In both animals and humans, hypoglycemia is a sudden drop in blood glucose concentration, falling below of normal levels. Glucose is used by the body, human or animal, as a source of vital energy to perform many functions. The liver is in charge of its manufacture and storage for when it is necessary to pass into the blood and, thus, go to the place that needs it most urgently.
In this article on our site we want to talk to you about hypoglycemia in dogs, its causes and main symptoms to help you identify it early, since it is an emergency that can be fatal if it is not attended to in a timely manner.
Causes of hypoglycemia in dogs
There are different types of causes, from those caused by us, or by veterinarians, to hereditary or genetic, by breeds that are more likely to suffer from this problem due to their size.
The so-called transient juvenile hypoglycemia is found more frequently in miniature breeds such as the Yorkshire terrier, chihuahua and toy poodle, among other reasons for a prolonged fast. It usually occurs between 5 and 15 weeks of life. It does not happen in all cases, but it is quite frequent and requires immediate veterinary attention. In these cases it is important that they always have food available, at least until they are one year old. This type of hypoglycemia is triggered by stress or excessive exercise by, on many occasions, living in homes with children who want to play at any time, since it is difficult to control. Adding to this the fact that many are so small that they do not have enough muscle mass to store glucose and take it in case of excessive exercise, we will have more chances of having a case.
In animals that are treated with insulin, due to liver damage or other organic causes, sometimes the dose is not calculated correctly and an excess is applied, the animal has not eaten enough with respect to the received dose or had previously vomited. insulin overdose is common, either because of a miscalculation or because the injection is given twice. Another of the frequent causes of hypoglycemia in dogs is that the animal has been more active during the day and, therefore, the dose that is normally applied is not enough.
Types and symptoms of hypoglycemia in dogs
Hypoglycemia can be classified into 3 types of severity, and if the first stage is not properly attended to, we will quickly move on to the following and with a higher risk of fatality. The types of canine hypoglycemia are as follows:
- mild hypoglycemia we can identify it by weakness or unusual tiredness, high appetite and sometimes the presence of chills or tremors.
- In moderate hypoglycemia we will see little coordination of our animal, it can walk in circles or appear "drunk", with some disorientation. We will also observe vision problems and restlessness, with excessive and irritating barking.
- Already in the worst stage or severe hypoglycemia we will have convulsions and loss of consciousness, stupor and coma. It is common to reach death at this stage.
Treatments for canine hypoglycemia
In any of the stages of hypoglycemia, the first thing we should do is offer food to our animal to try to reverse the picture as soon as possible possible. Once we're sure his blood glucose level is correct, we'll take him to the vet.
There is a treatment with honey or glucose syrup that we can resort to if our dog does not want to eat. We will give small or miniature dogs a teaspoon and large ones a tablespoon of this natural remedy to regulate glucose levels. Then we'll have him eat like normal. It is a very quick treatment, like an energy shock and so continue with the rest of the maneuvers. In cases where you do not want to swallow the honey, we can rub your gums with it, since that way you will absorb it, in less quantity, but it will act. The important thing as owners is that we must remain calm and, first, do these little things at home and then go to the specialist.
If you don't have honey at home, you can prepare a glucose solution with tap water. It is nothing more than sugar dissolved in water but we must calculate 1 tablespoon for every 5 kg of weight of our animal. It is advisable to have it prepared at home in a bottle to use in an emergency.
After having stabilized the animal, we must go to the veterinarian to regulate the next dose of insulin and not cause hypoglycemia in the dog again.
