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My dog shakes, acts strange, stares at walls. Could he be in pain?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Airedale Terrier | Male

My dog has been shaking on and off and acting stranger (not running around) and is just staring at the wall. Took him to the vets yesterday but he had perked up again and they couldn’t find anything wrong but gave some painkillers in case of injury. he tends to perk up after pain relief and in a morning is when he’s most strange. This is breaking my heart

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Anna M., DVM

Answered By Anna M., DVM

Veterinarian

Published on March 9th, 2020

Poor Ozzie! That's so hard to know something's not right and not be able to pinpoint it. If Ozzie seems to be perking up after pain relief, then it sounds like he may have a sneaky source of pain. I would relay his response to meds back to your vet and see what they think, but in cases like this I usually keep the dog as rested as possible (don't let him do any activities that could worsen an injury) and continue the pain meds. Sometimes we can't localize the pain, but if meds help then I'd keep giving them.

Hope he feels better soon.
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