What should I do about Yorkie? - YorkieTalk.com Forums

Lyz517 · 02-13-2005, 11:31 PM

Hi everyone...I happened to find this forum while browsing the internet about yorkies and Im glad I did. Ok I'll start off my story but really I need opinions and advice since I just dnt know what to do or think.

Either way I'll start off by saying that I have never owned a yorkie before but I do have a bichon frise that is now 1yrs old and I bought from a decent breeder as I have never had any health issues with her yet.
I enjoy lookin at pups at the stores although I always felt a bit uneasy of most of their conditions and prices as well as their health guarantees.
Me and my husband(and son) did the usual visiting to look and fell in love with this yorkie. He was so cute and seemed to have such a nice calm sweet temperament. Which I will say I didnt experience much of that with my bichon. She is very hyper and hardly ever calm(nips alot). Either way we didnt have the money for it so we went on our way home. A week later we went back and to my surprise it was still there...I didnt think it wld last that long. Well now we did have the money and we made the decision on getting it. He seemed a lil more out of it than the last time we were there but we got him...thought maybe he was just tired or sad bein in the cage for so long.
When we got out i noticed the discharge comin out of his eye was greenish i quickly thought he must have a eye infection or something. But i thought it cld wait till mon to take to vet since we bought him on a fri.. come that evening he had his first bowel movement and I noticed it to be watery and then blood. That scared me since I'd never seen that before with any other of my pets. I figured we must take to vet as of today since i didnt know what he has and scared my other healthy dog wld catch it. We had to take the yorkie to emergency vet hospital which cost more since everything else was closed. My main concern was having the yorkie checked. Either way the vet said his lungs were clear and he was alert and playful which is good...I forgot to mention that he did eat n was happy the first few hours in our home. He wasnt acting like a overly sick dog.
A fecal test was done and she said he did have parasites(coccidia), and a upper respiratory infection. For now she suggested treating the parasites and putting eye ointment. Albon bein used. She said we wld wait to see if he cld fight off the upper resp infection since so much meds cld make his diarrhea worst. That upper resp. was causing the discharge of the eyes and nose. Other than that she said he was fine but my husband questioned her on the back legs cause we thought he walked kinda funny at times...she rechecked him and said that his kneecaps were a little lose.
I did research on that online and it worried me. But didnt really know what she meant by it. I called her to get a better understanding and she tells me that they are just a little lose and that it really wasnt much to worry about at this time. That they usually grow into place by a year or two. That it was very common in small breeds and yorkies being one of them and she sees it so often its like normal. Now after reading more I'm wondering if its Patella Luxation. She never said that name but I certainly hope thats not what she meant. My yorkie is 12 weeks old right now and weighs 4lbs. He seems to be doin better but is due for a follow up in a few days. We like him alot but I'm not sure I'd wanna keep him if hes got that knee issue already among the other things to start off with. We have become attached to him and his nice temperamant. Is the vet right that it usually grows into place since his bones and all are still growing and fragile?
My husband went back to the pet place and showed them the vet bills since they do have a health guarantee which isnt that great. 14dy against contagious and infectious illnesses and 30 day congenital, heritiral(sp?).
He said the same on it bein common and how they usually grow into place but hello hes not offering us a long enough guarantee since it cld take 1-2yrs to really know. He said he only pays for the meds which is like $34 of the $129 we incurred. And more to come since I need to go for a followup and now i really wanna know if the knee thing he has is what i'm reading about online. The guy did say if the knee thing bothered us he'd give us a refund(i think unless he meant an exchange). But we really like the lil guy we have.
Also I think we are gonna do the followup at another vets for a second opinion...do u think i shld? I kinda wasnt happy with the answers I was gettin at the other place.
thnx for readin all this!

orinskye · 02-14-2005, 09:01 AM

well ive never heard of a luxating patella getting better on its own.... i thought they just got worse

..... regardless everyone here knows hwo i feel about pet stores and the puppies that they sell...... and let me tell ya that what you wanted was a "laid back dog"... yorkies can be a little hyper as well, adn the only reson he wasnt was probably because youre little guy was so sick..... this is only my opinion, but if i were you i would take him back to the store for a refund and get a yorkie through a breeder if you really want one ...... if you dont mind me asking, how much did you pay for this yorkie??? I got toby for $500 and he is absoolutly wonderful, ifi you go through a breeder you get a better health guarantee AND its cheaper AND you get people that really care about the pups and where they end up......

Lyz517 · 02-14-2005, 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by orinskye

well ive never heard of a luxating patella getting better on its own.... i thought they just got worse

..... regardless everyone here knows hwo i feel about pet stores and the puppies that they sell...... and let me tell ya that what you wanted was a "laid back dog"... yorkies can be a little hyper as well, adn the only reson he wasnt was probably because youre little guy was so sick..... this is only my opinion, but if i were you i would take him back to the store for a refund and get a yorkie through a breeder if you really want one ...... if you dont mind me asking, how much did you pay for this yorkie??? I got toby for $500 and he is absoolutly wonderful, ifi you go through a breeder you get a better health guarantee AND its cheaper AND you get people that really care about the pups and where they end up......

Yea from what I've read about luxating patella I also have not heard that it gets better. The vet never said thats what it was but at the time I didnt know the name for the problem with knees. I think maybe I shld call her up and ask her if thats what she meant he had. She brushed it off lightly saying it was not much to worry about at this time and as they grow its likely they grow into it. Yea he does have quite some energy but trust me it doesnt compare to my bichon. But yea I do want a dog that does enjoy playing as well.
Before we bought him I was looking for breeders and did not find any reasonable. I went to puppyfind.com and they were mostly all in the thousands. If not they cost over $800 not including the fact that they were too far so I wld need shipping and I didnt think that wld be a great idea either if in the case the dog had a problem I'd have no way to easily get the dog back to the breeder. Maybe I was lookin in the wrong places. I also didnt know about this site at the time.
We paid $650 for him. We wld like to give him a chance and I truly feel bad sending him back to that place but since I've only had him for 3days if his health is gonna be an issue what you suggested wld be the best decision. I'am going to call the vet today and ask if he has luxating patella. So your telling me that not all or most yorkies are born with even just slightly lose knees because of their size and thin bones?

thnx

Lyz517 · 02-14-2005, 09:50 AM

I remember what she had said was that he had slightly loose kneecaps in the hind legs...I dnt know if thats different than that patella condition.

Babbie · 02-14-2005, 10:19 AM

Go to another vet (one the specialized in small breeds) and let them know of your concern, even get x-rays if needed...it's good to get this "investigated" now...also if you have any friends that are lawyers or are familiar with how that kind of thing works, explain your problem, the petshop might be liable for more than you know...

I hope you can keep the little guy...it is sad to even think that there is people that just don;t care

P.S. Mojo was a very very calm dog, his first bark was when he was almost 6 months of age. He didn;t play much...just cuddled and gave kisses...this only changed when we got our chihuahua, them he had a playmate now he will play with anything that moves (but he is not hyper at all) so this also has to do with his own personality..

Lyz517 · 02-14-2005, 08:52 PM

Thnx for your reply...I did call another vets office today and the lady was very nice and understanding on the phone. I told her the situation and she asked where I had purchased the dog...and what a surprise she said thats not a place you would wanna go and told me how they had recently had several other pet patients from the same place with similar symptoms I described. She told me it was not my fault as I didnt know but seemed to know quite a bit about the law and my rights cause she told me the owner of the store is responsible for the medical bills I'm currently having and not to let him tell me other wise. She was familiar with the patella condition and said the vet wld do a thorough check up. They'll be doin another fecal and then we'll see what happens nxt. I called the emergency hospital and they are gonna fax them my yorkies report. She told me to also bring my bill of sale and anything else given to me.

Wish me luck that nothing congenital is wrong with him as we really would like to keep him. Tom morning is my appt... I really wanted to let my precious(bichon) meet the new member but I havent been able to let them too close to one another..I feel really bad as I know that they both cld've enjoyed playin with one another...and yes they truly all have their own special personalities.

02-13-2005, 11:31 PM	#1
Lyz517 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: PA Posts: 225	What should I do about Yorkie? Hi everyone...I happened to find this forum while browsing the internet about yorkies and Im glad I did. Ok I'll start off my story but really I need opinions and advice since I just dnt know what to do or think. Either way I'll start off by saying that I have never owned a yorkie before but I do have a bichon frise that is now 1yrs old and I bought from a decent breeder as I have never had any health issues with her yet. I enjoy lookin at pups at the stores although I always felt a bit uneasy of most of their conditions and prices as well as their health guarantees. Me and my husband(and son) did the usual visiting to look and fell in love with this yorkie. He was so cute and seemed to have such a nice calm sweet temperament. Which I will say I didnt experience much of that with my bichon. She is very hyper and hardly ever calm(nips alot). Either way we didnt have the money for it so we went on our way home. A week later we went back and to my surprise it was still there...I didnt think it wld last that long. Well now we did have the money and we made the decision on getting it. He seemed a lil more out of it than the last time we were there but we got him...thought maybe he was just tired or sad bein in the cage for so long. When we got out i noticed the discharge comin out of his eye was greenish i quickly thought he must have a eye infection or something. But i thought it cld wait till mon to take to vet since we bought him on a fri.. come that evening he had his first bowel movement and I noticed it to be watery and then blood. That scared me since I'd never seen that before with any other of my pets. I figured we must take to vet as of today since i didnt know what he has and scared my other healthy dog wld catch it. We had to take the yorkie to emergency vet hospital which cost more since everything else was closed. My main concern was having the yorkie checked. Either way the vet said his lungs were clear and he was alert and playful which is good...I forgot to mention that he did eat n was happy the first few hours in our home. He wasnt acting like a overly sick dog. A fecal test was done and she said he did have parasites(coccidia), and a upper respiratory infection. For now she suggested treating the parasites and putting eye ointment. Albon bein used. She said we wld wait to see if he cld fight off the upper resp infection since so much meds cld make his diarrhea worst. That upper resp. was causing the discharge of the eyes and nose. Other than that she said he was fine but my husband questioned her on the back legs cause we thought he walked kinda funny at times...she rechecked him and said that his kneecaps were a little lose. I did research on that online and it worried me. But didnt really know what she meant by it. I called her to get a better understanding and she tells me that they are just a little lose and that it really wasnt much to worry about at this time. That they usually grow into place by a year or two. That it was very common in small breeds and yorkies being one of them and she sees it so often its like normal. Now after reading more I'm wondering if its Patella Luxation. She never said that name but I certainly hope thats not what she meant. My yorkie is 12 weeks old right now and weighs 4lbs. He seems to be doin better but is due for a follow up in a few days. We like him alot but I'm not sure I'd wanna keep him if hes got that knee issue already among the other things to start off with. We have become attached to him and his nice temperamant. Is the vet right that it usually grows into place since his bones and all are still growing and fragile? My husband went back to the pet place and showed them the vet bills since they do have a health guarantee which isnt that great. 14dy against contagious and infectious illnesses and 30 day congenital, heritiral(sp?). He said the same on it bein common and how they usually grow into place but hello hes not offering us a long enough guarantee since it cld take 1-2yrs to really know. He said he only pays for the meds which is like $34 of the $129 we incurred. And more to come since I need to go for a followup and now i really wanna know if the knee thing he has is what i'm reading about online. The guy did say if the knee thing bothered us he'd give us a refund(i think unless he meant an exchange). But we really like the lil guy we have. Also I think we are gonna do the followup at another vets for a second opinion...do u think i shld? I kinda wasnt happy with the answers I was gettin at the other place. thnx for readin all this!

02-14-2005, 09:01 AM	#2
orinskye YT 2000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: California Posts: 2,990	well ive never heard of a luxating patella getting better on its own.... i thought they just got worse ..... regardless everyone here knows hwo i feel about pet stores and the puppies that they sell...... and let me tell ya that what you wanted was a "laid back dog"... yorkies can be a little hyper as well, adn the only reson he wasnt was probably because youre little guy was so sick..... this is only my opinion, but if i were you i would take him back to the store for a refund and get a yorkie through a breeder if you really want one ...... if you dont mind me asking, how much did you pay for this yorkie??? I got toby for $500 and he is absoolutly wonderful, ifi you go through a breeder you get a better health guarantee AND its cheaper AND you get people that really care about the pups and where they end up......

02-14-2005, 09:50 AM	#4
Lyz517 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: PA Posts: 225	I remember what she had said was that he had slightly loose kneecaps in the hind legs...I dnt know if thats different than that patella condition.

02-14-2005, 10:19 AM	#5
Babbie Got Mojo? Donating Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Miami Posts: 1,117	Go to another vet (one the specialized in small breeds) and let them know of your concern, even get x-rays if needed...it's good to get this "investigated" now...also if you have any friends that are lawyers or are familiar with how that kind of thing works, explain your problem, the petshop might be liable for more than you know... I hope you can keep the little guy...it is sad to even think that there is people that just don;t care P.S. Mojo was a very very calm dog, his first bark was when he was almost 6 months of age. He didn;t play much...just cuddled and gave kisses...this only changed when we got our chihuahua, them he had a playmate now he will play with anything that moves (but he is not hyper at all) so this also has to do with his own personality..

02-14-2005, 08:52 PM	#6
Lyz517 Senior Yorkie Talker Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: PA Posts: 225	Thnx for your reply...I did call another vets office today and the lady was very nice and understanding on the phone. I told her the situation and she asked where I had purchased the dog...and what a surprise she said thats not a place you would wanna go and told me how they had recently had several other pet patients from the same place with similar symptoms I described. She told me it was not my fault as I didnt know but seemed to know quite a bit about the law and my rights cause she told me the owner of the store is responsible for the medical bills I'm currently having and not to let him tell me other wise. She was familiar with the patella condition and said the vet wld do a thorough check up. They'll be doin another fecal and then we'll see what happens nxt. I called the emergency hospital and they are gonna fax them my yorkies report. She told me to also bring my bill of sale and anything else given to me. Wish me luck that nothing congenital is wrong with him as we really would like to keep him. Tom morning is my appt... I really wanted to let my precious(bichon) meet the new member but I havent been able to let them too close to one another..I feel really bad as I know that they both cld've enjoyed playin with one another...and yes they truly all have their own special personalities.