SHaking leg while peeing little drops?
 

My 4 month old, 1.5 lb yorkie male has been acting a little strange over the past two days. In the evening last night and the night before he will awake from sleep or stand up or something and pee just a few drops. Usually while he does this his back right leg kicks very fast. No whimpering or whining, no visible discomfort other than the leg kicking. He pees normal during the day, this has only happened in the evening. Could this be a UTI? No response from vet yet. It just seems strange to me that it only appears to be happening at night and he doesn't seem to be uncomfortable at all.

Update - My yorkie has some type of seizure or something about fifteen minutes ago. Woke up from napping on my lap and his whole body started shaking. He wasn't really blinking his eyes and his front left leg
was completely stretched the whole time and his back right leg was shaking the whole time. It lasted a few minutes. I put him down to see if he could walk and he couldn't stand up his back legs. He wasn't able to stand for a good five minutes even though the shaking had stopped. After five minutes or so he was able to stand completely but he was a little wobbly for a few minutes after that.
I called my vet and told them everything and they gave me an appointment at 5 today. They said that was the soonest they could fit me in and not to worry.
He hasn't eaten or drinken much today. I got him to drink a decent amount about ten minutes ago, and he ate a treat but no regular food.
What could cause this?

I'm just seeing this thread. I'm so sorry you're baby is seizing. And I'm very glad you're getting him in to see the vet today - that's the best thing you could do. I'll keep you both in my prayers. Please give us an update when you know more.

Sending you prayer's that he will be ok.
Thank heavens you can see the vet today.
Good luck, poor baby.

Let us know what happens.

I am sorry your baby is sick. I hope the vet can come up with some answers. You definitely need to get him checked for liver shunt. It is possible he could have a UTI. What type of diet has you puppy been on? Please keep us updated.

you need to get blood work and bile acids done as this could be liver shunt that is the first thing you need to rule out as most seizures happen at night and sounds like he is having seizures at night - how long after eating are these seizures occurring? what is the protein percentage of the food? Due to age and yorkie first thing i would rule out is liver shunt as uti he would not be having a seizure - you could take a urine sample in as well and have urinalysis as they see if there are crystals in urine when liver shunt as well as they will tell them both uti and if liver is being affected

I looked up symptoms for liver shunt; he isn't drooling, vomiting or drinking excessively, and about an hours after the treat he did eat a meal, and then even played a little with my other dog. Very strange, he seems to be going back and forth from being tired not feeling well and having a seizure, then a couple of hours later is playing and eating like normal.

Both my dogs eat Beneful puppy. That is what the people I purchased them from were feeding them. I don't know enough to know if that's bad or good, I kept them on the same food.

If i can manage to get a pee sample before my appointment i will, but that's easier said than done for a 4 month old male; and he hasn't gone pee as many times today. Usually he goes every 2-3 hours while he is awake; its almost three now and he has only gone twice today. Once around 8 in the morning, and a little bit around 12:30.

Thank you for you information, doing my own research helps me not feel so helpless if the vet tells me what it is. Its nice to have an idea of what I might be dealing with ahead of time.

I hate to tell you this but Beneful is a horrible dog food, one of the worse on the market. With liver shunt the symptoms can vary depending on the severity. Usually dogs with liver problems will start acting weird a little bit after eating then after the food has digested they will start feeling better. It has to do with the ammonia building up in their bodies due to poor liver function. Please get your puppy checked out.

Thanks for the input, What should I feed them instead?

they do not have to have all the symptoms they can just have one and a big one is SEIZURES - make sure no rosemary in any treats as that can trigger seizures

are you near knotts berry farm? If so go see dr jean dodds and have her do the pre and post bile acid test here is her info www.hemopet.com and google her resume dr jean dodds resume - she is who does all our blood work and i think you are in southern california ???

[QUOTE=littlehoneybee;2921462]Thanks for the input, What should I feed them instead?[/QUOTE

I don't know what is available in your area but here are some links that might be helpful. The first two are YT threads that discuss different dog food. The third link is a good website that gives dog food reviews and explains what to look for in dog food.

It is important to first find out if your puppy is having a liver problem because if he is he will require a special diet.

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...-choosing.html

http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/yor...ur-yorkie.html

Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble

also some dogs never have a symptom at all and have a shunt and it shows up later as i helped a dog with 3 shunts and no seizures, nothing but got bladder stones at 4 and when they did bile acids he had a high bile acid and was operated on for stones and he had 3 shunts :( so they could not repair the shunts -- it is better to repair when young so more shunts do not develop as this dog could not have a repair as they can only repair if they have one and the body adapts and blows more shunts if the one is not corrected like happened with this dog

all yorkies and maltese should be bile acid tested per out vet due to the high probability of them having this

I just got back from the vet. They did a physical example and did not find any problems. When i explained the "Seizure" the vet told me this is not a typical thing you would call a seizure, it sounds like more of a metabolic reaction. He said it was possibly a hypoglycemic reaction to not having eaten enough.
Then he told me he wanted to do several hundred dollars worth of blood work to rule out cancer and liver shunt because seizures are a symptom of liver shunt. Moments earlier, he had told me my dog had not had a seizure.
I care for my dog very much, but I am a reasonable person. I don't need to spend several hundred dollars to find out my dog doesn't have cancer when I am 95% sure (and the vet is too from what he told me) that he doesn't have it. I told them that I would like to watch him for another day or two. If I see that he is getting better, then its very likely that it was hypoglycemia and I will be on the watch for that more. If he gets worse or doesn't improve, then clearly something else is wrong and i will get the needed tests then. I feel that vets are very premature to assume your dog needs to be tested for everything under the sun, this is something common in the medical profession as well.
After eating the afternoon, Toby rapidly improved. Drank much more, began to play with our other Yorkie Vespa and had a big rise in energy. Since then he is peeing, eating and playing. I think it is very likely that it was a blood sugar issue. I know some of you think I am a horrible dog owner for not rushing to spend all my money on bloodwork. I am not saying I WON'T get it, but common sense and balance should come in to play as well. I would have the same reaction to my own medical care. I hope very much that I see no further problems with Toby; if I do, I will take the needed steps and get bloodwork done.

I would like to thank all of you for your encouraging posts and helpful suggestions.

Thank You

ok first not impressed with vet already CANCER in a 4 month old pup are you kidding me sorry you need to find another vet :( I will read more and respond

I do not think you are horrible as i know all too well about vets :( and agree BUT in this case seizures are nothing to mess with and since 38% of yorkies are likely to have a liver shunt it runs very high in the breed and most vets are clueless about liver shunt. Also hypoglycemia runs hand and hand with liver shunt so unless your dog is not eating then i would not suspect hypoglycemia as my dex had hypoglycemia when he was a pup and he was lethargic laying on his side he did not seize so i honestly think this is liver shunt :( and hope i am wrong.

Jean dodds is a non-profit and blood work is way cheaper there and she is awesome and has studied blood work for 40 years she knows her stuff and she is very conservative and not a big drug or test pusher and she is close to you - I drive 1 1/2 hrs to see her to get my titers and blood work done from her and you will love her - She is in Garden Grove area near knotts berry farm
i drive there because she is awesome and she does not charge an arm and leg for titers and blood work

Yes I was not too impressed with this vet either.

I completely understand that seizures would be a serious health issue, but the vet did tell me that what happened to my dog was NOT in fact a seizure in his opinion.

In regards to liver shunt, is a blood test required to find out if your dog has it, or will urine testing suffice?

you stated when he woke up from a nap he was shaking all over and the vet said that is not a seizure ? Look up seizures on youtube.com and see if any of those are similar as i think the shaking in your lap was a seizure unless dreaming but that does not sound to be the case and seizures can happen when sleeping - sorry i disagree with vet :( Next time it happens take a video on your digital camera if you have enough time - was your dog dazed after it happened?

They need to see if crystals are in the urine so a urinalysis can tell that you can take a free catch off back of wee wee pad for that

the bile acids are done after 12 hr fast they pull blood and you need to do a full panel and a pre bile with that sample to see what is going on glucose will be low if hypoglycemia which i do not believe this is what it is but that is a symptom of liver shunt. Then you need to bring food and feed him in your car etc as i do not leave mine at the vets unless absolutely necessary. or if you live close take him home feed him then 2hr on the dot you need to have blood pulled and that is your post as that is how long it takes to get to the liver to digest and it has to be done exact or the blood work is worthless so if you go home get to vet 20 min before that two hrs and make sure they are pulling it right on the dot - then you can truly rule out liver shunt if it is below 100 most likely not a shunt but mvd

where did you get your yorkie from a reputable breeder? ASk the breeder if any liver shunt is in the line and ask breeder if the parents were bile acid tested

this is a seizure

Update - So sunday Toby still wasn't feeling well (not much appetite, not as active) and he went to the bathroom and then came inside and sat on my lap and he would sit down and then he kept wiggling like he wasn't comfortable, and he peed a few drops on my lap. He's never peed on me before and it wasn't on purpose. He obviously wasn't feeling better so we did go in and get the bloodwork done. We should be getting results today or tomorrow. Hopefully its not too serious!

did they check his urine as well as you need to get a urinalysis to see if crystals in urine or uti so i would recommend culture and urinalysis but i prefer free catch even if a little contaminated to needle catch through bladder with ultrasound as that does not go without risk

did they do blood work on a 12 hr fast and did they do the pre and post bile acid test i recommended so he does not have to go back in for 2 more blood draws if alt comes in high as this way he would only have 2 blood draws and not 3

This was not a specific blood test for shunt. It was a basic blood panel to get more information on the dog's health to see where to go from there. Toby has increased levels of protein, (as opposed to decreased which would be present if shunt because of poor liver function) an increased amount of calcium and some dehydration. The vet has suggested changing his food temporarily to see if his health improves. I am picking up prescription food tomorrow. He also said some of these symptoms could be cause by stomach worms. I just recently bought this puppy and am not sure if he was given de-worm medication or not, so we are giving him that as well. I got this puppy from a friend who purchased it from her friend's neighbor who moved right after. So I have no history for the dog and his family and no way to contact the breeder. I can't confirm if anyone in his line has had liver shunt. I do have problems getting him to drink as much as I feel he should, the vet said the dehydration could cause some of the symptoms, so I have started giving him water through a syringe if he doesn't drink frequently enough. I also started changing the food over since someone told me Beneful is horrible. I went to the Dog Analysis website and found out how horrible it really is. I started switching them to Wellness two or three days ago to see if it would help. I have noticed (i dunno if it's related or just a coincidence) that Toby has had much more energy and no more incidents of the "peeing" (little drops) since I have changed the food. He has been eating well and has seemed to be in much better health. I am going to try the prescription food anyways, if his health still improves or stays better then that will give me info too. I didn't realize the food I was feeding them was so dangerously unhealthy. My other dog Vespa has a sensitive stomach and throws up frequently (not all the time, or "regularly" but enough that it concerns me) so I am hoping changing the food will help her as well with these issues.

i hope this all helps but high protein in blood can be liver related as well as the dogs with liver issues cannot process proteins very well and why they have to be on a low protein diet so I still think i would have him bile acid tested and my vet feels all yorkies and maltese should be bile acid tested as it is so prevalent in the breed. Many vets are not that up on liver shunt so if you see one more seizure please have this done. A seizure due to dehydration or hypoglycemic is pretty rare as i have experienced the hypoglycemic and it is different than what you described below

I realize this has been over a year ago, but I was looking up reasons why my 3 year old yorkie started inexplicably shaking in his hind legs last night and just wanted to sleep. He's completely normal today, honestly I thought his anal glands might have needed to be expressed. My sister-in-law's beagle has to have that done all the time, and my groomer said she did that to Baxter when she comes to groom him (who knew?). He had been gassy the day before. Anyway, if you're still checking the board, how is Toby these days? I have learned more about yorkies than I knew before. Fortunately I know the breeders and I can ask them if there are liver shunts in his line.