I think my Yorkie has an internal infection!

[YorkieGirl224]

I have a 1 1/2 yr. old Male Yorkie and I think he has some kind of internal infection. He isn't as playful as he normally is. I notice it the most when he jumps down from the couch or bed, he yelps, like he's irritating what ever it is that hurts. I've checked his legs and paws, back, spine and I can't pin point it to one exact location. He was like this a few months ago and I took him in for blood work, and ex rays, they said everything is normal, but I know my pup, this is not normal...The vet could never figure out what was wrong with him. They gave him some antibiotics to try and he seemed to get better right away. So I've put him on the antibiotics for the last 3 days, but Im not seeing an improvement yet... any one ever had this problem?? Any suggestions?

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by YorkieGirl224

I have a 1 1/2 yr. old Male Yorkie and I think he has some kind of internal infection. He isn't as playful as he normally is. I notice it the most when he jumps down from the couch or bed, he yelps, like he's irritating what ever it is that hurts. I've checked his legs and paws, back, spine and I can't pin point it to one exact location. He was like this a few months ago and I took him in for blood work, and ex rays, they said everything is normal, but I know my pup, this is not normal...The vet could never figure out what was wrong with him. They gave him some antibiotics to try and he seemed to get better right away. So I've put him on the antibiotics for the last 3 days, but Im not seeing an improvement yet... any one ever had this problem?? Any suggestions?

Did you tell the vet that when he jumps off furniture he yelps? My guess is that there is some type of problem with his legs. I trained Joey to never jump from the couch or bed; he has stairs to use. Have your read much about Luxating Patella? This is were the joint slips out of place, and is very common in yorkies. A vet should easily be able to test for this, but if you didn't mention it happens when he jumps off furniture, he may have overlooked it. Does he only yelp when he jumps?

Please don't diagnose and give antibiotics without vets consent. When a vet gives you antibiotics you should use all of them, never save some for the next time, or you will help create a super bug that is very resistant to anitibotics.

[YorkieGirl224]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

Did you tell the vet that when he jumps off furniture he yelps? My guess is that there is some type of problem with his legs. I trained Joey to never jump from the couch or bed; he has stairs to use. Have your read much about Luxating Patella? This is were the joint slips out of place, and is very common in yorkies. A vet should easily be able to test for this, but if you didn't mention it happens when he jumps off furniture, he may have overlooked it. Does he only yelp when he jumps?

Please don't diagnose and give antibiotics without vets consent. When a vet gives you antibiotics you should use all of them, never save some for the next time, or you will help create a super bug that is very resistant to anitibotics.

I did tell the vet its when he is jumping downwards... they took xrays but they said everything looked fine. I don't think that it was a luxating patella becuase the first time when he was started on the antibiotics, the was a dramatic improvemnt within 24 hours. He doesn't yelp every time he jumps, it seems more like if when he jumps something is being irritated and making him yelp.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by YorkieGirl224

I did tell the vet its when he is jumping downwards... they took xrays but they said everything looked fine. I don't think that it was a luxating patella becuase the first time when he was started on the antibiotics, the was a dramatic improvemnt within 24 hours. He doesn't yelp every time he jumps, it seems more like if when he jumps something is being irritated and making him yelp.

You might want to find a new vet. Sometime pancreatitis can cause sudden shrieks of pain, but if it only happens when he jumps, I think it would involve the legs. Regardless, antibiotics should not be used indiscriminately; you can do much more damage than good. Also, if you take to a vet for testing, using the antibiotics might cover up the infection enough so that the vet can't find the problem.

[Mardelin]

Did your vet do a complete blood count? That's the usually the first indicator if there is an infection going on. It's amazing what they reveal. I have a little boy that started yelping whenever he moved. Checked his knees hips, etc. The blood test revealed that he had been bitten by a spider. It was causing muscle spasms.

[YorkieGirl224]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

You might want to find a new vet. Sometime pancreatitis can cause sudden shrieks of pain, but if it only happens when he jumps, I think it would involve the legs. Regardless, antibiotics should not be used indiscriminately; you can do much more damage than good. Also, if you take to a vet for testing, using the antibiotics might cover up the infection enough so that the vet can't find the problem.

Well, the only reason I put him back on the antibiotics is because it's the same symptoms that he had last time. Right now he's kinda starting to run around, he's not playing with his toys quite yet, but there is some improvement.
Im not sure if the vet ran a complete blood coount, I'll have to call and find out. but what do I do now? Even though he seems like he is getting better should I stop the meds and do another blood test?

[Mardelin]

Originally Posted by YorkieGirl224

Well, the only reason I put him back on the antibiotics is because it's the same symptoms that he had last time. Right now he's kinda starting to run around, he's not playing with his toys quite yet, but there is some improvement.
Im not sure if the vet ran a complete blood coount, I'll have to call and find out. but what do I do now? Even though he seems like he is getting better should I stop the meds and do another blood test?

I'd have the vet do a complete blood test and have him read them to you.
If your pup is yelping, something is definately wrong. As another poster stated, I'd find another vet. I'd persue it till you find out whats wrong.
I've had dogs that yelp when their stomach hurts, but it usually lasts a few hours.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by YorkieGirl224

Well, the only reason I put him back on the antibiotics is because it's the same symptoms that he had last time. Right now he's kinda starting to run around, he's not playing with his toys quite yet, but there is some improvement.
Im not sure if the vet ran a complete blood coount, I'll have to call and find out. but what do I do now? Even though he seems like he is getting better should I stop the meds and do another blood test?

Antibiotics work by killing bacteria that cause the infection. The doctor or vet gives you enough antibiotics to kill all the bacteria, and then some. However, many people see a dramatic improvement within three days and stop the antibiotics. Antibiotics are not like a pain medication, that you stop when the pain goes away; you have to continue the full treatment until the bottle is empty. If you stop the antibiotics too soon, some bacteria will survive, not enough that there will be symptoms of infection right away, but enough to grow and multiply. The new bacteria will be stronger than the old bacteria, because they will be slightly immune to the antibiotics, and as they grow and multiply, a new strain or "super" bacteria can develop that another dose of the same type of antibiotic won't even kill. This is why it's always important to use the whole bottle. Many humans have been doing this, and they aren't only hurting themselves, but they are hurting everyone by helping to create these super bugs. Doctors have had to use stronger and stronger antibiotics because of this, and are very concerned about bacteria being created that they cannot destroy. I'm not sure why the vet gave the antibiotics to your dog in the first place, but he needs to be rechecked, and you need to tell him when you gave the last dose of antibiotics.

[YorkieGirl224]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

Antibiotics work by killing bacteria that cause the infection. The doctor or vet gives you enough antibiotics to kill all the bacteria, and then some. However, many people see a dramatic improvement within three days and stop the antibiotics. Antibiotics are not like a pain medication, that you stop when the pain goes away; you have to continue the full treatment until the bottle is empty. If you stop the antibiotics too soon, some bacteria will survive, not enough that there will be symptoms of infection right away, but enough to grow and multiply. The new bacteria will be stronger than the old bacteria, because they will be slightly immune to the antibiotics, and as they grow and multiply, a new strain or "super" bacteria can develop that another dose of the same type of antibiotic won't even kill. This is why it's always important to use the whole bottle. Many humans have been doing this, and they aren't only hurting themselves, but they are hurting everyone by helping to create these super bugs. Doctors have had to use stronger and stronger antibiotics because of this, and are very concerned about bacteria being created that they cannot destroy. I'm not sure why the vet gave the antibiotics to your dog in the first place, but he needs to be rechecked, and you need to tell him when you gave the last dose of antibiotics.

I was told since the x-rays, blood work and exams couldn't find anything I was told that the next step would be an ultrasound (which would run anywhere from $500-1000). The Dr. suggested we try the antibiotics to see if it was something internal and since he had been previously diagnosed with a UTI (a few months before he started yelping). I gave him the medication for a week, and when he seemed a lot better I stopped, which is why I have extra medicince.

[Nancy1999]

Originally Posted by YorkieGirl224

I was told since the x-rays, blood work and exams couldn't find anything I was told that the next step would be an ultrasound (which would run anywhere from $500-1000). The Dr. suggested we try the antibiotics to see if it was something internal and since he had been previously diagnosed with a UTI (a few months before he started yelping). I gave him the medication for a week, and when he seemed a lot better I stopped, which is why I have extra medicince.

Do you understand why you shouldn't have stopped the antibiotic now? Have I explained it well enough to you? I mean the main reason I even know this is because I use to do the same thing myself, so don't feel bad, but once I learned how important it was to take the whole dosage, I had better luck clearing up infections for good!

[YorkieGirl224]

Originally Posted by Nancy1999

Do you understand why you shouldn't have stopped the antibiotic now? Have I explained it well enough to you? I mean the main reason I even know this is because I use to do the same thing myself, so don't feel bad, but once I learned how important it was to take the whole dosage, I had better luck clearing up infections for good!

Yeah, I should have kept it on it for longer. How long should they generally take an antibiotic for? They just said give it to him 2x a day till he's normal again....?

[Mardelin]

Originally Posted by YorkieGirl224

Yeah, I should have kept it on it for longer. How long should they generally take an antibiotic for? They just said give it to him 2x a day till he's normal again....?

Ultrasounds run around $100.00 here in California. Antibiotics are usually prescribed for 10 days. That is unless you have an extreme case of infection and then it could be prescribed for longer.

[YorkieGirl224]

Originally Posted by Mardelin

Ultrasounds run around $100.00 here in California. Antibiotics are usually prescribed for 10 days. That is unless you have an extreme case of infection and then it could be prescribed for longer.

uh... I think I do need to find a new vet.... They told me it would be anywhere from $500 - $1000!
Thanks for letting me know!

[MyFairLacy]

when lacy had a UTI she was on antibiotics for over three weeks. An abdominal ultrasound at Texas A&M University was around $300.

[Ellie May]

An ultrasound at an animal hospital here is just below $200 and at a specialty hopital here it is probably just below $300.

Doctors and vets should "always" tell you how long to use antibiotics...not just until symptoms go away.

Ellie just had a UTI and she has been on Clavamox for 2 weeks.