A diabetic dog will show early signs diabetes, that being unsteady, drinking a lot of water and possibly lethargic. Just like when a human is experiencing diabetic symptoms, dogs and other animals do so as well. We’re going to delve in a bit on what to look for and what you can do to help your diabetic dog.
Dog Diabetes and What to Watch For
Dogs can develop diabetes, mainly Type 2 canine diabetes. Diabetes in dogs (and cats) is more common than you think, and studies about animal diabetes shows some interesting information as a pet owner you should be aware of.
Some early warning signs indicative of diabetes in your pet include:
- Unusually high consumption of water
- Lethargy
- Unsteady/Poor coordination
- Appetite increase
- Incontinence
Things you can do to treat diabetic pets:
- Change up your dog’s diet to regulate blood sugar levels
- Add more green leafy vegetables when you can in their food.
- Learn how to monitor urine samples to adjust insulin
- Take your dog for walks and get them some needed exercise
- Routine veterinary care.
- Always allow your dog to have as much water as they wish to have
Like humans, a dog’s chance of developing diabetes increases with age and is especially true in dogs that have an improper diet (think table scraps), are overweight and not exercised. The importance of a dog’s diet of high fiber and low fat, and minimal sugars cannot be over emphasized.
LET YOUR DOG HAVE THEIR WATER: A diabetic dog which drinks a large amount of water is the attempt to flush their kidneys of glucose spilled over from the blood. If glucose isn’t flushed out of the kidneys, serious damage to the kidneys and other organs may occur.
You Can Care for a Dog With Diabetes
It isn’t that difficult caring for a dog with any illness, it simply means you need to adjust some things in your home. The major thing to stop is allowing your dog tables scraps, processed dog biscuits, and overly processed dog foods. (Need a good dog biscuit recipe?). Don’t let an animal with an illness like this go untreated, or even thoughts of euthanizing if you don’t think you can handle it. You aren’t incapable of helping your dog, in fact, you’ll see that in time your love, support and guidance will give you the necessary confidence to help your dog maintain an active healthy lifestyle like you were initially accustomed when they were a puppy.
Diet: Change things up! Don’t give in to highly processed dog food with large amounts of fillers (wheat), sugar(s) (there are many) and salt. Include more vegetables in your dogs diet. Most dogs love to chew up raw carrots, red/green/yellow/orange peppers, cucumber slices, and more. If you don’t know if your dog will eat these healthy foods, give it a try! You;’ll be surprised at what dogs really love to eat that is super good for them.
Be Proactive: Take your dog for walks or runs, get them active, which in turn will make you active as well. Get them to a vet every 6 months for checkups.
Take good care of your dog. Dog diabetes doesn’t have to be a thing that you struggle with. An interesting book to read about Type 2 Diabetes in general and how to manage and even reverse it is a book by Dr. Michael Greger, “How Not To Die”, you’ll want to read Chapter 6:
