Advice Please

[daisy mae06]

Originally Posted by sharong

Hi.

The little guy did get his health certificate before I took him. When I had him at our vet's office I don't think they really did a physical exam or anything-- they were just worried about the sugar and focused on that. The breeder knows that we took him to our vet.

She took him back, as I said, to work on his eating habits again since he could be with his mom. He wasn't eating for her at first but she said yesterday that he was better. So originally was taking him to her vets office yesterday but felt she didn't have to since he was better for her. I did not talk to her today.

I just can't get it out of my mind that he was not playful at all, not curious. It just seemed weird to me. That's why I'm fretting so much over what to do.

Thanks for everyone responses so far!

If you really love this lil guy I think that she will help you find out if he is all ok. Ask her to please take him to the vet and mak sure even if he is doing better. Or see if you can take him. God I hope he is ok I will say a prayer for you both.

[Chrissy0277]

If you really love him I would give it another try but in my opinion is have the breeder have a bile acid test done to this pup to rule out livershunt at 12 weeks old. Its a fairly inexpensive test to have done http://glassyorkies.homestead.com/livershunt.html
Good luck with your new pup, if you decide to give him another try. Maybe because hes so little he should stay with mom a bit longer

[Tiggerwit]

Wasn't it the hypoglycemia that was making him not eat and not playful?

[sharong]

I'm hoping that that is all that it was. When we first went to look at him at her house my husband thought there was something wrong with him. I was holding him and when I put him down on the rock walkway, he simply slouched down. I moved him to the grass and he simply lay down. He would not stand, etc. My husband was worried then. That could very well have been because he wasn't eating well and was sluggish at that time.

I just passed it off as nervousness and fear of new people and new things. I don't think he had been outside of her housing area. And I knew he hadn't been around strangers but my husband brought up the point that the other puppy was active. Again, I liked this one better, so I made justifications and of course there could be a hundred reasons I'm sure.

Am I just being a pain about this!! I was so afraid when that happened to him and we both lost sleep over him. Now, I'm just worried about his health later on. I don't know if she would take him to the vets now that she said he's better.

Thanks once again guys!!!

[yorkieusa]

Originally Posted by Chrissy0277

If you really love him I would give it another try but in my opinion is have the breeder have a bile acid test done to this pup to rule out livershunt at 12 weeks old. Its a fairly inexpensive test to have done http://glassyorkies.homestead.com/livershunt.html
Good luck with your new pup, if you decide to give him another try. Maybe because hes so little he should stay with mom a bit longer

The bile acid test is what I was going to suggest. I don't see any point in keeping this puppy without her having one done. There is something more going on with this puppy than just hypoglycemia IMO. Hypoglycemia comes and goes, but in between the puppy should be acting like a puppy and playing like crazy. The behavior is not normal for a puppy of this age.

[Chrissy0277]

Originally Posted by yorkieusa

The bile acid test is what I was going to suggest. I don't see any point in keeping this puppy without her having one done. There is something more going on with this puppy than just hypoglycemia IMO. Hypoglycemia comes and goes, but in between the puppy should be acting like a puppy and playing like crazy. The behavior is not normal for a puppy of this age.

Thanks
I really beleive there is more going on then hypoglycemia. This pup isnt acting right for a reason. Please insist on having this test done before you bring the puppy home. Livershunt kills

[sharong]

Hi Again Everyone.

It's been a week since the breeder took the puppy back for me in order to get him to eat. She contacted me several times throughout the week to keep me up to date.

He will not eat for her either. It's been a week and she is having just as hard a time as I did getting him to even "think" about eating. Apparently he's surviving off of Nutrical most of the time. She has been trying everything herself.

Two days ago she took him to her vet. He checked him over and said that he could not find anything physically wrong with him at that time. Apparently he gave him some kind of shot to boost his appetite. He also suggested she try catfood.

She called today and said that the catfood didn't even work! I still cannot believe that this little guy won't eat a single thing and I mean that literally.
He's just about 12 weeks old and has still not gained an ounce...he's still at 1 pound.

She was telling me that she didn't think he was a "dwarf". She said she had one before and it stayed very teeny tiny and it didn't live long. She said that you can tell because their heads and bodies don't match in size and their legs are not anatomically correct, sometimes bowed or whatever. She doesn't think that that's what's wrong with him but then again, she doesn't know of course.

I am going out of town for three weeks and she's going to keep him during that time. I do have the option of getting another puppy in the future or money back. I think the problem I have is that he appears to be what I was looking for in a yorkie. She said he would have the cobby body, short legs, babydoll face.

I'm really torn about what to do. My head and heart are battling here. I think for now we'll just go to my daughter's wedding and not worry about it (yeah, right) and take a look at him when we come back and see what's going on.

I just wonder if we'll ever not be afraid and worried if we take him. I know there are other pups for sale and I know there will be other cobby bodied little guys, but it's still such a hard decision.

I did contact the lady in Georgia with the five month old puppy but my husband didn't have a lot to say about that. I don't believe he wanted to spend any more but we'll just keep on thinking about it I guess.

I just thought I'd write an update and see if anyone has advice or opinions once again. Also, if anyone know of any cobby little babies out there, let me know that too.

Thanks and have a great day!!!

[GurleyGirl]

Enjoy your daughter's wedding! Congrats!

My Jasmine was real small at 7 months old when I got her... 1 pound, 11 ounces... She never had any problems but I used a syringe to feed her meat baby food and plain yogurt for awhile... I think it was more for me than her... I just thought she was too small and not eating much.... I always left dry dog food out for her... Anyway... she's almost 2 years old now and hovers around 3 pounds...

As other YTers were saying I think he should be tested for liver shunt (since he is so small) to rule that out. Wishing all the best for the little guy!!

[TLC]

Wow, such a tough decision. Don't give up on this little guy yet. I think you should go on your trip and be in contact with the breeder as much as possible during that time. Take it one day at a time. Make your decision based on the facts of each day until you are back in town.
Best of luck!

[Chrissy0277]

Please please please have this baby bile acid tested. Insist to the breeder to have this done. He needs to be checked for possible livershunt.
Some people wont have this done because they dont want to see or hear that livershunt may be in their dogs lines. Alot vets dont know enough to suggest to test for it.
If he has this it needs to be surgically fixed in order for him to survive.
http://www.vet.utk.edu/clinical/sacs/shunt/
If the vet needs advice he can contact the university of Tenn veterinary hospital, they are the best when it comes to livershunt

[YorkieRose]

I would not take this pup without a bile acid test...he sounds like a liver shunt puppy..BUT I hope I am very,very wrong.

[Chrissy0277]

Originally Posted by YorkieRose

I would not take this pup without a bile acid test...he sounds like a liver shunt puppy..BUT I hope I am very,very wrong.

So do I
I have been thinking about this pup ever since I read the first post and I worry about him.

[sharong]

Hi Ladies.

I have checked the information on liver shunt myself and sadly to say, I think he fits the description.

I asked my vet about it after I had him there for the hypoglycemia and she seemed to not be worried about it at all. I mentioned it again when I called her on Wednesday. She again, did not seem to be concerned.

I have also mentioned it to the breeder a couple of times and she said he did not have the symptoms. She quoted some of them like the seizures and rubbing his head against things so I thought she at least knew what she was talking about. She really seems to know her dogs and yorkies in general.

Does anyone know how much this test costs approximately. Like I said, we have already spent three hundred dollars for the hypoglycemia visit and may end up not getting the puppy. Don't want to sound cheap but that's money that could have been spent towards another puppy if you look at it one way. I thought for sure she would have done this test on her own but I really don't think she's going to. She still just thinks that he just needs a little more time. She told me today that he still has a bit of a soft spot on his head.

Would the liver shunt make him not eat anything at all and I mean not a thing.?

Thanks again ladies.

[Chrissy0277]

The test is like 80 dollars or so depending on the vet. Livershunt dogs can be fussy eaters or not want to eat. Some livershunt dogs show no symptoms what so ever.

[xBUTTERCUPx]

I know that a lot of smaller babies have more health issues than bigger ones but when I got Buttercup at 11 weeks he was no where near 1lb and I have never had any problems with him, health-wise. At 16 weeks he was nearly a pound and a half and now at eight months he is a little under 4lbs and extremely healthy. My sister is a vet tech and from what she told me was that when a puppy gets hypoglycemia the chances are higher for them to get a hypoglycemia attack again in the future, please don't quote me. Good luck with your decision