Dog losing voice!! why?

[Tiff & Jerry]

We moved about 6 months ago and had to tie my golden retriever up (before he wasnt tied up-maybe that has something to do with it), he is losing his voice-he will bark sometimes and other times barely be able to. He is about 14 years old in good health-he's not losing weight or his playfulness or anything, I just wonder if anyone knows about this weird situation.

[Leo]

Is it possible that he is pulling against his collar causing trachea damage? that could be a possible reason for him not being able to bark or for him sounding horse or is he barking so much that his voice is going horse? I would call the vet and take him in for a check up to make sure he doesn't have trachea damage or the beginnings of something else.

Are you just tying him out to go to the bathroom or is he out there all the time? A little more information on what he does during the day and how long this has been going on could help us out with being able to give you better answers.

[mebri123]

im thinking the tied up thing is way related maybe you could buy a dog cage and keep him in there when not home
my dog doesn't use his anymore cause he hardly ever does anything bad anymore but when we used to use it
it was like a comfort zone for him and when he did somethin bad he would hide out in there
as if we couldn't see him in there lol

[Tiff & Jerry]

He doesn't pull on the line, and he is out all the time I don't bring him in...he normally just lounges around during the day and sleeps in the dog house at night unless I am throwing his ball or he is barking at anohter dog. I started out thinking it was too much barking but why did it take 6 months to lose it. He used to bark a lot at the stupid loose dogs (becasue we are the only ones who keep our dogs on leashes and the dog warden has warned the other neighbors to keep their dogs on restraints or on their own property. ) anyway I don't think he damaged his trachea by pullin on his collar but maybe he just needs some warm water like if he has a soar throat. ?

[Leo]

Please take him to the vet. If he is left out there unsupervised you have no idea what kind of damage he could have done to himself in the past 6 months, including trachea damage. Make sure tell the vet that he is kept outside on a chain/line, besides trachea damage, he could be suffering from an upper respiratory infection or some other type of infection and could be more sick than he is letting on (animals in general do not start showing problems until they are already quite ill, especially one that is kept outdoors).

Leaving a dog tied up where you know there are loose dogs running around is just an accident waiting to happen. A loose dog could come up and attack your dog who is pretty much defenseless being on a tie out, and he can not run away if a dog is attacking him (several cities across the country are actually starting to ban dogs being left outside on chains because chained dogs have a tendency to become aggressive and also because they are targets for other dogs to attack).

Here is a really good article that could help you learn some things about his current living situation, please read it: Virginia Beach SPCA

I am not trying to be mean, and hope I am coming across as just trying to help your dog and educate you on what could happen to your dog and the potential risks you are taking with your dog by leaving it chained up outside (my intention is to help your dog)... I highly doubt that anyone here would not back me up with saying that leaving a dog tied up outside 24/7 is dangerous (loose in a fenced in yard would be better than tied up).

After 6 months of being outside he is now starting to show signs of a problem... Please, Please take him to the vet to be checked out. I don't think this is a self-medicate or wait it out type of situation, at least call the vet explain his living situation and symptoms and let them tell you if you need to take him in or not.

[Kendalle]

i agree on the taking it to the vet, youve had him for along time it would be too bad to loose him for something preventable.

but as for the its never good to keep a dog on a chain/cable. my neighbor has an awesome setup for his out door dog, he has zip line so the dog has access to his whole yard with out getting hurt on the road.

[wellahart]

you said your dog is 14. could that have anything to do with it? My boyfriend's Great Pyr is around 10 or 11 and he doesn't have a collar and is never out on a chain, even when they walked him because he's so slow and only went to certain places. They have a fenced in back yard but he can barely get off the porch so no one can even get to him, plus they are always there when he's out. He lost his voice and is perfectly healthy. He's just starting to fall apart (they are considering putting him down due to a ton of physical problems (problems with the hips mostly) but can't bring themselves to do it yet since he is still all there mentally)