PLEASE READ... Our New Yorkie Pup is Sick!

[lillymae]

If this were my pup, I would take her back to the vet and INSIST they give her IV antibiotics and if they refuse find another vet ASAP. Something needs to be done NOW before she ends up with Brain Damage and Liver Damage. If she's not able too keep anything down you are running out of time quickly.

[Lioncross4]

They are so little that it doesn't take much for them to go down hill. i would insist on IV treatment--she needs to be treated to get better! Praying for you all.

[chestermama]

Im so sorry how horrible to get a new baby and she is sick, she needs the ivs they can go down hill very quickly especially as a pup keep us posted

[Sweet Apple]

I know I can speak for many of us on YT, that we are anxiously awaiting good results of your baby's tests, and hoping to hear that little Phoebe is doing better today...It does take a few days for the albon to kick in, but, of course, they do have to keep it down...I'll be watching this post, and continue to pray for your little girl...We need these doctors, we need those tests and medicine, but prayer is powerful!!!

[nsleik]

Hello Everyone,

Thanks again for everyone's prayers and thoughts towards our Phoebe!

I spoke with the doctor today and things seem to be progressing slowly. She still hasn't had an appetite, but at least she is keeping everything down when they force feed her. The Vet gave her something for nausea before they fed her. Unfortunately, Albon is not made in an IV form, but she is receiving Cephalexin through the IV. She also seems to be sniffing her food which is a step in the right direction. Before, she wouldn't even look at it. So, I guess she'll be there another night! I get so sad when she's not home with us!

[ladyjane]

Thank you for the update! I am glad she is a little better today. I know you want her home, but she is right where she needs to be!

[jnlellison]

I'm very sorry to hear about your baby. I will continue to pray for her and check back for updates.

[WV~Yorkies]

How old is she? I read through and didn't see it anywhere. I seen where she is only 1.8 pounds. I am thinking she was taken from mom to early and it stressed her out.

[Mom to Hot Rod]

Sending good thoughts and prayers that your little Phobe gets well and is home soon. Hugs.

[Micah my love]

wishing the best for you & your little baby

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by nsleik

Hello Everyone,
We have read many posts and value everyone's opinion on YT. Please… We’re welcoming ANY and ALL suggestions that could help us with our puppy?

We bought Phoebe from a breeder last Sunday morning (11/22/09), and unfortunately, she endured a 9-hour car ride home. She was not interested in food or water on the way home and vomited twice. We just assumed it was car-sickness but called the breeder on the way home to make sure it was safe to continue. She told us that Phoebe was probably not enjoying the car ride and to keep supplementing her with NutraCal. She assured us, “When she gets hungry, she’ll eat”. That same night we got home (around 10pm) and offered her moistened food from the breeder (Nutrisource Small Breed mixed w/ Warm Water) and sure enough by 4am we were relieved to hear her eating and lapping up water. We wished our new puppy would be a little more playful, but the breeder told us that she was a quiet pup – that her sister was more of a player and that ours was more of a cuddle-monster. Our “Well puppy” check went really well on Tuesday afternoon, but the Vet was a little taken back that she was not interested in any of his treats. We explained to him what the breeder had told us, and he assumed it was just her temperament. Over the next day or so, her appetite slowly began to diminish to eating mostly in the morning, some in the afternoon and very little for dinner. On Thanksgiving, she would not eat anything past 1:30pm, so we supplemented her with NutraCal. Our hearts sank on Friday morning when she suffered a seizure and we rushed her to a 24-hour ER vet. They gave her a bolus of dextrose and kept her there all day Friday. They told us it was safe to take her home since her blood sugar was remaining stable and she was eating every hour on the hour. We were scared, and wanted to see this with our own eyes… So low and behold she ate from our very own hands. They had weaned her off the I.V. and had her eating Gerber Stage 2 baby food (Ham flavor). Scarier than ever, when we got her home – Phoebe reverted to not eating. We were instructed to start force-feeding her via syringe with A/D food the vet gave us. That Saturday, she started having diarrhea and our personal vet kept her at his facility to see if she would eat and he was worried of a possible liver shunt (but blood glucose was pretty stable). By Sunday, her diarrhea worsened. Also, her lab results came back as positive for Coccidia. When we tried giving her the prescribed Albon, she started vomiting. She continued the diarrhea and vomiting through the rest of the night. Monday morning she was hospitalized again for dehydration. We went to visit her today and everyone’s concern is that she still won't eat ANYTHING. She is on an IV drip (50% dextrose) to maintain fluids/electrolytes, but she can’t keep that up forever. The Vet is questioning whether or not she has some other underlying infection, so he has her on some strong antibiotics.

We don't know what to do! The breeder stated that she has always been quiet and only played really when her sister would play. I just feel like something is REALLY wrong if my puppy has been hospitalized twice in eight days. The vet is really impressed on how well we have maintained her blood glucose and her force feedings. I just want her to want to eat. We've tried everything!

ok GLUCOSE does not determine liver shunt ALT and pre and post bile acid tests determine this more accurately - did they do a full blood panel on her ? you need to ask this as seizures are not tied to coccidia and hypoglycemic is tied to liver shunt many times and if her glucose was stable then i doubt it was hypoglycemic so you need to further investigate liver shunt with this pup. Call the breeder and ask for a pre and post bile acid test they did on father and mother and if they didn't this could be an issue. Alot of vets are not real up on liver shunt which sounds like this vet is not if she is ruling it out based on glucose values ????

[dwerten]

Liver_Shunt_And_MVD_Support@yahoogroups.com

please join this group you need to read up on liver shunt as not eating is a huge sign of liver shunt and the seizure is too a yorkie is 38% more likely to have a shunt than in other breeds. make sure you are feeding a lower protein diet like 18% so i would recommend L/D and see if your pup does better and do wet as they will not eat because when they eat if protein is too high it makes them feel sick so they refuse to eat. They can seize from hypoglycemia but that is real rare so if your dog had a seizure i cannot stress this enough to check it out further. It also dogs not make sense that the dog is not active another sign of liver shunt

here are signs of liver shunt to watch out for - head pressing, spaced out after eating, vomitting, seizures, refusing to eat (picky eater)

was the seizure after eating as usually that happens after eating as they cannot digest properly through the liver

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by nsleik

lindula & Patti,
Thank you for your support!

Patti... I'm really hoping they can begin treatment for the Coccidia soon. It only makes logical sense in my opinion that the parasites are multiplying while treatment is postponed. For what it's worth - Phoebe did receive 1.25mL of Albon on Sunday, but she threw it all up. We thought it may have been due to medication on an empty stomach, so we syringe fed her a/d, NutriCal, and PediaLyte followed by a repeat dose of 1.25mL of Albon. Ten minutes later she threw it all up again. We called the Vet back and explained the situation and he said to wait an hour, syringe feed her and see if she keeps it down. She did, so then we split the dose in half .6mL of Albon with a NutriCal chaser (our Breeder's recommendation) to cover up the unlikeable taste of the Albon. She kept that down but threw everything up when we gave her the second half of the dose an hour later. Since then our Vet has been replenishing fluids, hitting her with Cephalexin and postponing Albon treatment.

cephalexin is a strong antibiotic can they not use something less strong like metronidazole or tylan powder for this ?

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by nsleik

Since she's on an IV (and has not eaten for 12hrs or more) she has technically fasted. So they've done an Bile/Acid Test for a Liver Shunt and those results won't be in till tomorrow morning (12/02). The vet doesn't suspect it, but he wants to rule it out. We're so scared and upset. We don't know what to do? We just don't understand how things could be fine for 3 days, then suddenly she goes downhill in less than a week! Her CBC from yesterday came back today with fairly normal values. Her White Blood Cells were slightly elevated with a "Shift To The Left"? Her Albumin (protein levels were low), but the vet thinks it is simply due to her lack of nutrition. Other than that... Phoebe's vitals, lung-sounds, heart-sounds, are all great.

oh good will be awaiting this now did they do pre and post ? as they need to do both to truly test the liver and they did send out to a lab correct not inhouse as that is more accurate as well.

[dwerten]

Originally Posted by nsleik

Livingdustmops & Hedley,
Thanks for your replies. We'll keep you updated on Phoebe's status. As you can imagine, we're sick to our stomachs reading everything about "liver shunts" in anticipation of tomorrow's bile/acid test result. We don't know what to do? The Vet says that the WBC "Shift To The Left" means that she's fighting off some sort of bacterial infection in addition to Coccidia. We're seriously concerned that they are not treating her with her Albon right now as they say the Coccidia is NOT the top priority at the moment. They're currently focusing on this infection and treating her with Cephalexin in addition to an IV drip of 50% Dextrose. Her dehydration was bad due to the severe amounts of vomiting and diarrhea. Phoebe went from weighing 1.97 lbs to 1.6 lbs in a matter of 2-3 days!

Livingdustmops, to answer your question... We're refraining from asking for financial assistance from our breeder until we get tomorrow's test result. Unfortunately, when we initially brought the idea to her, she thought we were crazy stating, "I've never had a pup with a liver shunt in 18 years of breeding."

yeah that's what they all say ask her for the bile acid tests of mom and dad as most breeders now do this although it does not guarantee it is not in their line