My little Maggie

It has been a tough week for my sweet little Westie. We noticed that she was shaking. The best I can convey what was happening is to liken it to adult onset of Parkinson, where they have small tremors continually. I got on the Internet of course and started researching Westie health issues. The closest I could find was an ailment called White Dog Shaker Syndrome. Took her to the vet and Dr. Mike confirmed it.

This disorder develops suddenly in young adult, primarily small white dogs. The cause is unknown but generally speculated that there is some deficiency due to an autoimmune reaction. There is an all-over tremor that can range from mild to so severe that the dog may have difficulty walking. Luckily Maggie has mild tremors. The tremors do worsen however, when she became excited or tried to perform specific actions such as eating, walking towards an object, playing. At night when we went to bed and she relaxed the tremors would disappear. The condition is not painful but if untreated can cause seizures. If diagnosed early, the treatment is very effective and can totally eliminate the tremors.

We caught Maggie early and she is on Predizone now for a couple of weeks. Already the tremors have stopped. She is not the peppy puppy that she normally is because I suspect that the meds are making her uncomfortable. I remember how I felt when I had to go on Steriods for my back. She has been on the meds for a week and will keep her on them for another week. If she continues to do well, we can stop the meds next Friday.

I just hated seeing my sweet little girl go thru this, but very glad that it wasn't something more serious. Thanks for stopping by and letting me share.

Annie