Does your yorkie do circles?

[eringabrielle]

Hello! Sorry this is a little long~

I am posting this because I am here at work, surfing the internet and making myself paranoid. This is definitely something I will be bringing up with my vet, but I wanted to see what you all have to say...

I am just wondering if your dogs do "circle dances". Both of ours do, but Willow does this more often than Biscuit.

She is 1 1/2 years old and tiny (2.10 lb). She doesn't cirle constantly, but very often, especially when she is excited. This was always so endearing to us, but now I am worried.

A couple of weeks ago, she and her brother Biscuit went crazy at the front door when their Daddy had come home and somehow fell or got hit (we don't know for sure because we didn't see it happen, my view was blocked from the couch) and had a small seizure for a couple of minutes. She wasn't convulsing, but she was frozen and her little tounge was sticking out. It freaked us out SO bad, I thought for a minute we were going to lose her right there, because this has never happened before. After a few minutes, it just went away.
We immediately took her to the Emergency vet, and found nothing wrong with her. She was better by the time we got there, but we were just so freaked out. The vet seemed to think that she kind of knocked herself out, which is possible since she and Biscuit are just running around crazy when either of us gets home. So this is very likely, and she is otherwise healthy, has a good appetite, plays and sleeps all normally etc.

So, here I am looking up things on the internet and when I was researching seizures and just reading up on possiblities of what could have happened, I see hydrocephalus and the walking in circles comes up and now I am freaking out a little.
She has a little "apple-dome" shaped head, but it's not big by any means. She also has a little white showing in the inner corners of her eyes sometimes, but not always.

I am definitely taking her to the vet to run tests to make sure she is ok, but in the meantime, does anyone have experience with this or am I just being paranoid right now? Do your dogs circle alot? Since she is almost two now, wouldn't we have seen other symptoms by now if it were congenital?

Thanks in advance.

[chachi]

Jewels does it when she gets excited. If they do it all the time it can also be a neurological disorder. I almost adopted a cat that circled all the time. It probably wouldnt hurt to have her checked.

[SweetPea53]

Lil' Miss Izzie does it when she gets excited and just recently started it right after she has pooped.

[Tiggerwit]

Alphy does, right before he poops, right before he lays down and when he's really excited to get to go outside.

[KitKatJam]

My does circles right before he is about to poop, and when he see's me bring his food dish, or when he wants more food and water, he will stand in front of the table and stare at it, and then start turning in circles or when he chases his tail.

Maybe you can call the vet and explain what she does, and they can put your mind at ease for a bit until you can get her in.

[eringabrielle]

Thanks for the responses guys!

She does seem to be almost communicating to us whenever she is spinning, like when she is excited or wants our attention. I just got so scared after her incident, but we will be taking her to the vet soon and get her checked out for sure.

[Ladymom]

Circling combined with a seizure can indicate hydrocephalus as you say. It is also a symptom of a liver shunt. Definitely take her to your vet and make sure she has a bile acids test to check her liver function. Yorkies are thirty-six times more likely to have a liver shunt than all other breeds combined so you must rule that out.

Does she have any other symptoms of a shunt?

What are the clinical signs of a liver shunt?

Clinical signs are often seen at a young age and include small stature, poor muscle development, behavioral abnormalities (circling, disorientation, unresponsiveness, staring into space, head pressing), seizures, and quiet demeanor. Other less common signs include drinking or urinating too much, apparent blindness, diarrhea, and vomiting. In some animals the signs are associated with eating protein. Other animals are diagnosed when they take a long time recovering from anesthestics (i.e. barbiturates) or sedatives (i.e. acepromazine). Some animals show no signs until they are older, when they develop bladder and kidney infections and stones.

Diagnosis of Portosystemic Shunts

[nydia]

Originally Posted by Tiggerwit

Alphy does, right before he poops, right before he lays down and when he's really excited to get to go outside.

My Lucy does the same thing Alphy does except she goes a step further, she not only does it when she before she poops, and before she lays down or goes outside, but she does circles for treats, and she recently started chasing her tail, she'll see it wagging out of the corner of her eye's I'll hear her growl at it and then the chase is on, my vet said it's normal, but I would have my baby tested anyway just to feel better, good luck with your baby.

[eringabrielle]

Originally Posted by Ladymom

Circling combined with a seizure can indicate hydrocephalus as you say. It is also a symptom of a liver shunt. Definitely take her to your vet and make sure she has a bile acids test to check her liver function. Yorkies are thirty-six times more likely to have a liver shunt than all other breeds combined so you must rule that out.

Does she have any other symptoms of a shunt?

What are the clinical signs of a liver shunt?

Clinical signs are often seen at a young age and include small stature, poor muscle development, behavioral abnormalities (circling, disorientation, unresponsiveness, staring into space, head pressing), seizures, and quiet demeanor. Other less common signs include drinking or urinating too much, apparent blindness, diarrhea, and vomiting. In some animals the signs are associated with eating protein. Other animals are diagnosed when they take a long time recovering from anesthestics (i.e. barbiturates) or sedatives (i.e. acepromazine). Some animals show no signs until they are older, when they develop bladder and kidney infections and stones.

Diagnosis of Portosystemic Shunts

Well, she doesn't show any other signs (other than being small) but it is something I will definitely get her tested for....