How Do You Detect Canine Eclampsia (Milk Fever)?
Eclampsia; more commonly known simply as ‘milk fever’ or more technically as ‘puerperal tetany’ is a fast acting, potentially fatal condition. It is imperitive that if you are going to breed your female dog, you MUST be aware of these signs as it requires immediate vet care and all females are at risk; small breeds or those with large litters especially. These signs progress very rapidly, sometimes in a matter of minutes. Act fast or your girl could die. First thing you will notice is that she will act ‘off’. She won’t want to tend to her babies. She will likely be very ‘needy’ of your attention and appear worried. She will become restless and begin panting. The panting will get increasingly worse to the point of not only drooling a little but A LOT. Very soon after this – maybe minutes, maybe an hour – she will start staggering around, tripping and even falling right down. This is very scary. It’s almost as if she were drunk or having a stroke. She may then get to a point where she ca
