Our oldest dog, Danny, was recently diagnosed with diabetes. It took an emergency vet visit and several visits of follow-up care to get it to where it is now at a manageable state. In my search to understand more about this condition, I ran across a serious lack of information and a scarcity of personal experiences from pet owners dealing with this debilitating disease.
If you’ve recently found out that your dog has diabetes, you’re probably feeling pretty overwhelmed. How do you take care of your dog? What treatments are available? To help, we’ve put together a guide to explain what diabetes is, the signs to look out for, and how to treat it with insulin and diet.
Here’s what you need to know about this common canine condition.
What Is Diabetes?
Diabetes occurs when the body has difficulty producing or responding to insulin—a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels. When a dog’s insulin levels are too low, their bodies struggle to turn glucose (blood sugar) into energy. As a result, they can become lethargic and may even experience weight gain due to excessive eating.
Before Christmas, Danny became lethargic, refused to eat, and dropped to 20 pounds (he’s always been a heavy 50+ due to his love of eating). He displayed many of the signs that you need to watch out for. However, in our ignorance, we didn’t know what to look for. In fact, we didn’t even know that dogs could develop diabetes.
Signs of Diabetes in Dogs
If your dog is exhibiting any of these symptoms, it could be a sign of diabetes:
- Excessive drinking and urination
- Increased hunger and appetite
- Weight loss/gain
- Cloudy eyes
- Lethargy and fatigue
- Weakness or paralysis in hind legs
- Chronic infections
Diabetes is especially common in dogs that are over seven years of age, overweight and female. Certain breeds are predisposed to develop diabetes, such as golden retrievers, cocker spaniels, and miniature schnauzers.
Treating Diabetes in Dogs
The good news is that diabetes can be managed with proper care and treatment. The most common treatments for diabetic dogs include insulin injections and dietary changes. Insulin injections help regulate the amount of glucose in your dog’s bloodstream so that their body can properly use it for energy. Dietary changes may also be necessary in order to maintain healthy blood sugar levels as well as reduce obesity if present. Depending on the severity of your pet’s case, additional treatments such as nutritional supplements may also be necessary.
Necessary diet changes
Necessary diet changes to manage diabetes may include eliminating free eating and putting your dog on an eating schedule. This can be a pain, but it really does help regulate their blood sugar levels and gives you a safe time to inject insulin.
Your dog should be fed twice a day, at approximately the same time every day. We feed Danny at 9:00am and again at 6:00pm. We allow water whenever. If your dog does not eat the required amount (your vet will tell you), you must skip that insulin dose. By giving it, you can cause hypoglycemia, which is very dangerous for dogs.
Diet
You will also have to switch your pet to a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet. This diet helps keep blood sugar levels stable and helps with weight loss (if overweight). Often, your veterinarian will have a recommendation of what brand of dog food will work best to regulate your dog’s condition. You want to look for dog foods that consist of 20-25% carbohydrates and are high in fiber. By using a food that is low in carbohydrates, you are preventing blood sugar spikes which can be dangerous for your dog.
Popular brands include Ketona Chicken Recipe Dog Food, Hill’s Prescription Diet w/d Multi-Benefit Chicken Flavor Dry Dog Food, and Royal Canin Veterinary Diet Adult Glycobalance Dry Dog Food.
Naturally, if you have a picky dog, they may not be a fan of this new food. You can make it more enticing by pouring a low sodium broth over the dry food, or try mixing it with a natural peanut butter that is low in sugar.
We tried many of the popular brands of low-carbohydrate dog foods with little success; Danny has always been a picky eater and would refuse to eat for days, causing blood sugar issues that would land us back at the vet. Additionally, on top of the Diabetes, we discovered that Danny also has cancer. In our desperation, we placed him on a keto diet. He gets some form of chicken or beef (baked or boiled) twice a day. Not only has this helped us manage his blood sugar levels, but it’s also helped him with energy as well as slowing his cancer growth.
With meat prices as high as they are, we buy meat in bulk and on sale. It averages out to be about the same cost as the low-carbohydrate dog good and, in a pinch, we will find chicken nuggets with minimal breading to use for meals.
Insulin
I’m not going to lie; when I found out Danny had diabetes, I was extremely nervous about giving him insulin injections twice a day. Our vet quickly put my concerns to rest and even helped me administer my first injection to ensure I had a handle on the process.
To begin, you need to know that your insulin MUST be refrigerated! If you leave it out for a few hours, call your vet to see if you can still use it.
You also need to use a specific type of syringe. You need to buy the U-40 in order to administer insulin. The good news is that you can reuse these. If your needle becomes bent, make sure to cap the needle and discard safely in a trash can.
Before administering, ensure your dog has eaten the required amount of food and drank some water. In our case, Danny has to eat 1 cup of food before I can give him his insulin. Carefully take your insulin bottle and turn it upside down at least eight times (do not shake!). This mixes your insulin as it can separate while sitting in your refrigerator. Inject the syringe into the rubber lid and carefully draw your insulin into your syringe. Make sure there are no air bubbles.
You can then have your dog sit and, taking your left hand, grab the scruff near his shoulder/neck. You can take your syringe with however many units your vet has instructed and, make a triangle, inject your syringe in the middle of the aforementioned triangle. This does not hurt your dog and you can get it done quickly and efficiently.
Treating your dog with diabetes
Treating a dog with diabetes can be daunting, but it doesn’t have to be complicated. By following these steps and learning from our experience, you can begin managing your pet’s condition while still providing them with quality nutrition that suits their individual needs. With proper diet and insulin control, you’ll soon find yourself feeling confident about caring for your diabetic pup – no matter how picky they may be! If your dog shows signs of this condition, don’t hesitate to get them checked out. Take care of your furry friend by following these tips on hypoglycemia management, and watch as they enjoy life just like any other dog!
