What is dog diabetes? How to prevent, treat, and manage their diet?

Hi there and thank you for posting your question. A fasting blood glucose level is often almost enough to diagnose diabetes. I will usually confirm with a urinalysis. However, many veterinarians also use a test called fructosamine to help make the diagnosis. Digs with diabetes drink a lot of water, they urinate frequently, and in the beginning they are very hungry. As they become more sick the appetite decreases and the weight loss becomes significant. I hope this helps! Take care, and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hello, and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I'm sorry to hear that Abel has diabetes! Abel will need to be started on insulin, which will need to come from your vet. If Abel has been lethargic and not eating much, my recommendation would be to have him hospitalized at the vet as soon as possible to get his blood sugar under control, so I'd call them right away and see how quickly he can be seen again - even if the vet isn't free to talk to you when you call, I'd recommend you ask the front desk how quickly Abel can be seen. Untreated diabetes can definitely make a pet become much more sick very quickly, so now that you know it's diabetes I would get Abel rechecked. That way when you bring Abel in, you can talk further about the diabetes diagnosis, and your vet can help you become comfortable with measuring and giving the insulin. When I diagnose new diabetic animals, I usually have the owner practice giving injections of saline to their pet in the hospital so we know they will be comfortable with drawing up the correct dose of insulin and giving injections at home. Your vet will also likely want you to start Abel on a prescription diet formulated to help maintain a more steady blood sugar. I hope this helps and he feels better soon!

There are quite a lot of special treats for diabetic dogs on the market, although vegetables are usually the best natural choice. Here is an example for ready made treats: https://www.amazon.com/All-Natural-Diabetic-Treats-Approved/dp/B00DP4K238

Diabetes in dogs is thought to be from destruction of the beta cells in the pancreas. It is not an insulin resistance from giving too many treats (so don’t blame yourself!) Sometimes if the insulin dose is too high it will drop the glucose too low so that maybe why he is recommending sugar water. My recommendation would be to be seen right away if he is weak, or shaky, as low blood glucose can be life threatening. Seeking a second opinion is never wrong, but sometimes better communication is really what is helpful . We Are happy to help where we can, but a good primary veterinarian relationship is really important with diabetes. Best of luck and I hope he does well!

What Dr Ana was referring to is that the disease that Bailey was recently diagnosed with--diabetes insipidus--is NOT going to be affected to any significant extent by Bailey's diet. If it was diabetes mellitus, that would be a completely different conversation. The only thing for diabetes insipidus of note regarding diet is that wet food would be better, so as to maximize the amount of water intake (wet or canned food has a high moisture content) to help prevent her from becoming dehydrated. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

The fact that you are reaching out for help does show that you love your dogs, and it's the right thing to do. While you are correct that Pixie's symptoms could be due to diabetes, they could also be due to a UTI. A UTI would make her feel ill, and consequently cause her to want to sleep more. Should she have a UTI, then a course of antibiotics will cure it. The only way to know for sure what is going on with her, however, is to take her into the vet. A vet can do routine blood tests, and a urinalysis to see if she does have diabetes or a UTI, and can treat her accordingly. I would take her into the vet to diagnose what is causing her symptom because both can be treated. If paying for a vet is an issue, you can see if your vet accepts payment plans, if there is a low cost clinic in your area, or you can apply for Care Credit online. There is also an organization called Red Rover that give grants for treatment of sick animals, and you can see if you qualify for one of their grants. http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_pet.html?credit=web_id91754962 https://www.redrover.org https://www.carecredit.com

Princess has probably been diabetic for a while (possibly many months). When the diabetes continues on untreated, the dogs can become ketotic. If she still has a good appetite, the she may be able to start insulin shots, anti-nausea medications, pain medications, etc. at home without needing specialized hospitalization. If she is very ill, her best chances are in the hospital. You always have the option of declining in-hospital treatment and trying to treat at home, but you may not always be successful. You should discuss all available options with your vet, even if the outcome is not ideal or leads to a poor prognosis. Diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA) is a very serious problem in pets and causes life-threatening abnormalities. They need aggressive IV fluid therapy and a special type of insulin to slowly decrease their blood glucose and manage them through the many ups and downs. The monitoring and hands-on-vet care required means high bills. Pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas - the organ that regulates insulin) is very common in diabetic dogs, and can make things harder to treat since it causes intense pain and nausea. Your vet probably also warned you that having a diabetic dog is expensive since she will need regular vet visits, blood glucose monitoring, insulin and the syringes to administer it, a change in diet, etc.