Hypoglycemia is common in toy breed puppies and Yorkie are no exception. This condition simply refers to low blood sugar. It is easy to treat if caught early, but the situation can deteriorate fast and can result in death if left unchecked.
Because hypoglycemia is so common in toy breeds, if you care for a Yorkie puppy, you should educate yourself about hypoglycemia.
We’ll teach you:
- what hypoglycemia is
- the common events that can trigger low blood sugar
- the early signs of hypoglycemia to look for
- the actions you should take should your puppy’s blood sugar drop.
What is Hypoglycemia in puppies?
Hypoglycemia in Yorkie puppies is not a lifetime diagnosis. It is properly referred to by veterinarians as Transient Juvenile Hypoglycemia.
Transient: not permanent
Juvenile: affects young puppies
Hypoglycemia: low blood sugar
An episode of hypoglycemia does not mean that your puppy has chronic hypoglycemia. Chronic hypoglycemia is caused by a problem with the pancreas. This is not the case with juvenile hypoglycemia.
There is no problem with your puppy’s organs.
The hypoglycemia puppies can experience is caused by stress and going to long without eating. While the episodes of hypoglycemia can happen to any dog of any breed or age, it is more common in toy breeds and even more common in toy breed puppies because their glucose stores are so small and their needs are so large.
Although hypoglycemia is very common in toy breed puppies, vets who are not experienced with toy breeds can diagnose it as other problems. Should you have to take your dog to the vet, be ready to advocate for your puppy and ask for a blood test to check his glucose levels.
As owner of a toy dog, you need to be prepared with the knowledge to know what to look for and how to fix it.
In the early stages, hypoglycemia is very easy to treat. However, if hypoglycemia is allowed to progress it can cause brain damage and be fatal.
What causes hypoglycemia in puppies?
The biggest cause of hypoglycemia is a stressful event followed by not eating. Here are some common causes that can cause your puppy to go off his food and trigger a hypoglycemic event.
Causes
- Stress (new home, changes to home environment, vaccinations, vet visits, grooming visits, travel, etc.)
- Not enough rest
- Teething
- Over handling
- Cold temperatures
- Exercise
- Excitement
- Missing a meal
- Infections
- Intestinal, parasites
Again, to repeat… the biggest cause of hypoglycemia is a stressful event followed by not eating.
Yorkies are simply not as food driven as other breeds… but if they don’t regularly eat their blood sugar will drop.
They can play too hard and then forget to eat. Or they might have just had a vaccine and not feel well so they don’t feel like eating.
This is why it is so important for you to make sure that your puppy is in fact regularly eating, especially after experiencing stress.
What are the symptoms of hypoglycemia in Yorkies?
The first sign that your puppy may have hypoglycemia is that he is behaving tired and weak. After this, he will become wobbly and may start to sway. He may start to shiver and tremble. It may almost appear like he is drunk.
The symptoms will start off mild, but will become more severe as his condition worsens.
Here are some symptoms to look for.
Symptoms
- Weakness
- Lethargy
- Poor appetite
- Glassy eyes
- Dilated pupils
- Swaying, wobbly, uncoordinated (almost looks drunk as they walk)
- Confusion
- Drool, froth, vomit
- Twitching
- Tremoring
- Lower body temperature
- Tongue and gums pale or gray (instead of a nice bright pink)
- Rejection of food and water
- Collapse
- Limp
- Seizures
- Coma
If you suspect your puppy is experiencing hypoglycemia, it is best to treat him right away.
How do I treat hypoglycemia in Yorkies at home?
You need to treat any hypoglycemic event as an emergency. Hypoglycemia is very easy to treat if you catch it soon enough.
The main goal in treatment is to raise the blood sugar levels of your puppy.
The quickest and easiest way to raise blood sugar is to rub Karo syrup on their gums, under their tongue and on the roof of their mouth. This allows the sugar to be more quickly absorbed into the blood stream.
If your puppy is not only suffering from hypoglycemia but also dehydration, you can offer sugar water. If your puppy is awake and alert, give water mixed with Karo syrup in a syringe, or allow your puppy to lap it up.
If your puppy is able to eat, feed Nutri cal or rub Nutri cal regularly on his gums. This is a high calorie food that will give a boost to your puppies glucose levels.
If your puppy is not conscious, rub Karo syrup on gums and proceed to the veterinary office as soon as possible.
Here is a list of treatment options that you can provide for your puppy. it is a good idea to have some of these things on hand just in case.
Treatment
- Give Karo Syrup
- Give NutriCal or FortiCal
- Ensure puppy is eating and drinking: hand feed if necessary
- Encourage rest
- Warm puppy if needed
- Ensure environment is warm
- Remove any stressors from environment
After your puppy has initially recovered from his incident with hypoglycemia continue to monitor him and encourage adequate nutrition for the next several days.
How do I prevent my puppy from developing low blood sugar?
Of course, the best case scenario is that your puppy never experiences a hypoglycemic event. Here are some things you can do to prevent it from happening or to prevent it from ever happening again.
- Feed high-quality food and make sure that you’re puppy is eating it (especially after stressful events).
- Free feed or feed four times a day at least.
- Make sure your puppy gets adequate rest (especially after stressful events).
- Don’t put your puppy in too large of an area where they can’t find their food.
Although hypoglycemia in Yorkies can be very serious, knowing about and watching for this condition can save your puppy. Thankfully, when caught early, it is easy to treat.
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