What is Milk Fever?
Eclampsia can affect any size and breed of dog, but seems to affect small breed mothers with large litters the most. The early restlessness seen in mothers can progress into spasms, then into seizures, which can negatively affect the brain and lead to death. When hypocalcemia occurs during birth, it can lead to ineffective contractions that can slow down labor and lead to a difficult birth.
Milk fever, also referred to as eclampsia or hypocalcemia, is a condition in which calcium levels in the bloodstream drop in nursing mothers due to lactation. Most commonly, milk fever occurs within one to five weeks of the birth of the puppies, but it can occur before or during birth. This is a life-threatening condition that progresses quickly, and needs immediate medical attention.
Symptoms of Milk Fever in Dogs
Normally, the mother and puppies can appear healthy before the mother begins to show subtle signs of rigid limbs, panting, and spastic movements. Once these signs appear, the condition can turn fatal within 30 to 60 minutes if left untreated. Heavy panting can lead to respiratory alkalosis in your dog, while continued seizures can cause fluid accumulation and swelling in the brain. Signs your dog is suffering from milk fever include:
- Heavy panting
- Difficulty breathing
- Muscle twitching and spasms
- Limb rigidity
- Restlessness
- Pacing
- Whining
- Disorientation
- Aggression
- Shivering
- Puerperal tetany, a type of paralysis causing an inability to walk or stand
- Increased thirst
- Increased urination
- Salivation
- Hyperthermia, or an increased body temperature
- Weakness
- Abnormally fast heart rate
- Convulsions
- Tremors
- Seizures
- Vomiting
- Coma
- Death
- Slowed labor during parturition
Causes of Milk Fever in Dogs
Milk production requires a lot of energy, which is gained through a balanced diet before and after the birth of the puppies. Normally, the loss of calcium through lactation is not a problem for the mother because she compensates by accessing calcium from her diet or from calcium stores in her body. There are times when the amount of calcium that is lost from lactation is not replaced, which results in a decreased level of calcium circulating in the bloodstream. This can occur because of:
- Loss of calcium through milk production
- Diet that does not contain adequate amounts of calcium
- Calcium supplements that were given during pregnancy that cause the mother to be unable to access the calcium stores in her own body
- Low levels of albumin in the blood, causing a disruption in the transportation of calcium
- Parathyroid gland dysfunction, causing a disruption in normal calcium levels
While milk fever can occur in any breed and size of dog, it does seem to occur more often in smaller breeds with large litters. Breeds that are commonly affected include:
- Chihuahuas
- English Setters
- Miniature Pinschers
- Italian Spinone
- Shih-Tzus
- Miniature Poodles
Diagnosis of Milk Fever in Dogs
Once you notice any symptoms of milk fever in your dog, you need to stop the pups from suckling and seek medical attention immediately, as the progression of milk fever is quick and can become fatal within the hour. Relay to your veterinarian any symptoms you have noticed, as well as factors such as when symptoms began, the mother’s diet, the size of the litter, and the size and health of the puppies.
Your veterinarian will normally examine your dog and take a blood sample. Through blood and serum testing, your vet can assess the levels of calcium, albumin, and the parathyroid hormone in the blood. These levels can point to a diagnosis of low blood calcium or to the reason for the decreased calcium levels. An electrocardiogram may also be performed to analyze heart function. A diagnosis of milk fever is confirmed through the results of testing and with response to treatment.
Treatment of Milk Fever in Dogs
Treatment of milk fever seeks to replace and balance calcium levels in your dog’s body, while dealing with the puppies’ nutrition. The first step is to stop the puppies from suckling on the mother by separating them.
Treatment of Mother
Intravenous calcium is slowly given to the mother over 5 to 30 minutes to replace the calcium in her body. Often, improvement is seen in 15 minutes with muscle relaxation. Other drugs may be given, such as anti-seizure medications, and other conditions, such as hyperthermia or low albumin levels, are also treated as needed. The heart rate is monitored throughout treatments for any irregularities with an ECG or stethoscope.
Calcium and vitamin D for increased calcium absorption are added into the diet for long term maintenance and can prevent a relapse of milk fever. Your vet may request weekly check-ups to monitor the levels of calcium in the blood. The mother should be fed a balanced and high energy diet, such as wet puppy foods.
The puppies should be removed from the mother during the first few days of treatment to allow her body to be able to replenish calcium levels. She should then be monitored for mastitis, or swollen mammary glands. A warm compress can relieve any discomfort of overfull glands, while an abdominal wrap or small t-shirt can be used to cover the teats if separation from the puppies is not possible.
Feeding the Puppies
The puppies need to stop suckling at their mother for at least 12 to 24 hours. Your vet may recommend a longer time for this separation. If the puppies are under 4 weeks old, they should be fed an appropriate milk substitute. They may be able to suckle from their mother for short periods, but this could still compromise the mother’s health. If the puppies are older than 4 weeks old, they can be weaned and encouraged to eat puppy food.
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Recovery of Milk Fever in Dogs
With quick treatment, many cases of milk fever can be completely resolved with calcium replacement therapies. If paralysis has occurred, symptoms may not resolve with treatments and your veterinarian will discuss your dog’s recovery based on her condition. If your dog has suffered from hypocalcemia due to lactation, the condition may recur with future litters.
You may need to separate the puppies from the mother and provide adequate nutrition to replace the mother’s milk. The mother’s diet may be changed, and you may need to add supplements to prevent a relapse of the condition during the remainder of her lactation cycle. You may also need to take your dog to your veterinarian weekly to monitor her calcium levels.
You can help to prevent milk fever in your expecting dog by providing a good quality and balanced diet (usually puppy food) throughout pregnancy and lactation, providing food and water during lactation as desired by your dog, and supplementing the mother’s milk with milk replacer to the pups early on in the lactation cycle. It is not recommended to supplement calcium during the pregnancy as this can lead to a condition of milk fever.
Milk Fever Questions and Advice from Veterinary Professionals
Yorkshire Terrier
Porky
1 Year
3 found this helpful
3 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Panting
Nervous
Nervous Panting
My yorkie just had a singleton Boy 2 days ago. Ever since she gave birth to him she kept panting and it never stopped. She pants heavily and every so often cry’s out like she wants to go outside to potty but the second I let her out she cry’s to come back to her puppy. At times she will rest while the puppy is eating and she won’t pant but every so often she starts to freak out and starting panting and wanting out of her playpen only to want to go back in shortly after. She is a first time mom and the puppy she had was a big one for her and it took her 1 hour from start of hard labor to get him out. She did yelp in pain as he was coming out as he was a huge 6.1oz pup. Could she be having milk fever ? Her body temp is 100.8
Aug. 18, 2018
3 Recommendations
Panting after whelping is normal and may occur for days or even weeks after whelping; with eclampsia we normally see it around the fourth week (range one to five weeks) after whelping and is associated with large litters. It is possible, but the symptoms don’t fit for me; however the only way to know for sure is a blood test to check serum calcium levels. Keep an eye on Porky for the time being and visit your Veterinarian if you have any concerns. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
https://wagwalking.com/symptom/why-is-my-dog-panting-after-giving-birth
Aug. 18, 2018
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Great Dane
Amber Dyson
2 Years
3 found this helpful
3 found this helpful
My Great Dane just had her first litter 10 days ago. She had 7 pups that are thriving and she is doing so well with them. However, this evening she all of a sudden randomly got up and ran to the front door like she was going to throw up, but she was stumbling and could not walk straight at all. I let her out and followed after her and she dry heaved for a minute and then collapsed to the ground and laid there with her front legs spread out in a weird position. We offered her water that she refused. She finally moved back to the front porch and laid down and seemed cold like she was shivering. We just pet her for about 20 minutes and she eventually got up and has seemed fine ever since. This was about 5-6 hours ago and she hasn’t showed any other symptoms since then. Help?!
April 24, 2018
3 Recommendations
Without examining her and checking serum blood calcium I cannot really say what the specific cause of this episode was; you should ensure that she is kept warm, is being fed a lactation diet and is otherwise comfortable. I think you should visit a Veterinarian since the symptoms were quite severe and we don’t want them to occur again. Regards Dr Callum Turner DVM
April 24, 2018
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Bichon Frise
Bella
1 Year
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Panting And Increase Breathing
Hi my dog just had a litter of 5 puppies but the first one passed away and now she is on day 3 of postpartum and she has been panting a lot and breathing quite quickly could this be milk fever or something else?
April 23, 2018
Answered by Dr. Michele K. DVM
0 Recommendations
Bella may have milk fever, or she may have an infection or a retained placenta or fetus. Since she just had the puppies, and the first one did not survive, it would be a good idea to have her examined by a veterinarian to make sure that everything is okay with her. They'll be able to assess her and determine if she is having a problem. I hope that all goes well for her.
April 23, 2018
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Yorkie
Bella
1 Year
0 found this helpful
0 found this helpful
My pet has the following symptoms:
Milk Fev
Bella is 1 year old gave birth to 4 puppies 1 week ago. My question is can I do anything to help her? We don't have a emergency vet. I ground up a calcium pill of 600 mg gave her half.anything else we can do?
April 10, 2018
Answered by Dr. Michele K. DVM
0 Recommendations
If Bella is doing well, and nursing the puppies, and on a good quality food, she should be fine without any supplementation. It might help to feed her a puppy food of the same brand that she eats, as there are more calories, fat, and calcium than in adult food. It is a good idea to avoid supplementation of calcium unless she has a problem.
April 10, 2018
Bella passed away at 10 am.
April 10, 2018
Bella's Owner
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