Yesterday evening when I got home and walked the pups, Toby romped around the yard like usual. When I called them in, he sprang into action to run to the door like he usually does, then screamed and stopped moving. He slowly came to the door and crawled up the steps even slower than Maggie usually does.
:( Not good. I think he hurt his back rather seriously.
Last night, he didn't want to eat, but finally did after a bit of coaxing. He wouldn't go outside to go to the bathroom unless I leashed him and gently led him out, once down the stairs he was OK, but still preferred to be indoors. For Toby, this is a huge difference.
This morning, I again had to leash him to get him outside, but he did go when out there, so that's good. He didn't want to eat again this morning, but eventually did when left alone with the food - I put Maggie in a separate section and blocked the room off so he couldn't get out in his current condition (low barriers). Once he ate he rejoined Maggie.
I'm worried about him - the last time this happened it was a pinched nerve in his neck, and it affected his walking and raising his head - but it went away after a few days. We'll just watch him and help him as needed. He does go up and down stairs, just very slowly. Where I can carry Maggie if needed, we cannot carry Toby, he's too likely to snap if he gets nervous or scared, and when he's in pain, that threshhold of violence is far closer than normal.
He let me check his paws, ankles, knees and hips/shoulders - all seem fine, no pain. but when I checked his back about mid-span, perhaps a bit closer to the back than the front, he looked at me with 'that look'. He never growled or snapped though. Good boy.
I'm hoping this clears up on it's own. We have a vet appt for the 30th, I may have to move it up, we'll have to take it one day at a time. I'm just hoping this is self-correcting - I cannot afford any sort of surgery, and even x-rays would stress the budget. If this turns out to be serious and long-term, I would rather have him put to sleep than watch him suffer all day. He looks miserable, I can tell he is in pain pretty much all the time, worse when he goes up or down stairs or dips his head for food or water. I tried putting the food dish higher, but it didn't help.
