My Dog whines all the time. What could be the problem?

My Chihuahua, Finona, is about 10 months old. She has a hip problem and has to hop because the surgery that would fix it would cause her leg to become immobile. Recently she has been whining a lot and I'm sure it's not for attention. She could be outside or in another room or I could even be paying attention to her and still she whines. We also believe she could be pregnant. What should we do?

  • Vetinfo

    By: Shawn Haubenstricker El Segundo, CA

    Replied on 10/14/2011

    I am curious as to what her "hip problem" is? There isn't any surgical procedure involving the hip that I can think of that would cause her whole leg to become immobile.  I would recommend that you review your dog's problem again with your veterinarian, and then get a second opinion by an orthopedic specialist.

    A dog that will not use a leg is typically not using it due to pain. There are some injuries that involve nerve damage, and if that is the case than it is possible that the dog is not painful, but if there is a surgical procedure that can fix it, that shouldn't be the scenario with your dog.

    Some dogs may whine just to get attention, they may be scared, uncomfortable, nervous, anxious—any number of reasons.  There is always a reason that they do this, we may just not understand it or think it is justified, and until dogs talk... we will never really know.

    One way you could find out if it is pain related is to try her on some pain relief medication.  If you notice a difference in her within a few days, then you know that it is indeed pain related.  You certainly should rule out whether or not she is pregnant before starting any medication for her.  Is she able to give birth normally with her injury?  That would be something to discuss with her veterinarian before the pregnancy progresses to far, you may need to make a difficult choice.

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