New baby with Hypoglycemia

[JaniceE]

Hi Ave,
So glad to hear your little girl picking up...we are in Dainfern Golf Estate Johannesburg.

[avemike]

Originally Posted by JaniceE

Hi Ave,
So glad to hear your little girl picking up...we are in Dainfern Golf Estate Johannesburg.

Hello Janice

Thanks for your mail. I think Dainfern is near Fourways? My sister lives in Sandton.

My little girl is doing much better but is still quite a fussy eater. I fed her chicken with her biscuits mixed in over the weekend and she ate so well but sorts out her biscuits and leaves them.
Then I took her to be weighed at the vet as I had to get more a/d diet she hadn't put on anything since fri when she was weighed?
She has gained 100gms since I got her and that happened in one week.

I haven't had anything like this with my previous two yorkies. HELP!!! Ax

[gracielove]

Originally Posted by avemike

Hello Janice

Thanks for your mail. I think Dainfern is near Fourways? My sister lives in Sandton.

My little girl is doing much better but is still quite a fussy eater. I fed her chicken with her biscuits mixed in over the weekend and she ate so well but sorts out her biscuits and leaves them.
Then I took her to be weighed at the vet as I had to get more a/d diet she hadn't put on anything since fri when she was weighed?
She has gained 100gms since I got her and that happened in one week.

I haven't had anything like this with my previous two yorkies. HELP!!! Ax

Do they check for liver shunt over there?

[avemike]

Originally Posted by gracielove

Do they check for liver shunt over there?

Hi.. yes they do. It was one of the first things my vet said that he was considering. Later he said he didnt want to jump to conclusions as she is so young.. But he is watching her.
Hollee is almost 12wks now. She seems to have stabilized as far as sugar drops go & has good eating days and bad. This afternoon she came looking for food every two hrs. And ate so well every time even dry kibble. But then this evening she went on such a' high' shooting all over the place and you can't stop her or get her to calm down. She literally wants to jump out of my arms wriggling and growling until she is put down and then off she goes at top speed. After a while she crashes and is now fast asleep besides me. When she is like this I have previously seen the sugar low. So I hope she is going to be ok tonight. Ax

[avemike]

Originally Posted by smartpuppiepets

I just saw that you are in South Africa, Beautiful country ! I was just there for 2 weeks this past July
Anyway, I understand all you mean, from an owner point of view.
Being a 3rd generation of breeders I can tell you that just the home change is enough change to make a tiny yorkie stressed. Somehow, the continued medication for the full 9 days stabilizes the fecal form. I would avoid giving the sugar, it is only gonna make your problems worse as you mentioned yourself, she may become a diabetic.
I have raised so many tynies ! I have it on my blood lines.
You do what you think it is better of course. But you need to get this puppy stable as fast as you can. Rest, excellent food ( source of stable energy ).
And i would re-peat the meds.
understand different cultures and how they work. Not every single puppy stresses out, but because some do, i hold mine with a deposit until they are ready to go home at 12 weeks or soo... easy transition.
Well, wish you all the best and hopefully we will hear good news soon !
XOXO

Hi Would you know anything about what appears to be an adrenaline rush? Hollee almost 12 wks now, seems to have settled down no more sugar drops, one to two stools a day which are normal. She loves our older dachie and jumps and plays with her all day long. She has good eating days and not so good. Today she ate well, came looking for food every two hours this afternoon. And then tonight had such a high I couldn't stop her racing around she just wriggled so much to get down when I was holding her trying to calm her & carried on racing around..then she passes out and is still sleeping. (2hrs)
What could be going on? She is mostly here at home except at the weekend we took her out a bit with us. Any advice welcome. Ax

[gracielove]

Originally Posted by avemike

Hi.. yes they do. It was one of the first things my vet said that he was considering. Later he said he didnt want to jump to conclusions as she is so young.. But he is watching her.
Hollee is almost 12wks now. She seems to have stabilized as far as sugar drops go & has good eating days and bad. This afternoon she came looking for food every two hrs. And ate so well every time even dry kibble. But then this evening she went on such a' high' shooting all over the place and you can't stop her or get her to calm down. She literally wants to jump out of my arms wriggling and growling until she is put down and then off she goes at top speed. After a while she crashes and is now fast asleep besides me. When she is like this I have previously seen the sugar low. So I hope she is going to be ok tonight. Ax

My baby was a very picky eater as a puppy. My vet of course was concerned right away about liver shunt. She did not eat well and was much smaller than her sister of the same litter. It is common for a puppy with liver shunt to lose their appetite after they have eaten a little. The digestive process makes them feel sick. I hope you just have a picky eater and not something more serious. The fact that she does not gain weight is an issue though. I believe there is a blood test they can do to start investigating the liver.

[avemike]

Originally Posted by gracielove

My baby was a very picky eater as a puppy. My vet of course was concerned right away about liver shunt. She did not eat well and was much smaller than her sister of the same litter. It is common for a puppy with liver shunt to lose their appetite after they have eaten a little. The digestive process makes them feel sick. I hope you just have a picky eater and not something more serious. The fact that she does not gain weight is an issue though. I believe there is a blood test they can do to start investigating the liver.

Hi Gracielove...Did your baby just grow out of it? How old is she now? Did she have sugar lows when very young? How much did she weigh when you got her and at what age was that? Sorry about all the questions

While Hollee is so small, my vet said he hesitates to take blood as her little veins are so tiny. I hope she is coming right as she seems to have stabilised and I'm terrified my vet will start talking Liver Shunt again.Ax

[avemike]

Originally Posted by avemike

Hi Would you know anything about what appears to be an adrenaline rush? Hollee almost 12 wks now, seems to have settled down no more sugar drops, one to two stools a day which are normal. She loves our older dachie and jumps and plays with her all day long. She has good eating days and not so good. Today she ate well, came looking for food every two hours this afternoon. And then tonight had such a high I couldn't stop her racing around she just wriggled so much to get down when I was holding her trying to calm her & carried on racing around..then she passes out and is still sleeping. (2hrs)
What could be going on? She is mostly here at home except at the weekend we took her out a bit with us. Any advice welcome. Ax

The good news after last nights sagga is..she woke up quite normally and ate a good helping of kibbles before bedtime. She's had a good night and is with me now. I just hope she is stablising as I am seeing a lot of good And now that she is 12wks tomorrow she is probably more mature. Ax

[avemike]

Originally Posted by gracielove

I guess I don't understand why breeders there sell their tiny puppies at 6 to 8 weeks of age when they know the pups are prone to get hypoglycemic. They are obviously breeding for tiny dogs and realize the dangers that a tiny puppy faces. Why don't they just hold the pups until they are bigger and stronger?

There was a recent thread here about tiny puppies not getting their teeth in as soon as other puppies would. Isn't that just another problem for a tiny pup to face while struggling to adept to it's new life and surroundings? Why not wait 4 more weeks until the pups are on a solid footing and able to deal with the stress? Do they need that money so desperately?

I would think that many new owners would not be able to give their new puppies 24 hours care in order to save their lives if their blood sugar went too low. Seems like bad business to me. Are all breeders of small Yorkies like this where you are?

Most yorkies & owners I have met went to homes at 8wks. But having gone through what I have..I would have preferred to wait until 12wks. As I knew nothing about Hypoglycemia and didn't know what I was dealing with at first and then it became a constant worry. I also incurred large vet bills as a result. My breeder did offer to take her back until such time as she was stable..but how do you part with them once you have them with you. I have watched her 24/7 and hopefully she is coming right. Ax

[gracielove]

Originally Posted by avemike

Hi Gracielove...Did your baby just grow out of it? How old is she now? Did she have sugar lows when very young? How much did she weigh when you got her and at what age was that? Sorry about all the questions

While Hollee is so small, my vet said he hesitates to take blood as her little veins are so tiny. I hope she is coming right as she seems to have stabilised and I'm terrified my vet will start talking Liver Shunt again.Ax

I didn't bring Gracie home until she was almost 13 weeks old. I would have been terrified to go through what you have with that baby. No she never had any low blood sugars with me. The first several months with Gracie was a trial and error trying to find something that she would eat. She would eat a food one or two times and then not want to eat it again. I started cooking for her. I actually found YT while doing a search for a recipe for homemade food for a Yorkie. After much trial and error I discovered that she did not like grains at all. She eats well now but it took a while to get the right diet for her.
It just seems like the breeder could have saved your baby a lot of trouble by just keeping her for a few more weeks. She obviously was not eating eating well enough to keep her blood sugar levels stable when you got her. I realize not all puppies have as much trouble as yours has but a good breeder should be able to recognize when a puppy is not developing as well as it should be and hold it back for a while. I hope she is getting better. Until she gains some weight you are going to need to keep watching her very carefully. She is so tiny.

I almost forgot. Gracie is 2 years old now. She was about 14 months old before she reached her adult weight of 5lbs. I guess that is considered big for a Yorkie in some circles but I had never had such a tiny puppy and it made me very nervous for her.

[avemike]

Originally Posted by gracielove

I didn't bring Gracie home until she was almost 13 weeks old. I would have been terrified to go through what you have with that baby. No she never had any low blood sugars with me. The first several months with Gracie was a trial and error trying to find something that she would eat. She would eat a food one or two times and then not want to eat it again. I started cooking for her. I actually found YT while doing a search for a recipe for homemade food for a Yorkie. After much trial and error I discovered that she did not like grains at all. She eats well now but it took a while to get the right diet for her.
It just seems like the breeder could have saved your baby a lot of trouble by just keeping her for a few more weeks. She obviously was not eating eating well enough to keep her blood sugar levels stable when you got her. I realize not all puppies have as much trouble as yours has but a good breeder should be able to recognize when a puppy is not developing as well as it should be and hold it back for a while. I hope she is getting better. Until she gains some weight you are going to need to keep watching her very carefully. She is so tiny.

I almost forgot. Gracie is 2 years old now. She was about 14 months old before she reached her adult weight of 5lbs. I guess that is considered big for a Yorkie in some circles but I had never had such a tiny puppy and it made me very nervous for her.

Yes..I agree, knowing what i know now..I would have preferred to have collected her when she was older. Do you remember her weight when you got her? Ax

[gracielove]

Originally Posted by avemike

Yes..I agree, knowing what i know now..I would have preferred to have collected her when she was older. Do you remember her weight when you got her? Ax

Gracie was 1lb 2oz which I think is about 510 grams at one day short of 14 weeks. She was smaller than any puppy I had ever seen but full of life and attitude. The Yorkishire Terrier comes from strong stock but the breeding that has sized them down to such a degree tends to make them much more delicate than the original Yorkie was.
I understand you not wanting to let her go back to the breeder after you had her. It would be very hard to do. It would have been nice if the breeder had seen the signs and told you she was not ready to leave yet. Now you do have a big vet bill and a puppy that is not gaining weight. I hope she starts to pick up soon.