YorkieTalk.com Forums - Yorkshire Terrier Community - View Single Post - Baxter's ER visit! Need any Input or Advice please!

shade1721 · 09-26-2008, 11:01 AM

I guess I will just start at the beginning. I suppose too much information is better than too little. Baxter is 1 year and 4 months old and weighs 8.6 pounds. The ONLY time we have ever had a health issue with his is when he ate one of my husband's disposable razors about 4 months ago. He did not have to have surgery, he was able to pass it all out after the vet filled him with bread, and monitored him for 4 days. That is the only time he has ever been out of sorts. Last weekend we went out of town and boarded Baxter with our vet. He was due for his annual shots so they gave them to him on Monday just before we picked him up and took him home. Tuesday and Wednesday everything was fine. Yesterday all day he was fine. I noticed around 8pm. he had not eaten any of his wet food (he has dry food out all day, but doesn't eat much of it. he gets fed wet food every day around 6ish and then eats about another 1/2 cup of dry food around 9ish before bed. he has always just eaten this way) I figured he must not be hungry. We had company over earlier and he was excited about that and had played a lot. I figured he would eat his dry food as normal later in the evening. My husband took him outside. He ran around like normal, went potty, and dashed back up the steps and leapt onto our bed. He was laying there when I came back to the bedroom a few minutes later. I started talking to Baxter and immediately knew something was wrong. He was very shaky, and when he lifted his head to look at me, his head was SUPER wobbly, I put a treat in front of him and he didn't touch it. I knew then, that something was really wrong. I had read about yorkies having problems with blood sugar but thought it was just mainly an issue when they were puppies. However I did get some honey and Karo syrup and rub it on his gums and under his tongue just before we all piled in the car and rushed to the emergency vet. We get to the emergency vet, their first thought was a seizure since he was older. But they tested his blood sugar and it came back at 45. They said the LOW END of normal for dogs was 80, so he was definitely having a blood sugar, hypo episode. They gave him dextrose, gave us nutrical and let us give him some of that throughout our time there, xrayed him just to make sure he didn't have any obstructions (the doc clearly remembered the razor incident) and then tested his blood for other things. Everything came back normal except his red blood cells indicated that he was dehydrated. I also pointed out that the insides of his ears were bright pink and I had never seen them like that, plus he felt really hot. They checked his temp, it was normal, gave him a cortizone shot just in case, and injected some fluids for his body to absorb over the next few hours. They checked his glucose again and before we left to go home his sugar level had raised to 81 and he was acting more normal. The doctor told me to give him nutri-cal and karo every few hours for the next 24 hours and to try and get him to eat. He did eat a bunch of chicken/rice balls and liver treats as soon as we got home. Then he just passed out from exhaustion. I have been religiously giving him the Karo and Nutrical as told. The doc said to continue this for a couple days until he is eating normally and then he won't have a blood sugar crash. I just feel like it is too much sugar. I don't know why, it is just worrying me. He is doing better right now, still a little tired, but running to the door and the backyard to pee. I have gotten him to eat treats, but can't get him to drink much or really eat his regular food. But then again, he doesn't normally eat much of that during the day anyway.
So now I am just freaking out. I don't know why this happened and what is going to prevent it from happening again someday. Am I doing something wrong? Can I get him to eat better during the day? How? All these fears and questions are just flying through my head. Any advice, suggestions, similar stories, etc. that you have to share would be so very much appreciated. Thank you for your time and response,

Take care,
Baxter Boogie's Mom

09-26-2008, 11:01 AM	#1
shade1721 Yorkie Talker Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Mobile, AL Posts: 15	Baxter's ER visit! Need any Input or Advice please! I guess I will just start at the beginning. I suppose too much information is better than too little. Baxter is 1 year and 4 months old and weighs 8.6 pounds. The ONLY time we have ever had a health issue with his is when he ate one of my husband's disposable razors about 4 months ago. He did not have to have surgery, he was able to pass it all out after the vet filled him with bread, and monitored him for 4 days. That is the only time he has ever been out of sorts. Last weekend we went out of town and boarded Baxter with our vet. He was due for his annual shots so they gave them to him on Monday just before we picked him up and took him home. Tuesday and Wednesday everything was fine. Yesterday all day he was fine. I noticed around 8pm. he had not eaten any of his wet food (he has dry food out all day, but doesn't eat much of it. he gets fed wet food every day around 6ish and then eats about another 1/2 cup of dry food around 9ish before bed. he has always just eaten this way) I figured he must not be hungry. We had company over earlier and he was excited about that and had played a lot. I figured he would eat his dry food as normal later in the evening. My husband took him outside. He ran around like normal, went potty, and dashed back up the steps and leapt onto our bed. He was laying there when I came back to the bedroom a few minutes later. I started talking to Baxter and immediately knew something was wrong. He was very shaky, and when he lifted his head to look at me, his head was SUPER wobbly, I put a treat in front of him and he didn't touch it. I knew then, that something was really wrong. I had read about yorkies having problems with blood sugar but thought it was just mainly an issue when they were puppies. However I did get some honey and Karo syrup and rub it on his gums and under his tongue just before we all piled in the car and rushed to the emergency vet. We get to the emergency vet, their first thought was a seizure since he was older. But they tested his blood sugar and it came back at 45. They said the LOW END of normal for dogs was 80, so he was definitely having a blood sugar, hypo episode. They gave him dextrose, gave us nutrical and let us give him some of that throughout our time there, xrayed him just to make sure he didn't have any obstructions (the doc clearly remembered the razor incident) and then tested his blood for other things. Everything came back normal except his red blood cells indicated that he was dehydrated. I also pointed out that the insides of his ears were bright pink and I had never seen them like that, plus he felt really hot. They checked his temp, it was normal, gave him a cortizone shot just in case, and injected some fluids for his body to absorb over the next few hours. They checked his glucose again and before we left to go home his sugar level had raised to 81 and he was acting more normal. The doctor told me to give him nutri-cal and karo every few hours for the next 24 hours and to try and get him to eat. He did eat a bunch of chicken/rice balls and liver treats as soon as we got home. Then he just passed out from exhaustion. I have been religiously giving him the Karo and Nutrical as told. The doc said to continue this for a couple days until he is eating normally and then he won't have a blood sugar crash. I just feel like it is too much sugar. I don't know why, it is just worrying me. He is doing better right now, still a little tired, but running to the door and the backyard to pee. I have gotten him to eat treats, but can't get him to drink much or really eat his regular food. But then again, he doesn't normally eat much of that during the day anyway. So now I am just freaking out. I don't know why this happened and what is going to prevent it from happening again someday. Am I doing something wrong? Can I get him to eat better during the day? How? All these fears and questions are just flying through my head. Any advice, suggestions, similar stories, etc. that you have to share would be so very much appreciated. Thank you for your time and response, Take care, Baxter Boogie's Mom __________________ Baxter's Mom http://www.dogster.com/dogs/708125 Last edited by shade1721; 09-26-2008 at 11:03 AM.