[fizlelj]

Cleo is a 5yr old Pom. She takes spells of screaming and her neck gets really stiff. The vet told me it "might" be a vertabrae, but would take over $2000 to know for sure, he medicated. She is doing this again and I can't seem to get any straight answers or help. It doens't happen all the time and she is in obvious pain when it does. She is now shaking her head back but her ears aren't sore. I am worried and confused and the vet can't seem to help either. He's baffled. She is my baby and love her very much. Can anyone help?

[Lara's mom]

I'd say it's time to get a second opinion. If there are any x rays or other test results, ask for them as they may be of use to the other vet.

[Yogi]

The 2000.00 is most likely for the MRI which would clearly show what many x-rays do not pick up or is exploratory surgery. Is the dog prone to jumping down from furniture ie: back of couch to the floor. Or off the bed to hardwood floors? The reason I ask is that when the front legs hit the ground, the force drives the shoulders back and causes the neck to in a sense suffer whip lash.
In many small breeds this causes neck injuries where they have slipped a disc in the neck. Common cure is to sedate the dog and keep it crated with very little movement for anywhere from a week to 10 days to allow time for the disc to heal. Like Lara's Mom I would seek a second opinion from a vet with knowledge of chiropractics in canines. Also, an x-ray could very well show an issue in the neck if it is clear. MRI's will also pick up tumors ie: brain etc that are commonly missed by x-rays.