Calcium Deficiency

[fatlad 250]

just got the dog back from vets she came into season on Monday came in from work last night and

she could hardly walk and her breathing was bad, got her straight in vet took some blood for tests

came back really low calcium, the vet doesn't know if its to do with the season or not she gets a really

good diet and plenty of bones is there any sort of additives I can give her to boost her calcium levels

as I don't want to go threw this again

[LaraCroft 863]

I would be wanting the vet to find out why the calcium was so low as to cause symptoms - if the dog is getting a decent diet ( and it sounds like she is ) and isn't either pregnant or producing milk, then she is either not taking in the calcium from the food, or there is an underlying reason for her loosing it / using it etc to make it low.

 

You can buy calcium supplement tablets for dogs at any pet shop, but be careful to stick to the dose - too much can cause as many problems as too little.

 

If the vet did a full screen of the blood, they can check levels of albumin, kidney problems, thyroid, pancreas etc that can all cause low calcium.

 

Good luck sorting it out

[skycat 6,173]

Thyroid problems can cause an inability to absorb calcium: has your vet checked out thyroid function?

 

Also, an imbalance in the amount of calcium/phosphorus ratio in the diet may cause problems. Dogs which are fed a lot of meat at the expense of other nutrients may be less able to use the calcium they get in their diets. One of the dangers of a raw diet if you don't know what each type of food contains and how much of each a dog needs.

 

Have a read of this:

 

http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/cardiovascular/c_dg_hypocalcemia#.UboHjPlQHOc

[fatlad 250]

the vets gave her intravious calcium last night with fluids last night and

she was ok to come home today, ive got to give her 10ml of liquid calcium

a day and take her back monday to check her blood again. they checked

all her functions and all seemed ok, her diets mostly raw with gain 28 for 2

days a week. the raw consists of tripe,minced lamb,beef n liver, chicken,

duck wings and lambs heads.

[Country Joe 1,411]

I would imagine the Gain will include some Calcium?

[paulus 26]

women and hormones

[sandymere 8,263]

From your description/ info gained so far my first thought would be hypoparathyroid

see link

 

 

http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/endocrine/c_dg_hypoparathyroidism?page=2

 

 

Regards s

[fatlad 250]

thanks sandymere that links really helpful the vets thinking along them lines she hurt

her neck panicking at the vets so didn't want to they stress her anymore she,s back

at 5 on Monday

[fatlad 250]

had to have dog pts. this morning she was having cramps every 20 mins or so

the vet didn,t know what was causing it said it was for the best she spent another

2 days in vets and they couldn,t sort it out, absoloutly gutted

[LaraCroft 863]

Sorry to hear this :-(

 

Calcium dropping that quickly in a healthy dog with good diet is not good news, but I was hoping they would be able to find out the problem and sort it. Sad news, but sounds like you did the right thing.

[sandymere 8,263]

Sads news.