Hypo-Glycemia - heard of this??????
 

Sorry to sound like a worry wart but my puppy is sick again and I am really concerned. Just yesterday I noticed when I came home that he was jumping up and down all excited to see me so as I let him out of his x-pen to go outside he walked very sluggish to me. I thought maybe he was just tiered but than when I picked him up to go outside he just sat there like he was drunk. I put him down and could not even walk. He was trying but just falling over and throwing his head back, not having convulsions but just not acting right - ya know? So I took him to the vet right away. The vet said he was suffering from some type of hypo-glycemia something or other. I guess he did not have enough sugar or something in his body. I guess these little guys can drop really fast the doctor said. I asked a million questions on if I could be doing anything to prevent these things from happening but nothing from the Doctor. I thought I was feeding him well - I mean he gets boiled chicken and veggies 2 times a day and snacks as well. He seems to be doing SO much better today but he is still a bit sluggish and gets small bursts of energy and than sleeps a lot. He has thrown up his food about 2 - 3 times so I am trying to just keep him hydrated for now. I guess I just wanted to know if you guys have had this happen to you and if you have found that there is something to not make this happen to him again. Thanks - you guys are great!

How old is Murphy? If he is past 6 months he should be pretty well past the episodes of severe hypoglycemia...If he is under 6 months, he should still be free fed a very good quality dog food. He might not be getting proper nutrition from home-cooked meals. If you are planning to continue feeding him human food you will need to get a book that tells you what proportions of each vit. mineral, protein, CHO and fat he needs and how to supply it in his meals.
I do not see that you give him any food items that will supply his carbs and that can be a killer. He should have grain products like brown rice, pasta and such for carbs.
They go down in such a short time and they really should be on puppy food free feed til 1 year at least..Be sure to keep NutriStat (or Nutrical) on hand at all times. If you do not have that use honey-it is better than the syrups and plain sugar cause they can digest honey better than those refined products..
I don't know if this gives you any info you can use but I thought it might help. BTW, the vet might want to do a blood panel as a preliminary test to rule out any problems. Good Luck with your baby and give him smoochies from Rini and the cuties..

Hi and welcome to YT :D I am sorry your baby isn't feeling well. Here are a couple of things that my breeder told me:

1.) get nutrical for your baby put some on your finger a couple of times a day for him to lick off. nutrical is high in calories and helps give small dogs the sugar they need.

2.) get honey and keep it handy if he starts acting sick rub some on his gums and he should perk right back up.

I don't have much experience with hypoglycemia, I can only give you the info. my breeder gave me. Also, not sure if I am reading this right but you said nothing from the vet i.e. no information? If I am reading that right maybe you need to find a new vet IMO? The Vet should be well aware of hypoglycemia and be able to provide you with advice on how to prevent the attacks. I hope your baby feels better soon.

You don't mention an age, but since you said puppy I will assume he's under 6 mos. Get some Nutrical and give daily. Feed small meals several times a day. Mine really like Eukanuba Small Breed Puppy. They even eat it dry. Also in an emergency, Karo syrup. Some even add Karo Syrup to the drinking water. 15 years ago my vet had never heard of hypoglycemia, but my breeder had. Anyway she was actually having seizures. He tested for low blood sugar and hers was really low. It can be quite serious, but most (if not all?) outgrow it.

I keep nutrical on hand at all times. Never had to deal with hypoglycemia but then I've always given it to the pups 2-3 times a day.

Nutrical comes in a tube and you can get it from your vet or at some pet stores. It's like a tube of toothpaste and you just give them a little squirt about 4 times a day. (I'm a new owner myself and I'm sharing information that is also new to me.) Before you find it, Karo syrup will do. Just a teaspoon full when he acts crazy will bring the blood sugar up. Offer food or encourage him to his dish every 3 or 4 hours to make sure he's getting enough to keep the Blood sugar up. (That's what I've been told)

My yorkie had problems with hypoglycemia really bad when she was a puppy. She even went into a hypoglycemic coma and it was horrible so you have to be very careful with this. It is very important that they eat something every 2-3 hours. I had to wake up twice in the middle of the night to make sure chloe ate something. After we consistently made sure she ate we never had another problem. Hypoglycemia tends to only occur in small puppies under 6 months of age.
Hope this helps.

One more thing- if you think your dog is starting to get weak or having an episode, just put some karosyrup in their water or if you even have to, squirt it into thier mouth (you can buy this at walrmart in the section where the sugar is). Its a life saver. One time Chloe was getting bad and I was rushing her to the vet because she was almost in a coma again and I squirted some into her mouth and onthe way to the vet she "came to" again and was fine.

I agree. It sounds like this vet might not know a lot about toy breeds.
You've been given good advise so I hope he is okay from now on.

High calorie supplements are short-lived in the body. They use carbs up very quickly and can crash again in about a half hour. So, it is important to make sure that they get something with protein and fat in it as soon as the puppy is able to eat. Otherwise, you will be facing the same problem only possibly worse. My critters love NUTRISTAT and it does smell like fish oil. They will not lick NutriCAL. These 2 products have fat in them so they last a little longer than honey or syrup and such..I have tubes of NS in my purse, in my car and of course, all over the house..

Thanks you guys - this information is SO helpful. I am sorry I did not put his age on here - he is just over 4 months old. I have been feeding him the boiled chicken and veggies because he will not eat any other puppy food. I think I have tried everything and he will just not eat it. Plus everyone always talks about how bad it is for these little guys to not eat so if he does not eat the puppy food I get scared so that is why I switched him to chicken and veggies. I guess they are not like other dogs where you can just say "well he will eat it when he is hungry" and walk away. I used to make it his chicken with rice for the carbs but he just ate around it - maybe I will try some baby pasta since that has carbs and I know he LOVES pasta. This morning when I woke up he was doing a little better - acting like he wanted some food so we are trying hamburger with rice and we will see how he does. Also yes I have Nutrical and he does like that - I did not know you should give it to them 2 - 4 times a day???? That is interesting. I guess I am going to have to start getting a lunch into his diet also - maybe two times a day for eating is too far apart for this little guy. I leave dry kibble in his crate but he will not touch it. UGH - such a picky eater! Any ways thanks so much for all the help - you guys are great!

I'm really surprised whoever you got him from didn't warn you about hypoglycemia...thats usually one of the first things we are told when getting a very small breed.....

Is he doing better I hope ? You got great advise so I won't add to it but just wanted to say good luck with your puppy !!

Cali has had 3-4 episodes of hypoglycemia she is now 9 1/2 months old and it seems she may have grown out of it. But I still give her Nutrical is she is stressed out. I also still feed her 3 times a day. She to will only eat chicken and hamburger. I am now starting to introduce wet dog foof back into her diet and hope to switch her slowly back. The only reason I feed her that is she wouldn't eat anything else and then would get sick and I would end up in the er vet. Good luck and keep a close eye on her when she isn't acting normal get the nutrical out!