Quote:
Originally Posted by deagledan  yeah, someone i spoke to regarding puppies told me that if he's not eating 4 meals a day, i should substitute one of the meals with nutri-cal. i thought she knew what she was talking about.
oh well.  |
Wow, finally a thread that explains Nutri-cal, this is one of the most overused products there is. It's mainly corn syrup (a type of sugar) with a miniscule amount of vitamins to make it sound nutritious. He should be getting vitamins from food. I'm not saying Nutri-cal is worthless, it as well as Karo syrup are very useful if your dog is experiencing hypoglycemia, signs of which are shaking, dizziness, and loss of appetite. Because of this, some people recommend giving Nutri-cal, if a dog isn't hungry, the dog may or may not be experiencing hypoglycemia when not hungry, but giving a tiny amount can stimulate the appetite so the dog will eat, if lack of appetite was caused by hypoglycemia. However, if too much is given the dog is full, and won't eat anything else. Kind of like giving a kid a candy bar before dinner.
Sugar also makes the pancreas produce more insulin, if too much is produced this can cause hypoglycemia! So in essence, the Nutri-cal can cause an attack of hypoglycemia. So sometimes it becomes a routine for some people, and the dog is constantly have attacks of hypoglycemia brought on by the Nutri-Cal itself! That's why protein should always be given within 20 minutes after Nutri-cal. Many breeders recommend free feeding puppies for this reason. They are much less likely to ever experience an attack of hypoglycemia because they eat a little all the time.
Toy Breed Hypoglycemia