# Sticky  Nutrical: Bad Advice



## CloudClan

I just read another thread today advising a new puppy owner to give constant support with Nutrical and I cringed yet again. Please be careful with this kind of advice. Nutrical is not good for dogs who do not need it. It is meant to be an emergency support used for puppies whose sugars may be dropping. It is not meant to replace real food and it is not meant to be used to keep sugars in control. In fact, repeated use of nutrical may make it harder for puppies to regulate their sugars. :blink:

An old thread here can perhaps shed some light one what I mean:http://spoiledmaltese.com/forum/52-maltese-health-behavior/104140-nutrical-good-bad.html


----------



## Ladysmom

Thank you! I keep trying to correct this dangerous advice, but people keep recommending it!

I am going to ask one of the mods to pin that thread.


----------



## aprilb

Thanks for pointing this out, Carina....I have always thought the Nutrical was for emergencies, too...it is unfortunate that there is so much misinformation online...


----------



## maltese manica

Thanks for posting this! I notice a lot of vets telling ppl to use nutrical.................


----------



## pammy4501

Yes, Nutrical is not a food sutstitute. Repeated use in the absence of actual protien based food can cause rebound sugar drops.


----------



## MalteseJane

Believe it or not, I have NEVER used nutrical, not with Alex and not with Charlie. And when I got Alex he was 10 weeks old and not a big eater. I never understood why so many people are recommending nutrical.


----------



## edelweiss

Carina, this is excellent. I also cringe when I hear people advising to give nutrical to puppies as a matter of course. Even when it is necessary, it needs to be followed by a protein meal in a short time---just like w/humans & hypoglycemia.


----------



## MaryH

Thanks, Carina, for reminding people again about the pitfalls of Nutrical. The bottom line is that giving Nutrical to a dog is like giving glucose (or sugar) to a diabetic ... to be used only in emergencies to prevent a dog, or glucose in the case of a diabetic, from crashing. It should not be seen ever as some sort of preventative measure. And it should always be followed by a meal, even if only a few bites, containing protein.


----------



## Summergirl73

As a person with hypoglycemia....THANK YOU for post this thread! Again for those of you who may be confused - Nutrical may increase blood sugars but YOU MUST FOLLOW WITH A PROTEIN or the blood sugar levels will likely drop in a short period of time and can be deadly. Sorry to freak anyone out, but it is true.


----------



## Canada

Thanks Carina. Great post.

I have raised four Maltese (from varying ages of puppyhood)
and have used Nutrical ONCE. 
It's an emergency item, good to have on hand, all though one may never use it.
Similar to a fire extinguisher or an Epi-pen (Epinephrine for severe allergy)

(It was Tucker who needed it once, as a youngster, low sugar episode,
started rubbing some Nutrical on the gums followed by placing wet food into his mouth.
He was a bit chilled in his crate.
And ever since then I leave food in his crate over night.) 
This is contrary to some beliefs that say withhold food before bed,
but with him I provide food to him 24/7. 
Water is always avail to everyone.


----------



## Snowbody

I never had it in the house nor used it either.


----------



## SammieMom

Really need to pin this topic. :thumbsup: it happens pretty often here.


----------



## MaryH

Canada said:


> Thanks Carina. Great post.
> 
> I have raised four Maltese (from varying ages of puppyhood)
> and have used Nutrical ONCE.
> It's an emergency item, good to have on hand, all though one may never use it.
> Similar to a fire extinguisher or an Epi-pen (Epinephrine for severe allergy)
> 
> (It was Tucker who needed it once, as a youngster, low sugar episode,
> started rubbing some Nutrical on the gums followed by placing wet food into his mouth.
> He was a bit chilled in his crate.
> And ever since then I leave food in his crate over night.)
> This is contrary to some beliefs that say withhold food before bed,
> but with him I provide food to him 24/7.
> Water is always avail to everyone.


I don't leave food out for my dogs but they all get one or two cookies at bedtime. I don't like them going to bed on an empty stomach and I've never had episodes of them vomiting bile early in the morning. I think especially with small dogs it is wise to let them eat something at bedtime.

As for Nutrical, I think it's wise to have it on hand if necessary but I keep throwing away unopened expired tubes of it as I've thankfully never had to use it. In a pinch one can always use corn syrup or honey as a substitute for Nutrical.


----------



## SammieMom

Is nutrical ever used in adult Maltese? Or only pups.


----------



## LOVE_BABY

*I just found this old thread*

I Just found this thread & had to comment because the breeder I got my dog from _had me feeding Baby Nutrical 24/7 _when we brought him home for the first few weeks. They said it was to keep his blood sugar from dropping or he could go into shock. He was a tiny boy & wasn't a good eater. I was new to having such a small breed dog & trusted that they new what they were talking about so I did it. I had no idea it was bad for him. They told me to give him Nutracal every two hours or so, I even got up several times during each night to feed it to him per their instructions were to do that...

I told them he wasn't eating much real food at all & they said "that's ok he's getting the Nutracal". I cringe thinking about it now! Soooo much sugar for the first few weeks! After realized this stuff was mostly sugar, in order to try to get him to eat real food I began feeding my puppy his dog food off of my fingers & he started to eat more & more regular food after that & I stopped the Nutracal completely. He was a very insecure nervous puppy & I think feeding him from my fingers while he was cuddled up in my lap made him feel secure enough to eat. After a while after he had become a better eater as a puppy it was difficult at first to break him of the habbit of wanting to sit in my lap & eat from my fingers, but eventually he did graduate to using his bowl.Baby is still not a 'great' eater but is _much bette_r than when he was a puppy. He is on high quality Stella & Chewy's freeze dried raw food now and eats normally from his bowl.


----------



## lydiatug

Thanks for the reminder Carina, this one is very important and a lot of people just aren't aware.


----------



## puppydoll

Thanks Carina!!


----------



## Sylie

LOVE_BABY said:


> I Just found this thread & had to comment because the breeder I got my dog from _had me feeding Baby Nutrical 24/7 _when we brought him home for the first few weeks. They said it was to keep his blood sugar from dropping or he could go into shock. He was a tiny boy & wasn't a good eater. I was new to having such a small breed dog & trusted that they new what they were talking about so I did it. I had no idea it was bad for him. They told me to give him Nutracal every two hours or so, I even got up several times during each night to feed it to him per their instructions were to do that...
> 
> I told them he wasn't eating much real food at all & they said "that's ok he's getting the Nutracal". I cringe thinking about it now! Soooo much sugar for the first few weeks! After realized this stuff was mostly sugar, in order to try to get him to eat real food I began feeding my puppy his dog food off of my fingers & he started to eat more & more regular food after that & I stopped the Nutracal completely. He was a very insecure nervous puppy & I think feeding him from my fingers while he was cuddled up in my lap made him feel secure enough to eat. After a while after he had become a better eater as a puppy it was difficult at first to break him of the habbit of wanting to sit in my lap & eat from my fingers, but eventually he did graduate to using his bowl.Baby is still not a 'great' eater but is _much bette_r than when he was a puppy. He is on high quality Stella & Chewy's freeze dried raw food now and eats normally from his bowl.


Didn't you say that Baby had bad tear staining as a little puppy? There are (from what I remember reading) two different kinds of tear stains. One is an over abundance of yeast. Yeast grows fast in a body with high sugar levels.


----------



## LOVE_BABY

*Good Point!*



Sylie said:


> Didn't you say that Baby had bad tear staining as a little puppy? There are (from what I remember reading) two different kinds of tear stains. One is an over abundance of yeast. Yeast grows fast in a body with high sugar levels.


Thats a good point Sylvia, I never thought of that! The Nutra cal had probably made his staining worse, it was terrible when he was a puppy a dark color the color of dried blood.... Made people afraid to touch him everyone would ask about the staining. Now that his face is clear people can't keep thier hands off of him. Nowadays Baby is on the Stella & chewy's freeze dried raw, but he still occasionally gets treats of banana, cantaloupe, raspberries, strawberries now & then. Stella & chewy's has a bit of fruit in it too. 

Fruit has 'sugar' even though it's natural. I wonder if the fruit could be contributing to the stains? Baby still even now will get terrible staining if I cut out the Tylan powder. One day I hope to find out the true cause of Baby's staining, whether it's yeast or something else, & find a permanent solution for it that doesn't involve antibiotics.... I feel guilty every day for giving them to him. Someone else had mentioned that 'narrow or clogged tear ducts' could also be the problem. Is that what you had read? My vet say's it's bad to leave Baby with having the stains. Anyway, thanks for bringing that to my attention about the yeast feeding on the sugar!


----------



## Minie

Ah it's new thing to me.. I never thought this way before. In fact my information was completely opposite of these. Thank God I've not acted upon that advice.


----------



## puppydoll

Thank you Carina!!:goodpost:


----------



## LilSuz

*Nurish Um*

This is really interesting. My vet sold me M&C Nurish Um, (Europe) she refers to it as vitamins. It seems just the same as Nutrical. I had started to feed my poorly puppy chicken, which she was eating really well, but the vet didn´t like that, and gave me a tin of sick puppy gunk and this sugar paste. I gave it to her a couple of times, but she really preferred the chicken, and I´m sure it was her appetite for the chicken that pulled her through, certainly not the sugar paste.


----------



## Sarahsphere

I've never heard of it but I'm glad for this thread, I like to be informed.

Thank you


----------

