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Arching His Back in Dogs
Written By Grace Park
Published: 07/18/2017Updated: 04/28/2021
Veterinary reviewed by Michele K.
What is Arching His Back?
When you think of your dog arching his back as cause for concern, it should not be the leisurely stretch, repeated several times throughout a normal day, that is seen as problematic. A pathologically arched back, which can also be thought of as a tucked abdomen, is a semi-permanent posture that a dog adopts in an attempt to relieve pain of some kind. Along with an arched, humped back and tightly tucked abdomen, your dog’s rear quarters may be lowered, with head and tail hanging downward.
- Nausea
- Gastric dilatation-volvulus (bloat)
- Anal sac disorders
- Intervertebral disc disease
- Spinal trauma
While the conditions occur in different parts of the body, they all have the same result: some kind of pain in the dog’s midsection, resulting in him arching his back in an attempt to relieve the pain. While nausea might be temporary, it can also indicate a more serious underlying condition, necessitating a veterinary assessment and possible treatment. Each of the other conditions are potentially life-threatening, depending on degree of development, and require immediate veterinary assessment and treatment.
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.
What to do if your Dog is Arching His Back
A proper therapeutic response to your dog arching his back will depend on the cause. Your dog’s nausea signs should be carefully watched, and you should withhold food and water to see if the signs subside. Signs may resolve within 2-3 hours, but if not your dog should receive a veterinary assessment. The veterinarian may conduct blood tests to discern the exact cause. Parasites can often be resolved with a short course of oral medication. Dogs suffering from parvovirus will require immediate IV fluid treatment, followed by a special diet of easily digestible foods. Intestinal obstruction may require surgery to remove the blockage.
Unlike nausea, there is no easy case of gastric dilatation-volvulus; it is always an emergency. Your dog will be initially stabilized with administration of oxygen and IV fluids, then the stomach will be decompressed by releasing fluid and air via a tube, catheter, or needle. Surgery will then be performed, followed by restricted exercise, dietary management, and long-term monitoring.
Anal sac disorders require the built-up fluid to be released from your dog’s anal sacs. Your veterinarian may express the anal glands, flush out infected glands, or lance abscessed glands, followed by a course of antibiotics to prevent infection.
Spinal disorders will be treated depending on the severity of the situation. Mild cases of intervertebral disc disease can sometimes be managed with anti-inflammatory or corticosteroid drugs, but more severe cases will require surgery.
Prevention of Arching His Back
Prevention of nausea is a practice you should adopt for the normal everyday care of your healthy dog. Keep toxic substances away from him. Keep a close watch of his environment, including making sure his yard is free of anything dangerous. If any potentially dangerous elements, such as bees and wasps, can not be removed from the yard, then you should always supervise your dog when he is in the yard. Make sure his toys are safe and unbreakable, without any easily ingestible parts. Because other dogs may carry dangerous viruses, such as parvovirus, always supervise your dog’s canine social visits and make sure that your dog is up to date on preventive care. Because gastric dilatation-volvulus, or bloat, is often related to age or genetics, it is not always preventable, but you can reduce the chances of it developing by keeping your dog calm and unstressed, and separating his meals into feedings of at least twice a day.
You may be able to learn to express your dog’s anal glands at home; discuss this with your veterinarian. Regularly check your dog’s anal sacs to make sure they are not becoming impacted with excess retained fluid. And while some forms of spinal trauma are genetically-based, such as intervertebral disc disease, generally keeping your dog out of harm’s way will prevent trauma from car accidents, gunshot wounds, and bites.
Cost of Arching His Back
While the average cost of treating anal sac disorders can be between $75 and $500, the average treatment cost of gastric dilatation-volvulus and spinal trauma are much higher, at $6000. The total cost of the various procedures involved in treating intervertebral disc disease can be between $500 and $15,500, with an average of $100 per month afterwards for medication.
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Arching His Back Questions and Advice from Veterinary Professionals
terrier/chihuahua
Three Years
1 found this helpful
1 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Whining Arching Back
seems to be stomach related. is not eating but is peeing regularly.
Aug. 4, 2020
Answered by Dr. Michele K. DVM
1 Recommendations
Thank you for your question.
From your description, it may be a problem with your dogs neck or back, a pinched nerve or a disc problem. These can be quite painful, and it would be best to have them seen by a veterinarian as soon as possible. They will be able to examine your dog, see what might be going on, and get treatment so that they feel better.
I hope that all goes well for your dog.
Aug. 4, 2020
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Red healer and English pointer
Five Years
2 found this helpful
2 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Arched Back, Slow Moving And Hasn'T Pooped.
She was fine on Thursday morning and then around 11am she started walking slower didnt move very far. Her back is arched and she hasn't pooped, she was shaking but that has stopped.
Aug. 2, 2020
Answered by Dr. Michele K. DVM
2 Recommendations
Thank you for your question. It is difficult to say without being able to see your dog, but from your description it sounds like she has injured her back or has a pinched nerve. That can make it very difficult to get into the position to have a bowel movement, and she may need medication for this. It can be quite painful, and it would be best to have her seen by a veterinarian right away. They will be able to examine her, see what is going on, and get medication for her so that she is more comfortable. I hope that everything goes well for her.
Aug. 2, 2020
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Yorkie
Four Years
1 found this helpful
1 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Arched Back, Looks Bloated
My dog is in a lot of pain. His back is arched, he looks bloated as well. I'm trying to make him go potty as much as possible to see if he is just blocked up but I dont think that's what's wrong
Aug. 1, 2020
Answered by Dr. Sara O. DVM
1 Recommendations
Hello, So sorry to hear about your dog. He may have GI issues such as gastroenteritis causing him to arch his back and be very painful. It would be best for him to see your vet. They will want to run bloodwork or take x rays to make sure that there is nothing wrong internally.
Aug. 1, 2020
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Cocker Spaniel
Eleven Years
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Arched Back
My dog has an arched back. Yesterday we took her on a hike where there were multiple dogs off leash and she doesn't get along well with other dogs so we picked her up multiple times so she wouldn't attack the other dogs. A few hours later, she started walking funny. She does have arthritis and has never experienced this issue.
July 26, 2020
Answered by Dr. Sara O. DVM
0 Recommendations
Hello,
So sorry to hear about your dog. It does sound like her arthritis may be giving her some issues. Sometimes this happens with long walks or aggressive play time with other dogs. If this does not quickly improve, see if you can get some pain medication from your vet. There are over the counter joint supplements that your dog may also benefit from.
July 26, 2020
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Poodle x Shih-Tzu
Ten Years
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Arched Back
He randomly cries in pain, he can’t lay down, he shakes
July 26, 2020
Answered by Dr. Michele K. DVM
0 Recommendations
Thank you for your question.
Dogs can have back and neck injuries, and disc disease, that can cause a lot of pain. From your description it sounds like that might be what's happening with your dog. It would be best to have him seen by a veterinarian, as many over-the-counter human medications are toxic to dogs. Your veterinarian will be able to examine him, see what might be going on, and get him medication so that he is comfortable again. I hope that all goes well for him.
July 26, 2020
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Siberian Husky
Nik
8 Months
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Arched Back
Hind Legs Shaking
Struggles To Sit
I have an 8-month old Siberian husky. He is very playful and strong! However, since he was around 5 months of age, he started to show an arched back. This was accompanied with pretty severe muscle tremors (severity: 9/10). We took him to the vet and, after examinations and blood tests, we were told that his new food may not be suitable for him (we had weaned him onto his new kibble completely the before these symptoms occurred). So we were told to put pup onto a gluten-free diet, which we did and the tremors have reduced drastically but haven’t gone away completely (they’re around a 2/10 now). Our pup’s arched back is still present and I’m not sure what this could be. I’ve been scouring the internet constantly for over a month and I’m still not sure what it could be. The veterinary surgeon thoroughly examined his back numerous times and she could not feel any signs of trauma and/or abnormalities. We have used a harness on him since he was very young to avoid straining his neck. He has had X-rays done and nothing showed up on them. His back hasn’t got any better - in fact, the arch seems to be a bit more prominent at the moment. My guess is that more advanced imaging may be required. Has anyone had any issues with their dog (or dogs of people they know) where the back is arched in this manner? He sometimes protests when you ask him to sit and seems to find it more comfortable to either lie down or stand.
Chihuahua
V
9 Months
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Arched Back
My puppy is always arching his back, the vet said he’s fine...I don’t think it’s right
I would like to show him but can’t.... when he straightens he looks perfect..... it’s not very often
Help any advice????
He is under a year old
