Had to take Bailey to emergency vet today.
 

I woke up and went down stairs to let the dogs out and Bailey just continued to lay on the bed so I left her there with John. I fed the dogs and made Bailey's breakfast and took it upstairs so she could eat without the other dogs trying to steal her food. I couldnt find her and when I called her she came crawling towards me and couldn't hardly walk. I picked her up and her whole body was convulsing. I called the vet because I knew it had to be eclampsia and she was going to need a calcium drip fast. I was scared to death. She has been so picky and wont eat hardly anything sinced she had her babies and the 5 of them are just sucking it out of her. She wont eat yorgurt, cottage cheese, goats milk or anything else that has calcium in it and spits the Tums out of the braunswieger. I have been feeding her Esbilac with the food that I can get her to eat but her body just said no more. I think the vet said the calicum level should be an 8 or so and hers was barely 4. He put her on a drip and shortly after she ripped the catheter out. Guess she wasnt having any of that. She seems ok now but I will have to start feeding the pups myself for a couple days and then we will see if she can continue to feed them or not. I am having a heck of a time trying to get them to nurse off of a baby bottle or syringe. I dont want to tube them unless I have to. Let me know if you have any suggestions. I cant find a premie nipple anywhere.

I found them at Target and they were 3 platics bottles in a packet. I hope she's better soon!!!!!!!

I looked at Target and Walmart today for them and they didnt have then. What brand were they?

I'm sorry she's not feeling well, and hope she's back to her old self in no time at all.

Barb I'm sorry you had such a scare. I had the same thing with Roxie this last litter. I broke the tums up in little peices and forced them down her throat. You gotta do what you gotta do. Try some of the liquid calcium antacids and they will always take cheddar cheese. Hopefully she'll be able to nurse those angels again before you know it. Make sure you keep her on puppyfood, soak it in milk if need be, and make it available to her around the clock. The one night that I didn't leave food for Roxie was the morn she got up with Eclampsia. These large litters sure take their toll. Good luck, pm me if you need to talk.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...ype=osi_widget

I know you need them now but here they are on e-bay.

Have you tried ice cream. One of the articles on breeding said to give them vanilla ice cream. Ollie loved it. and as one of the other posters said, break up the tums if you have to.

Good luck.

It was very scary. You are always afraid this will happen and I thought she was going to die before I could get to the vet. I am glad she picked today to do it instead of tomorrow while I was at work even though is cost more today. I dont know what would have happened it I wasnt there and I dont know how long she was convulsing before I noticed it.
I usually feed her before I go to bed and give her lots of Esbilac but she was doing so good that I didnt do it last night and this was the price she had to pay for my laziness. The vet had me get some calcium and I got one of those pill crushers and crushed it and put it in her Esbilac and syringed it in her. She is making me crazy with being to dang picky. She hasnt touched her dog food for two weeks now. I bought all 3 flavors of the Natural Balance in the roll and all of the different kinds of soft dog food Natural Balance has and she wont eat any of eat. I even tried chicken and steak. I syringed some Pet AD down her a while ago and she didnt like that one bit either.

I tried that and she wont touch it but all of the other dogs are in heaven now because they get to eat all of the stuff that she wont touch.:p

Thanks for the link. At least I can see what they look like and the brand and will look for them tommorrow and will order these if I cant find any.

Just an idea....
 

I know its a horrible food BUT whenever ANY of my babies won't eat, I give them ceasers puppy canned food and they eat it like there is no tomorrow. Maybe try it - just so she's eating something???

I always keep a container on hand....just in case.......and it always has worked. (knocking on wood.....)

YES!!! These are the ones I have and are what I raised Tia on !!! They are the gerber! Sorry - I missed you asking me.

I keep Cesars food on hand too because they just love it. Perhaps because they know its awful food really and we only use it when we need to so of course it becomes their favorite.

I would ask your vet for some injectible calcium and administer it to her myself. If shes being that picky about what she eats and its so hard to get her to eat anything with calcium why not do injections, it's not difficult to do. Your probably getting just as exhausted as she is and injections would make things abit easier on you and her.

Good luck!!!

I am not sure he would go for that. He said he has to monitor her heart rate and give the calcium in a slow drip. I am hoping the calcium tabs will work for now.

OH NO! Barb! I am so sorry you are having to go through this!I'm sending get better wishes your way. Poor Momma if you need anything let me know. If you want i can look to see if i can get the nipples you need ansd overnight them to you. just let me know.

tums
 

For future reference, crush the Tums or CAL pills into powder and add to a bit of meat..I add it to a small hamburger ball..of even peanut butter and put it in the roof of their mouth...will she eat vanilla ice cream.I let it melt. I had one girl who got a vanilla milkshake from Micky D's each day...put a pound on her fast...
Good Luck

My little girl Roxy got eclampsia when her pups were 13 days old, they gave her icalcium injections and told me NOT to let her nurse anymore. That was really hard, she became sooo engorged quickly and whined to let the pups nurse. I had a hard time getting Diesel to feed off of a bottle so I let him only nurse on her for 2 min a time twice a day. It helped him and helped relieve Roxy and let her slowly dry up instead of all at once. I fed them either by syringe or bottle every 2-3 hrs. It was very tiring but worth it in the end. I bought every nipple out there possible and finally ended up with the Gerber newborn nipple that was their favorite. I used Just Born formula in the powder form so it was easy for in the middle of the night feedings. I hope this helps a bit. Good luck with everything!!

why not dissolve the tums in hot water and give it to her in a syringe
it works or the whelping pudding in a bigger syringe

how is she doing today? that is pretty scary. i hope all is well

Update on Bailey
 

She kept me up half the night wanting to get in the playpen and nurse her puppies. I let her in for about 15 minutes to satisfy her and would take her back out. She still doesnt want to eat anything so I might go and get some Cesears today and give that a try. I am running out of ideas. She ate some cheese this morning and I crushed up her calcium tablet and put it in the Esbilac to syringe her with but she would only take about 10 mls of it. The vet told me to try and let her rest from feeding the pups for a couple days but to go ahead and let her feed a little so she doesnt get mastitis. I let her feed them for 15 minutes and then take them off. They are so fat now I dont think it will hurt them a bit:) In 2 1/2 weeks my 2 oz guy now weighes 9 5/8 oz and the rest are between 12 and 13 7/8. They are little piggies. I stayed home from work today to be able to feed them all day and give her a break. Maybe I will find time to take pics since I havent done it since they were a day old.

I'm so sorry you are having to go through this... My prayers are with you and your baby. I hope it all works out. I'll be checking back periodically to see if you find something that works.

This site is tops for learning things and I love all the way everyone jumps in with great suggestions.

I am so sorry that Bailey is having such a tough time, but I am impressed by how wonderfully caring you are. :) I am also glad that the pups are doing so well. Looking forward to any photos you have time to take. It seems like you have your hands full.

I dont know if this helps but you can give her goats milk and a little dish of chicken with cheese sprinkled on it. Thats what I did as Roxy wouldnt eat anything but that. I feel for you and your girl. 15 monutes at a time to nurse might really be too long for her.. She can easily have a relapse.

Believe it or not but I tried goats milk, chicken and cheese and once in a while she will eat a bite of cheese. She ate a whole piece this morning. She wont touch the goats milk or the chicken. The only thing she would eat today is a hot dog and a piece of cheese. I know the hotdog isnt good but that is all she will touch. I am afraid she will have a relapse if she continues like this. She comes up like she is really hungry and takes a sniff, turns around and walks off. Dang she is stubborn.

When my Bailey gets like this, the only thing I can get him to eat is the Gerber Chicken Sticks. He'll eat those even if he won't eat chicken. Have you tried Rebound? Its a liquid supplement for dogs recovering from surgery or just dogs who won't eat and need nutrition. This is the other thing that works as a last resort for my Bailey. He really loves it and it worked wonders for Lily. I get it at the vet's office.

I hope you find something that works.

What about that AI canned food from the vet? If you shake it it will become sort a runny, you can suck it up into a syringe and feed it if you have to. I got canned salmon for my new frenchie mom and mixed it in . ( she wasn't eating) she loved it!

No I have never tried those but I will get the chicken sticks tomorrow. I will have to ask the vet if he carries the Rebound. Thanks for the tips.

Never heard of AI. Who makes it? Is it the same as Prescription AD?

I posted updated pictures of the fat little guys in the nursery section.

Yes, it's AD not AI :p sorry brain fart

No one told me anything about Calcium....
 

Barb -

Sorry to hear Bailey is having such a hard time. Twinkles finally had her pups yesterday.... and isn't the least bit interested in eating, and no one (her vet) said anything about eclampsia, calcium, tums or anything, except that she is to eat puppy food. I have been standing on my head trying to get her to eat.

This is my first litter (I am a "virgin"). I thought eclampsia only happened during pregancy - not after. Now I am worried because she won't eat. I don't mean to take away from Bailey's problem, but when I read this, it freaked me out and I realize how little I know..... again! She will eat vanilla ice cream and I will go in and give her some when I finish this post.

I am already having feeding problems with one of the pups..... Where can I find more information about the signs of eclampsia?

Thanks.

I hope Bailey is back to good healt ASAP!

Lynn, Twinkles, Olllie and the 3 new little ladies