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Live Life to the FuLLEST

agility...finally

Sparks continues to thrive. He loves his food and does well on his supplements. He is loving agility...as long as there is good motivation like homemade treats. The weave poles can still be a struggle. I don't completely get them so I think it throws him off. Funny though...the least amount of time we practice...the better he does in class. Last week he did the weaves like he was practicing them forever.
He is also not keen on laying down onthe table but did that last week too.
Everything else is easy for him: teeter, A-frame, dog walk, jumps...and he is super fast. So funny. we introduced a dog bell at the bottom of things to make him stop and look. Everyone laughs when he does this. He uses his paw to tap it. Cute there but inside the house he hits anything he can with his paw (that will make noise) so as to get attention.
But he does want to jump and play and chase the other dogs running. He can get a little out of control with his barking. Ugh!
Summer has been great with him. I am so blessed to have him.

PLEASE BILE ACID TEST

I hope to share my story about my dog to help others. Our story, although parts of it sounding sad, should be about LIFE and how to detect and live with LS.

After spending months and months interviewing various Yorkshire Terrier breeders by phone and email, I decided on Sherlyn Yorkshire Terriers in Connecticut. I was adamant about wanting a healthy dog because I had just finished going through so much heartache and much expense taking care of my previous yorkie and had a new business that required travel and wanted to make sure my dog would be healthy to travel with.

I traveled hours to visit where my potential pup would come from and met the most beautiful father (Spuds) and sweetest and beautiful mother (Murphy). Everything was clean and neat and when my potential pup came down to greet me, he was full of vim and vigor.

I saved money to buy this pup. I came home with the greatest personality and the most beautiful dog. I was told that he would be 5.5lbs full grown but when I brought him home at 15 weeks had already reached 5.5lbs. By the end of 1 1/2 years he had become a strong, athletic, 10lb yorkie. He has more energy than any dog I've ever seen. Is not a picky eater in the least and eats whatever you put down. Has the most gorgeous shiny coat with no matts and sweetest face and coloring.

I've given him the best foods and health care I can afford following veterinary advice. I researched thoroughly on the best way to prevent illnesses and even sought out an alternative veterinarian to naturally prevent problems. Luckily, because he appeared to be so healthy, we were not in any need of any herbals. Everything about him screamed HEALTH. He is smart, athletic, full of vim and vigor.

At 1 1/2 years old, I started noticing that he was having peeing accidents in the house. Being that he had issues with house training, it didn't occur to me that he had a bladder infection and especially being that he was so young and came from what I was told was a healthy line of dogs. He become so sick all of the sudden. Screaming in pain. I rushed him to the vet and they found bladder stones and an infection. They sent us home with antibiotics. I was so upset to watch him straining to pee. The veterinarians wanted to try and pass the stones without doing surgery. But because he continued to be blocked and only blood would drip out, we were sent to a surgeon for surgery. I was a wreck! I can't begin to tell you the pain and suffering that my beautiful dog went through.

The surgeon insisted that a male dog of 1 1/2 years old should NOT have bladder stones. He wanted to look for liver shunts. No way! I told him that this dog came from a show line of beautiful dogs and I was told that they had no health problems. There is no way he could have liver shunts. He has exhibited NO symptoms of it at all! None! Even my regular veterinarian thought there was no way he could have them because of lack of symptoms. THANK GOD I listened to the surgeon instead of others who said the surgeon was just after me for money. An ultrasound showed a smaller liver. When they went in to do surgery the next day, they found multiple shunts coming out of the liver. They could not repair them. I was obviously devastated. How could this happen? I did my homework. I did everything I was supposed to do to prevent getting a sick dog and to prevent a healthy dog from getting sick. I followed veterinarian and nutritionists advice to a "T"!

I went into a depression that summer. I missed so much work and his costs were hitting the thousands and continued to sky rocket. His care was very difficult because with the stitches and being that he needed to heal, I couldn't let him play and he is the most active dog you will ever meet. Recovery was terrible for him and me. In one blog, I cannot express to you how difficult and sad this was.

My breeder insisted that I visit Cornell medical center and visit the liver shunt specialists even though my surgeon already determined that the liver biopsy came out clean (there was no sign of trauma and no poisoning) so the shunts are considered congenital. It is unusual, but not unheard of to have multiple congenital shunts. My understanding from talking with numerous vets is that for shunts to be acquired, they have to be secondary to something else like MVD, trauma, or severe liver disease like fibrosis or hepatitis and my dog had NONE of these.

Cornell was surprised to see such a big, strong, dog who continued to have good urinalysis results and good blood work be diagnosed with this. Before they could conclude what the results were, they wanted to run a slew of tests. Ultra sound showed multiple shunts but yet blood flow was almost normal through the liver. They looked at the supplements my veterinarian prescribed AFTER he was diagnosed and were fine with them. They were adamant about using herbals and supplements that had good manufacturing standards and were not created in someones house and could be contaminated. None of what my veterinarian has EVER given my dog has been in danger of contamination. She is very careful about the testing required before she decides to use a product and researches companies she purchases from. She provided Cornell with information and testing standards required for the herbals used that were prescribed AFTER he was diagnosed and Cornell said they were fine.

Cornell also took a look at the liver biopsy slides and concluded that there was NOTHING wrong with the liver. They determined that this had to be genetic. They were kind enough to call me numerous times at home to talk with me and assure me that I did not cause this problem. They gave me emails to keep in touch and told me stories of dogs who were living with similar conditions as my dog--and I have since met many dogs who have the same thing as my dog: no apparent symptoms but multiple inoperable congenital shunts. They gave me hope. I have letters from Cornell confirming his genetic diagnosis.

I also met and used a great nutritionist/veterinarian there. I cannot thank him enough for the time he has taken to answer my questions in length. He has been a God send to us. We are now on a home cooked diet by Cornell with vegetables and the correct amounts of protein and the safe dosages of supplements to keep nutrients in the body and help the liver. We continue to spend a great deal of money on increased veterinary visits because we are still having problems with a leaky bladder and need to keep checking and doing urinalysis. We also increased our visits to our regular/alternative veterinarian. The time and money this is costing us is high and the leaking is very difficult to deal with. You cannot even pick him up on a walk without having urine all over your jacket.

Estimated costs in a 10 month period are about $4500 and continue to go up with medical care we need to do for him. Once we get the bladder under control, I'm hoping that costs won't be so bad. I will probably hit $5500-$6000 by the end of summer for things I have to do for him. I am also looking at a career change and possibly giving up much of my business to end the traveling so as to not have to try and take him or leave him with anyone because right now he wears a diaper and he can be a bit much to take care of and to make more money to afford his care.

Besides the bladder, he is doing GREAT!!! He lives life to the fullest. Loves his food. Always hungry. Sleeps through the night (thanks to my alternative veterinarian), can hike and run 2+ hours and still have energy left when he gets home. No one would guess that he has this! We plan on living for a VERY long time...in fact...we plan on having a better than average lifespan of a "normal" yorkie. I look at him as perfect and healthy and will not allow anyone else to think differently of him.

My point in sharing my story, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE bile acid test your yorkies!!!!!! I don't' care if your breeder says she/he hasn't had any health problems. I don't care if they don't' show signs. There are MANY other yorkies like mine who showed NO signs at all and only caught that they had a liver shunt by chance. If you catch it early, you can put them on a food and supplement plan so as to prevent costly surgeries and heartache and recovery such as bladder stone surgery. PLEASE do this!!! It is a simple test and can save you money in the long run.

Remember that Liver Shunt can come from parents who do not have liver shunt. Even good breeders can have things like this pop up even if they never have had such a serious health problem. Good breeders will offer you money to help with expenses. Good breeders will not ask you to be quiet about where your dog came from. Think about it...if the breeder does everything he/she can to make sure it doesn't happen again...what do they have to be afraid of and hide?? Good breeders will spay/neuter the appropriate dogs and will encourage other owners who have dogs related to please bile acid test to be on the safe side. Good breeders will admit to any health problems when prospective buyers contact them.

And buyers...praise a good breeder. Thank a breeder who is honest with you. Just because a health problem creeps up does not mean the breeder is bad. Listen to what the breeder said as to what he/she did to stop it from happening again. Of course you should check references and ask how the breeder runs her/his breeding program. He/She should strive to breed dogs who are free from even the smallest of health problems and are strong, healthy eating, healthy dogs. A good breeder should breed for health as well as looks.