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Just found out my pup has diabetes
7/19/2011 5:09:07 PM
Just wondering if anyone here has any experience with canine diabetes, trying to figure out what I should expect.
7/19/2011 8:08:44 PM
I had a border collie with it.
I had to catch her urine every morning to test her sugar level.. It is very hard to keep their levels where they should be. You have to keep it high because if they get low it can kill them in just a small amount of time..
It is a cruel disease.. I have it myself.
She went blind then her kidneys failed after about 2 years of diabetes...
I had to catch her urine every morning to test her sugar level.. It is very hard to keep their levels where they should be. You have to keep it high because if they get low it can kill them in just a small amount of time..
It is a cruel disease.. I have it myself.
She went blind then her kidneys failed after about 2 years of diabetes...
7/19/2011 9:42:43 PM
About 20 yrs ago my Yellow Lab F developed Diabetes when she was 12. I gave her insulin shots 2x a day. She lived to almost 15, before I had to put her down.
7/20/2011 8:41:47 AM
Thanks for the replies, He's at the vets all day today so they can regulate his blood sugar but should be coming home this evening.
Here is my buddy
Here is my buddy
7/20/2011 9:06:35 AM
I had a yellow lab that developed it. We had to give insulin 2x a day. Walmart is the cheapest place to buy it and the syringes. Your Vet will probably charge twice as much. You can also use human blood test meters and work up your own glucose curves. It can get very expensive if you rely totally on your Vet.
Once you start giving your dog insulin, you can count on them developing cataracts and going blind. It is a side effect of the insulin in dogs. My lab was 10 when he developed it. We discovered he had a problem when he could no longer hold his urine through the night and started going in the house. He just couldn't help it. He was 13 when we finally had to put him down.
Good luck, it's a tough road but bearable if you are dedicated to making it happen. My biggest concern was when we took vacations and making sure the place we boarded him keep his shot routine up and on schedule.
Once you start giving your dog insulin, you can count on them developing cataracts and going blind. It is a side effect of the insulin in dogs. My lab was 10 when he developed it. We discovered he had a problem when he could no longer hold his urine through the night and started going in the house. He just couldn't help it. He was 13 when we finally had to put him down.
Good luck, it's a tough road but bearable if you are dedicated to making it happen. My biggest concern was when we took vacations and making sure the place we boarded him keep his shot routine up and on schedule.
7/20/2011 12:18:32 PM
If you don't already do this, switch your dog to a low/no-carb quality dog food (EVO, TOTW, Honest Kitchen, etc...). Excessive carbohydrates (most commercial foods have 30-70% carbohydrate content, aka fillers) are the worst thing for any animal that has diabetes.
7/20/2011 1:16:44 PM
Neighbors Husky is Diabetic.....
Shots at 0600 and 1800 EVERYDAY!
This isn't that bad once you get used to it, but a huge pain in the arse if you want someone to watch the dog for a day or 2 while you are out of town.
Good luck!
ETA: Catorax and infections go hand in hand with Diabetes
Shots at 0600 and 1800 EVERYDAY!
This isn't that bad once you get used to it, but a huge pain in the arse if you want someone to watch the dog for a day or 2 while you are out of town.
Good luck!
ETA: Catorax and infections go hand in hand with Diabetes
7/20/2011 2:51:51 PM
Hills makes Prescription Diet w/d Canine Low Fat-Diabetic-Gastrointestinal food. They also make r/d which is a weight loss formula, but good for diabetes as well. Now I know people are going to bash Hills, but I have taken many CE hours of small animal nutrition and would recommend the Hills prescription foods 9 times out of 10. Rx diets are VERY expensive and can only be bought at a veterinary office to a pet store that has a veterinarian on staff, it also requires a prescription. Hope you can get it in line without a Rx diet as well.
7/21/2011 12:02:35 AM
Originally Posted By bowhuntr09:
I had a yellow lab that developed it. We had to give insulin 2x a day. Walmart is the cheapest place to buy it and the syringes. Your Vet will probably charge twice as much. You can also use human blood test meters and work up your own glucose curves. It can get very expensive if you rely totally on your Vet.
Once you start giving your dog insulin, you can count on them developing cataracts and going blind. It is a side effect of the insulin in dogs. My lab was 10 when he developed it. We discovered he had a problem when he could no longer hold his urine through the night and started going in the house. He just couldn't help it. He was 13 when we finally had to put him down.
Good luck, it's a tough road but bearable if you are dedicated to making it happen. My biggest concern was when we took vacations and making sure the place we boarded him keep his shot routine up and on schedule.
I had a yellow lab that developed it. We had to give insulin 2x a day. Walmart is the cheapest place to buy it and the syringes. Your Vet will probably charge twice as much. You can also use human blood test meters and work up your own glucose curves. It can get very expensive if you rely totally on your Vet.
Once you start giving your dog insulin, you can count on them developing cataracts and going blind. It is a side effect of the insulin in dogs. My lab was 10 when he developed it. We discovered he had a problem when he could no longer hold his urine through the night and started going in the house. He just couldn't help it. He was 13 when we finally had to put him down.
Good luck, it's a tough road but bearable if you are dedicated to making it happen. My biggest concern was when we took vacations and making sure the place we boarded him keep his shot routine up and on schedule.
Cataracts are not a side effect of insulin, they are caused by high glucose inside the lens being converted to sorbitol which cannot leave the lens. Sorbitol causes water to enter the lens due to osmosis. The lens then swells and the fibers rupture causing cataracts.
7/24/2011 12:40:22 AM
My golden had it. she lived quite well for the first 4 years but then started taking more and more insulin. eventually she got cateracts and had to go out side every 2 hours. She would crave water and if there was some sitting out for my other dog she would drink it. towards the end she was taking enough insulin to kill a grown man (23 units twice a day i think it was) and started having seizures. One day i came home from work and she had been seizing for 2 hours and i decided then it was time to end her pain. Best of luck to you. I hope it stays a mild case.
7/24/2011 9:46:33 AM
Thanks for all the replies. He's on insulin now and so far is almost back to his old pain in the butt self. He goes back to the vets on Monday for another glucose curve and hopefully he's even better when he comes home.
7/24/2011 9:50:57 AM
My wife had a cat that had diabetes. We used a standard blood tester and test strips. He was a champ about it.
7/24/2011 7:39:23 PM
What brings this on in dogs? People food?
7/25/2011 1:09:16 AM
Originally Posted By nsw8148:
What brings this on in dogs? People food?
What brings this on in dogs? People food?
It's thought to be both genetic and environmental. Chronic pancreatits and other endocrine diseases can also predispose dogs to diabetes. Basically the body destroys it's own insulin secreting cells. Females are also more likely to get it for some reason.
7/27/2011 12:50:24 AM
Originally Posted By biscuits_and_gravy:
Hills makes Prescription Diet w/d Canine Low Fat-Diabetic-Gastrointestinal food. They also make r/d which is a weight loss formula, but good for diabetes as well. Now I know people are going to bash Hills, but I have taken many CE hours of small animal nutrition and would recommend the Hills prescription foods 9 times out of 10. Rx diets are VERY expensive and can only be bought at a veterinary office to a pet store that has a veterinarian on staff, it also requires a prescription. Hope you can get it in line without a Rx diet as well.
Hills makes Prescription Diet w/d Canine Low Fat-Diabetic-Gastrointestinal food. They also make r/d which is a weight loss formula, but good for diabetes as well. Now I know people are going to bash Hills, but I have taken many CE hours of small animal nutrition and would recommend the Hills prescription foods 9 times out of 10. Rx diets are VERY expensive and can only be bought at a veterinary office to a pet store that has a veterinarian on staff, it also requires a prescription. Hope you can get it in line without a Rx diet as well.
i worked at an animal shelter for 3 years, and i know what is in Hills, so i wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole, let alone feed it to my dog.
7/27/2011 8:28:12 AM
Originally Posted By thewildman:
i worked at an animal shelter for 3 years, and i know what is in Hills, so i wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole, let alone feed it to my dog.
Originally Posted By biscuits_and_gravy:
Hills makes Prescription Diet w/d Canine Low Fat-Diabetic-Gastrointestinal food. They also make r/d which is a weight loss formula, but good for diabetes as well. Now I know people are going to bash Hills, but I have taken many CE hours of small animal nutrition and would recommend the Hills prescription foods 9 times out of 10. Rx diets are VERY expensive and can only be bought at a veterinary office to a pet store that has a veterinarian on staff, it also requires a prescription. Hope you can get it in line without a Rx diet as well.
Hills makes Prescription Diet w/d Canine Low Fat-Diabetic-Gastrointestinal food. They also make r/d which is a weight loss formula, but good for diabetes as well. Now I know people are going to bash Hills, but I have taken many CE hours of small animal nutrition and would recommend the Hills prescription foods 9 times out of 10. Rx diets are VERY expensive and can only be bought at a veterinary office to a pet store that has a veterinarian on staff, it also requires a prescription. Hope you can get it in line without a Rx diet as well.
i worked at an animal shelter for 3 years, and i know what is in Hills, so i wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole, let alone feed it to my dog.
I find it ironic that Hills sells high dollar Prescription Rx food that, in all honesty, is marketed as treating a lot of conditions (overweight, allergies, etc...) that their main brand (ScienceDiet) causes in the first place.
7/28/2011 12:13:27 PM
Originally Posted By sbassen:
I find it ironic that Hills sells high dollar Prescription Rx food that, in all honesty, is marketed as treating a lot of conditions (overweight, allergies, etc...) that their main brand (ScienceDiet) causes in the first place.
Originally Posted By thewildman:
i worked at an animal shelter for 3 years, and i know what is in Hills, so i wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole, let alone feed it to my dog.
Originally Posted By biscuits_and_gravy:
Hills makes Prescription Diet w/d Canine Low Fat-Diabetic-Gastrointestinal food. They also make r/d which is a weight loss formula, but good for diabetes as well. Now I know people are going to bash Hills, but I have taken many CE hours of small animal nutrition and would recommend the Hills prescription foods 9 times out of 10. Rx diets are VERY expensive and can only be bought at a veterinary office to a pet store that has a veterinarian on staff, it also requires a prescription. Hope you can get it in line without a Rx diet as well.
Hills makes Prescription Diet w/d Canine Low Fat-Diabetic-Gastrointestinal food. They also make r/d which is a weight loss formula, but good for diabetes as well. Now I know people are going to bash Hills, but I have taken many CE hours of small animal nutrition and would recommend the Hills prescription foods 9 times out of 10. Rx diets are VERY expensive and can only be bought at a veterinary office to a pet store that has a veterinarian on staff, it also requires a prescription. Hope you can get it in line without a Rx diet as well.
i worked at an animal shelter for 3 years, and i know what is in Hills, so i wouldn't touch it with a ten foot pole, let alone feed it to my dog.
I find it ironic that Hills sells high dollar Prescription Rx food that, in all honesty, is marketed as treating a lot of conditions (overweight, allergies, etc...) that their main brand (ScienceDiet) causes in the first place.
i took home one of my shelter dogs, a 9 year old boxer named Charlie. Charlie has a few medical problems, he is allergic to corn and his thyroid is not fully functioning. the vet said to change to corn free food and put him on thyroid meds. They prescribed Hills prescription for dogs with corn allergies, and he didn't get much better. after doing a little research i found out what the issue was, can you guess what 30 percent of the ingredients in Hills prescription for dogs with corn allergies is? if you guessed corn, you're right! After that I talked to the vet and changed to taste of the wild and he has been doing so much better since then.
OP, what you feed your dog makes a huge difference. taste of the wild is expensive, but it is great, non corn based food and i never have any trouble getting Charlie to eat.
7/28/2011 8:52:05 PM
vet2007, What food do you suggest?
7/30/2011 8:53:03 PM
My Pooch caught a case of diabetes too.
