I think my dog is sick.... Can anyone help me?!
 

Okay here is the deal. I apologize for the length but I think everything is tied together.

So my dog, Jack, has lost .7 pounds (if not more) since August. I noticed the weight loss but I guess I wasn't noticing how serious it was since he has always been slimmer. He is a pretty fit dog. So I talked to a vet, whom I don't really trust anymore, and they said to try a dewormer. Worms cause a dog to loose weight so it was the cheapest way to try. So I did it. She also suggested that I switch him back to puppy food because it is high in calories so it should help him gain the weight back and I did. The dewormer was in pill form so it took a month to run its course. So far, I don't think it's working. I have also noticed in the meantime that he has to go bathroom every 2 hours and can't seem to hold it past then unless he is in the kennel and even then he has accidents. He also walks while peeing too. It's kind of strange. The vet also told me to try feeding him some egg so the fat and protein will help. I did that last night. Today he threw up three times. It looked a little mucusy mixed with dog food and egg. So, today I decided to call a different vet. I set an appointment up for a blood profile to be done on Friday. I didn't want to do anything so invasive if I didn't have to. I wanted to try different routes before that. So today we decided to try feeding him some canned food (he seems to like it better). He ate the whole can (in small amounts at a time)! But while he was eating, he started walking funny.... like a wobble... it was from one side to another in really big movements. It looked like my dog was drunk and trying to walk a straight line. Then, tonight around 9:30ish, I looked at him and he had his left pam raised and scrunched toward his head but his head was turned to the right (like he was trying to look behind himself) and he was shaking. If I called his name, he would look at me. It was the scarriest thing ever! So I picked him up and he scrunched both front paws toward himself. I set him down to see if he had recovered. He started walking like he did eariler! I don't know what to make of it. I called and talked to the vet. He agreed to get me in tomorrow to see him. I don't know what could be wrong with my dog. The vet said that hypoglycemia doesn't seem likely. He said it might be a seizure since they take all sorts of forms. What does anyone else think?!

He will be 2 February 4th.

I really don't have any advice, just support. I am so sorry you are all going through this. :( Your new vet is the one you're seeing tomorrow? I hope so. I think you're doing the right thing by seeking a second opinion. Those symptoms would scare me too.

Please keep us updated.

Yes I am going to the new vet! The one here in town has no clue how to diagnose animals. I will keep you updated. I have to be at the vet's office by 7:45 tomorrow morning. I am still a little freaked out right now and hoping that another episode doesn't occur.

I am praying that Jack will be alright.

I am so glad you are getting him to a vet in the morning. I will say a prayer for him.
Please let us know how your vet visit goes.

Sorry I don't have any experience with this.
I will keep your little guy in my prayers.
Please keep us posted.

I am so sorry about Jack and unfortunately I have no advice. I hope that the vet appointment goes well and I will look back for updates. I will keep you both in my thoughts and prayers.

I'm sorry to hear that..I hope Jack has nothing serious, and will be the happy furbaby as before in no time..sending my prayer to you and Jack

Vet Visit
 

Okay so here is the update.

Last night the boys curled up on the bed with me for a bit last night but they did go in the kennel last night to sleep. By 6:30 am, Jack was spazing trying to get out. I got up to let them out to go bathroom and one of them had an accident (urine in the kennel). I got Jack to the vet this morning. The vet was nice enough to meet me before the clinic opened. I am so grateful for this vet.... he seems like a very nice guy and knows what he is talking about. He took lots of notes about what's been going on the past months. He said it sounds like there are a few different problems here. He says there may be a block in his GI system somewhere. He said that his intestines feel thinker than they should. His stomach doesn't seem to be pushing food through fast enough, which would explain why he doesn't eat much (food is still there so he feels full). They want to run xrays on him so they can see some stuff pass through and the timeline. They are also going to run a blood panel, check urine, and stool. They are keeping him today (not sure if it will be overnight yet). I should hear something later today. I was beginning to worry it might be diabetes but he never said anything about it.

Hopefully I get some good news later tonight. I'm going to try to get some sleep... didn't sleep well last night worrying about the pup.

That is great that you have found a vet who sounds like he is going to be very thorough!
Thank you for the update.!
I will check back later on today to see how he is!

Poor Jack. I hope whatever tests are being done today show what
the problem is so he can get on the road to a recovery and you can
get relief. Will watch for an update and keep him in my prayer's today.


Hugs,

I'm sooo happy you got him in right away!!!

Even if the vet doesn't mention it... I'd definitely ask about the diabetes and the seizures. Vets are great - but they are human.

Hoping everything is minimal and that Jack walks out of there a new man! :D

this sounds like liver shunt:( Get the blood panel and ask for pre and post bile acid testing if they already did the panel then the alt will tend to be high if liver shunt but if mvd like my dog has the alt can be normal so you want to test the pre and post bile acids - if blood has not been drawn then fast 12 hrs take your dog in and have them do cbc panel with pre bile acid then have your dog eat food there at vet or take in car to feed then 2 hrs on dot blood has to be drawn again to be the post bile acid - this will tell them how the liver is functioning - if over 100 most likely a shunt. Yorkies are 35% more prone to have shunts and what you are describing peeing issues as they get bladder stones from this, the wobbly walking after eating as they cannot process the toxins in their body and need help.

The reason he threw up the egg is first off egg is very high in cholesterol and fat if you feed the yolk do egg whites are best just like for us. The reason i think here is because it is too much protein. Dogs with liver disease have to have low protein diets - fish, vegetarian, soy - If they have symptoms like your dog is having then they need to be on 18% protein no symptoms 22% and puppy food is high in protein. This i believe is your problem. And if the food makes them sick they will stop eating and why your dog lost weight if you are free feeding.

Here is some info but this is my guess so mention liver shunt to your vet as i do not think this is GI blockage or GI related as have dealt with GI issues and urine is not related to that or wobbly walking

Are you near tennessee?

here is the link

Portal Caval Shunts (Liver Shunts) in Puppies

Nuclear Scintigraphy for Pets in Veterinary Medicine

Anatomy & Function of the Liver in Dogs

also liver shunt and hypoglycemia many times go hand in hand as dogs with liver shunt will not eat thus causing hypoglycemia

I have been thinking this, but don't want to frighten. I am hopeful this vet is savvy enough to do the right testing. I am also hoping my fears are wrong.
I will be praying for Jack.

if there are crystals in the urine that is a sign of liver issue as well and the stones they have are urate stones if there are stones

It is not a death sentence if mvd or liver shunt so do not freak out just needs to be handled quickly - if a shunt they need surgery and the best is dr tobias at university of tennessee and she is the only one i would have touch my dog with this surgery as her staff and her are awesome from everyone i know that has has this done - once surgery is done they lead a normal life and no issues. If not corrected young then they can blow more shunts thus not allowing the ability to have surgery as the surgery can only be done on one shunt. Also they will be susceptible to bladder stones :(

If mvd then low protein diet, milk thistle, same or denamarin which has both and you can juice zucchini and celery to cleanse liver and urinary tract

Please mention this to vet as many vets are not real familiar with shunts unless they are very familiar with yorkie and maltese breed as i went to 3 vets prior to vet now and none of them mentioned this to me as a possibility of my dogs skin issues and since the liver cannot cleanse then it comes out in skin sometimes as an elimination

also if your dog is not eliminating waste and the belly is distended then until you get this under control and figure it out ask vet about lactulose to help eliminate stool and get toxins out of the body as the drunken stooper is from toxins going to the brain as it is not being eliminated out of the body in a timely manner :(

Unfortunately, this was a concern for me as well, but didn't think there was any reason to be too worried before you saw the vet today.

But now that you have a vet doing tests, you really need to do the bile acid tests that Dwerten mentioned.


Poor baby! Give him a gentle hug from me.

yeah better to have 2 blood draws than 3 as less stressful on dog and being a yorkie this needs to be done on them per our vet all yorkies and maltese should be bile acid tested as it affects anesthesia and medications affecting liver so after seeing 3 vets and none of them mentioning this to me i was shocked dd had liver issues but he would not put her on atopica without having bile acids and she had normal alt on all her tests she had prior so sometimes alt will not pick up mvd

To simplify things...I would just call the vet and ask him if he has considered the possibility that this is a liver shunt.
I would not tell him what tests to do...merely ask him if that is a thought that he might have.
I would call this morning so that while Jack is there, if nothing else is coming up, they might look that way.
I cannot believe any vet would not be thinking of this possibility. Scary Dwerten that three vets did not think of LS? I would be hightailing it out of CA if I were you.

:thumbup: Exactly.

I hope little Jack will be ok.

yep but i could see why as she has not had any symptoms even to this day of liver issue and due to her ALT never being high they never even considered it since skin issues are not usually a sign of liver disfunction but makes common sense to me though as they eliminate toxins through skin. This vet is friends with the scintigraphy doc dr broome so he is on it and he has a phd from ucdavis so i think he is further educated than the others. I had one ask me after she was diagnosed what is MVD lolllllll so i had to explain it to them how sad - this is why i continue to educate myself and others after my experiences. I am glad he did the test but i freaked when it came back high at 73 post but after joining liver shunt group and reading more and with dd having no symptoms i opted not to have scintigraphy as vet recommended. Now had dd had signs she would have been in there asap for this test and i would have flown her to ut for any surgery

Okay so after researching this, I caved. I called my vet but he was out to lunch. So I told the receptionist/ vet tech and she was going to pass it along. Lord knows if he has liver shunt, I have no idea how I am going to afford this operation. They said he was fine and resting comfortably.

And I live in Minnesota. I could try to find a vet school around the area so it would be cheaper... but does that decrease the survival rate?

I hope Jack is going to be ok , and it is NOT a liver shunt. Be certain that your vet runs all the tests and rules out the possibility. Meanwhile, I will pray for Jack , and have him in my thoughts. Hang in there, and try not to become too stressed out before knowing the tests results. I understand that is easier said then done.

I know the thought is terrifying at first, but just take it one step at a time. You don't even know if it is LS yet. I think we're all a little jumpy since it happens too often in small breeds. Just take things a step at a time and research it.

And most of the vet schools are wonderful. :thumbup:

I hope that you get on the right track so that you can find out what is wrong with your baby. I will pray for some answers bc this is a scary thing for the both of you.

Hi, just sending hug's and prayer's from CoCo and I..:)

:thumbup: Very good advice. It may not even be LS. If it is, then you will take it a step at a time as Judy said. There are many people who will help you through this.
There are many ways to get funding; but, you are not there yet.