Chilly Basset

Does your vet suspect at all that she is in pain? I know that dogs sometime shake when they feel pain. If she stops shaking once she is all snuggly, then perhaps a wool sweater would help!

Is she outside a lot, or are you saying she is shivering inside when it's a bit chilly? I agree, shivering is a sign of pain, José was shivering when he was suffering from cancer at the end. But then again, that big baby would insist on being covered up while on the couch but especially at night. We actually tucked in a blanket between the top of the couch and the wall, so José would just go underneath it and be covered up without needing assistance.

This is just a thought based on once having had a dog with hypothyroidism: cold intolerance and hair loss can be symptoms of this problem- has the vet checked her for that?

http://www.thyroid-info.com/articles/dog-hypo.htm

Thanks for the responses! I was worried it might be pain, which is why I asked the vet, but now I might push a bit more. She does seem to be better when she's tucked under a blanket (she loves it and will actually wake us up at night to put it back on her). I think I might have the vet check for hypothyroidism since she has been getting these rashes on her belly and chest that the vet just thought were allergy related, but could be something. The only thing is that she is REALLY active and loves to run and go on walks and is a really trim weight, but it's worth a go if it is her thyroid.

love the snow pictures!

clare

We got Ruby from the breeder in mid December when she was 11 weeks of age. There was snow everywhere and we drove home from the breeder in the midst of the blizzard.

Ruby was born in Massachusetts (I call it "Bassetchusetts") and she'd shiver when she was cold but she loved undulating in and out of the snow.

It sounds like your basset might have a medical problem. The hypothyroidism that someone mentioned, was something I thought of too, along with pain.

Does your basset pant when shivering?

Hope you find out whats going on real soon.

Janice and little Ruby

Well, another update. Bailey had a really bad case of the "shivers" last night and it was so bad that we called the vet's 24 hour service because something was not right. I took her in this morning and the vet did find a tender part on her back and has put her on anti-flammatory and "bed-rest" (which is going to find really hard since she's so active!) for a week. It could be she had an old injury that has been bothering her and she might have reinjured herself somehow yesterday. Hopefully, we'll be able to get her out of pain and hopefully it's not a slipped disk or something.

Clare (and a tired Bailey)

Hi Clare -- we live in Maine. Both Lucy and Ellie are affected by the cold. Lucy's jaws actually clack (not chatter) when she's cold. They sleep in the garage when it's warm and in the house when it's below 50. They seem to be fine during the day -- except when it's snowing or very cold. I have one coat -- but never got a second for Lucy.

I've found that I need to watch the shivering -- because Eleanor shivered when her Addison's wasn't diagnosed and/or treated. They seem to shiver when they're sick or in pain. But if nothing else is going on -- then Clare is simply cold! Ellie lost much of her hair when she first was diagnosed with Addison's -- I started putting Dream Coat on her food and her coat miraculously reappeared and is quite beautiful now!!

Good luck!

Being in Alabama that white stuff is extra rare..........Back this past winter it actually snowed in the middle of the night. It was sticky to the ground and accumalating. I woke the hounds up so they could go out and play in it since the white stuf rarely comes around. It was a site to see watching them tyring to catch the snow out of the air.

LOL, by the time the kids woke up to go to school, it had already melted away.