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Dr. Martin Collins B.V.Sc B.Sc

Hypoglycaemia is simply a low blood glucose level. Many people have either seen or heard of dogs suffering from this condition during a hard days work. The dog may show signs of weakness or disorientation, or if particularly bad may collapse or have a seizure. Many people also recognise that this state of affairs can be rapidly reversed if the dog is given an easily absorbed form of glucose, such as glucose powder, honey or even a Mars bar!

To understand what causes the condition we need to look at some basic physiology. When the blood glucose level drops, the body has some compensatory mechanisms to maintain the level within the normal range. A hormone called glucagon breaks down glucose stored in the liver as glycogen, to raise the blood sugar level. Release of adrenalin counteracts the effect of insulin (which lowers blood glucose), thus raising blood glucose levels. However, if your dog is not particularly fit and does not have good glycogen reserves, or is having to work excessively hard, these compensatory mechanisms may not be able to cope with the extra load. As glucose is essential for the brain to function, the signs described above will be the result. Other factors that may contribute to the hypoglycaemia include very cold weather, any concurrent illness, or a young dog in which the regulatory mechanisms are not fully developed.

Given all of the above, it is important to NOT assume that the reason your dog became a bit staggery while out hunting today was because you pushed him a bit hard and it was chilly out there! There are numerous common causes of hypoglycaemia, some more serious than others. You will need to seek veterinary advice to rule-out these other causes before a diagnosis of hunting dog hypoglycaemia can be made. One of the more common causes seen in clinical practice is an insulinoma. This is a tumour in the pancreas secreting excessive levels of insulin, resulting in constant hypoglycaemia. However, because the body is so good at compensating for this, the blood glucose level may still have to drop to extremely low levels before clinical signs are seen (such as would occur during a day of hard work). Blood tests will show high insulin levels. The treatment is either medical or surgical but the long-term outlook is not very good.

Other diseases that would have to be excluded as the cause of the hypoglycaemia, are liver disease (many different forms), sepsis, and Addison’s disease, which is a lack of cortisone in the body.

The treatment of hunting dog hypoglycaemia revolves around diet. Dogs need to be kept in good working condition, and fed small meals high in protein and low in simple sugars 5-6 times daily. A premium quality commercial diet for active dogs would meet these requirements. The time that an affected dog worked each day would need to be reduced, and avoid those nasty cold, wet days!

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