Low Sugar And How To Deal With It

[Bimmer]

My little boy Bimmer had a hypoglycemic episode about four days ago and we gave him Nutrical immediately and he's been fine. My wife called just now to tell me he's more lethargic than normal, so she gave him a little bit more just now. I've called the vet and we will have him in on Friday for his second round of shots and a checkup.

My question is this. Bimmer has been eating normally since his last episode, so why did his sugar get low again? I'm guessing it was because I bathed him last night and shaved his butt which probably traumatized him more than I (and that's saying something!), but I can't be sure.

I've searched your wonderful forum and found all kinds of suggestions from feeding him nutrical to corn syrup to pedialite to sugar water when he has these episodes. Which is the best practice?

Also, should this be a part of his regular diet so that his sugar doesn't get low? Like I said, he eats normally, but apparently he hasn't been getting enough sugar from his food (which is Science Hill canned food softened with water and a dab of cottage cheese).

For information purposes, he's 8/9 weeks old and might weigh a pound, if that (he's a "teacup" bred from normal sized parents). We've had him since Christmas and he's been perfectly normal up until these last few days with the "episodes".

Help a dad out!

[SoCalyorkiLvr]

Are you free feeding him...leaving food out so he can eat when ever he is hungry?

These tinies cannot go more than a couple of hours without eating. I would give the nutrical as a regular thing a couple of times a day since he seems susceptible to hypoglycemia. 8-9 weeks is way too young imo for the breeder to let this baby go and you have had him since xmas so you really got him when he was like 5 or 6 weeks???? Was there a problem with the mother or do you know why the breeder did this? Just curious.

I was told not to bathe my babies until they were 12 weeks....they get chilled very easily and this can also make them sick or stressed. You can use puppy wipes and bathe them without getting them completely wet until then though.

Good luck at the vet and with this is little baby. Hopefully he will not have any more episodes. I know how scary they can be.

[Patti]

I got Cali at 9 weeks old and she was 1 lb and had 2 hypoglycemic episodes within the first week from not eating often enough. Like Bimmer, Cali was from 5 lb parents and just the smallest one of the litter. I have had 3 other yorkies and a pom and still didn't realize the difference a pound ot two makes. I fed Cali every 3 hours after that until she was 4 -5 months old and she didn't have anymore episodes. The other morning she slept a little later so her meal was delayed and she woke up dry heaving and seemed a bit wobbly so I gave her syrup as a precaution and she was fine. I did go out and buy nutrical but she doesn't like it. She still gets 3 meals a day and a couple of treats. She weighs 3.12 lbs at almost 7 months and is still too tiny. I would make sure he is eating every couple of hours and feed him the nutrical daily. This site will be so helpful to you. I found it after I already had Cali and have learned so much. Welcome

[red98vett]

I think you can give him a tiny bit of Nutrical every few hours till he gets a little bigger & stronger - check with your vet to see how much and how often and you may be able to prevent this from happening.....

Good luck and I hope he's going to be ok - that must be really scary ....

[schatzie]

I'm sorry your Bimmer is having some hypoglycemic episodes.

There is a product out now called Nutri-Drops, it's sorta the new "Nutrical". It's rapid release and gets into their blood stream almost immediately.

In my opinion anytime your fur baby has an episode give whatever you normally have been to regulate his sugar and then use this time to contact your vet for follow up.

Keeping your baby warm, fed often, lots of rest, no stress, etc should help. He is so very young right now and needs some special care.

[Lorraine]

Your little guy was sold to you far too small and way too young. I never let anything go to a new home less than 12 weeks of age and if small, they must be 2 1/2 lbs before they leave me. I have produced 2 tinies from normal sized parents. I didn't sell them I gave them to friends that I knew would be good homes. I won't sell a pup this tiny, they are just way to risky.
Now that you have him, Nutrical is your choice to have around and I would give it to him throughout the day. Also feed a little extra protein, boiled chicken breast is the best. Don't give much, you don't want to upset his stomach. Diahrrea/vomiting is that last thing you want as with his small size, he will dehydrate quickly.
You may have to struggle with him for some months at least until 4 or 5 months of age. You may consider finding a good Vet that knows their stuff and have a Bile Acid test done for liver shunt but not until he is over 6 months as there is a 12 hour fast involved. That's too long for a wee pup and the test is more sure when they are older.

[Bimmer]

Well, I came home and he had ANOTHER episode. This time I was right on top of it and gave him Nutrical immediately and called our local vet ER and told them I was on my way in. An hour and a half later, I'm just now getting back. They ran a blood test on him and his sugar level was normal by then. They also gave him some anti-diarreah(sp?) medicine. They wanted to admit him for a few hours and $700; basically run all sorts of tests (shunts, parvo, etc.) and send all manner of fluids (dextrose, potassium-something, etc.) through him but figured he just had a hypoglycemic incident.

The vet says not to put cottage cheese in his food any longer. They also say he should have food out all the time (I've only been feeding him three times a day: morning, noon, and dinner time). I tried to feed him when he got home, but he still won't eat or drink much at all. I don't know what to do now but hope he gets hungry real soon...

I'll keep giving him nutrical every couple of hours through the night and we'll see how he is in the morning. Wish us luck!

EDIT: Forgot to mention how he was doing, silly me! He's laying in momma's lap resting and slowly getting back to his normal self. I hope it lasts awhile longer this time...

[chachi]

I dont have any advice for you I just wanted to say I hope things get a little easier for you. I cant imagine what it must be like to have a yorkie so small and fragile. Hopefully the vet can give you some more insight.

[Bimmer]

Thanks for the kind words. I just gave him another little bit of nutrical (it's been two hours since the last one). I really need to get a picture of him up somewhere because he looks remarkably similar to your little one.

Thanks again, we need all the help we can get!

[Bimmer]

Update!

Another hour went by and he still hadn't eaten. I got nervous when I felt how empty his normally round belly was, so I went to the store and got some chicken breast. I boiled it till it was well cooked and pretty tender and diced it up into manageable pieces for him to eat. I figured he'd say "no thanks" again, but to my amazement he sprung back to life and went nuts for it!

I let him eat two spoonfuls till his belly fattened back up to normal so I could put him away for the night. I was literally pulling him away from the chicken because I didn't want to upset his stomach, but he was eating like a madman. I then gave him a little bit of nutrical just to be safe and he's now asleep in his cage with a full belly and, hopefully, a higher sugar level. I also now have softened food and water in his cage as well. Should I put chicken in there as well, or stick with the regular food and save the chicken for emergencies?

Someone please tell me if I'm doing the right thing here? I am SOOOOOOOOO relieved to see his belly fatten up again that I feel much better than the last time I posted, but I'm not out of the woods yet.

[red98vett]

When my girls were very young I did feed them boiled chicken and white rice too - The other thing is keep the Nutrical going

you got some really good advise on the new form of it - I didn't even know they had drops now .....You're doing really well and it's a full time job when you have one that tiny - Keep up the good work !

You can still ask your vet how often to do the Nutracal - you don't want to overdo or underdo it.....

[KELLYLYNN]

i took the advice from my breader where i got my two little yokies, every morning i give they fresh water and put some sugar in it, and before i leave for work i give them some sugar treats - i buy them honey nut cheerios, or any kind of sugar cereal i think that they might like, i always have some sugar snacks for them every day to control there sugar,,,,, but always put some table sugar in fresh water

[Bimmer]

Update!

We are doing MUCH better today!

I've been trying to feed him about every two hours and alternating with the chicken and regular dog food. He's eating much more now, but still not a normal amount. That could be due to feeding him more often though. He also is still sleeping a little more than usual, but I think that's fine considering what he's been though. All in all, we're making progress. I'm working from the house today and my wife is off tommorrow so we can nurse him back to health. Not taking any chances!

Thanks again everyone and I'll keep you posted.

[SoCalyorkiLvr]

Glad heis doing better! Yay! You are doing it right! hang in there.

[mmyorkies]

Originally Posted by Bimmer

For information purposes, he's 8/9 weeks old and might weigh a pound, if that (he's a "teacup" bred from normal sized parents). We've had him since Christmas and he's been perfectly normal up until these last few days with the "episodes".

Help a dad out!

while they are small puppies you should give them a dab of nutrical twice a day, once in the am with his food, and once in the pm with food. This should help to prevent this problem. when they are puppies sometimes they play so hard and don't get enough rest for their little bodies to refuel right. they usually out grow the hypoglycemic problems as they get older.