Eclampsia

[kelpiekaye]

I had to take Alba to vets last night with suspected milk fever. He said she was in early stages of eclampsia. She is three years old and this is her first and last litter. I have done everything by the book eg; feeding dam high-quality puppy food, no extra supplements etc. Her pups are 11 days old and doing well. Alba suddenly developed dysentery, went off food and water, and was weak/wobbly in hindquarters.  The vet gave her a calcium injection under the skin and gave me oral calcium to give her twice a day. I was told to keep her away from pups for 24 hours. The pups were quiet all night, their last feed of her was at 8.00pm. I tried bottle feeding them this morning but they didn't want a bar of it. I have given in and let pups drink off her. She is a lot better today and is eating/drinking and had her oral calcium. The vet is going to ring me this morning. Any advice or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

[Rebanne]

I'd give the calcium 4 times a day minimum. You can check with the vet but my understanding is oral calcium is safe to give in large amounts and excess is urinated out. Injectable calcium is a whole different ball game and should only be given by a vet. I routinely give my girls oral calcium while feeding pups, never while in whelp.

[kelpiekaye]

Thank you Rebanne. Yes, the vet gave injectable calcium, It was just under the skin and a one-off to boost her calcium. We do the same to cows but usually in the neck vein as it works quicker. (I'm a dairy farmer) Alba seems to be all good now, despite me letting her feed the pups before the 24 hours was up. I will keep up with the oral calcium till they are weaned.

 

[ish]

Were you giving her calcium during whelping and after the puppies were born? I guess everyone you ask will do things different ways, but my girls are supplemented with oral calcium in fairly high doses from birth to weaning. It certainly seemed to help one of my girls who found it hard to settle and concentrate on being a mum and other trusted breeders/friends swear by it too which makes me stick with it. For GSDs it’s common to use a up a 1lt bottle of calcium for the bitch

[Dogsfevr]

Shit happens although my advice stick with supplementing the pups as no guarantees it won’t happen again .

Depends on the bottle used and what milk  you used,

We use goats milk to bottle feed and they learn very quickly to drink providing the test is right,patience and keep at it