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Old 09-06-2009, 10:05 AM   #1
Summer_76
YorkieTalk Newbie!
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: IL, USA
Posts: 4
Default All of a sudden: weak hind legs, trembling

Hello--

Last night, my 10 m.o. Maxwell was fine. He jumped, ran, played, and did all the things active Yorkies do. We went to bed around midnight, where he slept on my chest for the entire night.

This morning at 8:30, I immediately knew something was wrong when he tried to get up and instead trembled and whimpered. I stood him up, but he immediately pulled up his left hind leg and wouldn't walk normally.

I tried to get him to potty and get a drink, but he wasn't interested, so I laid him back down in bed. An hour later, I checked on him, tried to get him to stand, and he refused to put weight either of his hind legs.

Around 11, I called the nearest ER Vet (just over an hour away), who suggested this may be a cartilage, hip, or knee issue and advised me to give him pain meds (she suggested we use some hydrocodone left over from a cough earlier this year), warm baths, and to do range of motion exercises with him. Of course, she also advised close supervision.

So, I gave him his medicine, a warm bath, worked his legs a bit, then put him down for a nap. During his exercises, I palpated his entire body and found no particular area that seemed to be causing his pain.

He woke up a bit ago and did walk around a little (he ate well, too), but he is still trembling and whimpering and is definitely not himself. He was up for approximately 10 minutes, and is now resting next to me, whimpering here and there.

The million dollar question is: should I make the drive into the city and insist on ER care (which would presumably include x-rays), or do I take the ER vet's phone advice and let him rest, medicate, and try to work it out myself until Tuesday, when his regular vet re-opens?

Thanks in advance for your advice. I'm really not sure what to do.
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