well, she's sitting in my lap right now giving me kisses. I called my boss at 6:50 and told her what happened. She said not to worry and stay home with my Gracie. God bless Mrs. Reyna!

Gracie has been whining wanting to get back to her puppies. She doesn't understand why she can't be in there with them.

On the way to the vet's office this morning, I started crying. Then Gracie was crying/whining. She started biting my fingers and that made me cry even more because I knew that she had to be in pain. Oh my, my poor baby...I could have lost her. :cry8:

OMG Kimberley! I feel so bad for you and poor Gracie! I find myself watching Trixie for signs of that CONSTANTLY. But like you, I probably wouldn't have thought twice about it if she just hobbled slightly...I would have just thought she was stiff from just waking up. Thank God it was during the week and someone was up that early! :eek: I am so glad she is dong better...that is SO odd to have happened with her being on all the right supplements :confused: Please let us know if you find out anything else and to why she got this. Kisses to Gracie from me and Trixie...she will need lots of lovin this weekend (like she doesn't get it ALREADY ;) )

Gracie had a special angel that day....YOU.

I am relieved to hear that she is doing ok and back to give you kisses and lovin!

Gracie is a special girl and she's lucky to have a Mommy just like you!

So sorry to what has happen to her. But glad that she is ok for now.
I will pray for her and hope that she will be fine.
(((((((((BIG HUGS)))))))) to her

Do you know why this happen.
Is this something that could happen to my peyton??
As you do know that she is going to have babies any day now.
What should I do NEW after she has the puppies?
What is the different kind of food that I should feed her after the babies come??

OMG!!!!!!!!!! Thank God everything turned out!!! How scary for you. Give her lots of kisses from us!!! Again, thank God she is fine!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh my, I am so sorry to hear about that episode with Gracie. I know you must have been terrified :( You're a wonderful yorkie mommy though, and you knew what to do and acted quick. It's great that your hubby was up so early!
I'm so glad that she's going to be okay! That was quite a scare...

I'm so sorry to hear about Cricket...I know that must be so difficult for you, even 5 yrs later...May she rest in peace

OMG Kim!! I bet your heart is still pounding!!

Since I'll never breed, I won't have to worry about a new mommy, but should the 'average bear' be worried about calcium intake? The only supplement (other than Derma Care) I use is Yogurt Drops, and I just checked - no calcium...

Give Gracie hugs and kisses for me. That poor sweet baby!

And a big cyber hug to you!!

OMG Kim, I was so scared when I started reading that... :( I couldn't imagine what had happened until you got to the point. You must feel completely drained right now after having a scare like that. Thank goodness your husband found her when he did and what a blessing you had the ol' doc to help you out. Thank God for him! Let us know how little Gracie is doing. I still have kind of a hollow feeling in the pit of my tummy after reading this. Gosh! How close that was. :(

How horrible and scary!

This was like Deja vu and reliving the stories Michelle told when Bitsy went through this. There were many other breeders who posted their stories about their experiences with eclampsia...some of whom were not so lucky. It is very serious and every breeder needs to watch for it closely and be prepared.

I agree with YorkieRose that calcium should be given as a matter of course after whelping.

I will also never breed, but for cbrownfish and rrosenberry who asked about the need for calcium for new mommies, please use this experience to educate yourselves and take the necessary steps NOW to be prepared in case it happens to you because it is all too common. None of us want to have another mommy yorkie suffer unnecessarily.

Kimberley, I am so sorry this happened to your Gracie and I hope she is fine from here on out.

Well, from what I understand, a bitch can get it at any time. Like I said, last time, she had a wonderful whelping, wonderful milk, everything was perfect. This time, she had the runny tar poop and now eclampsia. Lord, she gave me such a scare!

She's doing just fine. Fed the babies again and went to the grocery store to get goat's milk for mama. She seems to like it. She is staying right by my side.

It's so pitiful, she stands by the x-pen, looks at her babies and cries. It breaks my heart everytime.

I've been instructed that I can let her go back in with them but at time intervals. She can no longer nest with them as she did in the past. Puppies this young have a tendency to free feed and that's probably why she got so drained.

Also, once they have it, they have a tendency to get it again but nothing is written in stone about that. Also, it is NOT hereditary from what I understand. Anyway, I'll keep everyone posted. Thank you for your kind words. We're gonna make it! :)

For breeders who want to learn more I found this link:http://www.thepetcenter.com/gen/ec.html

It is basic but it explains it well and gives suggestions for diet and what to fee to prevent it .

I fouhd this too:Prevention of eclampsia

Inappropriate calcium supplementation can predispose a bitch or queen to develop eclampsia.
Once a female has had milk fever during a lactation period, there is an excellent chance that it will repeat with future litters if preventative steps are not taken. Supplementation of dietary calcium does not seem to play a large role in preventing eclampsia. In fact, over-supplementation during pregnancy may actually cause it. All calcium supplements must be in the proper ratio with phosphorus. This ratio should be about 1:1 (i.e., 1 part calcium to 1 part phosphorus). In addition, it has been suggested that dog foods high in soybeans will be high in the plant product phytate. Phytates combine with calcium and can render the calcium unavailable to the bitch’s body and therefore make her more susceptible to eclampsia. To remedy the problem, feed diets low in soybean.

In conclusion, it is of great importance for breeders to be able to recognize the signs of eclampsia. If you feel your female is showing these signs, remove the kittens or pups to prevent further nursing and seek veterinary assistance at once.

I hope it helps.

What a scary way to start the day....Ugh! That had to be a
horrible experience and I am glad that it turned out O.K.
Our thoughts will be with you and Gracie today...

Kimberley - I'm so sorry to hear about what happened. Luckily, you acted fast and your vet is a very qualified man. I can't imagine what must have been going through your head :(