Energy level....getting a little worried.

[tangtang]

I'm starting to get a little worried w/ my 24 week old. She has never been a very energetic puppy, and it seems like she is getting lazier and lazier. I'm not sure if she is just a really lazy dog of if there is something wrong with her health. When we got her at 8 weeks she was only 6.5lbs had worms etc.....The vet at that time was concerned that there may be something wrong w/ her heart but said it sounded fine every time we came to visit.
She will play around with our pomeranien, run around outside and do her puppy spazzing and seem very energetic at times. But most of the time she's lazy. I think I will take her to the vet this week to get her checked out. Is there something you guys can recommend I should ask for.....ie. x-rays, bloodwork. What causes low energy in dogs? Or could she just be lazy? Unfortunately we didn't get "Kira" from a reputable breeder so I have no family history on her.

[Skip]

Have the vet check the pup out. Bloodwork would be good to check. Take another stool sample too. What are you feeding?

[tilly]

low thyroid function could cause your puppy to be very lethargic. blood work could tell you if that's the case. good luck.

[tangtang]

I feed her innova. I was thinking about that thyroids.....is there medication/ is it curable?

[mmilard]

I believe there is medication that will help if it is the thyroid. I would surely be on the phone with the vet tomorrow morning, and get an apt. asap.

Keep us posted!


Melissa

[giglz15]

Duke was a very lazy puppy. Always laid down to play never ran jumped ect. If she is like that have her hips xrayed asap. Melonie

[tangtang]

well, there are times where she does jump around w/ my other dog and does play fetch etc., but looking at an overall picture she seems very laid back/ lazy.
After doing a lil reasearch on this thyroid thing the symptoms do sound like a good match. On one of the articles I just read it said that hypothyroid dogs commonly have a condition thats called acanthosis nigricans (black pigmentation in the groin area). She does have a lot of that, my vet told me not to worry about it 4 month ago......hmmm.
Definitly calling the vet tomorrow!

[giglz15]

I would go to a different vet if I were you. I had 2 different vets tell me Dukes laziness was just a puppy thing and not to worry about it. I finally took him to a different vet when he was 10 months old and turns out he needed hip surgery. Imagine that. Melonie

[brunie's mom]

I would also be concerned about her hips.
Pups should not be lazy...the should be full of energy, and driving you crazy.

Our first Rottie was a very quiet (too well behaved pup)....not much energy. He had his hips x-rayed when he was neutered at 9 months...he had severe HD

Has your pup been spayed yet? If she is going to be spayed in the near future make sure they x-ray her hips when she is out with the anasthetic.
I would also have a pre-anesthetic bloodwork up done too.

Could be a few things...?? Get some tests done.

Gina

[tangtang]

ok...got an appointment today at 3. I'll keep ya'll posted!

[Sharon Marples]

Please also ask your vet if there is a canine cardiologist in your area. I would suggest getting her heart checked by a certified cardiologist as well.

Let us know what he says.

[tangtang]

So, the doc calls me tonight and tells me that her thyroids are fine, BUT...her kindey and liver numbers are high as well as her cholesterol. He said the kidney and liver problem is most probably causing her to be so tiny at 24 weeks (40lbs).
He suggested to wait a month and retest her liver and kidney to see if her numbers improve or god forbid worsen.

What do you guys think I should do?

[Marylou Mader]

Tell us what the values were and we can let you know how high, they might be just above the curve.

Also, the assay they use may not be up to par. I work in the Research field and I run millions of BUN, CEATININE, PROTIEN, etc assays.

Do they send them out? Do they run them at their own clinic?

I wouldn't worry at this point. However, you could consider what the dog eats.
She is quite small, but I have a very small Rottie that is nearly 14 years old. She weighs in at 55 lbs...
Marylou

[tangtang]

Yes they send them out to a lab. I'm not sure of the numbers right now, but I'm having the Vet fax me the results over. He mentioned that he suspects a some kind of a shunt or portosytemic shunt, however he coudln't be sure unless he runs more test in a month or so.

[tangtang]

ok just got the fax....Im only gonna post the ones that were high/low:

Urea Nitrogen: 27 (range 6-25)
Alkaline Phosphatase: 302 --wayyyy high (range 5-131)
ALT: 127 (range 12-118)
Cholesterol: 327 (range 92-324)
Phosphorus: 8.4 (range 2.5-6)
GGTP: 14 (range 1-12)
Magnesium: 1.4 (range 1.5-2.5)

Blood Counts:
Platelet Count: 447 (range 170-400)
Lymphocytes: 5720 (range 690-4500)