Health problems in chihuahua puppies

Chihuahuas can live for more than 15 years and when compared to other breeds they have far fewer genetic defects but with their popularity increasing so is poor breeding. To make sure you have a healthy puppy are you able to answer these questions?

• Is the area clean?
• How are the puppies/mother with humans?
• Does the mother look healthy?
• How old are the puppies?- they should be eight weeks or older when leaving their mother
• Do the puppies look healthy- make sure they do not have dandruffy coats, runny eyes or noses, signs of coughing, diarrhoea or hair loss

When buying a puppy you should also do some research about what kinds of problems you could encounter as many dog breeds are known to have specific problems.

Here are a few problems found in chihuahuas;

• Hydrocephalus- this is an extremely painful condition where the head is unusually large compared to the size of the dogs body. This enlarged head is caused by swelling on the brain, dogs who have this have a lot of visible white showing in their eyes which are typically east-west facing (like the opposite of crossed eyes), they also have an unsteady walk, are prone to falling and have seizures.
• Hypoglycemia- low blood sugar. Most puppies will grow out of this when it is time for them to leave their mum but some will never grow out of it. Dogs suffering from this have an unsteady walk, glassy eyes, limpness and without treatment seizures and death. This is easily treated once diagnosed by simply having a feeding schedule and avoiding sugary treats.
• Delicate areas- chihuahuas, very much like babies, have a soft spot on the top of their heads which they will not grow out of, don't worry though most will shrink as the dog grows. Around 90% of chihuahuas have this molera so opt away from petting their heads and be careful when handling their head.

Cavaliers and epilepsy

So I've written a post about chihuahuas and pyometra so I thought it would be a good idea to write about Cassies dilemma with epilepsy.

Last summer we noticed Cassie just wasn't acting her usual self then suddenly she started moving her front paws frantically in front of her like she was trying to swim. What was even more worrying was that she looked like she had gone blind and deaf; she wouldn't answer to her name or respond. We called the vet straight away and they had a look at her.

The vet was pretty certain Cassie had an epileptic fit. If you have witnessed your dog having a fit then you will know how frightening it can be. However, it's not something to worry too much about as fits and seizures aren't uncommon in dogs but you must contact your vet when they occur. The vet reassured us that many dogs will only experience a fit once and never again.

Unfortunately a few weeks later Cassie started acting strangely again, this time she refused to lower her head and didn't seem comfortable lying down. Once again we rushed her straight to the vets (our vets are amazing!). Now there is a condition in Cavaliers known as syringomyelia (SM) where the brain becomes too big for the skull (see syringomyelia here). However, the vet did some physical tests, bending the head to see any discomfort etc. and Cassie was absolutely fine.

What we were told was that we had actually seen the final stage of the seizure, and that there were three stages:

1. The beginning: mood changes, dizziness, headache, nausea...
2. The middle: confusion, shaking, tremors, stiffening and loss of consciousness...
3. The final stage: the transition back to normal which may take hours...

It has been over six months since Cassies last seizure but there is no saying if she will have another although our vet thinks this is likely. If she experiences more seizures they are easy to treat through medication.

Here are some facts about epilepsy in dogs:

• When your dog fits they will actually be unconscious so they cannot hear you or respond
• Most dogs become stiff, fall onto their side and make running movements with their legs
• Sometimes they will cry out and they may lose control of their bladder
• Most fits in dogs last between 1 and 3 minutes
• Seizures in some dogs are triggered by particular events or stress.

Chihuahuas and pyometra

Just before Christmas Morgana became quite poorly. Like any other chihuahua she is very hygienic and licks to groom herself but one day we noticed that she looked like she might have a sore from licking herself a little too much. She had also started growling at my brothers and sister and became increasingly clingy to myself and my mum. After a couple of days it hadn't improved and we noticed tiny drops of what looked like very dark dried blood in her litter tray and we weren't expecting her to go into heat for another couple of months.

Convinced that she might have a bladder infection of some kind off we popped to the vets and thats when we got the news. The vet was pretty sure Morgana had pyometra; a very serious uterus infection in female dogs that have not been neutered. Pyometra is caused by bacteria infecting the uterus when it thickens because a dog does not have puppies. Morgana was only 2 so she hadn't had any puppies and because of Morganas small size I didn't really want her to be neutered.

To check if she did indeed have pyometra a swab was taken and it took a day to get back to us, however, the test results were inconclusive but now there really wasn't an option. Morgana was given a fortnights worth of antibiotics and painkillers to prepare her for surgery. Morgana is very shy and doesn't really like strangers so I was very lucky that it was Morganas favourite vet who would be carrying out the operation.

On the day I dropped her off in their care very early and signed some forms and agreed to a blood test prior to operating. When it came to picking her up she was very very very sleepy. Some dogs come around pretty quickly but Morgana pretty much spent the night sleeping it off. On top of that she had to wear a collar cone which she hated and eventually it seemed to bother her more than the actual stitches themselves.

When asking the vet about what they had found inside of Morgana I was pretty close to tears. After the operation her tummy was noticeably slimmer, it turned out she did indeed have pyometra which had filled most of her uterus with pus which had leaked elsewhere as well as the uterus. I was pretty shocked at what I was told, the only change in Morganas behaviour was an increase in personal grooming and over-protectiveness, both of which disappeared immediately after the operation.

The worrying thing here is that Morgana did really show strong signs of pyometra and if we didn't operate Morgana would have deteriorated very quickly.

Here are the facts about pyometra;

• It only affects un-neutered female dogs
• It is more common in older dogs over 6 years of age but Morgana was only 2
• It occurs around 2 months after the dogs last season
• She may lick herself more often and go off her food
• She may drink a lot more
• She may wet herself
• Discharge may be visible on her private parts
• She may start to vomit
• If untreated the symptoms will worse over a period of days to several weeks
• If untreated it will lead to dehydration and death from toxic shock (kidney failure)

The only way to prevent pyometra is to neuter your dog. I was very lucky that I have such an amazing vets that I could trust Morgana with and now she only has a little scar on her tummy and is back to her bouncing self.