How do I keep a puppy from becoming hypo-glycemic?

Question

I'm not sure what that means, but I always hear about peoples puppies dying from hypoglycemia. What is it and how do I keep it from happening?

Answer 1

Hypoglycemia is not as rare as some people think. It is seen more in toy breeds than your regular size dogs, but a good quality food helps. It would also be a good idea to keep some karo syrup or waffle syrup on hand and rub it on their gums if you notice any of the aforementioned symptoms. If that happens, i would take the puppy to my veterinarian as soon as it was stabilized. Your vet can sell you commercial varieties of vitamins and minerals in order to keep it from happening again. Good luck.

Answer 2

What people do you talk to? It is rare and only puppies on a diet 'get' it. It is a severe low blood sugar level. The animal will go into a shock.

Feed it right and timely and no such thing will happen.

Answer 3

One time I bought a Bulldog from a guy on ebay a really good steal for 500 bucks, but a week later I got in the mail a box with no holes in it, I was very concerned, I opened it and the dogs head was in it along with a video tape, I put the bloody tape in my vcr and the sick guy had video taped cutting the dogs head off while he was alive, he is in jail now though he used his real address and stuff on ebay so they were able to track him down.

Answer 4

Hypoglycemia is defined as a blood glucose or blood sugar concentration of less than 70 milligrams per deciliter(mg/dl) of blood. Symptoms depend on how quickly the blood glucose concentration decreases but rarely occur until it falls below 50 mg/dl.

Symptoms reflect the rate of decrease of the blood glucose concentration, the underlying cause of hypoglycemia, and the chronicity of the problem. One common form of hypoglycemia is called juvenile hypoglycemia because it occurs in puppies less than three months of age. Juvenile hypoglycemia is common in puppies because they have not fully developed the ability to regulate their blood glucose concentration and have a high requirement for glucose. Stress, cold, malnutrition, and intestinal parasites are problems that may precipitate a bout of juvenile hypoglycemia. Toy breed dogs less than three months of age are most commonly affected.

Other causes of hypoglycemia include fasting before vigorous exercise, which may be a factor in the syndrome called “hunting dog hypoglycemia”; Addison’s disease, an endocrine problem caused by a lack of hormone production by the adrenal glands which can cause weakness, vomiting, diarrhea, and collapse; excessive insulin administration, as may occur in pets with diabetes mellitus; insulin-producing tumors of the pancreas, called “insulinomas” or “beta cell tumors”; severe liver disease; some other tumors that produce insulin-like factors; dogs with portosystemic shunts, which are congenital blood vessel abnormalities the cause blood from the intestines to by-pass the liver; hereditary diseases arising from abnormal storage of glucose as starch in the liver, or glycogen storage disease; and serious systemic bacterial infection, or sepsis.

What to Watch For


Loss of appetite

Extreme lethargy

Incoordination

Trembling

Muscular twitching

Weakness

Seizures

Unusual behavior

Dilated pupils

Apparent blindness

Stupor or coma

Diagnosis

Diagnostic tests are needed to identify hypoglycemia and determine its cause. Tests may include:


A complete medical history and physical examination


Measurement of blood glucose concentration


Other diagnostic blood tests such as complete blood count (also called hemogram or CBC), routine serum biochemistry tests, urinalysis, and serum insulin concentration to try and establish the underlying cause of hypoglycemia.


Ultrasound examination of the abdomen to try and identify a pancreatic or other tumor that could be causing hypoglycemia.

Answer 5

Put a little Caro syrup on your finger and give to your puppy once or twice a day. It can't hurt your puppy it is a sweet treat and will keep their sugar level .

Answer 6

Multiple daily feedings should prevent this very samll pups nurse frequently & if hand feed must be fed AT LEAST every 2 hrs.

Answer 7

That's low blood-sugar. My sister had a kitten die from it. I think you just need to make sure you're feeding them the right thing, and feeding it to them often enough, and watching for the warning signs (coldness, trembling, etc.).

You should consult your veterinarian just to be safe.

Answer 8

I have a cat that is diabetic, so I have to watch for this in her. If your puppy is not diabetic, I really don't think you have much to worry about.

Answer 9

give him chocolate made for dogs