sick yorkie..what to do
 

rocky is 6.5 years old. back in the fall we noticed he was having difficulty jumping..which eventually led to him not being able to do the stairs. we figured it was his luxating patella. we did bring him to the vet. had a blood drawn done. showed elevated WBC and liver enzymes. also rocky started losing weight, even tho he was eating. we eventuallly did more blood draws. which showed the same results. he has been on tramadol, doxy, and now an appetitie stimulant. we had an abdominal Ultrasound. showed inflammation in his kidney and liver. they are still stumped at what can be wrong. he is so weak now, lays down in front of his food bowl. usually not eating but sometimes will eat off a plate or the floor. try hand feeding him and he takes no parts. still peeing and pooping. but at times i think from straining to poop and being weak he falls over. the other night he was under the couch. eyes open and breathing but he would not respond. i eventually got him moving by moving the couch away. but it scared the crap out of me,
so spoke to the vet. now he wants to do a liver biopsy, bile acid tests, and coagulation studies. he will start him on liver pills didnt ay the name and another appetite stimulant.
i feel like this could be the end. i do not think he would survive the anesthesia for the biopsy. he used to be 13 pounds when healthy. he has dwindled down to 8.8 lbs.
hes my first dog. i am clueless.. i keep asking what if there is a pill that will fix it all. am i just kidding myself. now i feel like he is suffering. whats a pet owner to do.
we want to take him for a second opinion. but what would you guys do. anyone elses pet do this. any tips or suggestions please!

At his young age, I'd get a second opinion asap -- and I wouldn't go to a generalist vet, I'd go to a Vet Internist...the appt will cost more, but it'll be worth it for sure. Has his back been xrayed? Is he still jumping funny, has his gait changed? The shape of his back changed?

This is all very odd, and so very concerning. I can tell you're scared, and I sure would be too. I just know you'll find someone who'll be able to figure this out though. Please, do keep us posted on this precious little one...my heart breaks for him.

He's not able to jump anymore at all. He has a tough time walking in general. He has luxating patella. Which we knew about. He has fallen over a couple times...due to weakness I guess? His spine seems to stick out more..but then again he has lost so much weight. His back has not been xrayed

We have an appt tomorrow. I'll keep you posted

Is there a vet school near you?

Did they test him for Lyme's?

Prayers you find an answer!

Prayers for Rocky and you find some kind of answers and treatment...

Your pup needs to be immediately admitted to a major veyerinary hospital. There may be more than one thing going on. In any case, it sounds like your pup is in serious medical danger being this weak.

A general vet should not do a hiopsy right now. They should have bile acid tested a long time ago.

I'm so sorry.

I would get a second opinion like the others suggested. I would not make any decisions until he is seen by an internal medicine specialist. I hope it is something that can be taken care of and he can get back to be a healthy furbaby.

:thumbup::thumbup:

So sorry to hear your pup is sick!! It sounds like your vet has no clue what is going on...time to take him into a vet school or a specialist before he gets any worse. These little guys can go downhill quick.

no not that i know of

they did and it was negative. they still treated him with doxy just in case

the vet started him on remeron for appetite stimulant and also Denamarin. with these two meds how quickly should i notice or see any improvement? we have an appt tomorrow for a second opinion

I will keep Rocky in my prayers, and hope you get better news with the second opinion

thank you everyone! i will be sure to keep you all updated

Again, like I asked above, have they tested him for Lyme's disease?

i thought i responded. yes they did test him for lyme. it was negative. but to be safe they did do a course of doxy

Did they test for Lepto? Any X-rays? Straining to poop... send stool sample to a lab... check for c-diff (clostridium)...

I don't know where you are going for a second opinion, but I highly recommend that you consider going to Penn. Your pup sounds very ill and a specialist would more than likely be able to get to the bottom of this much quicker than a general vet. Going back and forth to vets when a pup is as sick as yours is usually longer all the while the pup is getting sicker. Testing for this and testing for that is not the answer....a specialist would probably admit him and be very close in narrowing down suspected causes....and more than likely have your answer fairly quickly. WHile the cost may sound prohibitive at first, in the long run sometimes it is cheaper and the results are definitely much clearer in my opinion.

Let me rephrase: I agree to go to a specialist, vet school preferably. The tests I mentioned are not usually performed on the first go 'round. My suggestions come from my own experience, and would suggest at least mentioning these to who ever is treating/seeing you dog. Kidney involvement is not common in Yorkies with LS unless it's gone untreated and UTIs are frequent. Many things can throw liver enzymes off.
I'd also add testing for any tick born diseases.

So we had decided Sunday night after much talking we'd have rocky put to sleep. Come Monday he was barking, walking some and just seemed more perky. He was eating a little too. So with that said I couldn't put him to sleep. So we decided to leave him on the denamarin and appetite stimulant Remeron for a couple weeks. The vet is gonna add a steroid too. So hoping with this combo we see a huge improvement. We decided no more invasive, expensive procedures and tests. Thanks for all your prayers. Anyone have good experience with these meds and seeing improvement

I would not be able to tell you that I had success with any drugs for an unknown condition. Rocky is your pup and you have to do what you feel is best.
Going to a specialist does not always mean invasive testing. There are plenty of tests that are not invasive.

If money is an issue, there are ways to make these tests more affordable such as Healthcare and Medical Financing for Consumers | CareCredit™

In the end, he is your pup; but I have to say that I find it sad because he is a young pup. To euthanize him without knowing what is wrong is not something I would want to do; and to guess at a diagnosis would not make me comfortable.

You always could consider surrendering him to a rescue so that he might have a chance at a long life. If he has a liver shunt, it could be repaired. My Teddy Bear was diagnosed a year ago with a liver shunt and had surgery and he is doing very well now...he was around 7 or 8 at the time.

I will keep Rocky and you in my thoughts and prayers.

On his ultrasound they did not see a liver shunt. Just some inflammation to his kidneys and liver. They did suggest biopsy. But he's so weak now that I feel he wouldn't survive anesthesia :-/

It sounds like hepatitis and lepto are still possibilities. this is beyond the scope of a general vet.They should have referred out before it came to this.

It sounds like a general vet did the ultrasound. That is ok..if they have been trained. Your pup does have a chance depending on what this is and if he gets to UPenn today.

I think you should let Penn decide what is going on and whether or not he would survive anesthesia. I have seen some might sickly pups do very well under anesthesia.

I agree with Ellie May, it is sad it has come to this. He very well could have a chance at life if diagnosed properly and treated. And I think today is definitely in order.

QUOTE FROM LADYJANE


In the end, he is your pup; but I have to say that I find it sad because he is a young pup. To euthanize him without knowing what is wrong is not something I would want to do; and to guess at a diagnosis would not make me comfortable.
You always could consider surrendering him to a rescue so that he might have a chance at a long life. If he has a liver shunt, it could be repaired. My Teddy Bear was diagnosed a year ago with a liver shunt and had surgery and he is doing very well now...he was around 7 or 8 at the time.


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OMG euthanize him!!!! Please, please do not do this, if you want to / need to have him out of your life because you see NO CURE for him then please, please surrendering him to a rescue as ladyjane suggests. PLEASE DO NOT END A LIFE OF A PRESIOUS BABY that a diagnosis has not been found. I live close to your area, Stroudsburg, am in Bethlehem often, I will make some calls to see if there is a vet school close to you. If this is all to very much overwhelming to you, I beg you to surrender to a rescue, not to euthanize.

ok I just called my vet, spoke to a tech that I have a close relationship to, asked from Bethlehem where was the closest vet school. She said The University of Pa. located in Phil. Here is their phone # 215-898-4680.
She said you take the N.E. Ext. follow the “blue Route” but you can call the univ. get their address and map quest it. It’s maybe 1 ½ hour ride or less for you. She also said if you speak to your vet, he will give you a referral and that will get you an appointment mush faster then if you were to call your self. Please keep us informed, I am going to make some calls to see about you surrendering him.

I'm glad that you didn't have Rocky put to sleep and that he's feeling a little better. I agree with the others on getting a referral to U Penn as soon as possible.