My lapso\apso\poo drastically slowed down this past weekend. She is ten now, and checked frequently with our vet. All vaccinations, etc.

She hesitates for a very long time going up steps she has travelled a thousand times. I don't believe it is her sight, for we questioned this with our vet about a year ago pertaining to another issue. He said that a lot of dog owners are not aware of loss of sight in their dogs if they live in a home for a long time, for they adjust to their surroundings so well.

She laid down to eat on Saturday, and seemed to have a bit of a time getting up. She is not close to being overwieght and is very active for her age. This is very sudden, and she is smarter than some people I know!

She waits for me to turn around and pick her up the stairs! This puzzles me and I want to go away for a week, and leave her with my wife, but will feel very "guilty" if there is something going on.

She has always hung very close to me when she is sick, then to the vet we go, and she is "fixed" and life goes on! She is hanging pretty close right now but not too close!

Does anyone know what could be happening to the bright spot in my life?


P. S. We have her sister from the same litter, and she is fine!

Did she play a bit harder recently?
If she isn't just sore because she overdid it, what you are describing sounds like a dog suffering from arthritis, which in a dog of that age, wouldn't be too uncommon.

It could be that something about going up the steps is causing her some discomfort. Maybe arthritis or an injury that she has sustained perhaps jumping off furniture or roughhousing with her housemate.
Small dogs also can have luxating patellas (knee) that can cause them pain. I would probably take her in for an orthapedic exam to check it out. If so, some mild pain relief may do her a world of good.

"checked frequently with our vet" but has the vet drawn blood since this issue came up? There are many things that can go off course with an older dog. A blood test can detect a great many things but not everything.

I agree with the above posts, the most likely reason is pain, whether it be from arthritis or patella problems. There are some great pain meedications out there to manage these problems, just have a chat to your vet about which one would suit your dog best.

Are there a lot of steps or just a few? Would you consider putting in a ramp for her to make life easier or is that impractical?

I have to get into this discussion with a 'slipped disk' in either the neck or back. Arthritis is another close contender. Patellar problems make a leg that doesn't function as the dog expects to and the affected dog soon learns things that it has difficulty in doing... like jumping. I never really felt that it was discomfort/pain that caused any disuse problems.

When the patella slips off the knee joint, the thigh muscles aren't able to apply full strength to straightening the leg. The 'geometry' is no longer quite right. Doesn't take the dog long to figure this out, just not the reason.