Hypoglycemia

Hypoglycemia in Teacup Puppies

teacup

Hypoglycemia primarily occurs in teacup breeds between 6 to 16 weeks of age. Hypoglycemia, also occasionally referred to in simple terms as ‘low blood sugar’ in teacup puppies can be a particularly debilitating, and even fatal when it is not immediately treated properly. Hypoglycemia is a very common occurrence within teacup puppies (especially if you don’t know how to properly take care of this size) so it is essential for anyone who is considering purchasing a teacup breed to educate themselves about the early warning signs of hypoglycemia, and what they can do if they notice that their puppy is experiencing an episode.

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What is Hypoglycemia?

Hypoglycemia is a serious side effect that can be caused by the production of excess insulin within the body. Low blood sugar is usually caused by an imbalance in the calorie intake of your puppy, and there are three reasons why your  puppy could be suffering from low blood sugar.

1. If your puppy is not eating sufficiently, they will not be getting enough of the nutrition that they need to remain healthy. Or if your feeding your teacup puppy a cheap low quality puppy food then your just asking for a hypoglycemia attack and poor health for your puppy. Teacup puppies REQUIRE a high caliber diet.  

2. High emotions and stress can cause low blood sugar. (such as excitement or fear of leaving the breeders and moving into a new home with a new family etc..)  Stress can be caused by both positive and negative aspects. For example, although your puppy may be delighted to play with you for hours on end, this will not mean that they cannot crash later on.

3. If your puppy does not get enough rest, sleep, and regular naps, then it can begin to suffer from low blood sugar

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Warnings to look out for

The primary signs of hypoglycemia within a puppy include:

When you look at a puppy in hypoglycemia (in the early phases) there is something about them that just doesn’t look or act “right” to you but sometimes you can’t put your finger on it. The puppy might start to act dumpy, look sad with their head down, or sometimes their head can start to do a slow bobble. Most of the time they don’t want to walk because they are unstable and stagger. They can actually fall over and not be able to get back up due to weakness. Their gums can appear white or pale and they can lock their jaw. Most of the time they have a disoriented look to their face when your talking to them or they can even become completely unresponsive. Hypoglycemia drops their body temperature so they are cool or cold to touch. They can become completely limp and even look and feel dead when they are not. It’s common for puppies in a hypoglycemia attack to have tremors (where they just shake and tremble) or seizures (where their body stiffens, arches and then spasms and is very difficult for the owners to watch), comas and even death.

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What Brings on Hypoglycemia?

Typically, hypoglycemia can occur as a result of low quality diet, not eating as frequently as they should, sudden change in food schedules, low body temperature, stress, sickness or excessive exercise. However, in adult dogs, low blood sugar can be aside effect of pancreatic tumors, hormone imbalance, sepsis, pregnancy complications, liver disease and Addison’s disease.

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What to do if you notice an episode

 

If the puppy is awake…..

If the puppy is awake and able to swallow, rub corn syrup mixed with smooth peanut butter on the roof of their mouth alittle bit at a time and you should begin to see an improvement within 20 – 30 minutes.  You can just use corn syrup, nutra-cal or honey but corn syrup mixed with smooth creamy peanut butter is the most effective. Hypoglycemia will also drop their tempature so make sure you have them wrapped in a warm snuggly blanket and rub them gently to help the blood flow go back to normal. Once the puppy seems to be getting back to it’s (somewhat) normal self you MUST make sure it’s eats something. The karo syrup/peanut butter is just a quick way to get the blood sugar levels back up but the puppy WILL “crash” again if you don’t get REAL nutrition down it.  You can offer the puppy it’s hard kibble but most of them won’t eat it since their tummies are upset from the “trauma” they just endured. We recommended you open a can of “canned royal canine puppy” or whatever canned puppy food you know they like and mix some of the canned food with warm water and heat it up in the micro-wave (for a just a few seconds to get it a comfortable warm) and then make sure the puppy eats it. If they do NOT want to eat the canned food then force them to by wiping a little on their mouth every few minute or so just like you did the karo syrup/peanut butter until they have had a small meal. Then repeat this in about an hour and then again in another hour or two because even though they “look and act” back to normal their system is still delicate at this phase and can quickly crash again so it’s important you make sure you see them eat good meals for the next  few days and if again, they don’t’ want to eat then you force it. Also, if they refuse to eat they probably have something wrong with them like a parasite? cocciddia? giardia? So you should take them to the vet and get a fecal test done because a puppy not wanting to eat is NOT normal and usually means something’s up.  

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If the puppy is unconscious….

If your puppy is unconscious, do NOT attempt to wipe anything inside their mouth. Immediately contact your veterinarian, as your puppy needs emergency medical care and will most likely (if alive) will require an intravenous as it may need to be treated for brain swelling. Wrap the puppy in a soft blanket to start bringing up their temperature and continually rub them to stimulate blood flow while you drive to the vets. When your in the car you need to call the vet and tell them you have an emergency situation with a teacup puppy that is unconscious and in a severe hypoglycemia attack. This will give them time to prepare and immediately take you back. If you can’t call them then once you arrive at the vets DO NOT WAIT. I don’t care how many people are in line you need to ASSERT yourself to the front desk and say “excuse me, but I have an emergency. My teacup puppy is in a severe hypoglycemia attack and is unconscious” and they should grab the puppy and take it back immediately for treatment (if it is still alive)

Hypoglycemia Kit

We strongly recommened having a hypoglycemia kit for emergency purpose. Having all the supplies available and ready can have a tremendous effect on  your puppies overall health. The longer the puppy is in a hypoglycemia attack the more (long-term) damange it can do to their vital organs and immune system, not to mention, hypoglycemia attacks can kill a puppy quickly so the faster you can reverse the puppies blood sugar levels the better. Below are some items every hypoglycemia kit should have. 

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1. Karo Syrup, Honey, or Nutra-Stat (Karo Syrup is the best choice as Honey is controversy)

2. Smooth Peanut Butter ( mix peanut butter with karo syrup for optimal results. the karo syrup gives a quick sugar boost while the peanut butter gives a longer protein energy boost)


3. Soft Snuggly Blanket (hypoglycema attacks chill the puppies by causing a drop in temp. Make sure you wrap the puppy in a really soft snuggly blanket and use your hands to gently stimulate the puppy while in the blanket to slowly bring the temputure back to normal. do NOT put a blow dryer or any other strong heat source on the puppy while in an attack. That can shock their system and throw them into seizures or even caradic arrest depending on how severe the attack is)

5. Canned Royal Canin Puppy (which ALL puppies seem to LOVE the taste and flavor of) OR you can have a couple cans of what you KNOW your puppy loves to eat.

 

6. Syringes

 

7. Dextrose/B-Vitamins Fluids (must get from vet. contact us for more info) 

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Recommended Diet for Teacup Puppies

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PREVENT HYPOGLYCEMIA – Many teacup puppies are prone to a condition called hypoglycemia, which refers to low blood sugar Give us a call and we can teach you ways to prevent your puppy from suffering from this.  

One of the most important decisions you can make when purchasing or owning a new puppy is their diet and nutrition. We give all our pets a “customized nutrition plan” which is one of the best decisions we have made because the food is tailored to each of our dogs needs based on their breed, size, weight, age, and if they have any health issues or allergies. Give us a call and we can show you how to get your own pets their customized nutrition plan!!

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