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Eclampsia

Has anyone had a Lab mom get eclampsia? When did it start and what were the symptoms? How fast does it set it?

Re: Eclampsia

Get her to the vet NOW if she's showing signs, wobbliness, disorientation, etc.
By the time I got my girl to vet, 45 mins after onset, she was seizing.
We did save her but it could have gone either way.

Re: Eclampsia

My first bitch had it with her first litter, I think because I was feeding too much meat (high in potassium, binds with calcium and excretes it from the body). She did not have enough calcium, and she was probably less than a week post-whelp. She started having facial twitches, so I called my vet right away and he said to give her a couple tums and some cottage cheese. She progressed to slight tremors as I remember before the extra calcium kicked in. I was a newbie at that point, and it taught me how important calcium/phosphorus levels are in a lactating bitch!
Her next litter she had 12 puppies and I remember feeding her 12 cups of food a day, plus extra cottage cheese. It amazed me how she could nurse 12 puppies whose body mass was probably equal to or bigger than hers, and have enough milk to do it again 3 hours later!!
Another important dietary lactation issue is: Never feed any large-breed puppy food to a lactating bitch. These foods are lower in calcium and are not suitable for a lactating bitch. Also, always give a lactating bitch free access to cold, fresh water to keep milk levels up.
I'm thinking the original poster was asking a rhetorical question and is not waiting for an answer before acting! Is she showing any signs of twitching, tremoring or wobbliness?

Re: Eclampsia

No symptoms like that. I'm just a worrier and I wanted to know what to watch for. And I'm curious.

Re: Eclampsia

If you aren't monitoring her temp - you might want to do that twice a day for the first week or so. I think our first bitch started a temp. rise and it went over 104 when she had eclampsia. We caught it so soon that she was fine.

Re: Re: Eclampsia

Eclampsia is a medical emergency. My CH girl had it. She threw up then stood and shook and could not move. By the time we rushed her to the vet she had 105. There were no prior warning signs either. Vet had everything ready when we got there and saved her. This happened in the evening. If she had done this in the night whe would have died. If your girl exhibits any of the symptoms another breeder described do not delay getting her medical help