My baby is very sick :(

[bailie]

So happy for you and your baby girl

[ladyjane]

I hope she continues to be well. Thanks for updating!

[LylasMommy]

Ugh, my other post isn't showing up. I'll try to piece it back together here (then watch, the original one will post! LOL)

First of all, the breeder Terri was wonderful. She contacted me every few hours for updates on Lyla and was a tremendous emotional support. I can hardly wait til Lyla is fully well so I can take her over for a playdate at Aunt Terri's house!

While I agree that 9 weeks is too young to be separated from the canine Mama, there was no other option for Lyla. Terri got a call from an old lady she bought a yorkie from a few years ago. The woman was upset, saying her boy had gotten her girl pregnant and she just couldn't "do" puppies anymore, and would Terri buy the Mama from her? Well Terri bought the Mama, but after the pups were born she wouldn't take care of them. Terri had to sit with her just so the puppies could nurse. The Mama continued to deteriorate, lose weight, and looked awful. After Terri got the puppies on solid food, she took the Mama back to the old lady. The Mama leaped into her arms and was so happy, and the old woman was crying. She thanked Terri but said she couldn't afford to buy her back. Terri told her not to worry, she needed to be back with her mommy and she would be back in 4 months to take her to get spayed.

So, back to Lyla......when I got the 2 written estimates from the vet, the only difference between the 2 was that one of them included "observation" and IV fluids. All the other meds and treatments were the same. So since Lyla was drinking and urinating every hour or two, I felt her better (and much less stressful) option would be for me to take her home. I could watch her closer than the vet, and I was very confident she didn't require IV fluids.

My career is as a Level III NICU nurse; my specialty is the care of critically-ill tiny preemies, who are not unlike baby yorkies, but much more fragile. I will say that if Lyla's water intake and urine output began to drop, I would have rushed her back to the vet!

Lyla didn't have any more vomiting or diarrhea during the night, but she was up every hour or two to pee and I gave her water and liquid diet each time, and she drank both. This morning she was very perky and covered my face with tiny puppy kisses! She been chasing the boxer and playing with her toys all day! She continues to drink both water and liquid diet. I'd like to try her on solid foods this afternoon (24 hours after last vomiting)....I was thinking Gerber baby chicken. What do you think? Bland, and with no additives. Other suggestions are welcome!

She just now had a mushy stool (first one since early morning yesterday) so I will scoop that up and take it to the vet.

Thanks, everyone! I'm so grateful that Lyla is doing so well. I think she is out of danger now, but I will continue her "intensive care" until she is keeping solid food down and having normal stools.

I am thankful I found YorkieTalk and a community of people who are knowledgeable, caring, and understand how a person can instantly fall madly in love with a puppy.

[ladyjane]

No disrespect, but if you are a nurse and think you can do better than your vet, why would you get on YT and ask lay people for advice?

As I said, I am happy to hear that your baby is ok, but from a NICU nurse I am surprised. For these tiny pups, just watching intake and output often is not enough. I had a pup hospitalized this week and he did not look as sick clinically as he really was. His gums were moist, yet his HCT was 60....very dehydrated.

Best wishes to you and Lyla. Hope all goes well in the future days with her.

[LylasMommy]

Originally Posted by ladyjane

No disrespect, but if you are a nurse and think you can do better than your vet, why would you get on YT and ask lay people for advice?

As I said, I am happy to hear that your baby is ok, but from a NICU nurse I am surprised. For these tiny pups, just watching intake and output often is not enough. I had a pup hospitalized this week and he did not look as sick clinically as he really was. His gums were moist, yet his HCT was 60....very dehydrated.

Best wishes to you and Lyla. Hope all goes well in the future days with her.

Why? Because I don't trust my vet. He was wrong about the Parvo. As you know, even many vets are not familiar with the subtleties of yorkies, and I suspect there are people here who have been through this before and know what works for these little guys. Also, the vet's office was very "ghetto" to me, didn't inspire my confidence, and I wasn't comfortable there so I will go back to my original vet from now on and just deal with "Ms. Personality" as best I can when I have to talk to her. The vets there I thought were good and very knowledgeable. Lyla has an appointment there on the 28th for her next set of shots.

Thank you for your good wishes!

[LylasMommy]

I understand most of you believe I should have left Lyla at the vet. I can understand why, and if a friend told me the same things about her baby I would urge her to do the same.

BUT....
#1 I didn't have confidence in this vet, I thought he was dead wrong (and he was).
#2 I knew that leaving her there would cause her even MORE stress than her little body was already under, delaying her recovery.
#3 Lyla was well-hydrated; her skin turgor was good, mucus membranes were moist, she was drinking water well and urinating a good amount every 1-2 hours.
#4 I was constantly monitoring Lyla's behavior, vital signs, and intake/output, just as I would one of my tiny patients (some of whom are tinier than Lyla!). I was with her every minute, and I would have quickly picked up on any changes, and there was always the option of going back to the vet if necessary.

I hope no one here thinks I made the decision to bring Lyla home lightly. I love for her more than I have words to express, and I would have been devastated to lose her. I truly thought it was what was best for her, and under these unusual circumstances that I could do better for her than they could. Lucky for us both, my instincts were right.

[Patti]

I am so happy Lyla is doing better. I live 5 minutes from my ER vet and have opted on occasions to bring my dog back home once the vet checked them out. I felt confident they would do better at home with me and I could get them back in 5 minutes time. I am glad it all worked out for you and Lyla.

[chachi]

That vet was doing his job testing for parvo it is deadly and they see it often in young pups so they have to test for it and rule it out

[kjc]

Originally Posted by chachi

That vet was doing his job testing for parvo it is deadly and they see it often in young pups so they have to test for it and rule it out

The OP insisted on the parvo test.

I'm so glad things worked out! Praying she continues to improve. I'd love to see some pics when she's better...

[chachi]

I just dont see what the vet did wrong maybe its his demeanor and i can understand that but this pup did need to be on IVs as he said and I think he is better equipped to diagnose than the breeder or us or the OP

[Cherie6446]

I have been keeping up with this thread. I know some of the comments might seen harsh or critical but the well being of the pup is of the upmost importance. Hoping little Layla continues to improve.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by LylasMommy

I understand most of you believe I should have left Lyla at the vet. I can understand why, and if a friend told me the same things about her baby I would urge her to do the same.

BUT....
#1 I didn't have confidence in this vet, I thought he was dead wrong (and he was).
#2 I knew that leaving her there would cause her even MORE stress than her little body was already under, delaying her recovery.
#3 Lyla was well-hydrated; her skin turgor was good, mucus membranes were moist, she was drinking water well and urinating a good amount every 1-2 hours.
#4 I was constantly monitoring Lyla's behavior, vital signs, and intake/output, just as I would one of my tiny patients (some of whom are tinier than Lyla!). I was with her every minute, and I would have quickly picked up on any changes, and there was always the option of going back to the vet if necessary.

I hope no one here thinks I made the decision to bring Lyla home lightly. I love for her more than I have words to express, and I would have been devastated to lose her. I truly thought it was what was best for her, and under these unusual circumstances that I could do better for her than they could. Lucky for us both, my instincts were right.

The difference between your tiny patients and your tiny pup is that your patients are under the care of a MD.....your pup was not under the care of a DVM and did not have the benefit of the diagnostic testing that your tiny human patients have and I that believe were in order just based upon the description that you gave of her condition.

Love has nothing to do with it. I have totally heard the love word many times and don't doubt that people love their pups but I do wonder about the decisions they make when their pups are as sick as you described.

We are not here to diagnose and treat. All we can do is share our experiences. I have seen many pups die on this forum over the years because people did not do diagnostics and did not think vets knew what they were doing (or that is what they said). Many of us have a lot of experience with sick yorkies and I can tell you that what you did is dangerous. As I said, I am happy the outcome is ok but it could have been much much different. You really did take a huge gamble in my humble opinion.

[ladyjane]

Originally Posted by LylasMommy

Why? Because I don't trust my vet. He was wrong about the Parvo. As you know, even many vets are not familiar with the subtleties of yorkies, and I suspect there are people here who have been through this before and know what works for these little guys. Also, the vet's office was very "ghetto" to me, didn't inspire my confidence, and I wasn't comfortable there so I will go back to my original vet from now on and just deal with "Ms. Personality" as best I can when I have to talk to her. The vets there I thought were good and very knowledgeable. Lyla has an appointment there on the 28th for her next set of shots.

Thank you for your good wishes!

If you don't trust one vet, go to another. All I am saying is the you took a huge gamble. You described an extremely ill puppy.

[chachi]

To the Op this worked out for you but it could have went very badly I hope no one reading this thread gets the idea its okay to refuse care because it could be deadly

[LylasMommy]

Originally Posted by chachi

I just dont see what the vet did wrong maybe its his demeanor and i can understand that but this pup did need to be on IVs as he said and I think he is better equipped to diagnose than the breeder or us or the OP

That's just it.....Lyla did NOT need an IV. She was well-hydrated, the vet didn't even give her a fluid injection under the skin because her hydration status was GOOD. Overloading her with fluids would have put more stress on her heart and lungs, making her even sicker. I've seen it in babies, and it creates big problems. Fluid is NOT the answer to everything.