Tagged As: Diet For Diabetic Dog
Question:
I can't even confess to 'lurking' here, so hope you'll excuse this posting for help. I have a seven year old blind, diabetic dog (with a thyroid problem to boot!) who up till now (for the last year) has managed OK with her insulin. Unfortunately, she has now started to refuse any conventional diabetic dog food, eg Hills Science etc, whether it be biscuits or tinned. You name it we've tried, and rejected, it!! To crown it all, this week her sixteen year old mother has also been diagnosed as diabetic (yes, I know the prognosis is not likely to be good at that age), and she too turns her nose up at any diabetic feed. Given the costs and difficulty involved in finding a suitable diabetic food for the two of them, is there anything I can make myself at home? What should I avoid at all costs? Any help gratefully received. Incidentally, today we've been back into the vet (in France) with our youngster as her whole head and throat have swollen up, with pus leaking out of the top of her head. As he was not available today, our vet's assistant phoned him and has given us pills to reduce the inflamation, with clear instructions to call back in the morning. However, she didn't seem to have much of an idea what could have caused this reaction, other than to say that it sometimes happens to diabetic dogs. Any ideas why this has happened? She appeared quite 'shakey' last night and this morning, but perked right up after her insulin. Apart from today she is normally quite spritely, despite her lack of vision, and has a reasonably active life here on the farm.
Answer:
I am not vet and do not have all the answers,but I did tend to a diabetic dog for a year and a half before he died. We had the same problems with not eating occasionally. His normal diet became boiled boneless,skinless chicken breasts and Hill's WD formula. As I said he usually had a hearty appetite or I was able to coax him with a little food play to eat. I did learn quickly not to give the insulin if I could not get him to eat at all. Also kept a bottle of Karo on hand just in case. We did have to change his insulin type several times when the vet felt he was not under good enough control. As far as we know he didn't suffer after he became diabetic. I feel it greatly reduced his lifespan. He was only 9 when we found that he had died peacefully in his sleep of unknown causes. We miss him terribly.
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