Chihuahua in need of help...

I joined the forum just to ask...

I have a five-year old chihuahua, Tiny, who has been in good health most of his life; he was very active, playful, and quite agressive when time's necessary. Not until recently, his appetite started to decline and has become very sedentary. He does not like to sit anymore, he stands in front of his bed and shakes in pain. We took him to the vet five days ago for a checkup, and the veterinarian said that it's just a simple infection, so we were given antibiodics and pain medication. Tiny did take them for a couple days, but as his appetite has declined, he hasn't been able to take any medication at all. My parents were dissapointed with the checkup bill already, so taking him in for surgery or anything of that matter is an opportunity I do not have. I want to know if there has been any readers who have seen any similar symptoms such as this in their dogs, to at least have an idea what's going on with my dog...

-loss of appetite
-motionless, remains as still as possible
-shivers while inside

I also noticed two "masses" beneath the skin of my dog, one behind the front-left arm and the other in the front left leg of him... I can't think of any other disease other than cancer that will cause such life-threatening illness...

If there are any vets out there, please give me an idea of what's going on with my chihuahua... it's already serious as it is, and I have no idea of what I can do to help him. Usually, I keep a watchful eye on him when he's ill, but this time, he hasn't gotten any better at all. Please help with whatever you can! Thanks for your time reading.

Joe Tran

I think your vet is not professional... You should go see another one and get a second opinion. But yes you'll probably have to pay for scanners etc

chis may just shiver sitting there but if he never has before what did the vet say about it? He could jsut be experienceing aging changes but the best way to find out would be lot of vet tests and that will be costly.

Are the masses moveable,do they cause pain when you touch them?

What is he being fed? My beagle mix seemed to be going downhill untill we switched her food and she perked right back up.

And it sounds dumb but alot of dogs that stop eating jsut have problems with their mouth and teeth. Did the vet examine his mouth? Have you tried soft food?

So, I decided to take him to a different vetenarian today and he discovered something much worse than a simple infection. Instead, it could be a case of diabetes; or due to something with a malignment spinal disc pressing on nerves that gives him so much pain. However, it obviously could not be determined without either a blood test (cheapest is $75) or an MRI scan ($1200). And yeah, the two masses do give him pain, but they're not movable. It's not the food either; he's fed the same thing we've fed him for a while, the Pedigree formula for small dogs. He refuses to eat anything, even his favorite cooked meats that he used to just devour. The only good news I got back was that if it's a spinal disc issue, the scar tissue may help keep it in place and prevent any more damage, but that will take a couple weeks to find out... simply hope for the best in him.

I am sorry to hear this! I have no idea what may be wrong, but I do wish for the best! I hope he can get better.

pedigree was what my beagle did so bad on. Maybe look into a diffrent food,it may help in a ton of ways.