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Itty Bitty Sadded Puppy- New pics 10/23/11.

Shiari

Shiari

Blutterer
Today some people surrendered a little shih-tzu puppy to me at work. Three of his litter mates died, and appeared to have had hydrocephaly. This little one appears to have it too, but it's very very mild right now. And even the initial head wobble has improved with regular feeding into pretty much non-existence. He just has a HYOOOJ head and a very large open fontenelle, both of which are classic signs of hydrocephaly. He's gonna get his head ultrasounded on wednesday, so we'll get a confirmation then if he has it.

If he does have the condition, he probably won't last more than a few weeks at this point. He's 8 weeks old and 7.5 ounces. However, he's a feisty little beast and currently howling his little heart out because it is FOOD TIEM NAO! He seems to be doing pretty well overall. He's playing, he's loving, and definitely does not seem in any discomfort.

Because of his likely condition, I decided to name him "Lucky" just as a sort of bird to Murphy.


On to pictures of the tiny thing.



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Hallo little one! I got to snuggle this puppy tonight, and despite his sad prognosis, he's a happy, bubbly puppy. He'll have a good (but short) life with Megan.
 
AWMIGAWD he's too cute!! I am so sad to hear he is not going to make it :(
We can all hope for the best though and just not hear of the imminent sad news!
 
Lucky had a good bout of "play" a couple times this morning. He tried to drag away a pen (too heavy!) and played tug with his blanket. He gave me another 3 hours period of sleep, so I got a total of 6 hours or so today. I've decided that if I end up on the couch again tonight to not disturb Ben that I'm just going to have him sleep on me from the get go. Even asleep I'm hyper-aware of all 8 ounces of him and anything more than a dream twitch has me wide awake. If he's not acting hungry, I can fall asleep again almost immediately due to knowing that he's not about to start whining/howling because of being "teh ronery".

Only two more days until the cranial ultrasound to see how much brain is there! :D
 
Are there degrees of this condition?
I mean can he have it but end up special needs and not.....you know?
 
There are degrees of severity, yes. His only sign right now is a very minor head wobble so they can sometimes live for years, but they often have other things wrong as well. Once (if?) he reaches a pound and a half, I'm going to get a full liver profile on him to check for a liver shunt. Most of the doctors seem to agree that if he makes it to adulthoo, he'll probably be all of 3 or 4 pounds.

Truthfully, he seems pretty bright right now. He recognises me and is staring at me from his fish-tank home and whining. XD

*edit* change the whining to full on, almost falling over howling! This guy has the most amasing set of lungs. o_O
 
They can, yes, but for most people it is cost prohibitive because it must regularly be replaced as the puppy grows, and can become blocked.
 
I will! And we'll be over tomorrow. He got super cuddles with everyone at work, and is totally passed out now because he ate a TON at work, especially around 6pm. He had 8 cc, then half an hour later was hungry again and had another 6 cc, then then 10 minutes later had another 2 cc. Piglet.

I'm definitely going to sleep now while he's letting me.
 
Well, apparently puppy nap ended just as I typed the previous reply. XD We had a really good zoom this time, with increased speed and very very fierce maulings of a plush toy larger than he is. Right now there is a grooming of the feet in Mommy's lap, which will hopefully turn into a napping with Mommy very soon.
 
i sure hope he ends up being able to live a somewhat normal life. I can't believe hes only 8 oz. Thats just crazy! Keep us updated and MORE PICS!...:)
 
So I've stated in the past that Kumo has helped me raise several foster kittens... at least with regards to grooming at/after meal time.

He's started that up with Lucky. Just... oh gods the size difference. XD Kumo can be a little too rough, so I have to watch the interactions closely. He's not mean, just... enthusiastic.

Though he wasn't terribly enthusiastic about Lucky trying to chew on his front leg.
 

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And then my friend, Panda, came over and Lucky had a giant play!
 

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Megan's over with the little booger now. He's had a bath and he's passed out in the palm of my hand. :)

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Thats for the pics. I don't think I have ever seen such a tiny little thing. I can't believe he fits in the palm of your hand...Hes just adorable!
 
So, according to the ultrasound, Lucky does indeed have mild hydrocephalus. The only apparent neurologic result of this so far is the fact that he's actually deaf. Doesn't respond to noise at all, so far as we've seen.
 
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