Something We Should All Have to See
 

I was asked to foster a tiny little 2 lb 2year old little girl until her owners could be found. She had been found out wondering the streets. I said sure bring her on over. I came on YT that same night because this poor sweet little girl was having the most horrible seizures. She would lie on her side and spin and spin in circles while screeching so loud it actually hurt the ears and foaming out her little mouth. She would do this for several minutes and then when that finally stopped she would be so disoriented and would not let any of us close to her. We rushed her to our vet in fear for not only her but for our two precious furbabies thinking what have we done bring a sick little one in our home with them. Come to find out this little one has severe liver shunt. The vet told us that when they breed for these tinies that this is one of the prices they have to pay. It just sickens me because it is not they that have to pay its these poor babies. I like a lot of others when I went in seach of our first little on wanted a tiny, I knew no better. But now I do and I am so thankful for my 2 four lb healthy furbutts. Ok I am through with my ranting just wanted to give some food for thought to those of you thinking of buying such a tiny baby. Yes we found her owners and they were elated to have her back home but they had no idea about diet or anything else that could affect her. It just breaks my heart every time I think of her.

That is so horribly sad :( Why anyone would purposely set out looking to buy a 2lb yorkie is beyond me., and shame on the breeders who purposely breed such tiny babies!

I hope that they get the proper information on care and diet for that little girl. Did you ever find out how she got to be just wondering on her own? I would have to take a serious look at how and where she lives. :(

Sadly she will die if they aren't willing to spend the over $1500 (minimum) for surgery to make her well. This is not about diet at this stage...she is going into complete failure.

I am wondering too, how did she get away from them? Did they know about her condition? Oh gosh, now I'm going to worry about her too.

What a sad story. I don't understand why any breeder would breed for such tiny babies. You are right, the babies are the ones who suffer. I just hope the owners get her the medical attention she needs!

I feel so badly for that little Yorkie. Thank you for taking the time to find out what was wrong with her. I hope the owners get her the proper medical care she needs.

I agree. She needs to be taken to the nearest vet school for further treatment. I hope her new owners are aware of this.

As far as size goes, small stature can be sign of a shunt, but there are plenty of bigger Yorkies out there with liver shunts. Since Yorkies are 36 times more likely to be born with a shunt than all other breeds combined, it's important to get a puppy from a breeder who bile acids tests each and every one of her Yorkies prior to breeding. She must also know her lines many, many generations back as two healthy Yorkies can be carriers fro shunts and there is no genetic marker as yet. All Yorkie puppies should get a bile acids test routinely done once they reach 20 weeks old according to Dr. Sharon Center, the developer of the BAT. FYI, Dr. Center is currently working on finding a genetic marker for liver shunts with a grant from the AKC.

I am so sorry I havent replied sooner. Been very hectic around here. I do check on her every now and then but it is heartbreaking. The people who own her are elderly and they have continued to take her to the vet who finally told them surgery is her only option but I am not sure they are financially able to do this for her. I have told them about yorkie rescues willing to take her but I dont know if I am getting anywhere with this :( She is such a little sweetheart and I know they love her but they keep saying they want to try special diets and such first. I just wish I knew a way to get through to them about all this but they seem very set in their ways. All I know to do is continue to pray they will see their way to do what is best for her.

I have had very small Yorkies for 35 years!!!!!! Healthy! I think by reading on this site there are just as many and more over 2 lbs Yorkies with liver shuts!!!!!!!!! Poor breeding is a large part of the problem. Reputable breeders will occasionally have a tiny, so what do you think they should be put to sleep? Smaller Yorkies of the 2 lb range belong in special homes. I have had no health issues with any of my dogs until ripe old ages. They have all lived at least 15 years and better! I get there teeth cleaned once or twice a year depending on there needs. Dry food, low protein diets! They are spoiled and very protected!

As far as size goes, small stature can be sign of a shunt! That's a new one on me. In thirty five years I have never heard a doctor say that to me. Never had a bile acid test and none of my doctors have ever suggested it! If I had any signs of illness I would of course do whatever it took to seek the best medical attention at any cost! I have bought the last five Yorkies from the same breeder and her reputation speaks for itself. She has also sold several to friends of mine with no health issues.

That poor little girl.. it just makes me so mad that people continue to breed these sick puppies and produce more sick babies. We get Yorkies to have a companion, to love and be loved, not for heartbreak.

It's amazing how many people look for the small ones.. every breeder I talk to, I ask how big they think the puppies will be - they immediately think I am asking because I want a small one - the opposite is true, I want a 6 pounder or more. Preferably at least 8 pounds! I can't imagine having a dog that small that never gets bigger... I don't know how some of you do it.

I highly recommend taking her to UT's vet hospital, they are by far the best in the nation for liver shunts. Hands down. She will need an ultrasound and scintigraphy done as well before surgery to see if it is indeed a shunt (or microvascular dysplasia - which is not operable), and to see if its localized for surgery. In the mean time, she needs to be eating Royal Canin LS 14 (which is a very low protein prescription diet) and taking Lactulose (prescription your vet can write and you can get it at Rite Aid, Target, etc and its on the $4 program) regularly to keep the toxins flushed from her body. If $$ is an issue and you seriously do not want to give her up, then I suggest you get CareCredit (its a credit card for medical emergencies and you have months to pay it off). If its a shunt, you will be looking at around 2000 in bills. If its MVD, sometimes they still need to do surgery to verify that it is NOT a shunt (if the tests are not completely clear) and even if they don't repair anything, it will still be 1500ish for everything. My Ginger had surgery and she did not end up having a shunt even though her bile acids were over 100. Have you had a bile acids test? What were her pre and post numbers? Please keep us updated and feel free to PM me and ask any questions.

Here is a group on yahoo with others with babies with liver shunts/MVD... there is a HUGE amount information here... Please utilize this priceless resource. Liver_Shunt_And_MVD_Support : Liver Shunt & MVD/HMD Support

So sorry to hear this story, poor baby. My Maui recently had a seizure and it was the most horrifying thing I have ever witnessed!

A few months ago I found out my groomer breeds yorkies, so I made my husband come with me to check them out. He didn't have any puppies available but he let me see his females.....they were TINY TINY! He told me his stud was even smaller. He told me he sold his so called "teacups" for $1600 and up and he claims it was because they were so fragile and people kill them!!! People kill them, omg. Suffice it to say, I did not get a puppy from him AND I found myself a new groomer. :thumbdown

Even big yorkies are little
 

I understand that having a tiny dog is super cute, but 2 lbs?
I wanted Castor Pollux to be teeniny. He's 4.8 @ 9months and still little. Yorkies, even the "tea pots" are still Yorkies and still small.
Theres no reason to try make em even more tiny (i don't see how all that personality is packed into such a small size anyway)
I've heard that the littler you breed the more likely health risks are.
I'm so sad for the little girl but it is good to be more aware when I get the next one and what to look for.
Love this site!!!
(makes student teaching fun)

It can very well be a sign of shunt, not always. That information is based on research conducted by Dr. Susan Centers and Dr Tobias....both at the forefront of Liver Shunt Research......

As far as not having a bile acid perforemd.....it's hiding your head in the sand. Liver Shunt has reared it's ugly head in our breed and it can show up at any given time......even after 8 or 9 generations.

This makes perfect sense. If LS is a recessive gene, you can have many many beautiful pups be perfectly healthy but yet be carriers. All it takes is for one recessive gene to find another and then an LS baby is born. I have read that the teenies are sometimes inbred to produce more teenies. Shortening the gene pool increases the possibility of LS or any number of genetic diseases. It's basic genetics.

Please keep insisting they need to help her by medically managing this until she is strong enough to go thru surgery.

Please have them contact Olga at Retro Doggy Rescue
livrescue@yahoo.com

She is amazing at helping Liver Shunt Parents. She will give them step by step instruction on how to care for this baby. What food and how much and how often, what medicines and what supplements.

She has had numerous Liver Shunt dogs in her rescue and she goes above and beyond...

The bottom line, is that this pup is suffering and will most likely die if nothing is done soon...

I agree w/everything said. I can still hear this little one screeching. So heartwrenching. Please keep hounding this older couple to get the med help she needs.
Good Luck.

We only wish it was as simple as recessive genes! They have not even been able to find the genetic marker for LS/MVD yet... when at UT, I was told they hope to be able to find the marker within the next 5 years, which would be great.

I said it more as an example, but it sure sounds like a recessive gene from what Mardeline said. If many generations can live happy and healthy, and then all of a sudden it just pops up, it definitely doesn't sound like a dominant gene causes LS.
It's like my cousin who has this disease that degenerates his nervous system as he ages. He's in his 30's now, and was born with no sign of it, but lives in a wheelchair with no use of his legs, and less and less use of his hands. I can't remember the name of his disease off the top of my head, but we were able to trace it at lest 6 generations back to the last case of one of my relatives having this. His is a recessive gene that both my aunt and her husband passed on to him. For 15 years of his life he had no symptoms.
The main difference here is we as people choose to breed or not to breed our pets, so if we choose to go forth and bring about more puppies it's our responsibility to check for all of this.

Its definitely not dominant... nor recessive. They do not have the genetic marker to even track it really at this point... recessive/dominant genes can be tracked. I just know what I have learned from my research and what I was told by Drs at UT.

that is so sad! i sometimes wish Sadie had grown to be at least 5 lbs. she's 4.5 lbs. and just didn't make it to 5lbs. but i'm ok with her size, she's healthy and big enough...i would never even before i learned about "teacup" pups have gotten a tiny little dog that wasn't a breed standard, but even more so after learning just how horrible their poor little lives are...and i wanted to add that not only do those people need to learn about her health and FAST, but so do some people very close to me, they have a boxer mix that i would consider morbidly obese. he's so fat and huge that i can just imagine how hard his little legs are working to hold him up and how short his life will be if they don't control his weight. i believe he is free fed, never walked, and just lies around all day with no training, love, or leader.

sad isn't it how foolish some people can be that own pets that never should be allowed to have them!!

I don't think the Doctors have the answers. They have breed two dogs whose bile acids are well below the normal limits and they've produced LS pups. They've also bred two dogs with LS that have produced perfectly healthy pups. Now the missing link is as you say, the DNA Marker.

Right, and I only said it sounds like a recessive gene to me. While they don't have a way of identifying it right now doesn't mean it can't be true. Genetics is complicated and DNA is made of numerous genomes and scientists and doctors haven't mapped every DNA of every creature. Especially when you consider all the mutations genes go through. In my genetics class we learned basics, and I mean basics. We even learned how to do a paternity test because something like that is incredibly simple. But, to study DNA and what does what is incredibly time consuming. We were given fake DNA and tested it to find if cancer was hereditary, only to learn that as far as we know now it's case by case. Some are hereditary, some are environmental, and some are caused by random gene mutations. But, what I do know is that DNA is life's blueprint. It dictates where a leg goes, and how a heart is formed, and whether or not a living thing will function normally.
I'm speculating about the recessive gene, not stating it as fact. Just because we haven't marked it doesn't mean it isn't there.