# Nutri cal?



## melyo36 (Feb 17, 2014)

I'm a first time mom to a 9 week old chi named Mia. 
I have been doing a lot of research on chihuahuas and one thing I see in just about every article is chihuahuas and hypoglycemia. I have been watching Mia very very closely when she eats and she really doesn't eat a lot or often. She has food available at all times so I could be missing some times she eats. I bought a tube of nutri cal to have on hand should I ever notice any symptoms. One thing I noticed through my research are when to give the puppy nutri cal. Some people said to give her a tiny bit to lick off your finger everyday. Others said to have it on hand should you notice any hypoglycemia symptoms. 
After all the research and the countless articles I have read I find myself very confused. Should I let the puppy have food all times so she can eat what she wants when she wants? Or should I only be giving her food at certain times? 
This is my very first chihuahua. I have had many other dog breeds and never worried this much about the puppy eating. Mia is doing very well at home. She sleeps through the night and is very playful during the day. I have no issues at all with training her to potty outside. She is doing very very very with it. I've never had a dog that I could train this easily. But her getting enough to eat has this mommy very worried :/ any advice would be great!
Thank you!


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## Groovadelickun (May 31, 2013)

melyo36 said:


> I'm a first time mom to a 9 week old chi named Mia.
> I have been doing a lot of research on chihuahuas and one thing I see in just about every article is chihuahuas and hypoglycemia. I have been watching Mia very very closely when she eats and she really doesn't eat a lot or often. She has food available at all times so I could be missing some times she eats. I bought a tube of nutri cal to have on hand should I ever notice any symptoms. One thing I noticed through my research are when to give the puppy nutri cal. Some people said to give her a tiny bit to lick off your finger everyday. Others said to have it on hand should you notice any hypoglycemia symptoms.
> After all the research and the countless articles I have read I find myself very confused. Should I let the puppy have food all times so she can eat what she wants when she wants? Or should I only be giving her food at certain times?
> This is my very first chihuahua. I have had many other dog breeds and never worried this much about the puppy eating. Mia is doing very well at home. She sleeps through the night and is very playful during the day. I have no issues at all with training her to potty outside. She is doing very very very with it. I've never had a dog that I could train this easily. But her getting enough to eat has this mommy very worried :/ any advice would be great!
> ...


I felt much the same with our Chi. When we first picked her up from her flight from the breeder she didn't want to eat and after reading about hypoglycemia I ran out to pick some up. After giving her a small amount, she got her appetite back within the hour. 

I've been paranoid about hypoglycemia ever since then. She's gone through periods of not eating for a long time but I resisted giving her more Nutri Cal. 
We've left food out for her and as she's gotten older has gotten actually more of an appetite. 
She just eats when she's hungry and it's worked out well so far. (10 months old now) 

Also, we found that if we wet the food she'd start eating. 
I would just keep an eye on her that she doesn't become lethargic. 

Hope that helps...


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## pigeonsheep (Nov 8, 2008)

Hmm I did nutrical when I got Dexter and he would have a dime sized amount on his dry food when he was 12 weeks old. However when I got KC at 8 weeks she didn't need the nutrical nor did I get any for her. Her puppy food was ample enough and she just loved to eat from the start ^^ I kept her in her playpen while I was away and left her enough kibbles in her bowl to last her a couple hours


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

I would feed on a schedule, then you will know exactly how much she is eating. Some dogs don't get all that hungry when food is always available.
I would feed at least 4 times a day, and let her eat as much as she wants at each meal.
Also what are you feeding? Often improving the quality of the food will also improve the appetite. That said, a 9 week old Chi puppy has a tiny tummy, they are never going to eat a huge amount in one sitting.


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## Miless (Feb 14, 2014)

I raise little poodles and so many times if a baby has a sugar drop I reached for the Nutri Cal. Airlines that I ship puppies though recommend shippers give this to a puppy before shipping. It's a must if you have a teacup/toy type of puppy. Any type of stress that may happen in your puppies life, give them a dose of Nutri Cal Puppy. My vet highly recommends it


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## Lola's mommy8 (Feb 2, 2014)

When my dog was a puppy I got the nutri cal before bringing her home and gave her a dime size drop off my finger twice a day (she really hates it though so I rubbed it into her gums) and I kept it with us at all times until she was about seven months old just in case. It really came in handy one day when she hit the soft spot on her head (molera had not closed yet) and got really dazed and seemed to be in shock. She never had a hypoglycemic episode though, just twice when she banged her head and it perks them right up from that too. I did giver her extra at times if she got really tired like from playing with the neighbors puppy or something just to be cautious. I also free fed her and it is what I'm most comfortable with to this day. When she was a pup though I made sure to see her eat every two hours for the first 4 months, then every 4 hours when she was a little older. Now that I'm accustomed to when she prefers to eat I just don't worry about it. I used to sit by her bowl and put pieces of kibble on the floor or her paws and she would eat and think it was a fun game. I would avoid wet food or wetting the kibble as this might spoil her off dry food and we know how important it is for those teeth.


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## Wicked Pixie (Oct 14, 2011)

Kibble being good for a dogs teeth is a myth created by kibble companies. Wet foods are perfectly fine, especially if they are high meat content/low carbohydrate. It is very important that all dogs fed a dry diet ingest adequate water, so wetting the kibble is a really good idea from a health perspective. It also makes dry food more palatable and easier to eat for a small puppy.


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## melyo36 (Feb 17, 2014)

Thank you for the input. I ordered a tube of nutri cal and even if I don't use I know I will feel better just having it. I did wet a little of her food like someone suggested and she ate the whole dish! I have started doing that morning and evening and letting regular dry food out all day. 


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## Chihuahuaobsession (Apr 27, 2013)

melyo36 said:


> Thank you for the input. I ordered a tube of nutri cal and even if I don't use I know I will feel better just having it. I did wet a little of her food like someone suggested and she ate the whole dish! I have started doing that morning and evening and letting regular dry food out all day.
> 
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


I would have the nutri-cal on hand but I wouldnt use it unless its really needed. This stuff has high fructose corn syrup, terrible for us and dogs. I have tiny chis and I use honey, works great for us


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