Any advice, please? Problem with hind legs?

[BertrandRussell]

We have a vet appointment for Monday, but can anyone suggest what might be wrong?

Out 8 year old border bitch has suddenly stopped wanting to stand on her hind legs. She is a great "begger" and always tries to charm tit bits out of us by standing up. But she won't, even if we hold a treat out of reach. She doesn't seem to be in any pain and isn't lame when she walks and runs. She seems her usual self apart from this. Might it be the beginning of arthritis or something?

Could be arthritis, could be damage to the spine.

Definitely worth checking.

Might even be some muscle problem, that would be your best option.

We had something similar with one of our dogs. She took a long time to stand up, but once moving seemed to be okay. The vet diagnosed it as a problem with her cruciate ligaments. She's a small dog, and it got better on its own.

Likely due to arthritis at this age.

The 'sit up and beg' position is very unnatural for a quadruped - it over extends the spine and hips and puts unnatural stress on these joints. I'd suggest that you stop asking her for this behaviour. It's likely the arthritis hasn't yet impacted her normal mobility - but unnatural positions will be hard.

I know about it being unnatural- try telling her that!

If it was damage to her spine would she still be running and jumping?

Possibly yes. Dogs who love to play will still play even when it hurts.
Also depending on the type of pain it may be specific to her toileting posture for example.

It's difficult to say from your description whether pain is a factor. It may be cognitive dysfunction alone. Both are with investigating

Sorry - response above is on wrong thread

But yes active dogs will often remain active even when it's painful - they're often more sore after activity so don't necessarily pair the two experiences

But it may be that position has started to be uncomfortable and so she's linked it with pain

Yes, she can still run and walk.

There are many degrees to damage to the spine, some trauma, or degenerative.