My dog has low blood sugar. Is dextrose in subcutaneous fluids safe?

I don't see an age, breed, or sex listed for your pet, which would give us helpful information in terms of how to interpret that finding. It is certainly lower than expected; usually when dogs (or cats) have their blood drawn, they are a bit stressed from being at the vet, which tends to increase the blood sugar for a short period of time, so usually we will see animals be over 80-90, and most commonly over 100. It may be worth asking your vet about running a "baseline cortisol" test to screen for Addison's disease. I will attach some information below. Keep a close eye on your dog as well. If he seems lethargic, tired, walks with a weak or wobbly gait at times, etc, (or certainly if he has more obvious problems such as a seizure), then this probably is a problem for him. Other possible causes of low blood sugar (again age, breed, and sex also play in here in terms of liklihood), include insulinoma (a tumor in the pancreas), liver disease, or toxin exposures (most notably xylitol). I hope that is helpful for you.... for more detailed information consider requesting a consultation so we can go back and forth with information. Thank you for asking PetCoach! https://www.petcoach.co/article/addison-s-disease-hypoadrenocorticism-in-dogs/

If her blood sugar is 56, she needs to be seen by a veterinarian tonight. She is wading in dangerous territory and should be put on IV dextrose to avoid going into hypoglycemic shock. I would not wait until morning to address this issue, as karo syrup, while helpful, will not help if there is another underlying problem.

This can be a liver problem or a pancreas problem. If her protein and liver enzymes stay normal than it is unlikely the liver. There can be tumor in the cells of the pancreas called an insukinina. It will keep a persistently low blood sugar because it produces so much insulin. An ultrasound may be able to see it and see if surgery is an option but typically steroids are added to help manage it.

Since Cairo has just started being stabilized with insulin and diet, it may take a little while for her body to adjust. In general, it is safer for a diabetic dog to be slightly above the desired range than to be too low, so if we are going to err on one side or the other, we generally prefer a little high. Depending on the frequency of your checks, Cairo may be falling slightly below the desired range at some point of the day which may account for for lethargy or she may just not yet be well adjusted. And every animal is different, so that may be the range that she feels the best. I would discuss your concerns with your veterinarian and see what range they would recommend maintaining her. It will likely be fine to maintain her a little high right now. Good luck! I hope that was helpful and answers your question. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! High and low blood glucose will be somewhat dependent on the method that is used though typically more than 180mg/dl is considered high and less than 60mg/dl is considered low in dogs. Have a good night!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. I would give a little Karo syrup on her gums and see if she will eat some dog food for you. See how she is after this. With her being so small, her blood sugar could be having difficulties regulating, especially if she is a picky eater or doesn't eat that much. I would recommend having a veterinarian examine her now as well and see if there is anything else underlying predisposing her to these episodes. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

If Ollie was recently diagnosed with Diabetes mellitus then he will likely need insulin. You can try to switch him to a high protein prescription diet like Science Diet W/D or Purina OM. These foods are lower in carbs so prevent the glucose from jumping as high but it does not cure diabetes. Also, I would only feed him twice a day so he only has 2 spikes in glucose instead of several throughout the day if he normally nibbles throughout the day. You can talk to your vet about starting oral meds that help to decrease the glucose like glipizide but I personally haven't had great success with it versus the insulin. If diabetes is left untreated, there can be serious health effects so be sure to talk in depth with your vet about what would be the best options for you and Ollie at this time. I hope this helps!