Dog Community

Hypoglycemic puppy help...

Posted : 1/24/2007 4:15:10 PM

I woke up this morning and Polly (12 wk. old, pug-shih-tzu mix) was acting very unusual.

Polly was
1. Drooling
2.Sitting by the back door nd scratching to get out. When I let her out she would just sit there, and it was pouring rain. This went on numerous times.
3.Shivering uncontrollably (and I was sure to dry her off from being outside), wasn't interested in doing anything but being by me.
4. trying to climb the stairs in my house, which she has never done.
5. not eating or drinking.

Now, I took her immediately to the vet, where they did a blood test that showed she had low blood sugar. I have not changed her diet (she's on pro plan puppy dry/wet mix) and she was not under any type of stress.

Here's my question-I know that in small dogs that if they don't get enough to eat they can become hypoglycemic, but if I haven't done anything out of the ordinary routine in weeks, isn't it odd that she's developing this problem at 12 weeks? She's definitely bigger and has gained weight--I was under the impression that hypoglycemia in puppies tends to go away around this age.

I'm going to ask the vet about liver or bacterial problems, as well as diabetes...

Any words of wisdom? I'm picking her up at the vet in 2 hrs. so if anyone has any questions I should ask, please let me know.

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BEVOLASVEGAS

Posted : 1/24/2007 4:26:16 PM

Hypoglycemia is pretty common in small puppies. Feed your puppy small amounts frequently. In a pinch you can rub a little karo syrup on the pups gums when it starts acting weak. This will help bring the blood sugar levels back up. Keep the puppy warm, you may even need to provide an external warming device. (Heating pad, hot water bottle, snuggle safe are good options, just make sure the pup can get off of the heat source if it wants to) Normally, as the pup gets bigger hypoglycemia occurs less frequently.

Cheryl

Posted : 1/24/2007 4:32:14 PM

Thanks so much for your quick response. I've read about that and the vet has told me that smaller dogs are prone to hypoglycemia. Could this be a sign of something else yet to come?

ZoeBella

Posted : 1/25/2007 1:53:04 PM

One of my dogs was also hypoglycemic when she was a puppy. The Karo syrup was great. Make sure you use the white though not the dark. I'm not sure what the reason for that is. My vet just told me to be sure to use the white. My dog also liked to be cuddled in a blanket. She is 5 years old now and is perfectly healthy, so in my opinion you should not have anything to worry about!

Cheryl

Posted : 1/25/2007 7:17:56 PM

[align=left]Yes, thanks so much for the tip...I'll definitely remember that. They gave me a tube of NutriCal at the vet so if I run out I'll have the Karo on hand.

Luckily, we got Polly's blood test results today and everything looks normal. Looks like we'll just have to wait it out until she gets a little older....