puppy laying on side
 

A friend of mine bought a yorkie from a good breeder. We both have known her for 2 years. Her puppy was a little wobby and vommitting about 2 weeks ago. She gave him nutrical, pedialyte,and chicken (wouldn't eat his puppy food) and kept him warm. It took him about a day to get back on his feet and eating again. It has been about 12 days and she called me a little while ago telling me that he was laying on his side with his head arched back in his little bed. She said his nose was tucked down in the corner of the bed. She gave him no nutrical again and some "puppy formula" she bought. I told her to keep him warm and give him some nutri-cal again and go to the vet. I have had a hypo incident once with one of my tinies, but never had it repeated so I am not sure what else to tell her. My concern for her and her little baby is the he was laying with his head arched back and had vommiited a bit of foamy fluid. She said one of his legs was wet too, but yet his bottom was dry. She also said his face was matted with fluid (vomit I assume). My friend won't give her baby back so that is not an option and the breeders pups and adults are all healthy.. Ok while I was typing this I got another call and she said he is a bit wobbly but is back to being more himself. Wiggling out of the blankets and being all kissy kissy to her and climbing up on her chest.. Any suggestions? ? Would this just be hypo or something else. I have not had to really deal with that with my dogs or puppies, so I am not sure what to tell her than what I already have. Thanks:)

also he is about 2lbs now and is almost 4 months old

If I were you, I would strongly suggest that she take him to her vet. With today being Friday and if he gets sicker over the weekend, it might be difficult to get a vet to see him [except ER]. Please let us know how the little guy is doing.

This is a very tiny puppy (similar to what my Marcel was at that age) - he should be eating every 3-4 hours at this point, if necessary for him (and it's very likely that he may need it that often).

FIRST, she needs to visit the vet and have him thoroughly looked over; they will likely want to do blood work.

Secondly, it is unclear to me whether or not giving Nutrical is bringing him out of these episodes (it kind of seemed to bring him out the 2nd episode, but not so much the first). IF the Nutrical IS bringing him out of these episodes, then yes, it's probably from hypoglycemia. What's really scary though is that, given the severity of his symptoms - this hypo. is getting to the extent where I fear he could actually die from it - in other words, it is being noticed/caught WAY TOO LATE.

There are times when people should use Nutrical on a more regular basis (given a clean bill of health otherwise, that is) - and this is one of them, in my opinion. Your friend should give Nutrical right before going to bed at night, immed. upon waking, and even possibly mid-day if necessary. Nutrical is not just *sugar*, despite what some folks say - read the ingredients and you'll find otherwise. Your friend needs to feed this baby often to keep the blood sugar more stable. If she doesn't do these things, I fear she could lose this baby. It is very possible that he had a seizure from his last episode - at which point he foamed at the mouth and lost some urine (which is what you're describing) and arched his neck.

I agree with Wylie's Mom... sounds like a seizure.

Just to add, the wet beard might be drool sometimes happens during pre-seizure activity...If nutri-cal is not helping him out of these episodes fairly quickly, there could be an underlying problem.

Well I just spoke with her after reading these messages. I had told her to take him to vet as well. The ER is outrageous after hours! She said he was doing fine after our last conversation and seemed spunky as usual. Her vet was closed from 12-2 and she said when she called that they were booked the rest of the day (closed early at 4) and to just bring him in Monday since he was doing well again ((if you call that well)))!! She said he was drinking water on his own and kissing her like crazy, wagging his tail and nibbling on some chicken. Yes the nutri-cal also worked last time as well. She doesn't let him get a whole lot of stimulation as he is carried around the house or on her lap. I am wondering as well. I will pass on the advice about the nutri-cal daily though. I can't hurt (especially until she can get him to the doctors). Her husband lost his job on Wed so she doesn't want the vet to do unnecessary testing (as they sometimes do!). She said each time within the hour of giving him the nutri-cal, he was spunky and ready to go again. Does hypo occur frequently for some yorkies? Thank you for all of your help everyone! I told her to register here next week for alot of helpful, and insightful information.

If this does happen frequently to some peoples yorkies, do they eventually outgrow this?

Yes, until they mature. Usually, they outgrow hypo. around age 4 mths. - but with "tinies", it can often take longer (and for some not-so-tinies).

She truly must feed frequent meals, and give Nutrical to avoid LONG periods of no food where the baby's sugar could dive (and, to just keep the sugar more stable). Also, she cannot just feed this baby chicken - or he will get diarrhea, become dehydrated, and be in a worse state than he is now. I would suggest she purchase a premium canned puppy food, a premium kibble - and slowly add the canned to the kibble. What puppy food is she now feeding?

I can't express how vulnerable these tinies are - esp. tinies who are prone to hypo. episodes - I TRULY hope your friend understands that they can die from a hypo. episode and how careful she needs to be.

Ditto that. It's a severe hypo episode when seizures occur. Beyond seizures....is coma.

Also hypo has nothing to do with her breeder nor the breeder's dogs.

She usually feeds him Eukanuba. She has only given him chicken after those episodes to get his appetite back up. I know she has tried giving him some h.s a/d food, but he didn't seem receptive to it.

If the breeders other pups are all ok, then what is she feeding them, how much and how often? Your friend needs to talk to the breeder and to get the puppy to the Vet. I'd also be taking the puppy off that garbage food which may be the very reason it's getting sick so much.

I printed all your responses and passed them on. The best thing is for him to go to the vet, so he will be there Monday morning. He is completely like new, but I told her that since he is such a tiny, it would be ignorant not to bring him in. (Though I said it friendly :)I brought her a bag of the Wellness food I am using, I believe that is much better than Eukanuba. IMO.
She will figure it out and learn much as well! Thanks for all your responses.

my concern is this is liver shunt :( has pup been bile acid tested?