- ma 06 sep 2004, 21:02
#161739
Even een paar stukjes uit hoofdstuk 6 van "Grow your pups with Bones" van Ian Billinghurst over eclampsie:
"Eclampsia is a condition of severe muscular spasms and high temperature that can occur in bitches in the period from before birth through to weaning of the pups. It commonly appears in the two to three weeks following whelping, that is, when a bitch is at peak lactation. However, it can be seen before whelping, straight after whelping, or up to four to six weeks after whelping.
The basic cause of eclampsia in breeding bitches is low blood calcium which may also be combined with low blood sugar.
It is vital that blood calcium in any dog be kept at very strict and constant levels. The levels of blood calcium most not be too high, nor must they be too low. It is difficult and very uncommon for the blood calcium to become too high. It is more common that blood calcium levels drop, and when they do - we have eclampsia.
Signs and symptoms:
*It usually begins with the bitch losing interest in de pups
*Then she becomes restless and nervous with rapid panting
*This progresses to trembling and staggering
*Untreated she will eventually go down and may then have violent contractions of muscle groups all over her body
*This muscular activity causes a rapid and extreme rise in body temperature which can go to 41 degrees celsius or more
*The muscular spasms and convulsions if left untreated will eventually lead to coma and death
*In some breeds the first you will know of the problem is when the bitch becomes aggressive towards the pups - for example in bull terriers
When a bitch is lactating, it can be difficult for her to keep a constant level of calcium in her blood, because the calcium literally pouring from her blood into the milk.
As the bitch pour calcium into the milk, she must replace it. And where does she get that replacement calcium from? Two places: her food and her bones and it is her bones that she depends on most.
However, if there is not sufficient calcium stores in her bones, or if the hormones are not available to get calcium from her bones into her blood, her blood calcium levels will drop and she will develop eclampsia.
In other words, eclampsia can occur if the calcium stores in the bones are low or if the hormonal system that withdraws calcium from the bones is not working.
That means to understand the cause(s) of eclampsia, we have to understand why the calcium levels in the bones are low and what has caused the hormone system to fail.
Calcium levels in bones are low: the cause is usually a lifetime of being fed with mainly meat and therefore calcium deficient diet.
Not uncommonly a mostly meat diet will be fed over several generations in succession - each generation becoming more calcium deficient. As a result each generation becomes more prone to eclampsia. When eclampsia is seen to follow this family line, many vets and owners are tempted to believe the problem is inherited. But of course it isn't.
However, the problem is not only due to a lack of calcium in the diet. It is also due to calcium loss. High protein diets have the effect of speeding up the removal of calcium from the body. This further depletes the calcium stores in the bones.
The end result of a bitch spending a lifelime eating a calcium-poor and calcium-depleting diet is a bitch that has very poor calcium reserves in her bones.
As you can imagine, when a bitch with such poor calcium reserves begins to draw on those reserves during lactation, there is simply not enough calcium to supply her needs. In this case not even switching to a bone based diet will solve the problem. Neither a BARF diet nor a commercial diet can supply her needs fast enough. She will need a source of highly soluble, highly available artificial calcium such as 'calcium Sandoz'. Unless this is supplied constantly and in large amounts, her blood calcium will drop causing eclampsia.
Also keep in mind that because these dogs are being fed poor diets, they can also suffer from other nutritional deficiencies; for example, if they are on a calcium deficient meat-only diet which can be low in vitamine D, and they never get out in the sunshine, they may also lacking sufficient vitamine D.
There is also a hormonal problem. In what way is the bitch's hormonal system wrecked? The problem is the failure by the bitch to produce the parathyroid hormone. This hormone takes the calcium out of the bones to keep the blood calcium levels normal. When breeders feed loads of artificial calcium prior to whelping, that is a signal to the parathyroid glad that parathyroid hormone will not be needed.
When that bitch starts to procude milk for her puppies, the parathyroid hormone is not released, the blood calcium level drops and the bitch very quickly develops eclampsia.
The only way to prevent eclampsia in this situation is to continue feeding a very soluble source of calcium right through lactation.
Eclampsia usually occurs at peak lactation when the puppies are big and hungry, and not yet eating any solid food, but drinking plenty of mum's milk. This puts an enormous strain onb mum's calcium reserves in her bones.
Eclampsia is more common in bitches that have had several litter because the calcium reserves in the bitch's bones become a little more depleted with each successive litter.
Eclampsia is more common in bitches with large litters because there is a much greater drain on the calcium reserves in the bitch's bones.
So how do we solve the eclampsia problem?
1)Feed the BARF diet for a lifetime
2)Do not supplement with calcium during pregnancy (feed less bones and more meat, organ meats, healthy oils and vegetables)
3)Feed extra calcium during lactation, NOT before it
If you have a bitch that suffers from eclampsia..... She may always be susceptible to it. It is hard to reverse poor calcium storage in the bones, particularly after several generations of calcium deficient diets. It may take a number of generations for the problem to disappear. The important thing, however, is not to give up. You can breed that bitch again, and she can be improved. You can increase the amount of calcium stored in her bones and you can improve the functioning of her parathyroid glands.
All you have to do is switch her to the BARF diet. However, even after switching the bitch to the BARF diet you must still be prepared to supplement her with calcium DURING LACTATION - not during pregnancy - and perhaps be ready to wean the pups early".
En als ik het zo lees dan doe je er absoluut onverstandig aan om tijdens de zwangerschap calciumpreparaten toe te dienen.
Ik zal proberen dit stuk tekst ook te vertalen in het Nederlands.
Laatst gewijzigd door Lizzy op ma 06 sep 2004, 21:43, 1 keer totaal gewijzigd.
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