was gonna post under sick/injured but changed my mind

[Marhcarter]

When I found YT, it was because Huey wasn't acting right and I was trying to look up his symptoms while deciding if we needed to to the the vet when they opened. I ended up taking him right in that morning after calling them and telling them I was on my way. On the way to the vet, I was sure he was dying, but when we got there, miraculously he recovered and his symptoms went away. I got home late from work this morning due to a meeting. Hubby leaves for work around 0515 and I am usually home by 0730. It was almost 9 when I got home today, and he is doing it again. Shaking all over, unsteady on his feet, acting like he can't jump up on the sofa, wobbly to the point of leaning against the wall briefly while he tinkled outside. So, I turned on the heat becaue the house is 64 degrees. I wrapped him in a blanket & when he wouldn't eat his kibble for breakfast, I fed him some cheese in case he is hypoglycemic from shivering. Suprise, he jumped on the sofa for the cheese after a couple of false starts. He shivers when I am looking at him or holding him, but when I'm not looking, he is not shivering, just staring at the cheese on the table. He does not smell like vomit breath (yes, I smell his breath and I can always tell when he has a sour stomach). Last time he did this he acted puky and he was limp. This time be seems to be recovering more quickly. I'm thinking he was just cold, but he thought I would be home sooner and got out of the bed to assume the greeting position at the top of the stairs. Last time, which was around november, the vet said she could do blood work and ct scan, etc if I wanted because I thought he was acting neurological, but I could tell she was just placating me as Huey ran around the exam room sniffing the corners. Does anyone agree that he sounds like he was just cold and a little hypoglycemic this time? As I have been typing, he seems to have recovered and just jumped off the sofa to eat a carrot off the floor that I tried to give him before the cheese. He looks all perky now. I think he was puny and then milked it to get more cheese. Right now he is sitting on the floor looking at the cheese on the coffee table, and as I watched him, he gave a big, melodramatic shiver..I think my dog is a manipulator...

[kjc]

Bloodwork wouldn't hurt.... limp scares me.

[Marhcarter]

Originally Posted by kjc

Bloodwork wouldn't hurt.... limp scares me.

I just had to drag him inside from the deck where he was barking madly at a cat in the yard. I think he's better. He is actually due for his annual checkup next month and I may ask for some labs. He wasn't limp today, just shivery. Last time I just knew he was dying, but it lasted 5 hours. Today he recovered within 15 min of eating. I think he was hypoglycemic. If he's gonna make a habit of this, you better believe I'm getting the full set of labs, even if the vet does think I'm a nutter...

[yorkietalkjilly]

This could be cold and low blood sugar and/or manipulation, I guess, but I think you want more than our guesses online for this little sweetie. I think you want a definitive answer for your baby and probably aren't going to accept less. Try to catch this on video if it does happen again but in the meantime and soon, go and get a second opinion with a full work-up, even x-rays. You need baseline studies and extra tests if warranted. If that were my Tibbe, a thorough going over would be requested of the consulting vet. You need to see what blood tests and urine tell. Whatever it is, you've got to get a diagnosis and try to prevent a next time. The unsteadiness, wobbliness and shaking together are worrying. As the little one can't talk, you'll have to keep fighting for him to get to the bottom of this and if all the tests are normal, then you can get into behavior modification.

[Marhcarter]

I got the wobbliness on video last time and she did say it could be Vestibular disease which is usually self limiting, but he really recovered awfully quickly for it to have been that. I am really convinced this morning that he was hypoglycemic. He was sitting on the cold hardwood stairs in a 64 degree room and shivering. He could have been there for more than 2 hours waiting on me to come home from work & hubby does not feed him b4 he leaves, I feed him after I get home. He is curled up in front of the fire now, but has been playing like normal since eating. I will watch him today and if he acts weird in the least, I will call in to work and take him to the vet. Otherwise, I will make an appointment for a checkup on my next weekday off (night shift is hard sometimes...the rest of the workd functions opposite of me)
Dont think I was taking it lightly when I said he was manipulative...it was more relief at his quick recovery. I think he does know how to work the cheese supply, though, because that is his very favorite treat af all time, which is why I chose it when I thought his glucose was low. If he wouldn't eat cheese, he was going right then for a vet visit!

[yorkietalkjilly]

You might feed him lesser portions more frequently in addition to keeping his surroundings warmer for him until you get him checked out thoroughly with the full bloodwork and urinalysis. If one vet can't help, you'll just have to keep going for a diagnosis if this baby keeps having these episodes and try to find out what is behind the hypoglycemia since apparently your dog isn't a tiny or very young, at least from the avatar. It's worrisome as if you had been detained longer - had car trouble or delayed in a long traffic stoppage, he could have had a very bad outcome. I sure hope you can get to the bottom of what is causing this trouble for him as it probably feels pretty rocky for him during those episodes. He's so very sweet looking and I'm sure your bestest buddy!

[navillusc]

Manipulation I can see happening...I have seen other dogs (different breeds) "pretend" to be ill for the attention they got when they really WERE extremely sick...lol.

If all it is really is a combination of being a little too cold, a little hypoglycemic, and a great "actor"...great, put a sweater on him, turn up the heat, keep food he'll actually snack on where he can graze...whatever...maybe he'll tone down his "acting" career and quit scaring the begeezes out of you.

However, I think I would want to have something like this checked out...especially since it has happened twice. If it is vestibular disease, or neurological, etc., or that he got a hold of the tail of a blue lizard, etc., I'd still want to know, even if there is not much I can do. Knowing is more than half the battle...once you know, if it is negligible, you can quit worrying. If it is more serious, at least you can plan your actions to help/eliminate the issue...and you know if he needs to be watched more closely, etc.

He is such a cutie...I want everything to be okay for him...{{{Hugs}}}

[Marhcarter]

He is almost 4 (Feb 16, in fact) and weight 7.5lbs. He had never had any trouble with hypoglycemia, even when I got him at <8 weeks old (didn't know any better then...do now). Hubby left windows open, which we will talk about. I agree. I'm glad my meeting didn't last any longer. He is really used to a particular schedule that leaves him alone less than 2 hours a day. I am concerned about the symptoms. Sometimes he goes 24 hours without eating with no adverse effects. He just isn't a big eater, plus he wants someone to watch him eat. He had never acted hypoglycemic, but I think the shivering burned all his glucose. I am a people nurse, so I have a good idea what to watch for, but he might have something else going on so I'm gonna ask for some labs. 2 of the 3 vets in the practice graduated from Auburn, and there is no better vet school as far as I'm concerned. (The one I saw last time was the nonAuburn grad, but it was an emergency). Thanks for the nudging to get labs done. As a nurse, I have a tendency to "just watch him" if symptoms have resolved.

[yorkietalkjilly]

If a dog has a wobbly, shivering, can't jump, leans on the wall - anything like that - and it last for 5 hours, I would really be out pounding the pavement for a vet that would take that seriously! A lot of animals can get so excited by going to the vet the adrenaline and excitement masks their true situation as the system boosts them to cope with and react to all of the smells, new people, animals about, the car trip there, etc. I know that makes a vet's job harder to see this frisky dog playing around - one that was limp and shaky all the way there. If he is hypoglycemia, I would think a little local honey or something with the cheese might be a faster way to deliver some glucose w/o a later downward spike? As you know people who are hypoglycemic are encouraged to take protein but some have to get glucose ASAP so they combine some glucose with their protein. Might be the same with dogs but you need to know for sure with a vet's advise. And if he is hypoglycemic at his age and weight, you need to know why he is not processing sugar normally. Plus, you know that any animal that has prolonged episodes of the type you describe needs a real evaluation by a vet who will take you and your dog's symptoms seriously and will get a full lab workup. I pray it is nothing more than a little Yorkie being a master manipulator to get some cheese, etc., and that he doesn't have any serious situation going on. I sure hate to think of any of these babies being sick and not being able to tell us something is wrong except by their behavior and how they look to us. I wish they could talk or changed color or something when they were getting sick - something definitive! Sure would help! But they don't so we're left just trying to find serious help when they have strange, prolonged, alarming episodes. Hope that baby is feeling better very soon and gets his fair share of cheese, Momme!

[Yorkiemom1]

Originally Posted by navillusc

Manipulation I can see happening...I have seen other dogs (different breeds) "pretend" to be ill for the attention they got when they really WERE extremely sick...lol.

If all it is really is a combination of being a little too cold, a little hypoglycemic, and a great "actor"...great, put a sweater on him, turn up the heat, keep food he'll actually snack on where he can graze...whatever...maybe he'll tone down his "acting" career and quit scaring the begeezes out of you.

However, I think I would want to have something like this checked out...especially since it has happened twice. If it is vestibular disease, or neurological, etc., or that he got a hold of the tail of a blue lizard, etc., I'd still want to know, even if there is not much I can do. Knowing is more than half the battle...once you know, if it is negligible, you can quit worrying. If it is more serious, at least you can plan your actions to help/eliminate the issue...and you know if he needs to be watched more closely, etc.He is such a cutie...I want everything to be okay for him...{{{Hugs}}}

Covered everything I wanted to say....will just add, you have to get the blood work done before corrective measures are taken....if he is hypoglycemic, once you feed him, it corrects and will appear normal on the blood work. By the time you get to the vet, he will be acting normal.....and you still wont know for sure if it is hypoglycemia. But I understand you cant let him get almost lifeless as you rush to the vet either....the fact that he seemed to recover after he ate something, could easily mean hypoglycemia...and cold will bring it on, and shivering speeds up metabolism, which burns sugar to get the energy to shiver.....it is all a cascade type affair, falling like dominoes once it starts... I would still have a work up done....not knowing what is going on with one of my dogs, drives me nuts and I wont rest until I get definitive answers.

[Yorkiemom1]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

If a dog has a wobbly, shivering, can't jump, leans on the wall - anything like that - and it last for 5 hours, I would really be out pounding the pavement for a vet that would take that seriously! A lot of animals can get so excited by going to the vet the adrenaline and excitement masks their true situation as the system boosts them to cope with and react to all of the smells, new people, animals about, the car trip there, etc. I know that makes a vet's job harder to see this frisky dog playing around - one that was limp and shaky all the way there. If he is hypoglycemia, I would think a little local honey or something with the cheese might be a faster way to deliver some glucose w/o a later downward spike? As you know people who are hypoglycemic are encouraged to take protein but some have to get glucose ASAP so they combine some glucose with their protein. Might be the same with dogs but you need to know for sure with a vet's advise. And if he is hypoglycemic at his age and weight, you need to know why he is not processing sugar normally. Plus, you know that any animal that has prolonged episodes of the type you describe needs a real evaluation by a vet who will take you and your dog's symptoms seriously and will get a full lab workup. I pray it is nothing more than a little Yorkie being a master manipulator to get some cheese, etc., and that he doesn't have any serious situation going on. I sure hate to think of any of these babies being sick and not being able to tell us something is wrong except by their behavior and how they look to us. I wish they could talk or changed color or something when they were getting sick - something definitive! Sure would help! But they don't so we're left just trying to find serious help when they have strange, prolonged, alarming episodes. Hope that baby is feeling better very soon and gets his fair share of cheese, Momme!

[gracielove]

I agree he could very well be cold. Yorkies don't have a good insulation system. Could also be a combination of low blood sugar and being cold. Shivering for more than a few minutes could use up a lot of energy that could cause the blood sugar to go down.

Both conditions do sometimes remedy fairly quickly. The fact that this has happened more than once would worry me. A trip to the vet for tests sounds like a good idea.

[GeorgiesMomma]

I too, have an actor on my hands. Georgie is 7 1/2 and when he starts to shake we tell him we love him and get a little sweater on him. His plan has now backfired because he hates wearing clothes LOL.

I agree though blood work would ease your mind.

[GuinnessStout]

Originally Posted by yorkietalkjilly

As you know people who are hypoglycemic are encouraged to take protein but some have to get glucose ASAP so they combine some glucose with their protein.

Yea as soon as we see Ryan start to go down if he is at home it is PB and celery and if we are on the road it is McD's mushroom Swiss angus wrap.

[Lovetodream88]

I think you need to run blood work.