shivering??

For the past few days, Caesar has been shivering for no apparent reason. Shivering like a chihuahua. It's really weird. I'm sitting here in my warm cozy house, and he's curled up on my lap.... shivering. Just his whole body is shaking like he's cold. It's not like he's nervous or something, because he's resting right now. I noticed it on Thursday and didn't really think anything of it, and then Friday the dogs went to the kennel (because my brother got married this weekend), and then we picked them up today and it seems worse, it's more constant. Nothing else is different.. he's eating, drinking, playful.

What could this mean and how soon should I get him into the vet??

Is it cold? Some dogs seem to be more sensitive to the cold, my parents visited with their dogs this weekend and mine have been fine in my apartment but one of theirs was shaking really bad so I ended up having to turn up the heat and put a coat on her and she was fine.

If its not the weather I might take him in for a vet check... he may be in some pain from something?

I hope you figure out what it is soon! ((((VIBES))))

is your kennel surrounded by some water ? dogs generally tend to shiver after a bath.

Thanks. It doesn't seem cold to me in here and I'm always cold. We just insulated the windows which has helped a lot. I don't think it's that.

I read that hypoglycemia can cause that in dogs. I can't fathom why or how on earth he would be hypoglycemic because he's been eating normally I think.

He was doing it before he went to the kennel. The kennel is heated and not surrounded by water.

One website suggested giving a couple teaspoons of honey to see if it's hypoglycemia, so I tried that and now he's not shivering anymore

thats interesting... are you sure he is eating?

If he is eating you may want to take him to the vet because hypoglycemia can be a sign of other problems.

Yeah, after the shivering stopped when I gave him honey, I gave him a little more food even though he's had the amount of food he normally gets already today. Plus the kennel owner commented on how big Caesar's appetite was. I'm definitely going to call the vet tomorrow.

Well just because a dog is eating doesn't mean he can't become hypoglycemic. If something is wrong internally, it doesn't matter how many sugars they consume if they can't process it at a normal rate.

Yeah that's what worries me what kind of problems can cause this in a dog?

what if he has an insulin-secreting tumor??

I can't think of a single disease that does it in dogs. Hyperglycemia can be caused by lots of fun stuff but hypoglycemia is a different beats.

Lots of exercise can cause hypoglycemia, is that perhaps the case? Body expends all its fast energy reserves and doesn't get much back.


But then again, it might not even be hypoglycemic. If it comes back and honey fixes it repeatedly, then that could be the case, but normally the body is extremely good at conserving glucose since it's so important so hypoglycemia is relatively rare. I wouldn't say a one off honey-fix means he's hypoglycemic.

Anyhow the only thing I can really think of that's wrong internally that would cause it is:
1) Body isn't filtering blood correctly and letting too much sugar out through the urine.
2) An issue with the enzyme (I think it's an enzyme at least) Glucagon, which is pretty much the opposite of Insulin. Insulin stores glucose into glycogen, and Glucagon liberates glucose from glycogen.

Mary shivered when she was in severe pain associated with her pancreas. I pray this is not the reason your dog is doing this.

He hasn't shivered since the honey, which was yesterday. So I didn't call the vet yet. I wonder if I should still take him in if it stopped.

if you are nervous and taking him in will make you feel better go ahead... but if he stopped now I probably wouldnt go in unless it started up again!

Is it possible she's just nervous? One of my dog's gets nervous over everything and starts to shake. When the fire alarm beeps, if the fan over the stove is on, in the car....just a nervous pup.

hmmm , very interesting...
I would keep a close eye on your dog and see if anything changes. Just make sure the she's comfortable, has a normal temperature, and if it occurs again, take her to the vet asap.

Can you just call and talk to your vet over the phone for advice? try that and see that they say, that would probably be best!

good luck and keep us posted!

I'm pretty sure he wasn't nervous.. he was resting, plus he's not a nervous dog at all. My other dog is but not Caesar. I will call and see what they say.. it still hasn't happened since the other day.