Diabetic Dog

[horcruxer]

Join our free community today.

Connect with other like-minded dog lovers!

Login or Register

My nine-year-old Yorkshire terrier has just been diagnosed with diabetes. I have diabetes myself, so I'm familiar with how it works. What's bothering me is that it's going to be a struggle to get her to adapt to a new routine. Usually, she eats four times a day. However, the vet's told me that she can only eat twice a day - she has insulin injections 12 hours apart and these come after meals. According to the vet, she's not allowed snacks between meals. Knowing my dog, she will find this hard (and so will I - she can get feisty when hungry!) I've researched dog diabetes online and lots of sites are saying that dogs can eat more than twice a day. Does anyone have a dog with diabetes and what advice for eating habits has your vet given you? I thought it would be find giving my dog foods without carbs in them between meals (since carbs raise blood sugar) but apparently these aren't allowed either. Am I really stuck with two meals a day or is there some sort of food I can give my dog between meals that won't affect her diabetes?

 

[JudyN]

I think I'd try a different vet - possibly what yours is recommending is the ideal approach as far as her physical health is concerned, but might not be best for her overall physical and mental welfare.

 

[Finsky]

My nine-year-old Yorkshire terrier has just been diagnosed with diabetes. I have diabetes myself, so I'm familiar with how it works. What's bothering me is that it's going to be a struggle to get her to adapt to a new routine. Usually, she eats four times a day. However, the vet's told me that she can only eat twice a day - she has insulin injections 12 hours apart and these come after meals. According to the vet, she's not allowed snacks between meals. Knowing my dog, she will find this hard (and so will I - she can get feisty when hungry!) I've researched dog diabetes online and lots of sites are saying that dogs can eat more than twice a day. Does anyone have a dog with diabetes and what advice for eating habits has your vet given you? I thought it would be find giving my dog foods without carbs in them between meals (since carbs raise blood sugar) but apparently these aren't allowed either. Am I really stuck with two meals a day or is there some sort of food I can give my dog between meals that won't affect her diabetes?

I wonder if the vet's 'no snacks' advise is based on the idea that some proteins can raise blood sugar, although not as much as carbs and not as drastically and quickly. But I don't have any idea if this is true with dogs as well. I'm one of those diabetics that I have to take account the protein content when calculating my insulin needs...and with some proteins the 'need' is more evident than with others.
But you are in charge about your dog's welfare. Just try and see what happens...if you are able to test your pets blood sugars (I don't have experience about 'D' with dogs)...see what happens if you keep its meals low carb and replace couple of meals with high quality protein snacks =real meat/body parts and no man made treats. And if that would help keeping blood sugars down and the double injections adequate for its needs..then why listen what vet says. End of the day vet would just guestimate anyway...just like our doctors do too. It is the patients that have to work the fine details

 

[Finsky]

Me again....I already turned computer off for tonight and then I kept thinking of this insulin stuff.
When you say your dog should eat 12hrs apart...that sounds to me like the insulin's profile is what I used to use back in days when you 'had to eat x-amount of carbs for the given amount of insulin'..rather than eat what is just enough and then adjust the insulin needs.
Depending of the insulin and how it is designed to work..you might be able to split the doze to allow 4 meals a day approach.
I've now had a little read about it...and there seem to be practice of he treatment having to be divided into "stabilisation" and "maintenance". First, the correct dose needs to be determined and a suitable routine needs to be finalised for both pet and owner (stabilisation). Then, the pet is monitored regularly and if the diabetes evolves, the medication can be changed accordingly (maintenance).
So either the vet is used to and don't know anything else than to deal with the meds with '2 meals per day' basis or he is lazy and don't want to trouble himself with different approach.
I can't see there being any difference being 'stabilized' with 4 injections per day and then adjust it with finer details later on. Not only that, there is different kind of insulins on the market for dogs, so there has to be one that suit your dog's needs.

 

[horcruxer]

Thanks for the replies! I should probably say that I'm a type 1 diabetic myself. I've had diabetes for nine years and manage it well. I didn't know anything about dog diabetes, so when my dog was diagnosed with it, I just assumed it would be managed in a similar way to mine and that there'd be some flexibility. What frustrates me about the way dog diabetes is managed is that it's so rigid (injections, meals and exercise at set times). It does seem like dog diabetes now is managed in the way that human diabetes was managed a few decades ago. My dog's doing really well so far and I will stick to the routine, but I really hope that once we've got the diabetes stabilised, the vet will say there's room for some flexibility. I only started her on her insulin last night, but I already miss her old routine!

 

[JoanneF]

You may know this already but ages ago, while looking for something else, I came across a product that delivers the insulin without a needle, like an EpiPen. I understand the dosage has to be stabilised before you start with them but if you or she find injections to be difficult, it's an option to explore.

 

[Finsky]

Thanks for the replies! I should probably say that I'm a type 1 diabetic myself. I've had diabetes for nine years and manage it well. I didn't know anything about dog diabetes, so when my dog was diagnosed with it, I just assumed it would be managed in a similar way to mine and that there'd be some flexibility. What frustrates me about the way dog diabetes is managed is that it's so rigid (injections, meals and exercise at set times). It does seem like dog diabetes now is managed in the way that human diabetes was managed a few decades ago. My dog's doing really well so far and I will stick to the routine, but I really hope that once we've got the diabetes stabilised, the vet will say there's room for some flexibility. I only started her on her insulin last night, but I already miss her old routine!

Ah...it is very new thing for you both. Well...you do have to start from somewhere to sort the medication side of things. I suspect all the routine you have to keep up with the dogs life is vital as their metabolism is more rapid than ours so there is greater chance of error...our bodies takes longer time to react to the effects of the insulin.
The good news is that despite the diabetes, providing you do the hard work managing it...the dog is not any worst off and it will have all the chance for a normal life span.
I would be most interested to read how you get on with these things. If you have time and energy to keep updating, it would be good to learn more.