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Why does my dog yelp when picked up and act scared, even after vet?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Small (up to 22lb) | Male | neutered | 13 lbs

My dog yelps when we pick him up under chest/belly , he eats and poops but won't drink water so I make his food extra soupy and he will eat n drink that fine , he also act scared an sketchy with shakeing sometimes, also licks his lips frequently. I took him to the vet and she touched and felt all over his body and not one peep , so he was given digestional track dog food and some medicine I sprinkled on his food ,that's been over a week ago and he poops and eats just fine but still acts the sam

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By C. Rathjens, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on November 27th, 2018

Poor Joey. The two possibilities here are that it hurts or that he scares him when you pick him up. I'd lean towards pain from your description, but keep fear in mind since your vet didn't find any pain. One area pain can "hide" during a physical exam is in the spine or neck - vet's don't always check this area carefully. I would recommend a recheck visit, since it's still going on with no changes to see if anything is different on physical exam this time, and ask if doing a trial of pain meds for around 5 days would be appropriate. If pain meds don't help, experiment with never picking him up to see if that makes him happier. Good luck!

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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