Yesterday afternoon, Kona became scared of me. This has happened enough times in the past that I know it means one of two things. Either she's physically not well, or she associated something that scared her with me.
Her fear confused me yesterday because I couldn't link it to one of the two usual causes. It really seemed to be out of the blue. But I know Kona too well and thankfully, she doesn't get scared of me for no reason.
Today, she has given me more clues and I'm afraid we're headed to the vet tomorrow. The first thing I noticed this morning was that she restricted her yawn. I had suspicions yesterday that her mouth hurt, and she kept confirming them today.
Along with the restricted yawn, Kona is reluctant to put things in her mouth. She did eat this morning, but this afternoon she has started to spit out whatever I give her. She'll pick it up and eat it after she spits it out, but her initial reaction is pain.
When I tried to open her mouth to see what was going on in there, she yelped. That was it. She's been pretty darn pitiful with me since then.
I have to admit that I absolutely hate taking Kona to the vet. She ends up at such a high level of fear it's hard for me to watch her. Then, it often takes her a few days to be comfortable around me again because of the fear-by-association thing.
But I have a feeling this one isn't going to figure itself out on its own. Fingers crossed for nothing serious and a healthy Kona Dog.
8 comments:
Poor Kona, poor you. I sure hope she is ok.
I'll be thinking of you. Seems to me we're all spending too much time at the vet lately! Our dogs already have enough to deal with, they don't need physical problems on top of the emotional ones.
Here's to healthy dogs!
Let us know how Kona's doing.
oh my gosh, I wonder if she could have broke a tooth or something like that, hope it is nothing serious. I would imagine taking poor Kona to the vet would not be a picnic for either one of you.....
I feel bad for both of you - there's nothing worse than seeing your dog act funny around YOU. Hopefully it's nothing serious. But, your guess about it being something wrong with her mouth does sound pretty good. Best of luck at the vet - sorry this had to happen!
PS - If you'd like, I can babble about my experiences with a couple of nutraceuticals, since you said in your last comment to me that you might want to look in to them. My e-mail addy is samscicchigno at gmail dot com, so, if you'd like, you can send me a message or give me your e-mail (or even post here, if you prefer) and I'd be happy to share the few things that I know with you.
Ouch! Nothing worse than mouth pain. Poor Kona. We'll keep our fingers and paws crossed that it's nothing terrible.
Lilly is due to have her annual exam soon. I may start popping by the vet hospital when we're out so that we can start conditioning the location again.
KB said your blog was interesting and I wanted to say hello. I am a retired person, and after a lifetime of dogs, I can say I have never had a fearful dog such as the Beautiful Kona is. You sound like the perfect person for this girl, understanding and kind.
Her mouth problem sounds sort of alarming to me and I will stop back tomorrow and see what the Vet had to say. I do send my very best wishes for Kona and you.
Jo, Stella's Mom
Poor Kona. It must really hurt. I hope that it's nothing too serious. We had a 'paws crossed' photo yesterday. They're crossed for you!
My dog, K, was terrified of the vet as a youngster. We did a bunch of vet visits where we acted like it was a normal visit but nothing but wonderful things happened. She got lots of treats, pats, etc. They even took her 'into the back' like they'd do if she were to get blood drawn, and just gave her tons of treats. She still gets somewhat stressed at the vet but our series of pretend appointments made a big difference.
In any case, I hope that Kona is back to her normal self very soon!
Oh no! We'll be thinking about you and Miss Kona! I think Sara's right that we've all spent a little bit too much time at our vets lately. At least we can all support each other I guess :) Sending good thoughts your way!
Ouch - Hope you can find the cause quickly for Kona. Our dogs really do not like to show pain, do they?
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