Hi! I am Cassie. I have two beautiful siberian girls, Kiska and Akira. Kiska has been randomly crying out in some sort of pain or distress since she was 5-6 months old. These episodes generally last anywhere from 5 seconds to a minute. She seems to sense them coming an hour or so before they happen and acts scared and tries to hide before the screaming episode begins. She proceeds to scream, tuck her tail, and acts like something is wrong with her back end. She has done this inside, outside, and while camping. These episodes are completely unpredictable and can happen within weeks of each other or as long as three months apart. She has also always sat down abruptly like her rear end is bothering her at random times (no scooting or pain associated with the sitting). Any advice as to what this could be?

Here is what I've tried (and I should mention that I'm a veterinary receptionist and technician):
I have taken Kiska to the vet many times for this and he is just as baffled as I am. At first the Dr. thought it could be a problem with her anal glands, but every time we express them they are only half full with no inflammation. This process does seem to make her friskier after though lol. The doc then thought it could be an allergy issue so we changed her diet to a sensitive skin and stomach formula and also have her on 10mg prednisone every other day. This seemed to be working, for 3 months she did not have an episode. Then last week she had another mild one (about 3 seconds of crying, then back to her normal goofy self). Back to the vet we went. He found no problems with her physically. Other than these episodes she is completely healthy; normal bowel movements, healthy appetite, energetic, healthy weight etc. The doc seems to think she over dramatizes her allergic reactions. Does anyone have any experience with this? Not knowing a diagnosis is driving me crazy! I sit around trying to anticipate/watch for signs of the next episode talk about anxiety, which I know is not good for me or my dog :-/ Please help. Thanks

I guess no one has any experience with my girls problem. So frustrating! But I figured that would be the case. We will just hang in there until we can figure this out. Poor girl :-/

I'm sorry, I have no clue what to tell you, I've never experienced anything like this.Good luck with your baby girl.

Could it be a seizure?

wpskier222 wrote:

Could it be a seizure?

This was my first thought too

Kenzi does something similar only it's bugs biting her. I don't think your dog has bugs. It might be some odd seizure, but perhaps something like a pinched nerve? I cry a little too when I get them. They happen fast and seemingly out of the blue and can go away or at least calm down pretty fast too so it could be hard to diagnose. Just the first thing that came to my mind. Not sure how right it could be but maybe a direction to test in.

Maybe a nerve problem? I don't really know either, I was just throwing it out cause it was the first thought that popped in my head. Good luck I hope you get it figured out soon!

Thanks everybody! My vet doesn't think it's seizures, I had that same thought. If they become more frequent or intense I will definitely have her tested for canine epilepsy. I hadn't thought of a pinched nerve, good idea. I will bring that up when I go back to work on tuesday. I hate not being able to help her more, it's definitely one of those times when I wish she could talk! Have a safe Labor Day weekend everyone!

The next time it happens I am going to try to get a video of it. Just so hard to do when I have no clue when an episode could happen.

This may sound silly, but could her fur be matted somewhere on her rear or legs? Or something stuck in the hair that would feel like it's pulling? Evie does the quick sit sometimes when somethings bothering her back there. I'm sure you or the vet would have noticed something like that, but just a thought.

Nope. Lol. Good thought though, thanks! I brush them both weekly. Not mats to be found! Or pitch, we live in a pine forest so we definitely have our share of pitch in fur. Ugh.

How do I attach a picture?

Well we went back to see the vet today. Spent 40 minutes crying and uncomfortable this morning. The doctor took X-rays and he found a bone spur jutting out towards the tail on the L7 (closest to the tail) vertebrae and some minor arthritis on the same vertebrae. The bone spur seems to be causing pinched nerves, which is presumabley the cause of her screaming episodes. We are now on a week long trial of Rimadyl to see if it helps. I am glad to know what is going, but so broken hearted for my baby girl. She's only 2 years old! Does anyone have any experience with a young arthritic dog? Thanks for your thoughts everyone!

Swimming!! It can help keep your pup moving without being as concussive to the joints. Also, gentle stretching seems to help my sports dog. Fish oil (Omega 3 & 6) can be a miracle worker and, of course, the almighty NSAID (just keep the yearly BW going, as I'm sure you already know).

Kiska is now on a cocktail of prednisone and tramadol. She did not respond well to Rimadyl at all, she lost all interest in food when she's normally a very food driven animal. Hope this helps her!

I know this was posted years ago but my last female husky did the same thing for her entire life. Never got an answer from the vet. After she passed away in 2013 I got another purebred ckc registered female from her bloodline. She is now 3 years old and has been doing the same thing as long as I've had her. I also have a strange looking husky with a curly tail and more horizontal spine when standing alert. She's clearly not a pure bred like the other one but she has never had this problem. It happened again today in - 20 weather after she came out of the woods from chasing a rabbit. The last time was after chasing a duck. It seems to happen after she strains something but it has happened when she's just sitting there. I wish there was an answer for this because you feel so helpless when it happens. I'm wondering if it is exclusive to purebred kennel club registered huskys.