Can I use a human glucometer on my dog? What's a normal level?

Normal glucose reading would be 70 to 150 mg, dL. 46 is too low, however, human diabetes test ers often show a lower glucose level than the actual level as it aims to keep human diabetics from getting hypoglycemic. I suggest you make sure your dog eats properly and schedule an appointment with your veterinarian for a blood test. The excessive drinking is also concerning and can point to endocrine or kidney disease.

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!

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.

I have provided a link here that hopefully will help you. There are a lot of good owner tutorials/videos for owners of diabetic pets. The best spots to obtain a bit of blood for a glucometer are the paw pad and ear tips but a lot of owners have trouble and the values may not always be accurate. You do not need to check blood sugars daily as this is not very accurate. Checking a spot check blood sugar is more important if you think the value would be low, which is more concerning than a high sugar. A blood glucose curve is a better way to monitor and this is done 7 to 10 days after diagnosis and after any dose change. Some owners monitor urine dipsticks as well. If you feel like you need more help with this disease process then you could ask for a referral to a veterinary internist who specializes in managing chronic diseases like diabetes. I hope this helps and thank you for using PetCoach! https://www.aaha.org/guidelines/diabetes_guidelines/resources.aspx

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

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!

I don't see an age, breed, or sex listed for your pet, which would give us helpful information in terms of how to interpret that finding. It is certainly lower than expected; usually when dogs (or cats) have their blood drawn, they are a bit stressed from being at the vet, which tends to increase the blood sugar for a short period of time, so usually we will see animals be over 80-90, and most commonly over 100. It may be worth asking your vet about running a "baseline cortisol" test to screen for Addison's disease. I will attach some information below. Keep a close eye on your dog as well. If he seems lethargic, tired, walks with a weak or wobbly gait at times, etc, (or certainly if he has more obvious problems such as a seizure), then this probably is a problem for him. Other possible causes of low blood sugar (again age, breed, and sex also play in here in terms of liklihood), include insulinoma (a tumor in the pancreas), liver disease, or toxin exposures (most notably xylitol). I hope that is helpful for you.... for more detailed information consider requesting a consultation so we can go back and forth with information. Thank you for asking PetCoach! https://www.petcoach.co/article/addison-s-disease-hypoadrenocorticism-in-dogs/