Milk Fever in Dogs (Hypocalcaemia

IWhat is Hypocalcaemia

Hypocalcaemia or Eclampsia (low calcium in a whelping dog) is a life threatening medical condition where the body’s blood calcium levels are depleted. Calcium plays a key role in nerve transmission and muscle function. During pregnancy calcium regulation changes due to the development of the foetuses and milk production.  When calcium becomes depleted some of the common signs you will notice are;

·         Muscle twitching

·         Lethargy

·         Loss of control of limbs – not able to walk

·         Convulsions and seizures

These signs are commonly seen from whelping till the pups are about 4weeks of age. During this time, calcium production is at its highest to support the growing pups. If the litter is large for the dog this in its self will increases the chances of hypocalcaemia developing as the body physically can’t keep up.

How does it occur

The body is designed to regulate its calcium retention and excretion depending on its requirements. At whelping and in the first few weeks of life, the body’s demand for calcium sky rockets. In a healthy dog that is at a good body condition score and otherwise healthy, they can manage this demand without running low. If a dogs ability to regulate its calcium is impaired their own bodyily function will be affected, resulting in life threatening condition.  A few conditions will lead to hypocalcaemia naturally and these are; parathyroid gland issues, poor body condition score and poor diet. A few things that we as owners do can also lead to hypocalcaemia, these are; supplementing calcium prior to whelping, feeding low quality food and feeding raw meat. Supplementing the dog with calcium prior to whelping interferes with the body’s natural ability to regulate its calcium levels, meaning when the body needs to up regulate its calcium/ retain more calcium, it can’t. Low quality feeds are inadequate in protein, energy and calcium levels. A good diet is a puppy food. This is high in energy and protein to help maintain body condition and calcium, but not too high to interfere with regulation. A raw meat diet or a diet that consists of a lot of raw meat interferes with the body’s ability to use calcium. The raw meat interferes with the phosphorus making calcium less available in the body.

Prevention

To help prevent eclampsia from occurring, we as owners play a vital role. To help minimise the chances of it occurring we can; feed a high quality puppy diet while pregnant, ONLY supplement oral calcium after whelping and ensure other underlying medical conditions are controlled and treated. Supplementing oral calcium is important and safe to do in all lactating dogs. Liquid and tablet forms are available and appropriate dose rates are provided with these over the counter medications.

Treatment

Depending on how severe the calcium depletion is, treatment can vary from oral medications to life support. The main principle of treatment is to restore calcium to within normal ranges. Base line bloods are required to determine the deficit present. From there we can tailor our treatment to best suit the individual animal. A key step to decreased re-occurrence is to supplement feed the pups or early weaning depending on age to decrease the load placed on the mother’s body. Once discharged it is important to give the dog daily oral supplementation. Often if hypocalcaemia occurs it is likely to re-occur in future litters.

Myths regarding hypocalcaemia

·         Giving calcium oral supplementation prior to whelping. Do not do this as this will cause Eclampsia.

·         Not changing the dog’s diet. A pregnant dog requires small frequent feeds to support its body function. Due to the growing foetuses, a dogs stomach size decreases, limiting their ability to support body function on 1 or 2 daily feeds.