Dogs with diabetes

mysticdew

My dog has been diagnosed with diabetes, I would like to hear from other dog owners who have dogs with the same condition. How are their dogs, how do they manage their diets and medication.

anniehoo

Hi sorry to hear OP about the diagnosis. Im sure the vet has told you that you're in for a lot of work to manage this correctly. Im presuming he will be on insulin injections daily and a restricted diet?
My experience of it ( i had a cat who had it and i now mind two dogs with it also) is that it is a time consuming and expensive disease to manage but if you have the time and patience your pet will do fine. It will take a huge amount of committment ( twice daily injections morning and evening at set times), strict low calorie diet as diabetic animals tend to be ravenous all the time and thirsty if not correctly managed.

My cat after a year and a half of trying to manage it eventually died from complications due to it. She was an outdoor cat and it just wasnt feasible to stop her eating during the day (affects the glucose curve) and sometimes didnt show up for her injections at all. It caused nerve damage in her back legs and kidney problems and we put her to sleep as it just wasnt fair. The twice daily injections were a nightmare as someone always had to be around at 9am and 9pm everyday and we constantly felt guilty if we missed one.

The 2 diabetic dogs i mind now are in good health but the owner is very very strict with them. 8am and 8pm injections with a strict low fat diet and constantly has 3 full bowls of water down as they are thirsty alot. Kennels wont take them (too much hassle) and i charge alot as a petsitter due to having to be there at set times.

Sorry to be so blunt but in my experience it is a tough disease to manage. You need time and alot of patience,but if you are willing to do this for your pet then it can be managed successfully. Just be aware if its not it can lead to further health problems within a year or so.

Trinket

Hi there,

My 13 year old Rottie has had diabetes for four years. He is on caninsulin twice a day and I feed him on Royal Canin Diabetic (weight control) nuts and tins. We had a difficult time getting him stabilised in the first 7 months or so but he's fantastic now and springs around like a pup. The only hiccups we have encountered are when he has caught everyday doggie tummy upsets which become very complicated when he vomits or refuses to eat, but with careful monitoring we manage to avoid hypos with only a few exceptions.

I find that the odd treat such as a pigs ear, tripe stick or one or two small biscrok per day has no impact on his blood sugars. Foods such as bread, pasta or anything refined bring his sugars right up - I would only give a small amount of these type of foods if he is hypoglycemic and his levels werent' coming up as fast as I would like.

I use a human blood glucose monitor, but daily monitoring isn't necessary for him now unless he is ill, exercising more than normal or needs his insulin adjusted due to weight gain or increase (following an illess for example). I can tell by just looking at him if his sugars are high or low.

What is your dogs treatment protocol ? How old is he ? It is a big adjustment caring for a diabetic, very restricting but it is a managable condition.

kerash

Hi, my granny's dog (a terrier X 8yo) has been diagnosed with diabetes. She took her to the vet this weekend and now has to give the dog insulin injections. She's returning to the vet on Wednesday. I'm wondering what questions should my Gran ask the vet at this visit, re; feeding, injecting etc.
The dog has been given special food and my gran is convinced the dog doesnt like the food and it's too hard for her to bite :rolleyes: and wanted to give her potatoe and gravy today. She is also continuing to feed her treat biscuits (ovals type things and brekkies - the cat food)
Apparently the dog didnt eat much today, so she decided not to give the insuling injection because the vet said to administer it after the dog had eaten the new food.

I dont know much at all about diabetes in dogs, but I'd hate to see anything happening to my grans pet, what advice should I give her to set her on the right road?

andreac

I think diet is very important for a dog that has diabetes. There are certain foods they are def not allowed.
The insulin is also extremely important too. But as far as i know they need to be eating when they are given their insulin. There are certain treats that a dog with diabetes should never be given as it be very dangerous and make them very ill, but im not sure what types they are.
I would urge your gran to take this very serious as the dog can fall very ill if i isnt being managed correctly.
The dog will prob take a little while to adjust to the new food but she should perservere with it.
I think the insulin has to be given twice daily at certain times. I would try talk to your gran and explain how serious it is and maybe get the vet to talk to her again too.

kerash

andreac wrote: »

I think diet is very important for a dog that has diabetes. There are certain foods they are def not allowed.
The insulin is also extremely important too. But as far as i know they need to be eating when they are given their insulin. There are certain treats that a dog with diabetes should never be given as it be very dangerous and make them very ill, but im not sure what types they are.
I would urge your gran to take this very serious as the dog can fall very ill if i isnt being managed correctly.
The dog will prob take a little while to adjust to the new food but she should perservere with it.
I think the insulin has to be given twice daily at certain times. I would try talk to your gran and explain how serious it is and maybe get the vet to talk to her again too.

Thanks for your reply.
Yes I'd consider that diet would be a critical factor in treatment. I'll consider attending the vet's with my gran. What I really want to know is what foods are to be strictly avoided and what problems could arise from feeding the dog those. Also what happens if she doesn't get the injection. Questions only a vet can answer I suppose.

I agree with you after a couple of days she will get used to the new food, she's only been on it 2 days!

Lillyella

Our Westie had it for 4 years before we eventually had to have her put to sleep.

She went blind as a result, but we looked after her well and still took her on walks, which worked out okay.

We injected her twice daily too. Her diet didn't change radically, we always fed her boiled chicken and mixer, and continued to do so.

kerash

Hi, I'm sorry to hear about your westie. I'll wait and see how the vist to the vet goes, I also noticed the dogs eyes were very red and bloodshot. Did you have to get your dogs bloods checked regularly?

anniehoo

kerash wrote: »

Apparently the dog didnt eat much today, so she decided not to give the insuling injection because the vet said to administer it after the dog had eaten the new food.
I dont know much at all about diabetes in dogs, but I'd hate to see anything happening to my grans pet, what advice should I give her to set her on the right road?

Taken from http://www.petshealth.com/dr_library/diabetesdogs.html

Although the exact cause of diabetes mellitus in dogs is unknown, the excess glucose causes most of the clinical signs and long-term complications. There is great individual variation in cases of diabetes, and the dynamics and treatment requirements may change over your dog's life span. It is important to work with your veterinarian to determine the appropriate frequently o injection, dosage, and type of insulin to us e..

As stated before, if your dog's condition is untreated, your dog may go into a coma and subsequently die. Injections of too much insulin can trigger a life-threatening emergency. This will produce a low blood sugar reaction which usually happens 3-6 hours after insulin treatment. If your pet seems weak , tired, uncoordinated or is having a seizure , call your veterinarian and do the following. Give your pet a sugar containing syrup (Karo) orally and take your pet to the veterinarian .

Injection of too little insulin inadequately controls your diabetic dog's clinical signs. Your veterinarian will recommend an ongoing balance of properly timed insulin dosages, regular exercise, a high-quality diet, and will make you aware of other possible health threats.

Trinket

Lillyella, i'm sorry you lost your pet. OP I hope that your absence from this thread means that you and your dog are managing the diagnosis and getting used to the new routine.

Kerash, proper food and insulin are what will keep your grans dog alive. It gets very complicated when the diabetic dog refuses to eat whether this is due to being fussy or feeling unwell, however in my experience he may still need approx half his usual insulin dose, your gran should check this with her vet, in fact it is vital that the vet or a nurse is available by phone to answer questions on a daily basis if necessary.

It is near impossible to determine the amount of insulin needed when the dog has refused to eat without a blood glucose test, usually I would give Jake half or a little less than half depending on his morning blood glucose reading however I would monitor his blood glucose levels around the time of his nadir (peak of insulin activity), ideally there has to be food in there for the insulin at this time (4 hours or so after injection, based on 2 injections per day). However you should consider that if the dog is ill, this can cause either a rise or fall in blood glucose levels, again it isn't possible to predict which way it can go but if the dog appears to be stumbling or drunk his blood sugars are too low, if he is lethargic, uncomfortable, distressed with very dull eyes, his glucose levels may be very high. Both cases can be life threatening if left untreated.

It is also advisable to avoid exercise around the time of his nadir as it is impossible to estimate how much energy he will burn off, so best not to have him out on a run around this time.

There are a two suitable brands of food available that I am aware of, my boy Jake was initially fed burns high oats but then changed to royal canin diabetic weight control nuts with the same brand of tins mixed in to get him to eat as he never was one for eating plain old nuts, the change of food was in an effort to stabilise his blood glucose. I have found that it is ok to mix tuna in brine or boiled chicken into the food instead of tinned food if he's reluctant to eat.

Generally, natural unrefined snacks in very small amounts shouldn't do the dog any harm. By natural I mean, tripe sticks, cubes of chicken (unprocessed) the very odd biscrok, beware of markies and most other doggie snacks, as they include various sugars as a part of the ingredients as do ovals as far as i remember. Cat biscuit is certainly not recommended for him.

Canine diabetes is the very same as human diabetes. It would be helpful if you could get your hands on a human blood glucose monitor for days that your gran suspects that he is likely to have a hypoglycemic episode or indeed hyperglycemic (in which case extra insulin may be required). A simple paw/elbow/ear prick test is all that is required to get a drop of blood to test, your gran would then be able to phone her vet for suitable guidance without her having to attend the clinic unnecessarily.

HTH.