Last night, our miniature schnauzer dog jumped off the bed awkwardly,
when he discovered the cat was there. It was dark, so I didn't see how
he fell, but he wimpered pitifully for a few moments, making me
concerned that he had seriously hurt himself in a fall. After checking
out his legs and playing with him for awhile, he seemed to be fine,
except for one thing: when he starts to shake, he doesn't do it as
vigorously as we frequently see him do. I massaged his neck, thinking
he may have hurt it, and I checked his ears thinking that the injury
might be some kind of vertigo problem. But, he's not sensitive to
this, and I can't find anything definitely wrong, except this tendency
to not shake so hard. He sort of starts to shake and then stops. It's
sort of like the prop of a plane that won't start. Is this a sign that
he is seriously injured, or will this problem go away? We just took
him to the vet and dished out $250 for another unrelated problem, so
that's why I'm asking here rather than taking him back to the vet.

Take your dog to the vet. A little over three years ago my schnauzer jumped
off the bed and could not walk. It was right before Christmas he was at the
vet for two weeks and then home for about another two. He go to the point
he got worse and we had to put him to sleep. Please don't let it go get your
dog checked.
Please keep me posted as to how your dog is doing.

Donna
"Dali Dog" wrote in message
oups.com...
Last night, our miniature schnauzer dog jumped off the bed awkwardly,
when he discovered the cat was there. It was dark, so I didn't see how
he fell, but he wimpered pitifully for a few moments, making me
concerned that he had seriously hurt himself in a fall. After checking
out his legs and playing with him for awhile, he seemed to be fine,
except for one thing: when he starts to shake, he doesn't do it as
vigorously as we frequently see him do. I massaged his neck, thinking
he may have hurt it, and I checked his ears thinking that the injury
might be some kind of vertigo problem. But, he's not sensitive to
this, and I can't find anything definitely wrong, except this tendency
to not shake so hard. He sort of starts to shake and then stops. It's
sort of like the prop of a plane that won't start. Is this a sign that
he is seriously injured, or will this problem go away? We just took
him to the vet and dished out $250 for another unrelated problem, so
that's why I'm asking here rather than taking him back to the vet.

"Dali Dog" wrote in message
oups.com...
Last night, our miniature schnauzer dog jumped off the bed awkwardly,
when he discovered the cat was there.
But, he's not sensitive to
this, and I can't find anything definitely wrong, except this tendency
to not shake so hard. He sort of starts to shake and then stops. It's
sort of like the prop of a plane that won't start. Is this a sign that
he is seriously injured, or will this problem go away?

..........Don't know really. Usually with stuff like this I keep an eye on
them for a couple of days while limiting their activity. I've never had
small dogs though, so don't know how more prone they are to injury than a 55
lb dog. I would lightly press your fingers down each side of the spine
keeping an eye on the dog for signs that you've hit a sore spot. If you
find any vertebrae that seem to be out of line or hit a definite depression
in the musculature on either side of the spine, then I think I'd head for
the vet for X-rays. Personally I would be the spine I'd be most worried
about. Lightly press on all parts of the leg starting at the paw and
working up. Try putting each leg through a normal range of motion. You
might be able to isolate the problem area.

......You might think about getting one of those ramps so your dog doesn't
jump off the bed any more. Not something I have to worry about, as there's
no room on my bed for dogs!

buglady
take out the dog before replying

Thanks for both replys. The bed does seem a little high, and with
hardwood floors, a little hard for a bad landing. He jumps up easily,
but jumping down seems a bit more challenging. In this case, the cat
was there and he fell back, we think. The second post seems more in
line with the degree of injury here. Dali seems to be recovering OK on
his own, and not getting worse. He is gradually shaking harder and
harder. I have tried massaging up and down his spine and can't find
anything definite, but I'll try again with a more exacting technique.
On problem with the vet and the x-rays, is similar to such injury in a
human. If the spine is injured won't the treatment be not only
expensive, but as risky as the injury? I think we need either an
intermediate step, like we did with the last dog in his old age, or a
soft landing, or both. Thanks again for the replies. Incidentally,
dali can be found wrestling vigorously with a larger dog. It's a
pretty funny video. This video was taken before the injury. We don't
know if his wrestling skills have been impaired.
Go to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY5bVRkGyp4

buglady wrote:
"Dali Dog" wrote in message
oups.com...
Last night, our miniature schnauzer dog jumped off the bed awkwardly,
when he discovered the cat was there.
But, he's not sensitive to
this, and I can't find anything definitely wrong, except this tendency
to not shake so hard. He sort of starts to shake and then stops. It's
sort of like the prop of a plane that won't start. Is this a sign that
he is seriously injured, or will this problem go away?

.........Don't know really. Usually with stuff like this I keep an eye on
them for a couple of days while limiting their activity. I've never had
small dogs though, so don't know how more prone they are to injury than a 55
lb dog. I would lightly press your fingers down each side of the spine
keeping an eye on the dog for signs that you've hit a sore spot. If you
find any vertebrae that seem to be out of line or hit a definite depression
in the musculature on either side of the spine, then I think I'd head for
the vet for X-rays. Personally I would be the spine I'd be most worried
about. Lightly press on all parts of the leg starting at the paw and
working up. Try putting each leg through a normal range of motion. You
might be able to isolate the problem area.

.....You might think about getting one of those ramps so your dog doesn't
jump off the bed any more. Not something I have to worry about, as there's
no room on my bed for dogs!

buglady
take out the dog before replying

"Dali Dog" wrote in message
oups.com...
Dali seems to be recovering OK on
his own, and not getting worse. He is gradually shaking harder and
harder.

If the spine is injured won't the treatment be not only
expensive, but as risky as the injury?

..........If you're thinking of surgery, they only do that when the dog is
either in danger of become paralyzed because the spine is so unstable or is
already down and can't walk. I have a 10 yr old who came to me gimpy with a
non-working tail and she went totally down last March. We put her on
injectable steroids for 24 hours and she was back up again. I doubt your
dog has a severe spinal injury. The neck *may* be involved, really depends
on how he landed. I think it's most likely it's just a strain/sprain/bruise
from going down wrong.

........One other option to help fix whatever kinks were put in him from a
wrong landing is to visit a vet chiropractor.

Go to this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jY5bVRkGyp4
........sorry, couldn't see it as I can't watch videos on the present
computer.

buglady
take out the dog before replying