Warning to breeders
 

my 62 days pregnant girl is in the hospital with Eclampsia. She got sick this morning around four oclock. I have never had it but knew immediately what it was due to research. Way to early for my vet and I couldn't reach his emergency pager. I gave her a Tums and it helped her for awhile then she started up again. All four legs straight out and stiff, muscle twitching, glassy eyed. I posted on a reproduction forum and Ruth of MsChif yorkies called me and told me to give her six more crushed up tums. I had just thrown my Cal Sorb away. I did and about fifteen till seven my vet finally returned my call. We rushed her in and he took one look at her and confirmed ecamlpsia. She couldn't even stand or hold her head up. She had one small seizure right before I got her to the vet. We as breeders need to revisit the theory of not giving your bitches calcuim before they whelp. I used to give them a meal extra in the morning with whelping pudding or cottage cheese in it. I recently stopped doing it because the general feeling on here and a few other places was not to give it pre whelp. Big mistake. I almost lost my bitch and still might but he seemed to think he could bring her out of it. For those aspiring breeders, you need to think long and hard and not wait until you have to get on here asking and begging for help. When you breed your first dog, you should have research everything you can and know exactly what you are doing.

Oh no Dee! :eek: I hope your little one is OK and back on her feet soon. :( I hope this serves as a good reminder of things to be prepared for.

For the record, a tums alone will do no good to deliver calcium on it's own not fortified with a carrier vitamin, most commonly Vit D. :( A common misconception.

Revival Animal Health - Oral Cal Plus #160-210
new product from revival, same as calsorb with out the nasty taste, does not make them vomit.


Okay to hold it at bay, so it never comes at all… forget everything about giving tums, cottage cheese, cheese, icecream.. etc. It’s useless. The body needs the calcium to be delivered with the correct ratio of Vit D and Phosphorus or it doesn’t absorb it, it’s useless. Pet Cal has this correct ratio. Another thing that has it is, believe it or not.. a scrambled whole egg! Of course everyone knows not to start calcium until the litter is whelped.. no giving it to PG bitches… I do give some calsorb during whelping If things slow down on a larger litter, but never before whelping. Make it a general practice to scramble your bitch an egg every day, and depending on weight, give ½ to a whole pet tab per day. I gave it to a 8 lb bitch ½ in the morning ½ at night…this is the “daily dose” for about a 20 lb dog who was NOT nursing a litter…so just fine for ½ the size, but nursing a litter. I would grind up the pet tab in the food processor and put the powder in the egg when I scrambled it.

Also, check your dog food for Soybeans, soy protein, or anything related to soy in any way. For SOME reason that is not completely understood by me (many menopause supplements contain soy, or are soy based, so this seems to be a contradiction).. soy protein can interfere with the absorption of calcium in dogs. If your food has soy of any sort, change to a food that does not for the duration of the weaning of the litter.

I'm really sorry that this happened and when things go south with our girls it breaks our heart.

I know that most of us start rethinking how we do things when an emergency hits us. But, Dee I strongly recommend and I'm sure you and your vet will do this, study as to why your girl wasn't absorbing natural calcium during her gestation period. I know that my mentor had such a case and it was discovered that she had kidney stones. So, one case, I know panics us. Something must unusual must be going on with her body.

Giveing calcium supplement during gestion will inhibit the release of any calcium into the bloodstream when recieving it from an outside source. A Pet Tab is OK.

dee im soo sorry i hope everything will be ok

Dee I am so sorry to hear about Sadie. I will pray that she comes away from this safe and sound!

Oh, Dee, I am so sorry. I know nothing about breeding, just want you to know that I am praying for your little girl.

Keeping you and your girl in prayer Dee.

Sending along :hands: to your precious little girl.

Oh, no! I'll be praying for your sweet girl and her babies.

Dee I am so sorry to hear that.

Ok so you guys are getting me confused here... :confuse2:

So I usually give my bitch about 1/2 eggs mixed with cottage cheese every other day and feed her puppy food.

I use to give it to them all the way until they give birth .

But for the last 2 litters, I have put the bitch back too regular food and cut off all supplement about 5-10 days before they give birth. They go back on puppy food after giving birth.

I also give them a THUM when I see the first water bag pop out.

So if I understand right, I should focus on giving eggs and that, all the way to labor day?

Sorry I got a little confused.

The above was posted for after whelp. Pet Tabs prior and through. What happened to Dee's lil girl is unusual and I'm sure she and her vet will study everything as to why it happened. What I give my girls prior to whelp is Concept a Bitch.

What you should do is find a reproduction vet that is familiar with Toy Breeds and based on the vets recommendations do what's best for your girl. Remembering nothing is a guarantee or follows a usual pattern with every female. Things can happen out of the ordinary.

Thanks everyone. We are home from the vet. he gave me another calcuim shot to bring home and a bottle of PetCal tabs. She was scared at the vet and we thought she would be beter athome. Still cannot stand on her legs but other sympthoms are gone. He said the babies seemed fine and there should be no reason she can't free whelp. But this has sure got me to rethinking. I have alwways given a little calcuim in foood beofre whelp and had only recently stopped after reading research that said not to. Ruth from Ms. Chif Yorkies has been on the phone with me several times already and she saidd we ALL need to rethink this new research. As for me, I am going back to what works for me and yes, Mary we will be looking at a few things after we have the babies. Thanks everyone. Oh BTw, Bama, althou the tums is not the best in a situation like this, it saved my girls life until I could get to the vet.. Again, thanks everyone. I appreciate your prayers and concern.

Dee, I am so very sorry for the near tragedy you had with the ecamlpsia (hypocalcemia). Although it is fairly uncommon prior to whelping, my Chattie had a serious case 2 weeks before her whelp. Her symptoms were weakness, excessive panting, shaking, and inability to walk. I dashed her immediately to the vet who pulled blood, verified low calcuim and started an calcuim iv drip.

I asked about giving calcuim routinely and Dr. Amy cautioned me against the practice. She explained that if you give calcuim supplements prior to whelping it interferes with the natural process of calcuim production and leaching it from the bones to produce milk. It was recommended to supplement regular meals with calcuim rich foods.

Chattie was an exception - I wound up giving her Cal-Sorb for the last two weeks of pregnancy and throughout the entire lactating period.

I am so glad that you acted quickly and that all is well. Sending hugs to all!!!

Thanks, I understand it happen after whelp, Just want it to make sure I am doing the best for my females. Lucy is due for July 30th...

Since I also only recently stop giving sup/cal before whelp after ready some comments on here and doing some research myself.

I am going to call my vet. And see with her...