Low sugar problems
 

I am having an awfully lot of puppies go down with low blood sugar. I don't know why. I free feed, they can eat when they want. I have had to give them sugar water when I put them up to rest or I will come back to find one down and fainting. I even put water on their food to make sure it is soft enough that they won't have a problem eating it. I don't even give the puppy shots until they are almost ready to go because giving the shots when they are younger will sure as heck take one or more of them down. What is causing it? Thanks, Sylvia

Do you supervise when they're eating, so you know which pup is eating or not? Some might not be getting enough nutrients. How old are they? The ones going down...are you supplementing them w/Nutri-cal? Hope someone w/more knowledge answers.

No, I just put them in with enough food to last them all night but I do see that all are at the bowl before I walk away. I free feed. The youngest we have are 7 weeks old, the oldest who are having problems are 11 weeks old. Once they get past 4 months they do fine and not all of them have low blood sugar problems. Usually just the ones who are going to be tiny. Sylvia

hmmmm....I do know that babies with Liver Issues tend to have low blood sugar issues as well:(

I do pretty much what you do once the pups are no longer nursing. There always seems to be one or two that either aren't aggressive enough to get their share or eat too slowly to get enough. I keep a tight eye on mine at this stage and will pull the slow eaters and feed them separately. I keep mine in the bedroom at this time so I can keep a close eye on them. Usually, the slow eaters will start eating well enough to feed them all together after a few days. If you have a big litter, it can help to split them up between 2 x-pens, having the slow eaters in one and the better eaters in another. If it's just one pup, it's easier to just pull that one at least twice a day for a separate feeding. They are eating from the common bowl but just not getting enough for all their nutrition so a supplemental separate feeding will help head off possible hypoglycemic episodes. Also, I limit the playtime of the younger ones. They can run themselves down just playing hard.

Hope this helps....Jim

Good post Jim!
 

Woogie Man strikes again!:D
I've also heard that the tiny ones are prone to hypoglycemic attacks until they reach a certain lb(s), 2lbs? not sure.

Hahaha....seriously, though.....

The time right after weaning is a vulnerable time for any pup. It's more of a problem with the smaller ones since they have less reserves. Even a good eater can get run down if allowed to play hard for too long. I try to limit their time out of the x-pen to about 30 minutes at first and gradually leave them out longer. If they play extra hard (running, play fighting, etc.), I give them a little karo or nutri-cal when I put them up.

Any idea if there is a pretest I can give at home to give me an idea if they need to be seen for liver problems? Kind of like an EPT? Sylvia

I do not think there is.

Have you tested the breeding parents? Do you know if there are any liver issues in their lines? That would be the first place to start.

Mine are also in the bedroom with us. Well, some of them are in pens on the balcony but the littlest/youngest are in here where all I have to do is sit up to see what is going on in their pen. Little brats think they are human. LOL

When I let them out to play, it is right here in the room where I can see them all. I have puppies 11 weeks down to 7 weeks. 14 of them, good thing they aren't big dogs. LOL If I see someone acting puny, I grab him/her up and get some sugar in them and then some protein. I check them several times a night. Just like my kids. Sylvia

Yeah, the critical period is supposed to be 3lbs and/or 3 months. Neither are correct in my experience. I have had babies go down as young as a few days old but after they reach 4 months they rarely have a problem if there is food where they can get to it. Things just seem to get better and better after that. That critical period starts a lot earlier around here. Usually at 6-8 weeks and the size is always tiny. They usually will weigh less than 3 lbs as an adult. Keeping track of their weight and using the puppy weight chart gives me a good idea of which ones to keep a strict eye on. I have also found that changing their food when they are young can cause an episode, puppy shots can cause an episode and if the dry food is too big for them to break it in their tiny jaws then they don't get enough food and have an episode.

I have 8 tinies (under 3 lbs)that we got attached to trying to bring them back from low blood sugar episodes. When they crash, they seem to be susceptible to it for the next few months. Once my husband get attached, it is a done deal. I can't sell them. Not allowed.

Wow, you do have some small ones. Yeah, the smaller they are, the more they have to be watched. It's been my experience that, once one does have an episode, that it's a few days before they're truly back to 100%. They may not show it, but they're still weak.

I feed an all life stages food (Nature's Logic). All my dogs and pups get the same food. I don't change brands on them but have found that the pups can well tolerate getting different varieties of the same brand (what I use comes in 4 varieties).

My pups usually range between 4 to 6 pounds grown but I have had a few tinies. Sometimes, the very little ones just aren't strong enough to nurse well and then I've had to supplement or just hand feed until they get a little size on them. With most of my pups, though, Mom does all the feeding until about 4 to 5 weeks. After that, it's them nursing plus eating on their own. Once they quit nursing is when I really keep a good eye to make sure all are thriving.

I have a tiny one now that is 8 months old and 2 1/2 pounds. She has always been a healthy baby from day one but has been so small I was afraid to let her go to a new home. I think I finally have someone that is truly qualified to handle one of these very small ones. She's coming to see Baby this week. If it doesn't work out, I'll be keeping Baby. If I do, she'll have to share House Princess duties with Heidi. :D

I have switched and switched dog foods trying to find one they would eat and keep eating. I have gone from expensive to the cheapest and found nothing they would keep eating. Although they do seem to like the cheapest better. I think maybe the cheapest food is like people junk food. No wonder they would like that better, still they only eat it for a few days and then go to picking again.

I think my dogs are on the slim side. The vet says they are healthy and doesn't seem worried about them. I wish I could be so relaxed about it. Finally I just settled on a dog food and decided that if they wouldn't eat it, then I would mix cottage cheese or something they like with it to get them started again. With my last litter, Peewee Pete is too small to eat the dry food. I am switching to one with smaller pieces. I still have to wet them for him to be able to eat them. I don't think there is another food out there smaller than this one.

I have two tiny girls about a year old and right above 2 lbs. Peewee Pete is 7 weeks old, weighs 8.4 ounces and doesn't register on the puppy weight chart. It starts at 2 lbs so he will be smaller than that unless he gets a growth spurt. These 3 are the smallest I have had. My average sizes are around 4 lbs. I do have much bigger furkids and they can throw smaller ones too. I had an 11 lb girl throw a teeny tiny baby girl. I sold her and the people closed their email so I can't inquire about her. I have their phone number and I am going to have to use it. I hate phones. I need to know how that little girl is doing. They bought 4 dogs from me.