Hobartian
Notable member
Well - an update and I think it is good news! Our new male is walking normally today, tail wagging, bright eyed and engaged (although right now he is zonked out under his favorite "security" bush). My husband and I were able to conclude that his submissive behavior was really due to pain. He showed classic signs of pain, looking away, eyes looking anxious, not responding to treats or food, difficulty getting up and laying down, and when standing, back legs close together, hind quarters swaying a little and leaning slightly on his back left (we were worried it might be hip dysplasia). Five days ago, he was in a cramped spot and turned suddenly and yelped twice in 2 minutes. We think his hip joint may have loosened or fallen out of socket (similar to dysplasia) and now it seems to have corrected itself later this morning after all that time (we had forgotten about the yelp incident). We treated him this morning with an aspirin (was able to get it in by wrapping it in cheese), some horse liniment on his hips and a hot water bottle on his right hip for about 15 minutes (used just an aspirin yesterday with good results). Since then, he has been all good, interested, eating and like the dog we adopted on the first day. Crossing fingers that tomorrow is also a good day and that he does not revert back to the submissive like behavior but think the problem may be done. Our previous doberman would go through this once or twice a year.