i think everyone who can get this should have this that has pets so check it out as I have this and use it to extend out vet costs - many vets and specialist take this but some do not and the reason they do not is because the vet pays the interest on the balance until the owner pays it off but it is a nice cushion to have in case of emergencies

CareCredit Healthcare Finance - Payment Plans and Financing for Cosmetic Surgery, Dental, Vision, Hearing, Veterinary & Other Medical Procedures

Absolutely! It is great to have!

Yes I agree too! My parents just had to use it for an 2nd LP surgery. 18 months ~ no interest = great deal ;)

I hope that you are able to discover what little Jacks' ailments are soon & that he has a full recovery.

Wishing all the best for you and Jack...

Tonight's Update
 

Hello everyone! Thank you for ALL of the well wishes, the help, and the support. Today just seemed to drag. I finally heard back from the vet at 4 today. I would have posted sooner but I went and picked my baby up and got some food myself. Here's what we found out.

They ran a urinalysis- came back with magnesium crystals. He wants to put him on a magnesium reduced diet. But that will be discussed tomorrow.
They ran a stool sample- came back clean.
They xrayed him- he couldn't find any blockages.
They use barrium and xrayed him- they wanted to watch his GI track and they found that it is running like it is suppose to be.

He has ruled out diabetes (thank god!). He wants me to bring Jack in tomorrow for an acid bile test. He thinks that it has to do with the liver. He wants to check how it is functioning. If this is not it, he thinks it more than likely will be a digestion fuction issue (like he isn't absorbing proteins and stuff). But that will be discussed tomorrow after we find out about his liver.

Right now, he just ate a whole can of dog food again! I think he would eat more if I gave him the chance. I might try to give him a bit more later if he will eat. He's curled up on my lap shaking. I'm not sure if it has to do with his problems or because he's so dang skinny that he's cold. But it so nice to have him home again. It's seemed so empty here. I'm going to try to take a nap with Jack. I'm exhausted from worrying. I will update again tomorrow after the vet visit.

it depends on the balance as to how long you can extend it out so it can be 12 mos or less usually - that is great 18 mos as most do not offer that as it costs alot more interest to vet for anything over 12 mos

due to the fact that there were crystals in the urine my guess is liver issue

what is protein percentage of food you are feeding? What was ALT on blood work they did was this high or high normal?

puppy food- 29%
canned food he has been eating past couple of days- 5.5%

And I do not know about his levels... He just gave me an update and we discussed further options. I plan to sit down and look at all of the numbers tomorrow when we have our discussion. I will let you know about that tomorrow?

Looks like you are doing all you can for the time being. We will continue to hold Jack and your family in our thoughts and prayers.

Huggs

please make sure to get copies of all records and keep in a file at home this way if there is an emergency they do not have to retest as you have all the records with you at all times even when vets office is closed

29% protein is way too high for a yorkie

the 5.5% is canned correct? you have to do the factor for wet food to determine actual protein count - sorry i do not feed wet so maybe someone else has that factor. what is the name of that food ? Is it Hill's L/D

I will have you and little Jack in my thoughts and prayers.

I hope your baby will have nothing serious. I do want to add to this that deworming medicine can sometimes cause seizures. Two of our dogs have no problem with it,but our Pebbles has has seizures twice over the years after being wormed. It was years ago,(she's almost 14),but I still remember how scary that was.

How is your little one today?

also just curious why did they do barium test when the xray should have shown a blockage and crystals in urine indicate liver issue?

Well Jack is at the vet, has been since 8 am. Not word yet on the test results. And Dwerten, I did ask for copies of all of the numbers. They will get me copies. And they used the barium because he thought it may have been a GI issue. He thought it could be possible his stomach wasn't digesting food like it should have been and food might have been sitting in his stomach longer than it should have been (as he threw up egg on Tuesday afternoon that was fed on Monday evening). He wanted to track how his digestion system worked to rule that out. He thought his intestines felt thicker too so it he thought it could have been a digestion issue in his intestines as well. But after that test, it was ruled out. I will post when I hear something from the vet. I have a suspicion that it will be one extreme or the other.... either he will have LS or the tests will be inconclusive. I just wish they would call.

just finished reading this post; i am sorry about what you and your baby is going through. its' really difficult when they a diagnosis can't be found easily. i will pray for your and your baby and please keep us updated.

ok so if he is familiar with yorkies he should know that yorkies are prone to digestive issues :( as inflammatory bowel disease runs in this breed and honestly that test was not really necessary as everything is pointing more to liver issue with the crystals :( What happens as i have an ibd dog so throwing up a food the next day is not uncommon as my dog on potato diets would eat food and a few days later throw it up as the intestinal tract would get inflamed and food sits there for a long time and why dogs with ibd should not have nsaids (metacam and rimadyl) as those are known to sit in stomach if intestines are inflamed and can damage the intestines. I think that was premature test sadly as yorkies are 35% more prone to have liver issue and due to the egg being a protein and liver dogs do not process protein well it would make sense too much protein and not able to process it they will vomit it up and due to 29% protein then throwing egg on top of that would make sense as that is alot of protein. The xray should have been sufficient as you needed to rule out blockage that is my personal opinion as not a vet but just want you to be aware of this.

I hope it comes back just mvd and not liver shunt and you will not get results back today most likely it should come in tomorrow as you always want bile acids sent to a lab as the inhouse snap bile acid test only goes to 30 and is not accurate as you need the actual number not just 30 as you will have to have redone to get accurate number and pay again so make sure your vet is sending the test out to a lab

I do not want to upset you about the barium but i want you to be aware that many times they run wild with some testing that really is unnecessary and it also is letting you know if they are familiar with yorkie breed and their common issues. I am just not big on over testing these little guys as it is stressful on them :(

Evening Update
 

Jack is home again. And hopefully for good! But we won't know about for sure until we get the test results tomorrow or Monday at the latest. He seemed to have energy when I picked him up... was very excited to run around outside. The vet gave me instructions to feed him what he will eat. He ate another 5.8 oz can of canned dog food! Plus he also ate some kibble. It seems like his appetite is back. They said he ate very well for them today for the test. His weight yesterday at the vet shows that over the past month since he weighed in at 3.0 pounds last was up to 3.5 pounds. Today he weighed in at 3.2 pounds. They said he did very well with the test today. I should be getting the papers showing the numbers from his tests when the latest results come in. They want to keep them altogether for me. I'm hoping for some good news soon! Keeping my fingers crossed!

so glad he is running around doing well that is good news - keep us posted on numbers and i hoping for the best :)

Thank you for all of the well wishes again. I really hope we get some good news. He seems to be eating again.... I mean he even ate some kibble besides the canned food. I think he will be eating canned food for the rest of his life. He seems to like it better than dry. Have to go with the dogs preferences I guess. Gosh my boys are so spoiled! But it's nice to see a little belly on him from eating.

I am glad he is eating and running around. I will keep my fingers crossed that you get some good news!!!
Give that plump little belly some extra belly rubs! :)
Have a wonderful evening and thank you for updating! We are all thinking of you and of Jack!

Checking in for an update and glad to hear Jack is home and eating well. I will continue to hold him and you in my thoughts and prayers and will look back for test result updates.

Huggs

yes stick to what works and wet is easier to digest anyway and it is better on the kidneys too :)

BAT results are in!
 

So the results are in and I am beginning to doubt my vet's ability to accurately interpret them. He said the pre test was 15 (he thought this was very good). But the pre test came back "abnormally high" according to him which was 26.5. Does this make sense to anyone? I kind of figured this might be high but don't they look for a 100 or above to definitiely suggust a shunt? I'm a tad bit confused. He refuses to see him through the end of this because his clinic doesn't normally handle liver problems like this. He is going to make some phone calls and find some different avenues for me to pursue. But I'm really doubting his ability to interpret these results. Anyone have an ideas on this?

For sure take his recommendations and on here you might also get a vet recommendation near to your area. He is doing what is professionally sound - he is out of his depth - knows it and will hopefully find you a vet with experience.

About the numbers I'll let someone much more knowledgeable about this advise you

I'm glad though that your baby is feeling better right now.

I'm grateful that he is finding options for me. I'm just really confused about the results. I guess if he had as bad of a liver problem as he made it out to sound like it could be, the numbers would have been much higher. I'm thinking I want to try a low protein diet for 30 days and get him retested through another vet clinic. I have every intention of continuing to go to him for shots and exams. His services are affordable and he's a great guy. But I do not want to spend thousounds of dollars that I do not have without a second opinion. Wow, that makes me sound just awful. I just hope I am doing the right thing.

I think you need a different vet ;( i questioned his ability when he did the barium test myself as that really was not necessary - those numbers are not horrible sounds like mvd so i would do a protein diet of 18% for your pup and retest if there is another episode if this was mine - I would do natural balance fish and sweet potato as fish is a highly digestible protein as well this is just my opinion sorry your pup is going through all of this :(

great guy one thing knowledgeable and experienced another as you need a good diagnostic vet one that can get to the issue without alot of testing which unfortunately I am questioning him with this - post a thread and say looking for a vet in your county and others may respond with some options for you

Another way to look for a vet....talk to everyone you know who has dogs...talk to your groomer as well.
AND....check on the AAHA website...you really should be going to one who is AAHA accredited. Here is their website:
American Animal Hospital Association

I agree with Dwerten...I honestly did not understand that barium test. He may be very nice....you want very knowledgable. I mean no disrespect to him, but I believe you realize it anyway...you said you want a second opinion and that, to me, is a great idea!