Shih Tzu is getting old.

Edward is 14 years old

We have noticed a couple of issues with him lately. About 1 month ago he started losing hair on his groin, there was a black mark on the skin where the hair was lost, it was sort of dry skin that flaked off. It continued and is now on a large part of his groin area and under some of his legs.

The important issue that we are concerned about appeared to happen for the first time on thursday. He went up two flights of stairs, to our bedroom, reached the top, and then fell over to one side. Struggled with his right side to upright himself. He got out of breath, and then calmed down and got up. This lasted about 2-3 mins. That night his breathing was very irregular. He panted and then had deep breaths, then shallow breaths and so on. The next morning he appeared fine, but fell over on his right side and repeated the same process, but not as long in duration.

He also appears to have lost weight in the last few weeks (about 2-3 lbs). His spine is very pronounced. His tail is mostly down, excep for small moments when it wags. His posture is low. I mean by this that his front shoulder is fairly low where as it used to be straight.

His eyes look sad. This might not be relevant but he has a large bump on his left rump. It is about 1.5 inches in size. When he walks it is as though his rear legs, skate. He had two more incidents today, One where his front paws sort of slid forward and he could not gain his footing. The other one is his left pay, curled below him and he tripped due to it.

He is eating and going to the bathroom regularly. He is also able to go up and down the stairs on his own. He is sleeping a lot, perhaps more then usual.

He also has a large lump on his throat. About a quarter in size.

We are wondering if this is the end. He has not been to a vet in about 13 years. He had no other issues and has been a carefree dog. He also has not had any accidents in the house for years.

Please let me know your thoughts.

thank you

Thank you for your prompt response.

We took his front paws, had him rest on the knuckle of it. He stayed with his paws on the knuckle form. He was not able to put a lot of weight on it.

Previously when we put him on his side or his back, he quickly righted himself, now he lays there for a while.

He does not cough much. However, when he sleeps, he previously never snored. He has started in the last few months to snore very loudly. He does the reverse sneeze that shih tzu do, but no more then average.

Can you tell us any more about his skin condition. I assume it is more a cosmetic issue compared to these other more serious problems.

thank you

He has had very erratic breaths at night. Panting, shallow breaths, deep breaths and so on. Each lasting for a few minutes.

Is this relevant?

He has several bumps on his body. Would these be lesions or oil build up?

IS there anyway I can tell how much pain he is in? You mentioned that if his spine is inflammed it is a sign of pain. Can I check this?

I know this is a difficult question.

Based on the description I have given you. What would the odds be of it being a simple treatment or something that is more serious?

We just did the knuckling movement and he responded well.

We will bring him to the vet tomorrow afternoon.

I realize he is an old dog and that may dictate some of the problems he is having.



I thank you for your time.