Our female has been diagnosed with Eclampsia - she's stabilized now, can we return the puppies to her ?

Question

I had never heard of this situation before but after hours reading & studying it, now I know it well. Our vet told us to take the puppies away from our nursing mom immediately, but I'm reading that we can supplement the milk to them, drastically reduce the nursing time permitted , try to wean them asap, and most important, adjust her diet. Does anybody have any experience with this situation ??? I realize now that the vet couldn't spend 6 hours to teach us all that we didn't know when we took our dog in to him, but now we do know and I wonder what experienced breeders do
in this situation. Do they return the pups after stabilizing the dog and correcting what caused this in the first place ?
I know now that it was diet and a predisposition of small dogs to encounter this startling and dangerous situation.
It is terrifying, I drove to the vet thinking we might lose our dog and I drove like a mad woman James Bond. So, now, can we safely return the puppies for minimal nursing ?

Answer 1

No you can't allow the pups to nurse at all. Here is what I found on the web to better expalin this to you. You should be hand feeding the pups. She can't nurse the pups at all.
I hope this better explains things to you:
Treatment:
Dogs with eclampsia usually require immediate emergency care. The definitive treatment involves returning blood calcium levels to normal and decreasing calcium loss from the body, which may include weaning and hand feeding the puppies. Treatment usually includes:


Intravenous calcium (calcium gluconate) given very slowly
An intravenous or oral dextrose solution to increase blood sugar
Anti-seizure drugs (e.g. Valium®) if seizures are unresponsive to calcium and dextrose
Cooling of patients with severely elevated body temperatures
Removal and hand raising of all puppies
Oral calcium supplementation when the patient is stable
Oral vitamin D supplementation to increase the absorption of calcium in the intestines
Home Care:
Administer all medications as prescribed by your veterinarian.
Unless told otherwise, do not allow newborns to nurse after an episode of eclampsia.
Follow your veterinarian's recommendations regarding feeding the newborns.
Return to your veterinarian to have calcium levels monitored as prescribed.
Preventative Care

The best way to prevent eclampsia is to avoid calcium supplementation during pregnancy and to feed the pregnant ***** a well-balanced, good quality food. Supplementation of the ***** with calcium may be helpful once the puppies are delivered and are beginning to nurse. Supplemental feeding of the puppies may also be beneficial, especially for large litters.

Hope this clears things up for you. I never experienced this with any of my females, so I had to go and look it up.

Answer 2

Phone your Vet if he didn't make it clear whether it was Ok to let her nurse. I don't know what treatment the Mum has been given so would not like to say go ahead and do it. Normally it's better to hand feed the pups though some Vets advise newborns are returned to the mother. I've not experienced it in dogs but have in a Siamese, the kittens were 3 & 1/2 weeks old and we went for the early weaning approach.
The Vet will tell you what is best

Answer 3

I have had chihuahuas with this when they had very large litters. It is always best to take the vet's advice. You don't say how old the pups are now? If they are close to 3 weeks, you can start to give them a thin mush made of puppy formula and baby rice cereal. You can feed the pups on a bottle. It is very important at least for a few days to let mama build her calcium reserves back up. I have bottle fed pups for a couple of days and then placed the pups back with mom. You need to give her calcium enriched foods such as cheese, cottage cheese, plain yogust, etc. I have been lucky enough to have another nursing mom and place some of the pups on her, but that is probably not the case with you. Email me thru my profile page if you have more questions.

Answer 4

You really need to pick up the phone and ask the diagnosing vet this question. You can read forever on the internet, but you won't find information that is specific to your dog and her situation.

Obviously vets don't have 6 hours to spare talking to each client, but they can answer each of your questions as they crop up. Also, I would not take ANY advice people over the internet, particularly regarding something like this - if someone tells you to return the pups right away, are you really going to do that based on a stranger's advice?

Chalice

Answer 5

The more youthful the kitten, the easier the danger for a new residence. Given that you appear to have unrealistic expectations, and in addition do not seem to have an understanding of how you can coach a kitten to now not chew, and so forth. Supply her a brand new chance with a brand new residence. I will be able to find nothing within the Cat guide that states a kitten is meant to be affectionate to throughout them. So your inspiration that easily getting a male kitten will bring about the alternate you wish to have may be unrealistic. What appears to have failed is how you probably did the introduction of the new cat. If you want obedience, respect and concentration, that comes within the form of a dog.

Answer 6

After reading a few websites with information regarding eclampsia, it seems like most say to wean the pups as soon as possible while supplementing with formula. I'd call your Vet. first and ask, after all that is what you are paying them for, but IMO don't let the pups nurse any more.

Now that you know the dog has that problem, please spay her as soon as possible.

Answer 7

You need to keep asking the vet these questions, even though you seem to feel like you're bothering them. Get her spayed as soon as she weans the puppies, and don't sell them or adopt them out unless they're already fixed, or you have a written promise from the buyer/adoptor that will fix the puppy.

Answer 8

that really is a question for your vet to answer. they know your dogs history and what was given to help stabalize her and how the puppies and mom will be affected. while vets do not have time to explain every disease in great detail, they should explain it to you so you understand, plus answer any questions you might have.

Answer 9

Your vet is treating your dog, he knows her.. You should call him and ask. I have never had a dog with Eclampsia.

Answer 10

I would call the vet and ask, to be safe.