I have a six-year-old female English Pointer who was spayed at age two. From being a few months old she has recurring episodes of shaking, lack of co-ordination, unable to open her mouth and chew food. When this first happened I took her to the vet who could find nothing amiss and seemed sceptical of my description of her symptoms. I contacted her breeder who said this had happened to one of her Pointers and it was low blood sugar and to give her something like a digestive biscuit when it happened. This is exactly what I have done when the episodes occur and have to put the food in the side of her mouth so she can chew enough to swallow. She then recovers.
When I moved about three years ago and my Pointer had symptoms again I took her to my current vet who did a blood test which was normal. I explained that I had just given her some carbohydrate so it may have been a false negative. Since then I have just followed the breeders' advice and treated her myself. The other day I took her to the vet again as she had developed a small lump in the chest area and her behaviour had changed in that she refuses to come out with me in the morning since the winter started and prefers to stay on the sofa and wait for me to return. In the afternoon she comes out as normal and runs and plays happily with my other dog.
The vet thought the lump which is fibrous may be trauma and to keep an eye on it. She was more concerned about the dog's weight which is 34kilos and to restrict her food and make her come out with me in the morning to increase her excercise. I reminded her of the low blood sugar problem and described her symptoms which she found "very strange" however she was not concerned about this and urged more exercise and diet.She suggested a prescription diet which i declined. When I got home I looked up hypoglyceamia in dogs and read that it is a serious and potentially life threatening condition. I would really appreciate some help here:
1. Controlling weight with my dog has always been tricky as if the carboyhdrate is reduced too much my dog has symptoms. I feed a mainly raw food diet of meat, chicken wings, liver, vegetables, and a wholemeal biscuit. Any suggestions please?
2. Am I right to assume her condition is low blood sugar given that she recovers when fed carbohydrate or should I have further blood tests having starved her and risk an episode of shaking etc?
Any suggestions or similiar experiences will be much appreciated!
Julie Capaldi, by email
Unfortunately I am unable to help directly, but I wanted to say that a vet should take your concerns seriously! I think these symptoms warrant investigation. You know your dog better than anyone else - don't do anything that you feel uncomfortable with. If your vet won't listen, then try another one! Good luck.
ReplyDeleteLikewise, I am unable to help, but would suggest you put your dog's symptoms in writing in some detail (as above) & ask the vets in the practice or another practice to read & discuss it.
ReplyDeleteGood luck Julie
It sounds possible that these are two totally separate conditions. I have to say I never realised dogs could suffer from low blood sugar, but for people it is helpful to eat regular meals - maybe you could feed your dog three times a day - and it is true that in humans something sugary or starchy will cause the blood sugar levels to rise very quickly and the symptoms to recede.
ReplyDeleteCertainly healthy dogs as we know have no nutritional requirement for carbohydrate, and it is possible a high level in her diet is keeping her overweight. I imagine you do the obvious such as weighing her food religiously!
I think you should ask your vet for a referral to a specialist, as the hypoglycaemia could be linked to a medical condition; if they want her to undergo blood tests at least this would be in a controlled environment where veterinary help would be at hand if required.
My GWP had low blood sugar caused by insulinoma. After the insulinoma was removed the symptoms returned about 10 months later. The only symptom he had originally was "the wobbles" during exercise, but afterwards he'd get episodes of wobbles before and then after meals. My vet did mention something called "hunting dog hypoglycaemia" at our first visit but a blood test was indicative of insulinoma, confirmed by ultrasound. Recommendations for hypo include small frequent meals (Jamie was fed 5 times a day) and to have something like honey on hand for hypo attacks. (I'm in Australia but in the US and Canada they seem to prefer karo syrup.) It's very important to keep the glucose level stable, as if it drops too low seizures and coma can result. I wouldn't be looking at MORE exercise or dieting, I'd ask for a referral to a specialist if I were you. They can keep your dog in for the day and test her blood before and after feeding. There's a yahoo group called insulinomadogs if you feel the need to chat with people who've been through insulinoma. A lot of us who have lost our dogs are still on the list. NOT that I'm saying your dog has insulinoma of course! Good luck
ReplyDelete