Dog Acting Strange

by Rebecca Nichol
(Green Bay, WI, USA)

Our dog is acting strange. Usually she jumps up and down off the bed, couch, truck, you name it. Over the last two months we have noticed her sleeping on the floor instead of with us in the bed. We took her for a ride in the truck and I had to lift that 85 pound body out of the truck because I could not get her to jump out.

Mia is a four year old rough collies pure breed. She shows no noticeable pain. I ran my hands up and down her legs and back and checked the pads of her feet and didn't notice anything out of the ordinary.

The only thing we noticed is that she seems depressed, not as active. She has a 6 year old collie sister who she usually pounds on and chases for fun everyday. Now she just lays around on the floor.

Even when she tries to get on the couch she puts her front legs up first and then walks up with her hind, it is not a jump. She can also go up and down our two story stair case just fine. She just doesn't do the croutch-jump action.

As I was looking through the pics, I realized she has not rolled on her back in a long time and she used to do that every night. She eats and drinks just fine and is happy as can be when she goes to the bathroom outside. It just seems like there is pain somewhere I can not find.

I finally gave her some aspirin the other night and she seemed 60% better in the leaping department. But the other night I noticed the outer area of her eyes had turned a blood red color.

She hasn't gotten into anything that I know of, and does not stick her head out of the car window. She is current on all her shots.

I have a vet appointment for Wednesday which was the soonest I could get her in. I would spend my last penny on her if it would make her feel better, but money is so tight right now I thought you might have an idea about what the problem could be.

The vet wants poo samples blood, work ups, everything. Do you think this is too much or should I just get her back x-rayed for now?

Do you think the eye problem is a separate issue, or a sign of something worse?