Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi Everyone,

Brewster has been shaking/shivering/trembling (not sure of the right word) a lot lately. He comes over and puts his paws up on my lap when this is happening, and if I stop paying attention to him he nudges me with his nose. He isn't normally much of a shaker. The only time I have seen him tremble is when he is very scared (when we have gone to the vet, when my husband has used a nail gun, etc.). He seems healthy otherwise, but my daughter thought he was panting more and differently--I haven't witnessed that myself. He doesn't seem sick. He has a good appetite and is playful. He is a HUGE wimp, so I feel like I would definitely know if he was in pain (we are talking about a dog that cried and wouldn't step on his paw that had a bandaid on it after he had blood taken, and until we took the bandaid off a few hours later).

Brewster is getting older (he'll be 11 in the fall) but he looks and acts young. The trembling is getting more and more frequent, though, and since we had a cancerous lump removed over the summer (which I haven't felt come back) I definitely wanted to get it checked out. I called our vet's office yesterday and I was SHOCKED to find out our holistic DVM Cornell-grad vet had passed away at 54 years old! I'm so sad. He was such a nice man and was way to young to die. I have been trying to find another similar vet all day with no luck - I don't want to go to a vet we already know we do not like. There are a few other holistic vets listed, but they are either very far away or part of a big emergency clinic that is a super ripoff and I have not liked in the past.

So, I'm not sure what to do. If anybody has a vet they love in Southern NH, or if they have any experience with a Shiba that is shaking, please let me know.

Thanks!
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Amanda's Pack: Greg the Husband, Kate the daughter, Liam the son, Brewster the Shiba Inu, Cassie the Torbie & Fenway the Leopard Gecko!

Not sure what to say about the shaking. Kiko has done that from time to time. Usually if I raise my voice. As for vet's, we used to see Dr. Hart at Chelmsford Animal hospital. Kona and Kiko would do the happy dance every time they saw her. We drove Kaia down to see her for a 2nd opinion. Hope you can figure out what's going on with Brewster.
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David owned by Kona, Kiko & Kaia

Hi Amanda... good to see you. Sorry to read about your vet passing away... hoping soon you'll find another one. As for the shaking now that Brewster is older I wonder if he has become more sensitive to loud noises or even noises in general? Except with Keiko who since day one had trembled or panted during fireworks or thunderstorms I have noted that as Toshi and Beni grew older so did their tolerance for loud noises up to the point where fireworks or thunderstorms bother them now where they never used to in the past. Beni... probably due to his eye problems is much more susceptable to all kinds of semi-loud noises. Also being on the subject have you ever had Brewster eye pressure checked? Behavior like this could be one of the signs of an increase in eye pressure. Lastly... it's hard to believe Brewster is now 11 years young! I remember when you first found this forum and posting the photos of a little Shiba who did not want to climb up some stairs.
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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went.

Hey Amanda! What about Regina Downey? She is always very highly recommended.
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Alicia,Owned by 2 Shibas, Niko and Avari, 3 cats, Miss Kitty, Mr. Grobbles and Al E. Cat and 2 beautiful daughters, Gwen and Penelope

Can't help with the vet reccomendation. Your commute to mine would be horrible! It's bad enough for me on a normal day and I am in the same state.

When Kita was losing her hearing, she would go through episodes of what you are describing with Brewster. I was happy when she finally lost all her hearing because the shaking stopped. Best I could figure is noises that were common and usual change when the hearing is going and now are scary when once they were not. We used some anti-anxiety meds at one point during the hearing loss because it made Kita more comfortable that way.

Hopefully you can find some help for Brewster. Poor guy.
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Chelle and the rest of the crew including, but not limited to Kita and Taiko (the shiba inu wrestle maniacs), Adi (reserved and dignified tabby cat), and all 28 reptiles www.freewebs.com/performanceshibas

Sorry I'm replying so late to this message. Hope you've figured things out with the shaking and finding a new vet. Artemis is a big shaker--every time she's scared: thunder storms and vet, but especially beeping sounds. Any beeping sound: computers, cameras, trucks backing up. Check all your smoke detectors. If there's a low battery, they make a chirping sound. I had one in the basement and didn't hear it, but Artemis was out of sorts until I figured it out.