Ahh, Daisy. Every time I have a query or a worry, it's about my little ball of beans. Yesterday and today my husband and I noticed that Daisy is having trouble climbing stairs and getting up onto the couch and bed. Going down - no problem. And she still runs, jumps, flips, bows, and plays with the same energy she has always had. She flew off the deck steps today after her ball. But going UP, is another story. Jumping back onto the deck, she struggled, almost fell. Climbing the stairs, it's like she's psyching herself up at the foot, and then she kind of hobbles up, front legs up first, then pulling her back legs up behind. She is going one stair at a time, like she did when she was a baby, instead of taking 3 at a time as she usually does. A few times this past week, she's missed the jump getting into bed and had to scramble or get a boost. We didn't think anything of it, but now I do...

I have always worried about her. She is SO dynamic, it is impossible to keep her calm when she wants to play. At the park she runs and runs and never wants to go home. We try to keep her calm and make sure she has lots of rest and water, and lots of exercise, because she is a firecracker! At the vet, she leaped from a sitting position to the vet's counter to examine the cookies the vet had there. A four and a half foot leap from a sitting position, in the blink of an eye. The vet said she'd never seen anything like that. She is always doing flips and jumps, she loves diving off the couch onto her brother,she scales the stairs 3 and 4 at a time, or ignores the bottom landing and LEAPS. I have always worried about her knees and her joints. She plays SO hard. So I guess that is what I'm worried about.

She's only two!! I don't want her to start getting arthritis! My husband gently massaged her legs and knees and belly and back and she just lay there loving it, no wincing or anything, although I know he's not a vet and maybe doesn't know just where to touch her, but she seemed to be in zero pain. And she still dives DOWN the stairs and jumps over objects okay, and has had nothing but beans and energy, still eats and goes to the bathroom just fine. But she is really having a very hard time climbing the stairs. She pauses at each landing and looks upset to go up, which worries me greatly.

What do you think? Is my bitty baby getting arthritis, or are her knees going? Has anyone experienced this? I wonder if I should make a vet appointment or if I should wait and see if maybe she just pulled a muscle playing?