Why Arching His Back Occurs in Dogs
A dog arches his back because he is in pain, and is attempting to relieve that pain. The pain can originate in various parts of the dog’s body, including the gut, anal area, and spine.
Nausea
Nausea tends to be much less complicated and dangerous than gastric dilatation-volvulus, also known as bloat. A dog can become nauseous from things as simple as motion sickness, eating something that obstructs its intestines, or eating something toxic to its system, or the cause may be as involved and serious as gastroenteritis or parvovirus. Dogs of any breed, age, or gender can develop nausea.
Gastric Dilatation-Volvulus
Gastric dilation-volvulus, on the other hand, is a condition in which the stomach rotates from its normal position. It is mainly seen in large breed dogs with deep chests. In each condition, the dog’s stomach area hurts, so the dog may arch his back and tuck in his abdomen to alleviate the pain.
Anal Sac Disorders
Anal sac disorders can occur as impaction, infection, or abscess of the anal sac. Your dog needs to be able to express fluid from his anal glands. If the fluid cannot be released, the impacted fluid inside the anal glands creates increasing tension, causing the dog to tilt his hind quarters down to relieve the tension. When the dog’s hind quarters are tilted down, his back may be arched. Any dog can develop an anal sac disorder.
Intervertebral disc disease and other spinal trauma can cause your dog potentially unbearable spinal pain. As in digestive and anal sac disorders, the dog arches his back to try to relieve the tension and pain produced by the disorder or injury. Intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) occurs when discs between the dog’s spinal vertebrae put pressure on the spinal cord. This can be very painful, possibly even leading to loss of sensation and paralysis.
Spinal Trauma
Spinal trauma can also come from external causes, such as bites, car accidents, and other injuries. While any dog can be injured by an external source, intervertebral disc disease is more likely to occur in breeds which carry genetic dwarfism, such as Dachshunds, Pekingese, Beagles, and Lhasa Apsos.
Back Arching Behavior In Dogs
Dogs will often arch their back. They might tuck in their stomach and push their hind section up into the air in a classic downward dog pose, or they might curve the center of the spine upwards, in a classic cat stretch.
A lot of the time, if your dog does either of these back arches, they are just having a nice stretch. You will know this is what’s going on because they only do it a couple of times a day, and they revert to normal movement and behavior directly afterward. It is also often accompanied by a big yawn.
They will often do this just after they wake up, and it is to air out the cobwebs, much like when you reach your arms in the air, shrug your shoulders, and curve your back to release a bit of tension.
Your dog may also adopt the cat stretch pose when they are scared. This is a strategy to make themselves look bigger in order to scare off any potential threats. You will generally know this is what is going on, as their attention will be completely focussed on the perceived threat.
But if your dog arches their back more often than a couple of times a day, if they hold the arched position for extended periods of time, and if they continue to look uncomfortable within their body after the stretch, perhaps walking differently, these are all signs that there is something wrong.
Dogs may move into this position in order to alleviate pain somewhere in their body. In some way, the arch is allowing them to relieve pressure on wherever the pain is located.
A variety of different pains could be alleviated by a back arch. It can stretch the neck or spine if they are feeling pain in either of these locations. It can change the position of the stomach if that is not feeling well. It can even adjust the weight on their legs if they are the source of the pain.
If your dog is arching their back due to pain, you will probably also notice other signs that things aren’t quite right with your pup, such as stiff walking and hanging their head and tail low.
Let’s take a look at the various issues that might motivate this kind of behavior, and which associated symptoms to look out for to make a diagnosis.
How Do I Know If My Dog Has Hurt Their Back?
There are several body language signs that will indicate that your dog has hurt their back. They may arch their back frequently in order to alleviate pressure on certain parts of the spine.
They are also likely to have difficulty walking and moving around, which will likely result in them being less active. Your dog may be reluctant to jump up and down off things, as this also causes them pain.
Back Problems in Dogs: How to Treat At Home
A dog arching its back and walking off balance is a clear indicator of Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD). IVDD is without a doubt the most frequent spinal problem in dogs, as well as one of the most commonly diagnosed disorders in veterinary neurology.