into him--certainly worth checking out!
> 
> What antibiotics was he on? Flagyl? That's not given as a preventative, that's given when there is a problem! Giardia can be very painful so that could also possibly be what's going on. What are his poops like?
> 
> You can give the homeopathic remedy Arnica for pain but obviously you need to figure out the source of the pain right now. So sorry the vet wasn't much help.




The antibiotic was Albon. He hasn't had any water other than from our tap so I highly doubt he has giardia. Poops are solid (not rock solid) and regular, not loose or bloody at all. We'll give him a good look and see if we feel anything out of the ordinary. Thanks for the advice!


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

I meant that he got giardia before he came to you. But albion is not used to treat giardia. It is used to treat coccidia.


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## MoShannon13 (Jun 23, 2013)

BowWowMeow said:


> I meant that he got giardia before he came to you. But albion is not used to treat giardia. It is used to treat coccidia.




Oh, I see. I guess it's possible but he seems to eat normally, has not thrown up or had diarrhea. We scoured his body and didn't find any burs or splinters. We looked in between his paws and all over. I'm thinking it has to be something musculoskeletal. Maybe a pulled muscle? When he wakes up from one of his yelping fits, he seems to arch his back like a cat and he didn't do that before he started this. It seems like once he gets moving, whatever was hurting him, gets loosened up. I just feel so terrible that I don't know what to do and can't do anything to relieve him. 

The vet suggested that maybe he has a more vocal personality and small twinges of pain make him yelp more than another dog. This is so frustrating. I just want him to be OK.


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## Gretchen (Jan 20, 2011)

Where did they do the x-rays? I was wondering as recently when our adult dog was limping the vet assumed the hips/spine was the source, did x-rays of that area and was OK. It was actually her knee that was injured and found that through the ortho vet.

I would pursue the breeder and see it they will cover more advanced imaging and blood tests. It could be something neurological, or is there and equivalent of colic in puppies like human babies get?


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Is it possible to get this on video? I would be interested in seeing exactly what he does and when? Does he yelp when he's running or playing ever?


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## MoShannon13 (Jun 23, 2013)

Gretchen said:


> Where did they do the x-rays? I was wondering as recently when our adult dog was limping the vet assumed the hips/spine was the source, did x-rays of that area and was OK. It was actually her knee that was injured and found that through the ortho vet.
> 
> I would pursue the breeder and see it they will cover more advanced imaging and blood tests. It could be something neurological, or is there and equivalent of colic in puppies like human babies get?



They x-rayed his whole body from his neck down. I've looked up symptoms for neuro injuries and it just doesn't add up. He has no weakness/temporary paralysis and has no problems controlling his bladder/bowels. I didn't think about colic but I'll look that up.


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## MoShannon13 (Jun 23, 2013)

llombardo said:


> Is it possible to get this on video? I would be interested in seeing exactly what he does and when? Does he yelp when he's running or playing ever?



I have a video on my cell phone. I'll try and upload it on here. He never yelps while running or playing.


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## MoShannon13 (Jun 23, 2013)

This is the video I took last week...it's been about the same ever since.

TRIM 20130619 185018 - YouTube


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

I am no expert, but watched this a couple times,,see how his rear legs are crossed, the minute he starts to stretch those legs, he yelps, when he gets up, to "me", he looks really stiff in the rear leg especially, facing 'away' from us..

Something's not right Honestly, I'd take him to an ortho specialist..Poor little thing


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Aw, he's really limping when he moves. He's clearly in pain, poor guy! 

I wonder if a nerve is getting impinged while he's sleeping and so his legs are falling asleep? Do you have access to a good animal chiropractor and/or acupuncturist? I would take him there and be sure to show them this video! I have no idea why this would be happening so often though, especially in a puppy. 

Does he have a dog bed? Maybe you should also try keeping him from sleeping on the hard floor.

ETA: I watched it again and I'd guess it's coming from his back because both of his back legs are affected. A nerve impingement is not going to show up on an x-ray but a spinal problem would.


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## MoShannon13 (Jun 23, 2013)

JakodaCD OA said:


> I am no expert, but watched this a couple times,,see how his rear legs are crossed, the minute he starts to stretch those legs, he yelps, when he gets up, to "me", he looks really stiff in the rear leg especially, facing 'away' from us..
> 
> Something's not right Honestly, I'd take him to an ortho specialist..Poor little thing



I noticed a little bit ago, his back legs don't seem right. He'll be at the vet tomorrow, so I hope he can recommend an ortho vet. Thanks for the advice!


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## MoShannon13 (Jun 23, 2013)

BowWowMeow said:


> Aw, he's really limping when he moves. He's clearly in pain, poor guy!
> 
> I wonder if a nerve is getting impinged while he's sleeping and so his leg falls asleep? Do you have access to a good animal chiropractor and/or acupuncturist? I would take him there and be sure to show them this video! I have no idea why this would be happening so often though, especially in a puppy.
> 
> Does he have a dog bed? Maybe you should also try keeping him from sleeping on the hard floor.



He usually sleeps on his bed or on the carpet, at night, he's in the cage with a couple fluffy towels. I was trying to capture a video and at the time, it happened he was sleeping on the floor. 

I never thought of his leg falling asleep. I'll bring that up to the vet tomorrow. It is really disheartening. We researched breeders for a year and half before settling on the one we got him from. She wasn't a BYB, both dogs were Penn-Hipped and one was 0.33 and the other 0.37 so I can't imagine it's hip dysplasia. 

Thanks for the advice!


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Did you send the video to the breeder? I would hope they would be concerned about their pup and at least cover the diagnostic expenses. 

Be sure to show the video to the vet. Can your vet think outside the box? If not, I'd find a vet who can, preferably someone who is trained in alterative modalities.


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## MoShannon13 (Jun 23, 2013)

BowWowMeow said:


> Did you send the video to the breeder? I would hope they would be concerned about their pup and at least cover the diagnostic expenses.
> 
> Be sure to show the video to the vet. Can your vet think outside the box? If not, I'd find a vet who can, preferably someone who is trained in alterative modalities.



We haven't sent the video to her yet. My husband has been communicating with her through email but she has not really said anything other than she has never heard of anything like this before. Which, may be true but she hasn't expressed much concern about it, which also worries me. When she did his temperament test, he did score pretty low on the pain tolerance scale (his paw was squeezed for only 2-4 seconds before he yelped and she mentioned he yelped pretty good when he was microchipped). So, I think part of it is just he's sensitive to pain, maybe? 

When we were at the vet last Thursday, he was yelping just about constantly so we didn't think about showing the video. We will be seeing a different vet tomorrow so we will definitely show the video. I found an ortho specialist in our area so if our regular vet doesn't offer much, we'll probably take him to the specialist.


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## JakodaCD OA (May 14, 2000)

please keep us updated, he is such a cute little thing, I hope you can get to the bottom of what's ailing him and he feels better soon


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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

I see a very stiff rear right leg. Like he is afraid to bend it. Did they check the knees? I can't go back to the original post, but he didn't do this in the beginning right? Did he jump off of something where he could have pulled a muscle or tore something? My friends dog was just on some really strong pain medicine, but they weren't allowed to let him out of the crate, except to go to the bathroom. If he was taking pain medicine, but still playing, the medicine can only help with the pain, rest will hopefully heal the dog.


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## MoShannon13 (Jun 23, 2013)

JakodaCD OA said:


> please keep us updated, he is such a cute little thing, I hope you can get to the bottom of what's ailing him and he feels better soon



I will! Thank you for your concern and advice.


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## MoShannon13 (Jun 23, 2013)

llombardo said:


> I see a very stiff rear right leg. Like he is afraid to bend it. Did they check the knees? I can't go back to the original post, but he didn't do this in the beginning right? Did he jump off of something where he could have pulled a muscle or tore something? My friends dog was just on some really strong pain medicine, but they weren't allowed to let him out of the crate, except to go to the bathroom. If he was taking pain medicine, but still playing, the medicine can only help with the pain, rest will hopefully heal the dog.



No, not that I can remember. We carry him up and down the stairs because he isn't able to navigate those. I agree about the back leg. I do notice when we play, he doesn't stand much. He'll chase after something then lay down and chew on it. He also sits down when he eats and drinks.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

Yes, please do keep us posted. Did you say they did hip x-rays?


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## Jax08 (Feb 13, 2009)

ahhh...poor little guy. there is definitely something wrong with him. It could be the leg, hips, OR his back. Make sure they check his back as well.


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## Msmaria (Mar 2, 2013)

Poor baby, you can definitely see its somewhere in the rear from the video. I agree with others. Until then get him something very thick and soft to lie down on. Such a gorgeous puppy. Keep us updated.


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

How is your pup doing? What did the vet say?


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## Baillif (Jun 26, 2013)

When is the last time that puppy has been dewormed? I've had puppies with tapeworms as the result of breeders using the wrong types of dewormer that have had that belly distention. It's possible its tapeworms in the belly causing pain when the puppy tweaks a certain way. Sentry HC worm X plus would do the trick. Hopefully it is that and not a musculoskeletal issue. The last puppy I had with that kind of distention had 8 inch worms come out when it was treated and they didn't even show up in the vet's fecal test two days before.


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## Briarwoodpups (Feb 20, 2007)

Which state are you in? I can recommend a good chiropractor near me. She is also very good with kineseology and is good about zeroing in on causes. I'm in Ohio. Worming would definitely be in order. We had problems with this wormer and that wormer not doing the trick, so I personally switched to natural worming methods, which works better for us since it deals with all parasites. Hope you find your answers!! They're out there somewhere!! Please keep us posted. I'm very curious how this will all sort out.


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## MoShannon13 (Jun 23, 2013)

Thank you to everybody for expressing concern and giving advice! We took him to the vet on Monday and the vet was puzzled which wasn't surprising. He felt all around his body several times, watched him walk around and play around. He decided to draw blood and do a CBC and chemistry panel. Well, it was unremarkable. The only thing he mentioned was that he was just a tiny bit anemic and his protein was a tiny bit low but that it wasn't clinically significant. 

Here's the good news...Monday night he slept through the night, Tuesday woke up a bundle of energy, more than we have seen yet. Tuesday he slept through the night and woke up Wednesday with even more energy. Same thing last night. So, whatever it was, it seems it is disappearing. Thank God!

We have decided to switch his food to Fromm large breed puppy. We are concerned that he is a tad underweight. Monday at the vet he was 11.4lbs and he was 10 weeks old on Monday. He has a healthy appetite, especially for our food! The only extras he gets besides his kibble is a teaspoon or so of yogurt in the morning and some brewer's yeast to keep the fleas away. We will occasionally give him a slice of banana or a tiny piece of cheese. 

I'm so relieved he seems to be getting better. You have no idea how worried I was!

Thank you all again!


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## Capone22 (Sep 16, 2012)

To me it looks like pain is causing him to stiffen. Not vice versa. I don't think it's his hips or back. It looks like he gets a pain in his stomach ad stiffens from the pain which makes him walk funny for a minute. I would guess gas pains. Could be parasites, worms Etc. hold off on any more vaccines. Make sure he is de wormed. If he walks and runs fine during the day I highly doubt it has anything to do with joints. Could also have been something in his food if you noticed a change after you changed food. I hope he continues to get better!! Poor little guy. I'm sorry you have had to spend so much time and money at the vet already  


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## BowWowMeow (May 7, 2007)

I am glad that he is feeling better! I would not put him on puppy food though, because you don't want him growing too quickly.


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## buckeye1 (Jun 17, 2013)

MoShannon13 said:


> Thank you to everybody for expressing concern and giving advice! We took him to the vet on Monday and the vet was puzzled which wasn't surprising. He felt all around his body several times, watched him walk around and play around. He decided to draw blood and do a CBC and chemistry panel. Well, it was unremarkable. The only thing he mentioned was that he was just a tiny bit anemic and his protein was a tiny bit low but that it wasn't clinically significant.
> 
> Here's the good news...Monday night he slept through the night, Tuesday woke up a bundle of energy, more than we have seen yet. Tuesday he slept through the night and woke up Wednesday with even more energy. Same thing last night. So, whatever it was, it seems it is disappearing. Thank God!
> 
> ...


After reading all the replays and watching that video I'm so glad that he is going to be ok. Poor little thing. I was thinking about the food and maybe he was to weak and didn't have enough strength to pull him self up. But either way glad to hear he's going to be ok.

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## llombardo (Dec 11, 2011)

Good News..Yay Now more pictures please, he is a cutie!!


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## MoShannon13 (Jun 23, 2013)

Here is his most current picture. I took this one this past Saturday. We were on our way to Home Depot. I stayed with him in the car and he promptly fell asleep. 

Got his 3rd round of shots today, took him for a short (10 minute) walk and now he's passed out! He was 13.7lbs at the vet today. Such a cutie, I'm glad he's OK. He seems to like his new food (Fromm large breed puppy). I know someone recommended against large breed puppy food but this is part of our breeder contract and to not feed a diet with more than 28% protein. Fromm has 26%, I believe and the Eukanuba large breed puppy also had 26% protein, which is what we switched him from.

He is 11 weeks old today and getting big! Enjoy the pic!


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## Msmaria (Mar 2, 2013)

What a ciute pie. So glad to hear hes doing better.:hug:


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## Rowlo97 (Jun 16, 2020)

MoShannon13 said:


> We have a 10 week old pure bred GSD from working lines. We picked him up on June 6th and have had him ever since. We have not left him alone and his crate is in the living room, where we have been sleeping every night ever since. Last Tuesday, June 18th, he was taking a nap and he woke up yelping like we were butchering him alive. It happened to coincide with a thunderstorm and we thought he may have been afraid of the thunder. A few hours passes and he ended up eating more food than usual. He woke up yelping again around 9:30 and his belly looked distended. We ended up taking him to an emergency vet and they recommended x rays and blood tests but we declined as he seemed to get better and we could not palpate anywhere on him that produced pain. Tuesday night he yelped throughout the night. We tried putting him in bed with us and he wanted to go off by himself and would still wake up and yelp.
> 
> The next day, Wednesday, he woke up playing like normal and pooped twice after eating breakfast. We assumed his belly was ok since he had been pooping normally and eating normally. As the day goes on, he seems to get more whiney but only when sleeping. We thought since he was running around playing and not limping or showing any signs of pain while he was awake that it was just a transient thing. Well, Wednesday night was awful. He was waking up yelping every 15-20 minutes. Whenever he did this, he would change positions. By Thursday morning he was practically yelping just about constantly. We took him to the vet, they did x rays and watched him walk and palpated his whole body. She thought she found a sensitive spot on his right hip but she didn't seem concerned and the x rays were unremarkable. She sent us home with tramadol and told us to give him 0.1ml, 1-2 times per day. We gave it to him Thursday during the day because he hadn't really slept the night before. He slept for about 5 hours, woke up and was acting normal, running around playing. Thursday night he was still yelping. We gave him another dose in the middle of the night. Friday he woke up playing normally. Friday night, more yelping. Saturday, more playing normally. Saturday night (last night) a little less yelping. We have given him medicine for the past three nights and nothing seems to be working. He is napping now and is continuing to wake up and yelp. He will occasionally have bouts where he yelps very loudly for 30 seconds to 1 minute and there isn't anything we can do to comfort him.
> 
> ...


i know that I am a fair few years late on this post, but my german shepherd has just started doing this exact same thing. I can’t for the life of me work out what has brought it on. He was fine when he woke up this morning, then had a sleep after a bit of a play and then some lunch like normal and after that sleep he just randomly started yelping. He had he’s vaccinations this morning but after talking to a few people yelling isn’t really a common side affect. I can’t go through all the comments to see if you worked out the problems or the outcome, so if you happen to see this please let me know so I can see if my pup has a similar issue


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

The OP has not been here for 7 years so s/he will not see your post.


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