Giving nutri cal to them on a daily basis isn't good for them and as someone else pointed out it can cause diabeties.

I do keep nutrical and nutristat on hand but don't feed it to them on a regular basis. Scampers can be a finicky eater so on days when he isn't eating much I do give him the nutrical and it actually does boost his appetite and he will eat shortly after I give him some nutrical. Other than when they are sick or not eating well, I do not give them any nutrical.

Hi, thanks for the tips. I actually knew everything you said but its always nice to be given a reminder :D I'll try to explain Pia's story so you understand what happened. Pia went in for a spay. She had all the pre-blood tests done ahead of time to make sure she was in good shape. She was perfect!! She had the spay done in the morning and I picked her up the same day around 5. I thought that was rather odd but she seemed fine. She also had some baby teeth pulled that never fell out. She was fine when she came home. However, in the morning she started throwing up and then the ugly D started. I called the vet immediately. I was told to give her until the next morning. That made me very nervous. The vet owned two yorkies of his own so I assumed he knew what he was talking about. (Big mistake) Regardless, I didn't wait and I took her to the vet just a couple hours later. They gave her a shot and some meds and sent her home. Pia was acting very strange and couldn't seem to sit still. I called the vet a few times to tell them what was going on and they said wait until the morning and see how she was acting. My main concern was her getting dehydrated but I was told that shot was enough to keep that from happening. Well, around 9 that evening Pia finally went under my bed and looked like she was trying to sleep. (she never goes under my bed but I let her alone for obvious reasons) I was happy and thought she was finally going to get the rest she needed. About 15 min later I went to check on her and she was lifeless. The closest vet was 30 min away. The place is a ER for animals. My fiance got us there in 12 min. Pia went into coma by the time we got there. About 20 min later I was told my Poor little girl was more then likely not going to make it and even if they could get her back she could have alot of brain damage. Her body temp was at 90 and they couldn't even get a sugar reading on her. When I told the ER vet my story of how I brought her home the same day of surgery and took her back in when they said to wait. I made the doctor sick. She just kept shaking her head. She didn't understand why they let a dog Pia's size leave the same day. She said Pia should have been left on the IV just to be safe. Then I was told they had a second chance to put her on an IV when they saw her condition but instead they gave her a shot and sent her home again. The ER vet was horrified by what the other vet did. She even told me straight out that she would back me up with anything I needed if I decided to get a lawyer. Then around 2 Am my little Pia lifted her head. By 6 Am things were looking good but she had alot of tests to go through to see if any organs were damaged. The ER operates with volunteer vets. They take turns coming in 1-2x a month. The lady we had was wonderful. She had her own office 10 minutes away from there and became Pia's new doctor. Unfortunately, the ER is only a night thing so Pia wasn't allowed to stay there. So Pia would be at the new vet during the day and then I would pick her up and she'd go back to the ER for the night. We did this for a week and she finally came home with a trachea tube still in place. They left it in just to be safe since all her other veins had collapsed. Anyways, if she was only put on an IV to begin with none of this would have happened. Back to the original topic about nutri-cal. I was told since Pia was so tiny it could never hurt her to be given a lick before bed and even in the mornings. My new vet knows she eats very well but still suggest I do this because of her size. What she went through was terrible so in my opinion giving her this little lick of nutri-cal is the best for her. Sorry this was so long. I just wanted to explain why I do give Pia it daily. I never want to risk seeing her like that again. Thanks for letting me share my story. ;)

Listen to your VET!
 

Poor little Pia!!! Oh my goodness - thank God you went with your heart and took her in...that sweet little baby!!! :( And as far as the Nutri-Cal goes, I think you are doing 100% RIGHT by giving it to her daily if that is what your vet recommends :thumbup: SHE KNOWS your baby and has seen her, and she knows what she has been through and what she needs. She is a DOCTOR and I'm sure you are VERY confident that she knows what shes doing - she saved that little girls life! What a wonderful story with a happy ending :) Thank God your little Pia came through it ok! I say stick to what your VET says ;) :thumbup:

you know, this is why they go to school! Listen to the Vet! You seem to feel comfortable with her and I would do what the vet says... I know we all have our opinions but I say you are doing the right thing by going with the Vet...
d

I give when theyre sick or when they have to take heartworm prevention medicine

I've never had to use Nutri-Cal with any of my Yorkies but my friend's Maltese crashed one day and it was scary. I knew enough to use whatever was on hand so I got the corn syrup and rubbed it on his gums and put a little on his tongue...we rushed him to the vet, he got a shot and he was fine. The vet said I did good :) The vet we have now says there is no need to worry about hypoglycemia in a healthy, adult dog and that their sugar level will actualy drop faster with some of those products...he said we should use baby food, that will keep their sugar levels up longer. Even though our boys are both small, they are healthy and I free feed them so they eat when they want...I'm grateful that we've never had to use it.

You took the words right out of my mouth! ;) :bravo: :bravo: :bravo: :goodpost:

I had been giving my Angel this every day until I saw a post a while back about the problem it could cause.

I had been giving it to her every afternoon for a supliment because she was so small and frail. She has always been an excellent eater but giving she has problems I thought it was a good thing to do.

Now, I only give it to her if she seems weak or has overextended herself or if I have stressed her from travel, grooming etc.

Heck! She would suck the whole tube down if I would let her!!

OMG Dina, thank goodness that you knew better! That vet should be barred from treating tiny animals, you NEVER wait and see with these little ones:rolleyes:, especially when they're newly post op. Your new vet sounds great:thumbup:

We had a similar bad experience with bad vets (lost one dog, almost lost another). You can search out our stories if you like. It definitely pays to go with your gut and get a second opinion. You saved Pia's life!

Anyway, I do keep Nutristat on hand, just in case the girls get ill or something, but Luna won't touch it now, she'd been force fed so much of it that I guess the smell makes her sick.

I don't think anyone was implying not to follow your vet's advice. It's just when Dina_Nichole said that she was confused, I thought maybe her vet hadn't explained things enough to her. As much as I respect veterinarians and MDs, we are ultimately responsible for our own as well as our dog's health so that's why I always insist upon knowing the WHYS. Dina_Nichole trusted her first vet implicitly and found out later this was a mistake. Dina, I'm so glad Pia has recovered and you found a vet you can trust.
Nancy

:goodpost: :goodpost: :goodpost: :goodpost:

Hi, I didn't take you wrong and I do appreciate you providing me with all the info you wrote. :D I wanted to tell Pia's story to help explain why I do give the nutri-cal to her at night. I wanted everyone to know that sometimes with a dog her size giving a little lick at night is the best thing. I actually called my vet to ask about this again because I started to think I misunderstood her. However, she assured me that giving nutri-cal is perfectly safe. Basically said its like a better safe then sorry type of situation. Pia is so tiny and giving that before bed helps me sleep a tad better. It's been about 4 months since all that happened and I still get up through the night to check on her. Seeing her practically dead will forever haunt me. The entire situation has made me so overprotective of her. Perhaps nutri-cal isn't good for the normal dog but I don't consider Pia at 2 lbs. the normal dog. I hope everyones furbabies are in good health and don't need this stuff. I think this was a wonderful post started. It's obvious that a few different opinions are felt about this topic. I respect everyone's views but please understand why I do give my baby it still. Hope everyone has a wonderful New Year ;)

Awww girl you are so sweet!!! :hug: And you sound like a WONDERFUL Yorkie mommy :) It shows that you TRULY care about your little girl - and that your ultimate goal is to do what's best for her - so BRAVO to you!!! :bravo: And that is GREAT that you called your vet just to double check her instructions! :thumbup: :thumbup: :thumbup: Sweet hugs and kisses to little baby Pia! :)

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I agree!
Nancy

When I got Maddie she was under 3 pounds so I did give her a little nutrical daily. I rarely give it to her anymore though (she is 6.5 lbs) and a good eater. The only time I give it to them now is if they are in a stressful situation and won't eat (for example, when we were moving into our new house). Or if they are playing really hard and haven't eaten in a while.