So frustrated
 

I called the vets office to check on Noah and they said he hasn't eaten since 2:00 this afternoon- when I fed him.

I know he didn't care for the food they were offering and I brought baby food to give, and I literally sat there and spoon fed him. He ate 1/2 a jar of baby food and acted like he was starving. The vet felt his blood sugar dropping was from him not eating, so I can already hear the conversation in the morning, "his blood sugar dropped and we can't let him go home". Well his blood sugar would stay up if they would feed him food he wants, and actually make an effort to feed him, not just set it in a bowl and walk away. I can obviously do that better at home around the clock, but they won't release him til it's stabile, and it won't be stabile if he isn't being fed correctly. (For what it's costing, they should be hand feeding him)
Should I just demand they let me bring him home and hope it doesnt step on any toes? I plan on switching to a holistic vet and have an Appt next Wednesday, but I don't want them to refuse to treat him IF something were to go wrong between now and then.


At 12:00 his glucose was 144. At 3:00 it was 128. At 7:00 it was 96. They didn't give me a number when I called just now, just said that it was normal.

I have removed dogs from a vets care against their judgment, however, I would be worried with an unstable dog, is there another vet whose care you could transfer the dog to?

Are you sure they are just putting the food down and walking away? I would have a long talk with the vet about this.

I am quite sure that no matter what you did, they would not refuse to treat him!

I agree with ArmaniMan ... I would be hesitant because you don't want to bring him home and have him crash. Do they have him on IV fluids now?

I agree. Are you sure they are only putting the food down and leaving? Kibble or canned? Sometimes patients will only eat for their owners. If it's not too far away, have you asked about coming in 3x daily to feed him and see how things go?

If it was me I would try to go to the vets office and feed Noah as often as you can, whatever you wanted. You are the one paying for his care. I would be nervous about bringing him home if he isn't stable.

:thumbup:

I would be parking my butt down there and feeding him, too.

From the other side though, while we want our pet to be the primary focus of the vet and their staff, the condition of other pets their may dictate that they just aren't able to spend the time spoon feeding the your little guy. Also, one of the things they are looking at is how capable your little man is of regulating himself as a sign of his condition. Obviously, he isn't able to do so right now. So even though you feel frustrated with what you perceive as a lack of care, it really is a clinical marker.

(Sorry if I'm not explaining that well. Basically what I am trying to say is that not all pet owners are as vigilant as you. The vet, out of an abundance of caution (probably because they've been burned at some time in the past), isn't going to want to send a pup home if it doesn't stand a fighting chance of doing well with a more 'hands off' type owner.

:thumbup: I agree. I am sure the vet would love to send him home.

I don't want him to come home and crash- but if the crash is from not eating, and them not feeding him, then he'll never get better know what I mean? He eats during the day when I'm there but then every morning I would call and she would say his glucose dropped during the night (probably from not eating) and then we would start the feed him, get his sugar back up process again.
I have been doing this, but they won't let me come after hours or at night to feed him. The vet told me they don't have the time or resources to hand feed him, so if they are offering it and he doesn't eat it, they leave the bowl in the cage and tend to the other animals.
He is off the IV fluids, has been for about 18 hours now. She says he can go home today. I am about to leave to go get him. I bought 3 tubes of nutri-cal yesterday to make sure I have enough here at the house, just in case. Thanks all for the advice.

Well, the only thing I can say is that I don't think that under normal circumstances a pup should be hypoglycemic from not eating during the night.
I am sure that is the measuring stick they are going by. You are thinking he should be fed 24 hours/day and that you can do that. Yes, you can, but it is not normal to have to feed a pup that often.
I see that you are going to pick him up. Hopefully things will go really well now for him! :) Will look forward to updates.

Oh no, I'm thinking that to keep his sugar levels up, he needs to eat every 3-4 hours. Under normal circumstances, that's not nessecary but considering he's been sick and only weighs 1.2 pounds, going 10-12 hours without eating could be causing more harm than good. Does that make sense?

The vet is probably just concerned about what is going to happen at home because not all owners will feed their pup every 3 hours and then they do crash without immediate help.

I have no idea why they are letting a hypoglycemic pup go 10-12 hours without eating. That is unacceptable care in my book and I would have personally decided to remove my pup and transfer somewhere that could provide the care that is needed. That isn't to say you should or shouldn't have. It's obvious you want what is best for him. Just that if a facility can't give my pup the care that she requires, we move on...

If you have any further problems with your little guy, I would elect to hospitalize at a different location next time.

I don't know...they did save his life. Parvo is nothing to mess with and without proper care he would be have died imo.

I just think there might be another concern and I would certainly be asking the vet for details. Ask him if he would worry if he knew for a fact the pup was eating as often as needed.

Oh don't get me wrong-I am 100% grateful that they did in fact save his life. 2 of the vets in the practice admitted to me that Monday and Tuesday they were really unsure if he was going to pull through and if we should have the "better to putnhim down then let him suffer" talk.

I did talk to the vet before bringing him home and she said they want him to eat every 3-4 hours, even if it's just a few bites. When I asked about him going so long without eating and it affecting his blood sugar, she replied " yes, puppies are just like humans and if they go too long without eating, their levels will drop and that is our concern with him". I then expressed my concern that the staff couldn't hand feed him, wouldn't it be better if I came to the hospital to do that and she said "that's why we're letting him go home. He needs individualized care that we aren't able to provide (IE hand feeding) and we feel he would benefit from going home where he can receive that care".

So as long as he's eating every 3-4 hours during the day and once in the middle of the night, she's confident he"Ll be okay. Of course, I have the signs to look for and when to bring him back list if needed, which hopefully won't be needed.

Very glad he is doing okay.

IMO, if he goes downhill, just take him somewhere else. It is honestly unacceptable to not provide the care that was needed. If they knew that they could not do it, then they should have referred you to somewhere that could, or put you in an exam room with him in the middle of the night to feed him, etc. Again that's JMO.

I just don't know that the vet was not providing the appropriate level of care. There could be a difference of opinion about what that level of care is? Just a thought is all.

Sounds like he will have much better care at home, with you.

Glad they are letting him come home!!

:) Hoping he recoveres real soon!!

Yeah, Noah is coming home. There is no place like home so maybe this can make a big difference. I understand the vets have other pets but that is hard to remember when you have a sick baby and want it to get the best care. I forget that anytime one of mine had to stay which fortunately hasn't been very often.

Wishing Noah and his mom a good night! :)

Glad he is home. My Cali had hypoglycemic episodes when she was a puppy and I had to feed her every 3-4 hours day and night. It was difficult as she didn't want to eat much but I found cesars (just to get her to eat) and a little chicken helped. She grew out of it. I am fortunate to have a 24 hour er vet 5 minutes from me. If they are that sick they go there and they get constant attention. Many times the vet has told me the girls in the back took turns holding one of my babies when they were there. If they do not have the time to make sure a hypoglycemic dog is eating, and can only put the food in the cage they are not treating the dog in my opinion. They did a great job of pulling him through the parvo, but if they can't make sure he is eating then I would want him home where I could.

Home and doing great
 

He's been home over 24 hours and is doing great. He ate for me every time I offered it (even at 3 am) and although it was just a few bites it was progress. He has decided he doesn't like eating out of a bowl, so a good friend (thanks Tammy) gave me a few suggestions. Of course Allie has decided that if he gets special treatment, she should too and wants to be hand fed or fed on a plate like him lol. I've offered him nutrical with his meds, as well as a few treats (liver-yuck!). Yesterday I took him with me on a few errands, just because I was afraid to leave him, lest his blood sugar drop and he slept in his little sling the entire time. I have no other errands til Wednesday so by then I may be able to leave him for an hour or so without having a panic attack lol.

They have played, napped and ate together and then repeated the process. I finally had to separate them last night so he would go to sleep.

Thanks for everyone's well wishes and advice.

I need help advise on what might be wrong with Izzy
 

MY soon to be two year old yorkie (she has a birthday next Saturday the 2nd.) started scooting her booty on the carpet yesterday afternoon. Her anal glands to me do not seem to be the problem.

Last night she started licking and scratching in her booty area. However I can not tell if it is her booty or vagina that she is doing this to.

She moves from her bed to the sofa and to another place and so on as if she is very uncomfortable.

I will call the vet as soon as his office opens in the A.M. In the meantime do any of you knownledgeable people have any advise as what her problem might be?

She is eating, peeing and pooping normal... Just seem to be trying to hide from what ever is driving her and me both nuts...

I do so worry when she is not well...

She does have allergies...