Molly, 13 yr, shih tzu - lhasa aspo - Molly has passed

Molly was doing the shaking, shivering thing so much this morning I thought she was going to vibrate herself right off the floor. Never seen it that much in her before. She seem to be fine later in the morning and I haven't seen any more shivering today.
Admitedly she has a short hair cut right now, so could have been cold after first getting up and then even with a coat on, going out for a chilly walk, but would it be that much? I don't know. She seems fine otherwise, but when she shakes (and it's never been like this morning) she can't eat at all until she slows down or stops. It Is usually much better after she eats. hmm..

I'll be honest, I don't like it one bit.

On the other hand, she has done well with having the baby here and the house full of people all weekend.

Since she's better after she eats, could it be hypoglycemia? You could rub a small amount of Karo syrup on her gums when the shaking starts and see if it helps.

Syrup didn't make a difference so I don't think that is it. My biggest worry is probably if it is pain.

She falls over a lot, so I worry about pain in her back legs. I just worry period probably, but I think it is either, she is cold and not regulating temparture well or it is pain.
I also think that her left eye she isn't seeing much out of now. And only a bit out of her right, but think the left is worse.
My baby is getting older and it is sad for me to see it. I still think she acts okay though and enjoys her life, so that is a good thing.
I just was looking at my original post when we joined. She was 9 years old I now need to change the thread title to reflect that is 13. Crazy eh. :) Time flies.
I also am amazed that she weighed 19.2 lbs when we joined here. She is probably going to be luck if she weighs 16 at our next weigh in and with her hair cut short she looks smaller.

It is sad when it hits that they are aging...Lena was never old to me until the last few months...looking back at her pictures you can see it, but day to day, she always looked like my little girl. That's how I am trying to remember her, as my baby girl...young and healthy.

Dear Sharlene ,yes it hard to know how our babies are feeling. Keeps us guessing. And yes it is hard to see them age and the problems age brings. But Molly is still enjoying her life. And such a spunky little girl. Nipping at the groomer. There still quality of life there. Love it. Enjoy her. Hugs and thoughts, Brianna

It is probably not hypoglycemia. The Karo syrup worked almost instantly with Buddy.

Yes, pain can make them shake. But then again, so can cold. She did just get a haircut after all and her hair was thin to begin with.;)

I do agree with you though. It is really heartbreaking to watch them decline. :o Still thrilled that she's still a happy pup.

Sharlene -- does Molly tolerate tramadol? I am wondering if it might be worth trying a daily dose to see if the shivering/shaking lessens. Abbie had stopped wanting to go on walks so I scheduled another appointment with the chiropractor but also started giving her 25 mg. once a day, thinking that pain may be the reason for her reluctance to walk. Our pups are so stoic that it is very difficult to discern if they are in pain. Abbie has been walking more since I started the tramadol so who knows ...

I can certainly relate to the difficulties of seeing our pups age. Abbie will also be turning 13 (in two weeks). I took her on Sunday to my friend's home for Passover dinner -- there were 10 of us including a toddler. We were a noisy group. The toddler was very good with Abbie -- his family has a basset puppy so he is familiar with dogs. We went out for a couple of short walks and Abbie enjoyed sniffing new territory. Abbie did not sleep until late in the afternoon when she basically passed out. Since then she has done little except sleep. I literally have to push her off the bed to get her to go out to pee or eat. I think the day was just too much for her. She enjoyed it so I think it was worth it to bring her (and she would not have liked being home along all day) but it is hard to see her have difficulty rebounding.

I just posted a question on Dr Peterson's blog asking "Tremors, shaking, and shivering are listed as side effects of Trilostane. Could you explain why this happens and what can be done to eliminate or at least decrease those ill effects." it's awaiting approval by the blog moderator and if/when it's answered I'll post his reply.

Dr Peterson's response: "Those all generally reflect low cortisol levels. If that occurs, you need to lower the dose or stop the drug, at least temporarily. Talk to your vet about this."

My next reply: I belong to a canine cushing's forum and we have seen many dogs have that tremor/shivering, shaking thing going on and an ACTH stim test shows that their cortisol level is not low. Some dogs experience that tremor/shaky episodes after only a couple of doses of Trilostane, and this is with starting the dog at the 1mg per pound dosage of Trilostane. So if low cortisol is not the reason for the tremor/shakes/shivering, what else can it be?

Dr Peterson's response: "I don't know what the exact mechanism would be, but if serum cortisol levels are very normal, then it is likely a direct drug side effect."

Thanks, Lori

Sharlene, I'm sad to read that our diva is going through some tough times these days but glad that it's you who is there to help her knowing that you will do everything possible to make her get better and comfortable. Hope you will get this shivering problem under control very soon.
I like Judy's idea of trying a daily dose of tramadol to see if it makes any difference. If it does great but if it doesn't you will at least know that they are probably not from pain. Take care and give Molly extra hugs and kisses from me too. Song.

Okay so, she isn't shivering in the mornings when she first wakes up and is rolling around on my pillow on the bed. As soon as I pick her up to come downstairs the shivering starts. So, our bedroom and beds are warmer, no doubt so maybe.

Not shivering that I have noticed on our walks unless we stop and talk to someone, so that looks like cold.

She wasn't shivering earlier today but is now. I'm going to put a sweater on her and turn up the heat, see if that alleviates it.

If not, will be discussing with vet at next appt, if it is pain. She isn't due back at the vet until around 16 May.

My thought on the pain, is the back leg luxating patella. That is why she often falls down or over. She still will run, but that back leg is not steady and I think this is what has lead to her being more frail looking through the rear end, rather than pure muscle wasting. When we clipped her nails we notice that there is a pattern of excess wear on the outside nails as opposed to the inside, so I know she is walking differently.

I won't be home from work with her till the weekend, but may not give any trilostane on sat/sun and see if that makes a difference.

She is eating better, but definitely picky. So I wonder if she wasn't going through something when we had that really awful time that I couldn't get her to eat.