Diabetic dog - advice please

Hi pennypincher2013, I have had 2 diabetic dogs and when you first find out they are diabetic it is quite daunting. You have the difficult task of finding out what dose/routine will suit your dog and getting your dog stabilized. The key to controlling diabetes is routine Once your dog is stabilized managing their diabetes is quite easy. Normally no treats throughout the day apart from the occasional raw carrot. You will both get used to giving and receiving injections, I find it easiest when I put his food down, he wolfs his food and I inject him while he is eating, the only time this wont work is if he is off colour /not eating I wait to see how much he eats and then adjust the dosage and inject him after he has eaten. Once you get your dog into a routine and stabilised (this can vary dependent on each dog) they are just like their old self and apart from having to stick to set meal times for injections life is quite manageable. Good luck and it is a little difficult and stressful at the beginning but you will soon grow in confidence and you will cope.

Our dogs started on wet chappie but I have now got them on dry chappie this means that you can give her 1 or 2 dry pieces as treats. Ours gets 2 pieces of dry chappie at night. You will have to watch that well meaning dog walkers don't give her treats. I'm glad she is home, I found it helpful to have a diary for our first dog. Every day I would write what his urine was reading how much insulin I gave, if he had got some food when we were out walking, if he was off colour, not eating. It meant that when we went to the vets they would look at the diary and any concerns I had I wouldn't forget to tell them. Good luck, I'm sure you will do great. xx

I should imagine your dog is just getting used to things after her op and recent diabetes diagnosis, so what was 'normal' before may not be 'normal' now. Keep a note of her behavior so that you can monitor her progress. I would say 1 green bean throughout the day is a small amount or 1 finger sized raw carrot. I buy meat paste (chicken) from aldi and mix half a teaspoon in a small amount of boiling water and add this to my 2 dogs dry food.

pennypincher2013 wrote: »

My CKCS has just been diagnosed as diabetic. I have spoken to two different vets at my surgery and have been given conflicting information. One said do not give ANY food in between morning and evening meals. Another has said carrots, green beans and apples are fine as treats throughout the day. Which is it?

How do you inject your dog who will not let you do it?

How long after diagnosis did your dog get back to their normal selves? Is life any different?

Hi Pennypincher


We have a diabetic Border Collie aged 4 years. It is very daunting at first. As you gain experience your confidence will build. The main key is routine. Dogs adapt and love routine.


How do you inject your dog who will not let you do it?


We test her blood glucose before every meal- twice a day. We have a routine where I test her she's learnt to jump onto the sofa next to me, roll over and give me her paw, I then get a drop of blood from her Carpel Pad onto the test strip. Then I feed her (we use Royal Cannin Diabetic Dog Food- dried) she gets the same amount breakfast and teatime. Then I put a soft muzzle on her, give her 1cm of soft cheese (we use Primula light in a tube as it's lower fat and fat can affect blood sugar levels) inject insulin and repeat giving soft cheese, off with the muzzle then out she goes into the garden so she can't steal our older slower dogs meal! Tube of cheese has her name on it in the fridge!


To build our confidence and train her to accept being tested we ran a few sugar curves, we did reward (beans are fine) after each test so 6 treats over the 12 hour day.


Another has said carrots, green beans and apples are fine as treats throughout the day. Which is it?


We are really careful about treats, very rarely given and only as reward for behaviours. We do sometimes add veg to her dinner especially if she is off her food. We do occasionally add a little (Tablespoonful) of Bisto low salt chicken gravy to her meals. Treats are more our need than hers!


Stick with things that are low natural sugars so we don't give apple but do give green beans (frozen just defrost a few at a time), carrots and use a few pieces of dried food.


How long after diagnosis did your dog get back to their normal selves?


Once you get a routine you can vary it a little, while we were learning we were very rigid about meal times, weighed the dry food (for consistency) gave no treats at all and made sure that everyone was told (firmly for some) absolutely no treats but from us.


I'd say it took a week for her to get used to us measuring her blood glucose levels, we use alphatrak- you can buy a testing kit at supermarkets and every pharmacy, expensive but so much better to know what it is, that way you can also do your own sugar curve at home so be more accurate than one done at the vets where stress can give false high readings, so too much insulin at home.


It took a couple of months to get used to giving the insulin, and muzzling was the only way as she would go for it with us (and may still be the case- not willing to test out if she would do without it). Id say overall it took me about 3-4 months to get used to it and comfortable with the new fixed routine and planning of simple activities.


There is life after diagnosis but it is much more fixed, doing anything that impacts on mealtimes needs careful planning for instance we had a weekend away and Mrs CRV never stopped checking with her sister glucose levels, treats and feeds in the end swearing we would never go away together again without the dogs!


We test before exercise and while we were training her to herd/ drive sheep tested during breaks. We had to stop agility as she became very reactive towards other dogs (always was wary) and her sugar levels dropped very fast.


Walks need planning- best to exercise before meal times otherwise she burns the sugar up and the insulin still lowers what's left so risk of hypo.


If her blood sugar level drops very low we give Honey- to boost instantly the level, followed by cream cracker with peanut butter on- the carbs keep the levels even until the next mealtime.


If work commitments mean her meal time has to vary we move it over a few days prior - you must have at least 11 hours between insulin doses but can stretch it to 13 hours apart at a push.


Nights out need planning- I now always have to be up by 6 am and we roughly give insulin 07:00 and 19:00 hours, we keep a record of blood sugar level and time of dose so we each know she has had it and the vet can look over it. We do vary dose at times for instance if the reading is below 10 mmols we retest after 45 mins and if on its' way up give the insulin if not we may reduce the dose. Similarly if she runs at a high level for a few days we may slightly increase it.


My wife has joined two Facebook groups- Canine Diabetes Support and Information an American group and some members can be a bit harsh and opinionated in my view and UK Diabetic Dogs which she finds a bit better.


Sorry for the long post but I know how worrying it can be so wanted to give you as much info as I can. If I can help/ share info please just ask, I'm sure that there are more knowledgeable people who will be along later.


Good luck, with testing and routine you'll manage it well. It's more training humans than dogs!

A certain form of diabetes-the type found in dogs less than a year of age-is inherited, proper diet and regular exercise can be very effective in helping to prevent onset of diabetes in dogs. Aside from other negative health effects, obesity is known to contribute to an ability to respond normally to insulin.

When it comes to giving your diabetic dog treats, fruits and vegetables are great treats for your diabetic dog. Fruit can have a high starch content, so it’s best to offer fruit in moderation but here are some that are good to include:

Apples
Pears
Strawberries
Blueberries
Raspberries

Vegetables are another great choice because they are high in fiber and low in calories. Good vegetable choices for your dog are:

Carrots
Lettuce
Cabbage
Spinach
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Green Beans

It’s best to avoid commercial dog treats since many included fillers such as corn and/or soy, corn syrup, fructose or molasses. Each of these are high in sugar.

Making healthy diabetic dog treats at home can be a great option and a great way to involve other family members in the management of your dog’s diabetes. If you do plan to make your own diabetic dog treats, look for ingredients such as oats and whole grain. You might also consider adding some low-sodium chicken broth to your dog’s daily food to offer a bit of variety.