Maya

Question
QUESTION: hello, I have a chihuahua mixed mini-pin and she gets in these random "moods." I have been to several vets and described the moods but no one seems to have an answer. In these moods she starts shaking really bad and if i touch her or any other person tries to touch her she will bite, and she NEVER bites me. she won't eat she will do absolutely nothing. Her tail is tucked under and she lets out these radom cries like she about to die. i absoluely hate seeing her like this. They last fom anywhere between 10 minutes and several hours. it seems that most of the pain comes from the rib area, because when I try to touch her there she goes crazy biting and crying. She has never had any major health probles before, she is a active dog who loves her walks and her toys, so i really have no reason why she gets like this. The veterinarians say it's a behaviour problem , i can promise you it's not. I am actually e- mailing you because she is in her mood right now, and I have no idea what to do, except to talk to her, so please if you have any answer whatsoever that would be helpful. Thank you so much for your time.

ANSWER: Hi Brittany...

I believe you when you say that this is not a behavior problem.  You have done a fine job of explaining things, but I would like to know how old Maya is, how long you've had her, when her last blood test was, when her last vaccinations were and if she's on any type of medication like flea preventative or heartworm preventative. Please tell me about any other medications that she may have been taking recently, too. Did any of the vets that you consulted with take xrays?

If Maya has had blood work done, I'd like to know what her liver values were.  Has she ever had a bile acid response test?  How long has she been having these episodes?  What appears to be a common factor when she has these?  Is she excessively exicted?  Was she alone for a long time?  Is she always around strangers when they happen?  How does she usually "come out of" these "episodes"?

Brittany, where about in California do you live?  I ask because I'm familiar with a number of veterinarians in certain areas of California.


Jo Ann  

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Jo Ann, First of all, thank you for responding to my question so quickly. Maya actually just turned five a couple days ago, and we got her when she was about 2 months old. She actually had her first blood test yesterday for the heartworm test. she also had her rabies, bordatella, and distemper vaccines yesterday, these are every three year vaccines. We also just moved up here to Folsom, ca, near Sacramento, from LA so we decided to get her on flea and tick preventatives, so she has only had one dose of that so far. Other than that, she is taking absolutely no other meds. She has not had any x-rays either. These episodes have been going on for about 2 years, she just cries and won't let any one touch her. I told you usually they last from any where between 5 minutes and a couple of hours, well right now she is in one and it has been about 2 hours so far. She is just sleeping through it right now. I wouldn't say she gets OVERLY excited about anyting, she, of course, does get excited  when she sees me or when we go outside to play, but i wouldn's call it excessive. Living in LA we were extremely busy, i was still in school for eight hours a day and both of my parents were working also all day, but now that we moved I home literally all day, it is like a Saturday every day, atleast until college starts in August, So we play and take walks for hours every day, and she loves every second of it. So yes she was home alot by herself, but we also have another chihuahua so she kept her company, but since we moved in February she has not been alone at all alot by herself. And no, she has never had these episodes in front of strangers, she loves other people. She usually comes out of these moods when she goes potty, but earlier I tried to take her out and she wouldn't even stand up, so it is either potty or honestly she just comes out of it, like all of a sudden the pain stops and she's all better. That's why i call it a "mood" because she goes into then randomly and comes out of them radomly, except for a few times when I noticed that when she goes potty she is all better. By the way, Maya is housetrained very well and has not had accidents in the house since she was a puppy, but when she gets in these moods she goes absoluely anywhere.Almost like she forgets where to go. It is just so weird, honestly, the whole thing, i just don't understand. But thank you so much for your help, i am very eager to hear what you have to say.

Answer
Hi again Brittany...

Brittany, I'm not surprised to hear that Maya was having a tough time the other day when now learning about how many vaccines she had in one day.  The only vaccine that was given that is an actual three-year vaccine is the rabies vaccine, but I'm very happy if you're only giving the others every three years due to recent knowledge about how harmful over-vaccination can be.  Dogs can have severe reactions to vaccinations, most especially the rabies vaccination.  Vaccines can also cause what's called vaccinosis.  Now, I don't know if the problems that Maya has been having for the entire two years are due to having been over-vaccinated, but what happened the other day could certainly have been triggered by the vaccines.  I do not automatically vaccinate my dogs - I run a titer test to see how much immune defenses my dogs still have first.  Take a look at this website that explains titer testing:  http://www.canine-epilepsy-guardian-angels.com/titer_test.htm  Having said all of that, a veterinarian should never vaccinate a dog that is having health problems and Maya certainly is having some problems.  Additionally, the rabies shot should be given two weeks before or after the other vaccinations.  My dogs are not given combo shots either - they're given each component separately.  I would not be giving flea preventative or the heartworm preventative at the same time that you're giving the shots either.

The blood test that Maya had the other day is just a test for heartworm and is not a full blood panel which I think you need to have run on Maya.  I don't see how any vet can advise that she has a "behavior problem" unless they have ruled out medical issues first. Because of how she's behaving when you touch her around her ribs, I would say that an xray is in order, too.  

Brittany, there's a lot that worries me.  It's very indicative that these episodes stop when she goes potty.  I'm really focusing on that and there are two things that come to mind.  If a dog has a liver shunt, they can have what actually looks like seizures and scream and eliminate all over the place.  This is referred to as HE and it has to do with an ammonia build up from the food the dog eats when the liver is impaired.  Dogs that have a liver shunt or liver disease are often given something called Lactulose to help them have several bowel movements per day so that the ammonia doesn't build up.  Symptoms of liver shunt are varied, but they do include what you have described when you describe how Maya presents when she's in (as you call it) one of her "moods".  Another thing that I'm focusing on is a digestive problem.  I have a small Chihuahua here that was acting painful and appeared to be having focal seizures.  I had blood tests and an ultrasound done on her and consulted with a board certified internist and a liver shunt was ruled out, but she was diagnosed as having a digestive problem and I have her on a specific diet that has remedied the problems that she was having.

Dogs that have focal seizues can cry out and can be afraid when touched and bite like Maya has been doing, but I don't know if they would snap out of a focal seizure when urinating or defecating.  It's certainly worth mentioning to a vet.  Sometimes people are not aware that seizures can manifest in many different ways.

I'm very serious when I say that you need to find a qualified veterinarian and have a full blood panel run (at five years old, she should have one anyway) and then proceed after that according to the results of that blood panel.  Don't refer to her symptoms as "moods" when you talk to the veterinarian as I think that gets them to thinking that you somehow think she has a behavioral problem.  Maybe refer to them as "episodes".

I hope that you won't hesitate to find a good vet to take her to immediately and that you will write me back again if you have any further questions at all.  I'm concerned and I am hoping that you will be able to resolve these issues that Maya is having!

Jo Ann