One Yelp, No Yelp. But Two?

I like to believe that I'm quite tuned into Cookie's wants, needs, and any signs of a problem. She communicates well and doesn't hold back. Yet, there are times I wish she just could speak in plain English.

It is one thing to know that something isn't right, it is another to try and figure out what is going on.

Cookie has been doing well, having a jolly time, with exceptions of the days when the biting insects are totally out of control. She looks good and everything checks out during her regular PT appointments.

One morning, while on the walk, she was behind me when she yelped.

I was with her immediately, checking her out and trying to find out what happened. There was a bush of very picky weed where she was standing - perhaps she stepped on that?

I watched her carefully for the rest of the day but there was no indication of a problem. Perhaps she did step on the "picky" after all and that's all there was to it.

Everything seemed in order for the rest of the day.

When the next morning same thing happened, I started freaking out. If was a different area, different terrain. There were no weeds of any kind, just dirt.

She yelped again and looked "spooked." It took a while to comfort her. Whatever it was, she considered it a major event.

Should one rush to a vet with something like that?

After it was over, it was over and there were no further signs of something being wrong. I was mostly concerned about her knee(s) but she wasn't limping. I know that one yelp can signify a busted knee ligament. But it is followed by favoring of the affected leg. Cookie did not do that.

More importantly, it was Sunday (as always as it seems) and hubby was away on top of it. Meaning I would have to fetch one of the neighbors to drive us.

Because nothing else alarming followed, I kept the vet check-up option as a plan B.

When I talked about it to hubby on a phone, he was convinced that perhaps Cookie got a deer fly bite. Deer fly bites do hurt, no doubt. But I have seen Cookie being bit by those things and know her reaction, and it doesn't include yelping.

I figured that the best way to find out what happened might be from Cookie herself.

I contacted our animal communicator.

All I really wanted to know was the reason behind the yelps but I asked for a full "work-up" while at it. The following is the report.

I first went over the area of Cookie’s head and her teeth and mouth look good.

As I start to go down her neck I am drawn down the front right leg and it feels like the leg turns out at the foot as if something off in the foot itself. [perhaps a picky weed after all?]

I do feel like she has gotten into something that was not alive as I see her drawn to a certain area, digging, sniffing and licking but I don’t feel this is a problem I feel she is just letting me know of her “find”. [Cookie and her finds]

I feel pressure on the left side of her abdominal area and she feels a bit gassy.

Please check under her front right leg, on a person it would but up in the armpit area as she is giving me the sense of a bit of swelling there like swollen gland. [through further discussion we determine it's likely the way Cookie's new harness feels]

Her alignment seems a bit off in the rear but I don’t feel this is causing her problems her right hip seems to be sitting forward but I feel it is more pelvic than hips. [there are issues with Cookie's pelvic region]

She is telling me she is one feisty girl and not in a bad way just that she loves being a dog, truly being a dog and she thanks you for allowing her to do this. It is so good for her mental health. [I try hard to give her what I think she wants and needs]

She is showing me the image of something wrapped in tin foil but I can’t make out what is inside but she is sitting as if waiting for it. [LOL There was a "doggy bag" in the fridge for her]

She is showing me her back right knee and the area just below it but the knee itself seems stable so I don’t feel its ligaments she takes me down farther to an indented area there but again I am not feeling this is a big issue for her.

Her liver values come through as being off, twice I have heard “liver” and I feel like there is some issues on a cellular level here because I am hearing breaking down but I am not sure if this is the actual liver or she is having problems metabolism which I am more leaning towards but I am told it is not a thyroid issue. [we established it's likely some of the things she chooses to ingest, as her spring blood panel looked good]

Her kidneys and bladder seem to be ok and she is getting down into a position of wanting to pounce so I feel her energy level is still very good and she is still very active.

She is showing me a human foot and I’m not sure why but it feels almost like she is concerned about your foot or your footing? [well, my footing is often in jeopardy]

Everything seems to be going well along the nervous system.

When I asked her about her pain she is mid stride and I feel a pull again on the side of the of the lower abdominal/upper pelvic region and I don’t feel it is organ related as I am seeing a band of muscle here. [point for investigation]

She shows me laying down with her head up on something as if she is tired from daily stuff but at the same time she is always alert and aware. [Cookie loves laying on her cooling bed with her head propped on her "regular bed."]

She shows me an animal in like stalking movement and I thought this was her at first but then she showed me she is aware of this animal in he distance so I’m not sure if this is coyote but it feels like she is not concerned about it but aware of its presence. [there is a fox here and some kind of a fox/coyote hybrid animal]

She truly feels she has the best life and I get so many images of digging, and sniffing and running and sniffing with her it’s like she is living the doggie dream and she loves it.

She is giving you a lick on the face as if to say she loves you but she does not like to show a lot of affection but you just know how she feels about you.

She seems to be straining a bit when going to the bathroom so I’m not sure if she is constipated but then she shows me sort of being unsteady and again drawn to that left side area so more muscular than digestive. [Cookie likes her bones and I try to offset with increased fiber but it doesn't always work out to avoid some hard stools]

A full body scan is part of the assessment.

BODY SCAN
Eyes –   good
Ears –    good
Mouth –  good
Thyroid -  good
Neurologically –  good
Digestive –   as above I feel almost like there is a problem with breakdown and absorption of certain foods and more specifically she shows me what looks like a squash?
Pancreas –   good
Liver –  as above
Spleen -  good
Heart-  good
Lungs –  good
Spine –   I feel the pelvic area is off a bit but not really concerning to her the rest seems good
Hips -  the right appears to be a bit on the looser side than the left but both still have good motion
Kidneys –   ok     would just monitor her water intake it feels like she drinks a lot and then goes awhile without drinking
Adrenals –  good
Rear Legs –  left seems good   right as above
Front Legs –  right as above left ok
Abdomen –   she seems sensitive on the left side as above especially when the left leg is pulled back as if stretching the area
Pelvic –  as above

This gave me some areas to investigate, particularly knowing that Cookie's pelvic region does have problems.

I shared the assessment with Cookie's PT and it turned out that her findings during the last appointment aligned with the points from the report.

To be continued ...


Related articles:
From The End Of A Lead Line To Casa Jasmine: Meet Cookie, Our New Adoptee
And So It Begins Again(?) Our First Health-Related Heart Attack With Cookie 
I Didn't Know I Could Fly: Why Cookie Wears A Harness Instead Of A Collar
C.E.T. Oral Hygiene Chews For Dogs CAN Be A Choking Hazzard 
Our First Health-Related Heart Attack With Cookie: The Knee Or The Foot?
Creative Solutions And An Incidental Product Review
Too Young For Pot: Cookie's Snack With A Side Of Hydrogen Peroxide  
Taming Of The Wild Beast: Cookie's Transition To Civilization  
Staying On Top Of The Ears: Cookie Is Not Impressed  
Putting The Easy Back Into Walking
Cookie's Ears Are Still Not Happy 
The Threat Of The Bulge Is Always Lurking 
Today Is Cookie's Three-Months Adoptoversary  
Cookie Meets The Electric Horse Fence And Her First Chiropractic Adjustment  
Why Examine Your Dog's Vomit? 
Why Is That Leg Still Not Happy? Cookie's Leg Keeps Getting Sore 
Cookie Too Is Insured With Trupanion
Does Being Insured Mean Being Covered? Our First Claim With Trupanion
Is Cookie's Leg Finally Getting Better?
Is Cookie Going To Be Another Medical Challenge Or Are We Looking Too Closely? 
The Project That Is Cookie: Pancreatitis Up Close And Personal  
Pancreatitis: Cookie’s Blood Work   
Another Belly Upset: Pancreatitis Again Or Not?  
Happy Birthday, Cookie 
Incontinence? Cookie's Mysterious Leaks 
Who's Training Whom? Stick And Treat 
Don't Just Stand There, Do Something? Cookie's Mysterious Bumps 
Cookie's Mysterious Bumps Update
One Vomit, No Vomit 
Happy One-Year Adoptoversary, Cookie!
Cookie's Leaks Are Back: Garden Variety Incontinence Or Not?
Cookie's Leaks Update 
Don't Panic, Don't Panic: Know What Your Job Is 
The Continuing Saga Of Cookie's Leeks: Trying Chiropractic Approach 
Cookie's Minor Eye Irritation
Regular Wellness Exam: Cookie's ALT Was Elevated 
Cookie's Plantar Paw Pad Injury 
How Far To Take It When The Dog Isn't Sick?
Cookie Has Tapeworm Infection 
Cookie's Elevated ALT: The Ultrasound and Cytology  
Cookie's ALT Update
The Importance of Observation: Cookie's Chiropractic Adjustment
Sometimes You Don't Even Know What You're Looking at: Cookie's Scary "We Have No Idea What that Was" 
Living with an Incontinent Dog 
Summer Dangers: Cookie Gets Stung by a Bald-faced Hornet 
To Breathe or Not To Breathe: Cookie's Hind Legs Transiently Fail to Work (Again)
Figuring out What Might Be Going on with Cookie's Legs: The Process 
Figuring out What Might Be Going on with Cookie's Legs: The Diagnosis 
Cookie's Iliopsoas Injury Treatment: Trazodone  
Cookie's Iliopsoas Injury Treatment: Other Medications 
Cookie's Iliopsoas Injury Treatment: Laser, Hydrotherapy, and Chiropractic 
Cookie's Recovery from Iliopsoas Injury: ToeGrips 
It Never Rains ... Cookie's New Injury 
Mixed Emotions: When What You Should Do Might Not Be What You Should Do for Your Dog 
Cookie's New Injury Update 
Cookie's Iliopsoas Injury: The Symptoms 
Cookie's Iliopsoas Injury: Battling the Zoomies 
Cookie's Muscle Injuries: What Else Is Going On?
Theory and Actual Decisions for an Actual Dog Aren't the Same Thing: Cookie's Knee Injury
Does Your Vet Listen to You? Cookie's Post-Sedation Complications
Would I Ever Treat a Symptom Directly? 
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) Treatment for Cookie's Bad Knee(s)
Platelet-Rich Plasma (PRP) for Cookie's Bad Cruciate Update 
Injury or Surgery Recovery: Mishaps versus Setbacks 
See Something, Do Something: Cookie's Lumpectomy 
Cookie's Lumpectomy Update 
Using Pressure Pads to Evaluate Lameness in Dogs: My Observations
Cookie's Musculoskeletal Challenges: What Supplements Am I Using?
Cookie's Musculoskeletal Challenges: Restricted Activity and Weight Management
Cookie's PRP Treatment for Partial Cruciate Tear: Update
Has Your Dog's Physical Therapist Taken Dog Training Classes? 
Cookie's PRP Treatment for Partial Cruciate Tear Update and Considering the Future
Cookie's PRP Treatment for Partial Cruciate (CCL/ACL) Tear and Leg Circumference
Cookie's Wellness Exam
Ticked Off at the Tick Situation: What Do You Use for Tick Prevention?
Ticked Off at the Tick Situation: The Verdict Is In (for Now)
Cookie's Annual Heartworm and Tick-Borne Diseases Test

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