My diabetic dog's blood sugar is 8.2. Is this too high?

Continue insulin therapy as previously prescribed and follow up with your veterinarian in the morning. Do not alter insulin dose based on 2 spot checks without consulting the veterinarian treating her.

Consider having Mojo rechecked by your veterinarian. A bG curve should be done to confirm the insulin dose is appropriate or if it needs to be adjusted. In a diabetic dog, a bG between 5-12 mmol/L over a 24 hour period is considered "stable". Rapid or wide swings should be addressed by your veterinarian

Yes, he should get some insulin now. The usual starting dose is about ¼ unit per pound of body weight. Thus, a 20 lb. dog would start at 5 units; 40 lb. at 10 units, and so on. So at 29 pounds, he should get about 7 units of insulin. Check his glucose again in a few hours and see where he is to make sure he's not getting too low. If he does get really low, you can help bring it back up by giving some honey or Karo syrup.

Great question! Typically I have owners do curves at home starting with a check before breakfast and insulin, then every 2hours until their next insulin dose. Ideal is 80-120 for me, but below 200 is pretty good control. If you are just starting to monitor your diabetic dog, I usually wait 1 week of dosing to start a curve. Do the curve on a day when you will be home with Toby and can check every 2 hours, and when there is no stressful activities going on, like visitors/construction, etc. Once you get your curve, you should send the results to your vet so they can analyze the results and make any changes to his insulin treatment if necessary. Do not change insulin dosage without talking to your vet first. Good luck and kisses to Toby!

Most "normal" dogs have a blood sugar range from 75-150. But most diabetic dogs are never that low. Our blood sugar goals for most diabetes are more like 150-250. The most important thing is to closely monitor Bindi's levels in order to help your veterinarian adjust her insulin accurately. And do not change the insulin dose without speaking with your veterinarian or based on a single reading. The most important thing is monitoring trends in her blood sugar levels. I am attaching a handout below which has a form that you can download to help record and monitor her blood sugar levels. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952916 Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

If her blood sugar is 56, she needs to be seen by a veterinarian tonight. She is wading in dangerous territory and should be put on IV dextrose to avoid going into hypoglycemic shock. I would not wait until morning to address this issue, as karo syrup, while helpful, will not help if there is another underlying problem.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! High and low blood glucose will be somewhat dependent on the method that is used though typically more than 180mg/dl is considered high and less than 60mg/dl is considered low in dogs. Have a good night!