dog was shivering for about 3 days, on closer observation, it is a tic in neck and head

[LexieLynn]

I am very worried about my Yorkshire terrier. A few days ago, during cold weather, she appeared to be shivering all the time, lethargic, and not jumping around as usual, but she continued to eat as normal (no upset stomach symptoms either).

I took her to the vet and the vet said some dog breeds have seizures, but that unless other symptoms developed, not to begin series of testing.

She seems somewhat more energetic today, but when she jumped up in my lap and I scooped her up around her back end she yelped. I certain positions the muscle spasms in the neck are worse. They even continue when she is sleeping.

She has been current in all shots, flea preventatives, and heartworm pills.

The only other unusual illness she had, occurred 20 days ago after the inside of my house was sprayed for bugs by an exterminator (they come once every 3 weeks). The night after they sprayed, she threw up 3-4 times in the middle of the night, but then was fine the next morning.

I would like to know if this is curable or treatable.

Worried in Florida,

[Sugie1938]

Our 4yr old Yorkie has had a few similar problems. There have been 3 or 4 times over the years when she appears to be sick. She tries to hide, shakes as if in pain, doesnt eat much. Just yesterday this happened. She did eat later than usual, but does not want to be held, and had no temperature. The Vet tested her for Addisons a couple years ago, but that was negitive thank goodness. I feed her only Evo food, and home cooked chicken and roast beef, and am limiting vaccines. This just lasts about one day. I am anxious to see what you find on your sweet dog to see if it could be similar. I would like to suggest you stop the spraying, its very toxic to pets, and could cause permament damage. I have a great web site you might like to check on a Vet who does a lot of homeopathy. I hope its ok to add to this comment. www.theonlinevet.com. I have his books, and subscribed to get his monthly DVD's and CD's with informaiton.  

[Aleda M Cheng, D.V.M., C.V.A]

It sounds more like disk disease than a seizure disorder or chemical toxin exposure.

Yelping signifies sudden pain and although all dog's can get disk disease, Yorkshire Terriers, along with Dachshunds seem more prone to disk disease than other breeds.

Please take her to the vet again and have her back and neck examined for disk disease, and of course have her treated if necessary.  Treatment for disk disease requires steroids, pain medicine, muscle relaxers and cage rest.  It sometimes requires decompression surgery, if very serious.