Beagle with shoulder spasms, walking slow outside, HELP!!

Hi guys and gals,

I'm looking for some help and insight because I'm lost and very worried right now. My 5 year old beagle Tony got hurt earlier in the week. I think he got hurt at the dog park last weekend. He was running around and playing like always but refused to leave the park afterwards. He just didn't want to walk back home. I assumed maybe he was just tired or just didn't want to leave so I didn't think much of it. That night, he started yelping and crying every time you would touch his throat/jaw area. Of course I freaked out and rushed him to the vet. The vet examined him and concluded Tony probably hurt his neck. The vet gave him Metacam and Tramadol. I'm not sure it's helping. It's almost been a week and Tony is acting really weird. When Tony is at home, he acts normal. He's able to jump on and off the bed like nothing. No signs of pain at all. He eats normally and plays a lot. But when we got outside, he walks VERY slow. He is able to go to the bathroom but he walks step by step and has a depressed look on his face. He walks some and just stops. If I pick him up he starts yelping and crying out. I also notice his shoulder muscles next to his neck twitch/spasm really fast. He also shakes his body/head very gently, like when he shakes his head to dry himself. I called the vet and he told me it's the medicine that's making Tony woozy and depressed when he goes outside and should just give it time and keep the walks to a minimum. I'm just really worried. Could this be arthritis? Spinal injury? Pinched nerve? I'm so lost!! :(

Sounds similar to my dog who sprained his back. Riley would be okay at home but experienced weakness in his back leg while out walking. We have a IMS guy we use for our other senior dog (similar to accupuncture) and he helped a ton with Riley and now he is back to almost normal. I also had great experience using traumeel which is a homeopathic remedy which can be used with the metacam. I didn't want to use the prescribed NSAID for Riley so I tried just the traumeel and it worked well for us. I have restricted activity to on leash only and worked back up to off leash over about a month. There is still no ball playing or rough housing allowed.

I would suggest a follow up visit with your vet and to try a chiropractor or accupuncturist if available.

Good luck :goodvibes:.

I would also suggest not allowing the dog to jump on and off anything until the problem is resolved. If it is a skeletal issue, jarring the bones could aggravate the problem. And if it is a sprain, since the dog is on pain meds he may overtax the muscles.