my 13-year-old Maltese

Question
hello.
i am hoping you can possibly offer me some insight as to what may be going on w/ my dog.
she is a 13-year-old maltese, pekingese, shih tzu mix.
she is 1/2 maltese and a quarter the other two breeds.
recently she has started trembling on and off and has stopped eating.
i have had her to the vet and blood tests are w/in normal w/ slightly elevated levels for the kidney and liver, but nothing alarming considering her age.
her physical exam is near perfect and she is a moderately active senior dog. (she can walk 3/4 of a mile matching strides w/ her "brother" a 85 pound lab mix and she is 8.5 pounds.)
she is scheduled for an ultrasound tomorrow.
i'm just wondering what this could possibly be.
the trembling and not eating are unlike her, and i am very nervous.
thank you in advance for any advice you may offer.


Answer
Hi Chiara,

I wish I could tell you something regarding what might be going on with your dog, but her symptoms of trembling paired with not eating are sort of vague. Those symptoms mean she isn't feeling well, and may be in pain.

In an older dog, the kidney where cells are starting to die or shrivel, the kidney may not excrete all of the urea as it should but some may remain for a short time longer than necessary in the blood stream. So on blood work, the blood levels of urea (BUN) can be slightly (and only slightly) increased. It's not a big deal. Of course there are other reasons too numerous to list ranging from disease to dehydration.

The same goes for liver values, a slightly elevated test just means more testing is required. If testing is going to be repeated, ask your vet how long before the test should the dog eat, or if she should have a short fast. Some tests can be skewed depending whether or not the dog ate, or when it's last meal was.

I'm sorry I couldn't be more of a help. I hope all goes well for tomorrow's ultrasound.

Best of luck,

Patti