Hypoglycemia, or “low blood sugar” refers to a low level of circulating glucose in the bloodstream. Your puppy’s body gets glucose from their food, and their body uses glucose for energy. Their brain especially needs a steady supply of glucose.
Because the brain relies so heavily on glucose to function, most signs include changes in alertness or behavior, such as: Seizures, muscle tremors, confusion, lethargy, fainting and collapse. Early signs may include sleepiness or drowsiness, and their head may loll before dropping.
This condition is more likely to occur in puppies under 3 months of age, or very small puppies. Toy and teacup breeds are especially at risk. Their limited fat and muscle mass leads to an inability to store enough energy. Puppies can deplete their available glucose between meals, especially if they’re active, cold, or stressed.
Toy breeds like this teacup yorkie cannot skip even a single meal
The best treatment for hypoglycemia is prevention. Feed your puppy separate from other dogs for the first several weeks, or until you are sure they are eating full meals consistently. You may need to add a high value protein to the puppy food to encourage them to finish their meals. Our go-to foods are instinct longevity freeze dried raw chicken for puppies, and nutrisource canned chicken & rice for puppies. If our puppies don’t like those, we will also use Weruva Paw Lickin’ Chicken. Some puppies are especially susceptible to stress, in these cases rotisserie chicken or full fat cottage cheese will usually entice even the most finicky and stressed-out puppies to eat.
More frequent small meals may also be helpful for small or toy breed puppies. Sitting and eating with your puppy can make them feel more comfortable at mealtimes, remember they have never had to eat alone without their friends or siblings before.
This toy poodle was hesitant to eat at first without company, common in poodles and poodle mixes
If you think your puppy is starting to show signs of hypoglycemia, do not waste any time getting their body energy. If they’re alert and able to eat, an at-home treatment option is feeding them a carbohydrate and glucose-rich snack, such as cooked pasta with honey on it.
Don’t forget to keep them warm, use multiple blankets or a heating pad covered with a towel or blanket and set to low. Small breed puppies especially will burn a lot of energy to maintain proper body temperature.
In puppies that may be refusing to eat full meals, or seem excessively drowsy, rubbing nutri-cal, or honey, on the roof of the mouth or gums can be done every hour or two until they resume normal activity.
If their symptoms worsen, then vet treatment may be necessary. Treatment will likely consist of intravenous (IV) fluid therapy that contains dextrose to help bring your pet’s blood sugar up, even if it’s not eating.