DIABETIC DOGS

[pearlemae]

Pearle our Blue Great Dane,has with in the past couple days, been diagnosed with diabetes. She was drinking huge amounts of water and eating like she was starving, which it turns out she was.Well after two vet visits in the same day, blood trine tests, she has been put on insulin twice a day.
The vet has prescribed Royal Canin brand food for diabetic dogs, its only by prescription and spendy. After reading whats in it at their web site, its crap,it looks toxic. I never have fed my dogs anything that reads like this stuff.
I found a food on the web thats certified low glycemic,which means there is less carbs that can be turned in to sugars, that will help glucose spikes. The new food is spendy, but on a per pound price compared to the vet its less. The dogs love this food, the poodle was eating it as I was pouring it out of the bag.
Pearle is great when its shot time,she just stands there while she gets poked doesn't seem to mind getting shots , the needles are micros also.So does anyone else out there have a diabetic dog ?

 

[yortbogey]

yeap on of my ShitZu boys has the diabetes....we just use dog food for over weight dogs...less calories....and sugars....and supplement good table scraps...I cook a lot...
along w/ myself type 2 for 15+ yrs....

 

[SeaMaiden]

No, but I have cared for a diabetic MinPin. What about a RAW diet, is that appropriate for a diabetic dog?

 

[pearlemae]

Yortbogey thanks for checking in, Mrs Pearlemae and I are feeding Orijen brand food from Canada. Its expensive but when i did a pound for pound its cheaper than the prescription crap. Plus she and tthe poodle love it.

Seamaiden, we've looked at raw diets, but Rene the Poodle isn't going for it, with two dogs its easier to feed them the same, so the Orijen works. The poodle really likes it, and he can be discriminating in his food likes.

Pearle had her blood sugar checked at noon and its higher that the other day so her insulin is being increased. back to the vet on Monday for another glucose test. She's now getting double the amount she started with. Even though her blood sugar has gone up she is acting much better that she was over the week end, its like two different dogs.

 

[SeaMaiden]

I hope you get the right dosage of insulin for her ASAP, as I know that the bouncing blood sugar diminishes life expectancy. It's got to be a lot easier with a Great Dane than a MinPin, though.

 

[pearlemae]

The vet started her out on a low dose of insulin,he doubled it on Friday from 12 to24. She's using human insulin and U100 syringes the plan is to do a glucose curve, doing a blood test every hour for twelve hours to see how her levels run.

 

[Stoner4Life]

hope Pearle starts feeling better bro.......

 

[pearlemae]

S4L Thanks for the kind words. Pearle is actually doing stupendusly. The insulin increase seems to have really helped. Shes went from 120 lbs to 108 in like a week, but with the insulin allowing her system to absorb nutrient she's packing the weight back on. She gained nearly a pound a day at the beginning. I also think the new food has been a huge help, it nutrient dense and both dogs love the stuff, hell even the cats like it.
I'll continue her tale, as it unfolds.

 

[SeaMaiden]

Pearle, what brought her to the diagnosis? I mean, did the vet just happen to test her for diabetes, or was stuff happening?

The dog I'm familiar with got incredibly fat, then he wouldn't stop drinking water, and then one day he was staggering around and I finally told my boss that she had to take him to the vet, I thought it was serious. Now, the vet she took him too wasn't too cool, they told her, "Oh, your dog's diabetic. You have to put him down." She came home bawling her eyes out and I was *so* upset with that vet, you don't have to put a dog down just because it's diabetic! She and her daughter (single mom) got 2 more years with Rocky. Titrating his insulin was extremely difficult once he got under 10lbs. Human insulin was used for him as well.

 

[pearlemae]

We noticed that she had begun to drink large amounts of water. Pearle always drank a lot she's a big girl, but the volume went why up. She was eating like she was starving, which it turns out she was. Her weight dropped 13 lbs in about 5days, thats when we took her to the vet and I had looked on line about her symptoms and the vet confirmed them. The vet did a blood glucose test, and thenn wanted a urine test. We caught some urine and tested for keytones which were there. Keytones are a definite result of diabetes and high levels can lead to huge medical problems. The vet said it makes the difference between a sick diabetic and a healthy diabetic.

So if your dog shows any signs of diabetes, get them to the vet right now any wait could be fatal.mrs. pearlemae adds that dogs afterall, are hardwired to Not show all the symptoms so if your dog behaves differently for any reason,because they can't speak. pearlemae gives good advice for all dog owners.

 

[Stoner4Life]

glad to hear that pearlemae.......

 

[mrs. pearlemae]

the big p is on the mend!

the big p is on the mend!

My big blue girl is getting better with each injection she's acting like her blueness and acting liike the big clown she was before we see a remarkable turn around in just a matter of days our standard poodle,Rene Soliel{sunny rene} would bee terribly lonely ass he had too endure the loss of an earlier pack member named Marley. I don't know what dogs actually think or "feel".. i can only say there must be a loss of some kind ,I know WE feel loss she's feeling welll enough some pix to follow thanks. and every go have fun in a bark-park{woof,woof!} I feel so good I could leave a "deposit" and not pick it up!!!! But then i would be a"bad puppy"