Having Difficulty Jumping - Page 1

I felt I would like to ask the opinion of other GSD owners regarding one of my dogs.  She is nearly seven years old, and of slim build.  Just recently she has hesitated (although willing) but not able to jump into the back of my car.  Yesterday, when I took the dogs out and they jumped over a nearby wall (which is not high), but it does slope to a lower end, and this particular dog hesitated at the higher end and went down to the lower end before jumping over.  She did not show any distress, just purely choosing the smaller height.

She appears healthy in all other ways.  She does not make any sound of discomfort when getting up from resting.  Neither does she seem stiff or slow.  In fact she is very spritely!

I am not aware of any injury while with the other dogs.  (She is not the roughest).  It seems as though it must be something in relation to her spine or back legs.  However, the car and the small wall are the only indications that something does not appear right.  She as never had any problem in this way before.

I would appreciate any of your thoughts, advice or any past experience yourselves similar to this.


Thank you,
Vixen

Your dog is telling you something and that something is that, for whatever reason, jumping is becoming a problem for her. She may have pain on jumping, or she may realize she cannot jump as high as she used to be able to jump. Even at only 7 years old, she is not a young dog anymore.

My suggestion is to not let her jump. If in a week or two you see this same hesitation I would suggest you take her to a vet for an exam. Probably nothing will show without x-rays, and even then, perhaps nothing will show up. Remember that many dogs are very stoic. This means they do NOT show outward evidence of pain, so it is up to us to notice the subtle signs. Her hesitation to jump is just that. Perhaps she only has a muscle pull, but it could be something worse, like a pinched nerve or or some other problem.

Good luck.

Vixen,
There could be so many reasons for this.
In time you will know.

Just watch and be patient, I would not rush off to see a vet.
Observe and watch for other changes.

Moons.

My first guess would just simply be something hurts, or at least doesn't feel right.
But that could be caused by so many things that I would just watch and see how this progresses in time.

Consider getting her a chiropractic adjustment, they are not too expensive and can do wonders, it certainly can't hurt her.

 My male 5 1/2 year old, Sch 3 IPO 3 fantastic working dog and he could jump up high in his bite work and was an active and agile boy. Some months back he hesitated to up into my car, I thought he was lazy which was not his character to be so. 

six months later I discovered thru a blood test he had kidney failure. I never suspected this, my vet did not either as he was such a young dog. 2 weeks ago, I lost him. I missed him dearly and wished I had checked his blood work sooner.

My advice is if you see your dog's usual behavior change, do a blood work. It is worth spending the money.