Unfortunately the average consumer thinks that tiny puppies and hypoglycemia go hand in hand but actually any size puppy, including German Shepard puppies, can develop hypoglycemia. Of course the tinier the puppy, the less fat reserve is held in the liver, so the puppy does need to be fed more often. Healthy, happy puppies love to eat and should have excellent appetites. Investigate lack of appetite by blood tests of kidney and liver functions.
Primary hypoglycemia is caused from simply not eating for no real serious reason except the puppy is under stress. The solution is simple: tempting the puppy to eat with Esbilac puppy milk, Gerber Baby Meatsticks, soaking the dry food in chicken broth until it is soft. If the puppy is not sick then he will eat. Be alert to a lack of appetite, as it is a sign of impending illness.
Secondary hypoglycemia is caused by sickness, by lowered body temperatures (hypothermia), by body chemistry imbalances from poor diet or organ weaknesses and defects. This type of Hypoglycemia is very common due to mass production of puppies under disgusting conditions. It all starts in the womb where a developing fetus is unable to receive the proper nutrients from a poorly nourished mother. The developing fetus is bombarded with abnormally high levels of "stress" hormones (cortisol) which will make the puppy vulnerable to adrenal exhaustion. These puppies are born weak, and many die after birth or before 12 weeks. Such puppies frequently become sick. Hypoglycemia is only one of the symptoms of a weak and sickly puppymill puppy.
Online Petshop owners, Brokers, backyard breeders and puppymills often produce sickly puppies from sickly mothers. These type of breeders post all over their websites about how "normal" hypoglycemia is.
When a puppy you buy from them dies, low blood sugar (which is always present in sick animals) will fall under the "NO WARRANTY." Bad breeders use hypoglycemia to relieve themselves of liability for selling sick puppies. Hypoglycemia is only common in sickly puppies.
Hypoglycemia is most always the end result of a very sick puppy. A puppy with Parvo will not eat. The puppy WILL develop low blood sugar. A puppy infested with Giardia will not eat enough. The puppy WILL develop low blood sugar. A sickly puppy will chill easily and WILL develop low blood sugar.A sickly puppy will have imbalances in the delicate body chemistry and WILL develop low blood sugar.
When you run across a breeder's contract that states the breeder does not warranty against Hypoglycemia, ask the breeder to revise the contract. The contract should state:
Hypoglycemia due to a pre-existing illness of any kind, present at time of sale, is covered.
Learn how we prevent parvo, one of the deadliest diseases for puppies.
