We made it back from the vets. Yikes. Prying open the mouth of a dog who's hurting and terrified of handling...no easy task. But we made it.
Kona didn't have any dental issues, no foreign objects. She was physically capable of opening her mouth all the way. So the diagnosis is officially mystery mouth! The vet's best guess at this point is some sort of soft tissue problem. There's the possibility of TMJ, but we don't know. She may just have a strained muscle in her jaw.
I'm going to try to get Kona back into her routine of morning runs. Her energy hasn't been affected at all and she's eating fine, so I feel comfortable getting out for exercise. At this point the challenge is gauging how much she's actually hurting and how much of her pitifulness is "simply" her fear of me. (She started shaking when I took her out of her crate this morning). If her enthusiasm as she bounded down the yard after her vet visit is any indication, I'm hopeful that she's not in too much pain.
Thank you all for your well wishes. It's so nice to have other crazy pet people who can empathize. Kona seems comfortable and will probably be sleeping off that vet visit for awhile.
I hope we'll be back to regular Running with Kona adventures soon!
9 comments:
Ah, that's frustrating that they didn't find anything. Maybe she pulled a muscle in her jaw or something? I guess that would fall under soft tissue problem. I hope she's okay!
Do you pet Kona a lot? On and around her head? Some gentle massage might be helpful, or help you to recognize if anything changes. You describe her being fearful of you at times, but this could become a good thing to do, perhaps offer treats while doing it.
Jo and Stella
Oh no, not a mystery illness. That's the worst.
I hope whatever is causing her to fear you gets resolved soon.
Glad it's nothing serious, but it's always frustrating when you have no idea what's causing her pain.
She's such a pretty little girly! Looking forward to reading about your running adventures soon, tell that girl to heal quickly :)
Your poor snoozle bug. I'm glad the vet didn't find any broken teeth or tumors or anything, but I know how sad I feel when Lilly seems afraid of me ... of all people.
Use your body language, including blinking and yawning around her, to help her calm down.
I'm glad Kona did ok at the vet's. And best of all, that there wasn't anything in her mouth. I'm sure she'll heal quickly and she'll be her usual self in no time. Healing Kisses to Kona.
I hope the mystery mouth problem disappears and does not show its ugly head again!!! Glad they did not find anything alarming. Hope Kona got a really good treat for handling getting her mouth checked....that could not have been one of her favorite moments, but we are so glad it went ok.
I hate "mystery" diagnoses, but I guess that we get them from our own docs frequently too! I hope that Miss Kona feels happier soon. It must be sad to have her seem afraid of you. At least you know that it's a physical thing... and that will heal.
In November my 8 year old Portuguese Water Dog, Samba was diagnosed with Masticatory Muscle Myositis, an auto-immune disease where the body tries to destroy the jaw muscles. It can be confirmed with a blood test. I noticed that she was having trouble eating and when I tried to open her mouth, she screamed.
We started her immediately on high doses of steroids and she now has 90% use of her jaw.
I've blogged about Samba's disease on http://theportuguesewaterblog.blogspot.com
I hope your girl doesn't have this, but since successful means fast treatment, it's worth asking your vet. If I can help please e-mail me.
Sue
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