Canine Diabetes Diagnosis & Treatment
Canine diabetes is not as uncommon as most people think.
I have no experience with it but know many people that do so decided to do some research and do this blog to help others that find themselves with a pet with diabetes.
Taken from: http://www.vetinfo.com/canine-diabetes-diagnosis.html
“Canine diabetes is a condition where the dog’s pancreas does not produce sufficient amounts of insulin to effectively process the foods the dog eats. Because the food isn’t processed appropriately, it is unable to pass into the cells where it can be utilized, causing an excess of sugars to be passed into the bloodstream.
Common symptoms of diabetes are extreme thirst, increased urination, ravenous hunger and weight loss. As the disease progresses, almost every system in the dog’s body can be impacted. If you suspect your dog may have diabetes, it is important to get him to a veterinarian for testing, diagnosis and the beginning of treatment.”
For diagnosis and treatment please see the same site, but first and foremost please see your vet:
http://www.vetinfo.com/canine-diabetes-diagnosis.html
There is also a great amount of info from this next site:
http://www.petdiabetes.com/
I also have info to share from one of my friends/pup buyers who had a dog in the past with diabetes and what he learned to do for his baby:
“We went crazy trying to find a type of insulin that would work well for Molly when she was first diagnosed. The vet had us try several different types, and I was amazed because I always thought insulin was all the same. The prices and types run all over the map. We finally found that Humulin N insulin worked best for Molly, but we were paying nearly $60 a vial and she would go through a vial in less than two weeks, so it was costing us almost $150 a month just for the insulin, not counting the test strips, the needles and the vet visits. We finally found a semi synthetic form of Humulin N that Walmart Pharmacy sells called Novolin N which actually worked best for Molly and was available for about $30 a vial! For anyone who has a diabetic dog and is having difficulty affording the insulin, that could be a god send. No-one should have to see their dog suffer with diabetes because they cannot afford the cost of the medication and vet care. That is why I think it is so important for people to know that there are effective (and probably better) alternatives to using a vet to do all the testing, prescribing and often selling the insulin at often very high rates. By the way, Humulin N has been around for quite a while, and is available at pharmacies without a vets prescription, so once the dog is properly diagnosed by a vet and the diabetes is under control, a pet owner can maintain effective control with just maintenance visits to the vet for any of the normal visits each year.”
My friend also learned to test his Molly’s levels at home rather than always going to the vet.
I hope this info will help people and there beloved pets.
As always, I am not a vet and not giving diagnosis or treatment here. Just offering info in the hopes it will help someone.
Patty
www.snowcolabradors.com
Great links, their needs to be more information about A1c for dogs and cats. It is a great human test that the ADA now recommends for diagnosing human diabetes. It is also called Glycohemoglobin testing for canines and felines and sometimes also referred to as HbA1c for canines and felines. There are a couple of wiki sites with info on it, too.
Betsy (Pug) and I are brand new at this diabetic thing.
After I decided that Betsy was excessively thirsty, we went to the vet. She did complete blood and urine tests and the only problem that showed up was the diabetes.
After .4 Humalin 2 X day, for one week, Betsy then spent the day at the vet clinic having blood tests every two hours. She is now on .3 insulin and planning to visit the vet again in four weeks.
I mainly need advice on feeding and general care. If I can get this all done right in the beginning and keep it up, Betsy should have several good healthy years. She will be eight next month.
I appreciate any help that you can be. If you cannot help, please know that I enjoyed reading the information that you posted on Nov 17, 2011.
I can’t find much on diet but here is a search that shows supplements
http://start.toshiba.com/search/index.php?_LT=HOME_GBARGLBCT_UGLSR&context=start.toshiba.com&q=dog+food+for+a+diabetic+dog
your vet should be able to teach you to check blood sugar levels at home.
I have never had a diabetic dog so I am sorry I can’t help more.
If I find anything else in my research I will post back.
Good luck
Patty
Here is a good link
http://www.k9diabetes.com/index.html
and another
http://www.caninediabetes.org/pdorg/
not sure if this helps (is the same for dogs?) (crosspost)
“Some of the foods to avoid in people are white rice, white potatoes, white flour, white sugar.
Acceptable alternatives are: brown rice, sweet potatoes and 100% whole wheat flour.
Rice or potatoes are often found in dog foods.
There are dog foods with sweet potato or brown rice, and there are grain-free foods, too.”
More info for you: (Crosspost)
“I’ve had experience with a diabetic dog in the past. We were feeding a mainstream dog food at the time that might have been Nutro or Pro Plan. My vet did not take him off of it for a script food but he did stress consistency everyday (feed same time everyday, same amount of food and insulin injections same time) He did very well (developed Diabetes at 3 1/2) and went on to live til 9. But being on a schedule was the main thing.”
I have been feeding ProPlan canned and Nutro dry. Both weight management. My vet suggests that I switch both for grain free, carb free, fairly high protein. I have switched the Nutro for Wellness Healthy Weight with no wheat, corn, white rice or soy.
I bought an assortment of grain free canned food. I’m studying labels.
Should Betsy be receiving snacks during the day to keep the blood sugar level like my human diabetic friends do? My vet is on vacation making her temporarily unavailable to answer my stupid questions.
Betsy eats every morning at seven and never lets me forget that dinner time is at four.
My husband was a veterinarian with a very specialized practice. I never had occasion to learn anything about canine diseases such as diabetes.
This is also my first Blog. What is a Crosspost?
Patty:
Thanks for the links. Looks like a lot of good info there. They are my project for tomorrow afternoon.
Sally,
cross post means I am sharing someone elses info from another board (where I posted asking for help for you)
Grain free would be great IMO. I feed Orijen (but its starch is potato and I would imagine white – as I posted above that is not good for humans but not sure on dogs)
See if you can find a grain free food that uses sweet potato as the starch.
check http://www.championpetfoods.com see there Acana formulas as well as the Origen.
heartypet.com sells both and ships very quickly. I get my food in 2 days of my order.
Please let me know if you need more help. I will post questions for you on other boards since I don’t have experience with diabetes.
More info on low carbs: crosspost
“A friend of mine who is a very accomplished wildlife rescuer has a diabetic cat. She said they need to be on a low carb diet and she uses a prescription kibble for the cat. A raw diet would be low carb but she doesn’t feed raw to her dogs or cat. She also mentioned a consistent schedule, consistent amount fed, she tests blood sugar and gives insulin, and the cat has been doing well for a few years. With insulin dependent diabetic humans, the more carbs they eat, the more insulin they require.”