Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar is sometimes referred to as “Sugar Shock” or “Crashing”. It occurs frequently in Toy Breed, petite, or teacup puppies. Hypoglycemia is a condition that occurs when the blood sugar drops due to lack of food & water. too much activity, lack of food & sometimes stress.

If your Maltese puppy is allowed to play too much, it burns up its calories & energy stores. A young puppy is too immature to stop playing, rest and replenish ( i.e; eat some puppy food!). Young Maltese puppies need to eat regularly throughout the day to maintain their normal blood sugar levels. As a new Maltese puppy parent, you need to be your dogs advocate to allow him proper rest and if necessary, encourage or force eating.

Hypoglycemia is preventable and your puppy should be monitored for the first month after arriving home. If you have purchased a tiny or “teacup” Maltese puppy, you may need to monitor your puppy for several weeks, months or even years. Hypoglycemia Kills. Remember this. Learn what to look for and how to prevent it. Most breeders do not guarantee against Hypoglycemia.

The first and most important thing to know about hypoglycemia is what to look for and how to recognize it. These are some signs & symptoms of hypoglycemia with your Maltese puppy.

1. Drooling. Clenched Teeth.
2. Inability to get up. Drunk acting, weak, listless, wobbly gait.
3. Shocky. Big eyes staring as if in shock.
4. Seizure or stiffness in body. Tremors. Shaking.

If your Maltese puppy displays any abnormal behavior associated with hypoglycemia, you must act immediately! Some things to keep on hand if you have just adopted tiny puppy is:

1. Karo Syrup
2. Nutri Cal Puppy Paste
3. Oral Syringe, for syringe feeding.
4. Chicken, beef or Turkey baby food in a jar
5. Puppy formula or goats milk
6. Gerber Rice cereal

Wipe Karo Syrup or Nutri-cal paste on your finger and force it into your puppies mouth. You can also gently put drops of water in puppy’s mouth being sure to not force water down their throat. Allow puppy to lap it up. You can then proceed to slowly feed puppy a mixture of Gerber rice cereal and goat milk/Chicken broth/ water/ puppy formula. You want to provide some carbs.You can also syringe some Gerber baby food chicken. (These things are easy to pull up into an oral syringe.)  You may have to pry open Puppy’s mouth if the puppy is clenching. GO SLOW at first, but dont dawdle either. You can alternate between water and food. Go slowly with water to prevent aspiration. If the puppy does not perk up after a few minutes, I give a pea size drop of Nutri Cal Puppy Paste, followed by a few drops of water. If the puppy still does not respond but is awake, give a bit more Karo syrup.You will want to continue this slow feeding until the puppy returns to normal.Allow your puppy to rest after feeding.

I make a runny paste of meat baby food  with rice cereal & water or puppy formula. Using the oral syringe feed the puppy every few hours over the next few days to help build up some weight on the Maltese puppy.

Prevention is key.

Always have food and water out for your Maltese puppy 24 hours per day. If you if you have a tiny or teacup puppy, make sure you force feed soft food 2-3 times a day!

Allow your puppy to rest frequently. Babies sleep a lot!

Give NutriCal Puppy Paste in the morning, afternoon and before bed for the first few days after bringing your Maltese puppy home. You can continue giving a pea sized drop at bedtime for several weeks to help prevent any sugar drop through the night.