# Emergency vet visit . Milk fever (dog)



## erica4481 (Mar 26, 2013)

Last night I noticed my mini dachshund Daizy was acting off. Then she started shaking uncontrollably , panting, heart racing, couldn't stand or walk. I rushed her in for an emergency visit and found that she had milk fever. Then after being given IV calcium fever went to 105 and her heart rate and overall condition worsened. I thought I was gonna lose my baby. But after a couple hours she is back to normal. Just wondering if anyone has experience with this. The vet said I could still allow puppies to nurse but I'm terrified that this could happen to her again.it cost me $551 and I cannot afford to pay that again right now. Puppies are 4 weeks old healthy, and eating puppy chow. Can I just wean them now?? Also I haven't allowed the puppies to nurse since last night and daizys Brest are becoming full . Will she be ok without letting them nurse.


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## ksalvagno (Oct 6, 2009)

Wow. Sorry that happened. Don't know anything about it. Can you let them nurse a little to relieve the pressure?


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## erica4481 (Mar 26, 2013)

The vet said wait 24 hrs but I'm scared to let them even nurse then. Plus vet said" if it happens again give her a tums on the way to bring her back in" "here's your bill" then "it's always nice to see you".... I was thinking yea I bet it is. I always feel robbed when I leave that place! I can't afford to have to take her back. She was in terrible shape and the vet said she was going into cardiac arrest. They gave her meds to sedate her to try to slow down her heart. Covered her in cold towels and put a fan on her.It was horrible to see my little baby like that. But amazing how quickly she recovered after getting the calcium. She already was only feeding them a couple times a day and caused it.


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## Carmen_SanDiego (Sep 13, 2013)

So I have low blood calcium and what happens when you body doesn't have enough is exactly what happened to your dog. I think it would be fine to give her a daily tums or even just a calcium supplement (or check how much her food has in it). As far as weaning puppies too early you will have dogs that will be smaller and less healthy. If you are okay with that then by all means but it seems easier to just supplement mom.


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## armortrails (Jan 8, 2014)

Yes, It's fine to wean them at 4 weeks. In fact, that's when I weaned mine anyway.
I have had a few dogs that had milk fever back when I was breeding. It's always very scary. However, I was never lucky enough to have it happen when the puppies were 4 weeks old.
There were many times that I had to bottle feed puppies that were only a couple days old. I always bottle fed them goats milk with a little Pedialyte.


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## OakHollowRanch (Jun 6, 2013)

I really do not believe they should be weaned at such a young age- it just isn't healthy. If you must for the safety of their mom, then at least supplement with raw goat milk so they can grow to their potential.


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## NyGoatMom (Jan 26, 2013)

erica4481 said:


> Last night I noticed my mini dachshund Daizy was acting off. Then she started shaking uncontrollably , panting, heart racing, couldn't stand or walk. I rushed her in for an emergency visit and found that she had milk fever. Then after being given IV calcium fever went to 105 and her heart rate and overall condition worsened. I thought I was gonna lose my baby. But after a couple hours she is back to normal. Just wondering if anyone has experience with this. The vet said I could still allow puppies to nurse but I'm terrified that this could happen to her again.it cost me $551 and I cannot afford to pay that again right now. Puppies are 4 weeks old healthy, and eating puppy chow. Can I just wean them now?? Also I haven't allowed the puppies to nurse since last night and daizys Brest are becoming full . Will she be ok without letting them nurse.


So sorry you went through that I would give the pups warmed raw goats milk...along with food.


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## Serenity Woods (Apr 2, 2012)

When I was young, we had a poodle that got milk fever. The vet suggested making a tube cut from panty hose, and slipping that over her teats so that the puppies couldn't continue to nurse. Lasted about a day before the puppies chewed through it, and we ended up back at the emergency vet.


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## Little-Bits-N-Pieces (Apr 7, 2013)

I would let them nurse a little and just a few times a day to relieve the pressure, but wean them off early. Supplement them with goats milk for the next 2 and a half weeks, along with their puppy food.

Give momma some raw meat with the bone still in it for the added calcium.


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## armortrails (Jan 8, 2014)

I really would not let them nurse anymore. The chances are high that she will get milk fever again. Plus, puppies shouldn't even be nursing over 4 weeks. I'm surprised that the mother even still allowed it. Like clockwork, my girls started knocking them off at about 3 1/2 weeks. However, I raised mastiffs, so a full set of mastiff canine teeth really hurts.

The standard practice is to start the weaning process at 3 weeks by adding a milk substitute to food and let it soak to a milky mush. Then gradually decrease the milk until they are totally on food. It can take from 4 to 6 weeks of age depending on the breed and the puppy.

I helped out at several animal shelters, and bred dogs for 15 years. Trust me, if your puppies are eating food at this age, they are fine to be weaned.

They also won't be any less healthy. In fact, I have found that they are usually bigger and stronger the earlier you can get them on food.


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## canyontrailgoats (Jan 4, 2014)

I think in this case the health and LIFE of the mom is more important than the puppies getting a little extra milk that they don't really need at their age.
It's a lot easier to supplement the puppies with goats milk or whatever, than to try to keep the mom nursing after the stress she just went through, and risk another visit to the vet or worse, her dying.
I'm really sorry this happened, hope everything turns out ok :hug:


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## erica4481 (Mar 26, 2013)

I don't have any goats milk only replacer at the moment. I'm gonna go get some puppy formula milk tomorrow and just add a little to their food when I feed them. Since they are eating so good on their own , I just don't want to take any more chances on that happening again to my sweet Daizy again. 

Or would it be ok to use the goat replacer that I already have to give the puppies? If not I can but puppy milk. Just figured since I already have a whole bag that I'm not using if its ok ?


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## happybleats (Sep 12, 2010)

Goats milk or replacer at this time could upset their tummies, if they are eating moisten dog food and drinking water they will be fine...I had a boxer who could not have moms milk or any replacer..raised her on tuna, kidney beans and boiled potatoe her first year...You are very lucky your little dog survived...many do not, personally I would not risk the health of mom if the pups can do wet food


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## armortrails (Jan 8, 2014)

I agree. I wouldn't even add any milk replacer at this point. The whole goal after 4 weeks of age is to get them off milk and onto food. You have already managed to get them on food at 4 weeks(good job BTW), so there is no need to add milk back in just so you can take it back out again. 
They are getting everything they need from dog food and water.
Good luck, and I hope your girl is alright.


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## erica4481 (Mar 26, 2013)

Ok Daizy is doing great and back to her normal self. And she doesn't mind being separated from her babies. I let her go in a couple times to just look into their box to see that they are ok then she's ready to leave them again so I'm just relieved that's she's not stressed out from the separation.


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