The average life span of teacup dogs is around 12 to 15 years, sometimes even longer. Generally, teacup puppies weigh 2-4 lbs and measure 8 inches or less during maturity. However, breeders usually keep teacup pups under their supervision during the first 12 weeks. This way, they will be eating sufficiently when they are transferred to their new home.
Unfortunately, changes to environment may cause a great amount of stress for teacup puppies. He may react negatively when leaving all his friends, traveling to his new home, meeting his new owners and changing routines. When he experiences stress, he will seem uninterested in playing and act extremely tired. Most of the time, the teacup will have unusually weak knees when standing and running. If you notice such symptoms, he may lose his appetite due to sugar low.
When stressed, teacup puppies become prone to having low blood sugar. If your pup doesn’t eat often or enough, he may experience a sudden drop in blood levels. However, most teacups should outgrow this problem when they reach 4 to 5 months. Many breeders recommend adding a teaspoon of Karo syrup in his drinking water to prevent hypoglycemia to puppies that are not eating sufficiently.
For teacup owners who are out most of the day, Nutrical is a high-calorie nutritional supplement recommended for puppies with an increased risk of hypoglycemia. By simply giving them a doze each morning and bedtime, you can ensure that your puppy is safe from experiencing low blood sugar even if you’re not at home. A suggested dose is around ¼ to 1/3-inch of Nutrical combined with appropriate Karo syrup until your teacup puppy reaches four or five months.
A common misconception about hypoglycemia treatments for teacup puppies is that owners should ALWAYS feed their pups with sugar water, baby food and Nutrical. Unfortunately, feeding your pups without quality dog food is a very dangerous practice. According to various breeders, any teacup puppy that needs to be fed with sugar water, soft foods and nutrical is not ready to go to any buyer. Most of the time, these puppies are sickly or underage.
The bad effect of sugar, on the other hand, is it causes bacteria infection. While Karo syrup and nutrical can save your teacup puppy’s life during a hypoglycemic emergency, these supplements should never be used as food staple. In fact, they should be avoided at all cost. Instead, it is best to supervise your pup’s eating habits during his first few days at home and give nutrical only when he has no appetite. This condition should only last a couple of days. If not, you should immediately seek vet assistance. Remember that an untreated hypoglycemia can worsen to seizures, coma and death of a teacup puppy