[CorkyMax]

I have diabetes myself so know some things. And to begin with---not everyone (or dog) is the same on how they cope with this--too many factors involved as you probably know, so I will just give you what info I believe in. Also my daughter's dog finally succumbed from it. Which is another thing I might add here---I have 2 dogs of my own and like all of you,these dogs are my life so I don't say this easily---Please know when it is time to put the dog down, don't let it suffer! I had a hand in trying to help my daughter's dog and it was also blind (because of the diabetes) This dog was a happy dog, tail always wagging but it got to the point where she was nothing but skin and bones and finally at the end, just stopped eating altogether. She should of been put down sooner---some dogs do not show you they are in pain unless it gets so bad they can't help it but that doesn't mean they weren't suffering in silence! You should try to be aware of when it is just too much for the dog. On the 8yr. old dog with diabetes (AnnieOakley)---I'm assuming when you talk about the pancreas and the meat problem, you are referring to a problem to do w/pancreatis? One of my dogs had this before. Some suggestions ( I am assuming that it has been taken care of so to speak and the problem now is not to have too much fat in the diet--although a dog must have a little fat) no fat cottage cheese--no fat plain yogurt(get yogurt with live active cultures w/acidophilus and bifidus--or one close as you can) I am wondering if plain pumpkin (not pie filling) would be good--for diabetes too (fiber)---pumpkin works for both--diarreha and constipation. I mix the pumpkin in w/rest of the meal although dogs as a rule like the taste--mix it in w/the cottage cheese or /and yogurt. Oops, just reread this--I am suggesting to use no-fat cottage cheese,etc! About diabetes---the bag of special diet dogfood for diabetes my daughter had (which I was against) had corn as the main ingredient--too many carbohydrates (I could not believe it--yes corn has a little fiber but not that much!! Furthermore I personally would not use grains at all But using insulin might be another story if tendency to low blood sugar because of it---I've hd no experience w/insulin--my daughter's dog did not get it as she could not afford it so we tried doing the best we could w/diet alone. Another thing about grains besides being full of carbohydrates, a lot of dogs are allergic to them and if I remember right corn is the worst followed by wheat. I feed about a 90% raw food diet w a little oatmeal (the best grain I think) alternating w/cottage cheese for the morning meal. I also give raw egg yolk (stir the egg white into the hot cooked oatmeal until it turns white). Sorry, I could go on and on so rest I will try to keep short! I use vinegar in my dog's supper meal--I have 25-30# dogs-I mix in 1/2-1 tsp; vegs for fiber--if feeding raw, make sure to grind up so can digest it (my dog loves raw asparagus); (On the eggs--only 1 every other day) If my dog had diabetes I would do away with store-bought treats---try making little meatballs w/90 to 97% ground beef (no other ingredients) put on cookie sheet or better yet, a jellyroll pan(w/the rims)--bake till done to your liking (350 degrees) or if you have a food dehydrator---(you have to use a hamburger w/a low fat content----just spread out carefully on your tray--thin as you can w/out breaking it up--doesn't take long either--when done, just break into pieces----store in freezer what you won't use right away and rest you will use soon in the refrigerator. I would use something like Prozyme on dog's meals (I do anyway) I give V.c; V.e ; Super Pet-vite (mine frm Puritan"s Pride) salmon oil and CoQ10 (30 mg) Try to keep the immune system healthy---which would be to me (partly to stay away frm vaccinations) I've got loads of dog care books and if do some more research may come back on here w/ a few more suggestions. One more comment---AnnieOakley---the dehydrator ground beef is very low in fat--it is like the consistency of jerky when dried!!

My toy poodle, Peep, has been diagnosed with diabetes for 3 months now. Every time we feed her it's like russian roulette. I put the plate down and hope she eats. One week she loves something and the next week she turns her nose up. I have the evening shift and my husband has the morning shift. She likes her sleep and doesn't want to wake up and eat at 9 a.m. The last two mornings she hasn't eaten. All day long I'm on pins and needles worrying about her because I don't know how she is feeling. What should we do if she won't eat?

It also seems like her hips are giving her a lot of pain. Has anyone else noticed a change in mobility with their diabetic dog? I feel like her ribs feel different too. She hasn't lost very much weight but she just seems so frail now.

My dog is a black Lab, he was about 104lbs and about a month ago he started losing a lot of weight and drinking a ton of water. I took him to the Vet on the 30th and he has diabetes and is down to 80lbs. She put him on the vetsulin twice a day. My problem is he is not eating at all! Is this common for the 1st stage of the shots?

I am giving him droppers of Chicken broth as he needs something in him to get the shot. He eats every now and again but not much and then he ends up puking it up. Last might he ate 1/2 a hamburger patty, kept it down for about 3 hours then puked it up. He is eating a ton of grass. I just don't know what to do anymore... It is the start of it all and I am stressing out because he is not eating. I have read a lot of these threads but I am wondering is it alway like this in the start? Does it get better? :???:

Thanks so much..
Kris :cry:

If your dog isn't eating, you shouldn't be giving regular dose of insulin. You really need to find a vet who is very, very experienced in treating a diabetic dog. Most are not.

Giving broth is NOT enough food for a diabetic dog. They have to have enough food to balance the insulin you are giving them. Please read up on diabetic animals on petdiabetes.org and petdiabetes.com. You really need to be careful when giving insulin that you don't overdose the dog.

Hope I didn't scare anyone but you really need to know what you are doing when caring for a diabetic animal. Also, Vetsulin does not work for a lot of dogs. My dog was on it for a while but didn't do well. He is now on Humulin N. If your vet insists on using Vetsulin, I would find another vet.

Shadows

I just found out my dog was Diabetic about 2 weeks ago. I am giving insulin shots but my dog has no appetite and he will eat something once and then doesn't want to touch it again. I thought about cooking chicken for him but not sure what to do. The vet said he's needs to eat.

Hi, I am new to this forum and joined last week as I was worried about my dog drinking huge amounts of water and urinating loads too, he was groaning all or most of the time and had trouble with his hips too, he was a Labrador x Red setter and I had him for ten and a half years, his name was Brandy. We took him to the vets on Friday 23rd , and after the vet did some small tests, she was convinced he was suffering from Diabetes, we are not wealthy people and the vet took this in to consideration, she said it would be very hard to treat this illness and very expensive and it would be lots of hard work for me and lots of tests for my dog, so our only option was to have him put to sleep......we did take him home first whilst the vet checked the urine sample that my daughter went back down to the vets with, and when she told us on the phone it was definitely diabetes, I decided I didn't want him to suffer, so we had him put to sleep. It was a heart breaking experience seeing him slip away but after reading your posts on here I am sure it was the kindest thing to do, I always said if one of my pets got any serious illness I would have to have them put to sleep and that is what I did.......and have cried all weekend , but at least he is not suffering now.

[lil mutt]

If the vet that your aunt is seeing is not an expert in animal's diabetic problem particularly dogs then i think you should find another vet who can help you with your pet's condition.

My dog has been on insulin shots for about 2 weeks. He was very moody yesterday after I gave him his shot he would snap at me every time I tried to pet him. It has been very stressful so far and it has only been 2 weeks. He doesn't always want to eat and sometimes pees all over the house while I am sleeping. I really don't want to put him to sleep and I am trying my best to do everything the vet said to do but it is draining.

[lulusmom]

It absolutely breaks my heart to hear that dogs are being euthanized because pet owners don't understand that diabetes can be controlled and dogs can live out their normal life expectancy. For any of you that may have beloved furbabies with diabetes, please talk to people that understand what you are going through and can guide you on how to effectively treat your dog. There is a great canine diabetes forum that can help:

Diabetes in Dogs: The k9diabetes.com Forum - Powered by vBulletin

Dogs with diabetes only suffer if not effectively treated so euthanasia for the sole purpose of saving a pet from suffering should not be anyone's first choice. I am part of a group of people that are sponsoring a newly diagnosed dog because the owner did not have the time for her and was going to put her down. I am happy to say that she's getting better every day with insulin, she's regaining the weight she lost and is doing fabulously.

I think the best thing to do is seek for help from vet who is more knowledge and experience in dealing with diabetic dogs.

Let me just say that I did not have my dog put to sleep because I did not have the time for him!!!!......I simply do not have enough money to have been able to pay for this treatment and the vet wasn't very helpful as regards financial assistance. It seems to me that vets put money first and the animal second in their list of priorities!......so please don't tell me I did the wrong thing.....my dog was very ill and I had to get help for him and there was no help out there that I knew about.....nobody wants to know and I was told he could go into a diabetic coma any time so I decided that I had to have him put to sleep.
I have hurt so much and have felt ,anger,sadness,disappointment,...you name it I have felt it, so don't judge me as a heartless person as I loved my dog and was failed by the system!!

[lulusmom]

I was not judging you at all and I certainly didn't mean to infer that you were heartless. I realize that medical care is ridiculously expensive and finding the means to take care of our beloved pets is so hard, especially in this horrible economy. My intent was to let people know that diabetes is controllable in case anybody thought otherwise. If you reread my post, you will see that my comment was relative to making a decision based "solely" on a pet's suffering not due to financial circumstances. In hindsight, I should have made that perfectly clear. I also mentioned the fact that six total strangers came together to save one dog whose owner was unable to care for his dog. His pleas for help were posted on a diabetes forum and a number of members responded quickly. You would be surprised by the kindness and generosity of others that know the emotional and financial pains of taking care of a special needs dog. It sounds as though you don't have the same resources in the UK that we have here in the states. I work in rescue and we often help with dire cases whether it be finding foster homes and providing medical care or providing deeply discounted medical for the owner. The latter is done on the sly as this is not kosher for rescues but some of us break the rules now and then.

I suspect that most people on this forum have had to make the difficult decision to let a beloved furbaby go and we know the heartbreak and pain of making such a selfless decision. I sincerely apologize if you felt that I was attacking you and I truly regret not having worded my post more carefully. You already have enough to deal with and you didn't need me adding to your angst during this very difficult time.

First off, Treehugger (and others on here), I am so sorry you lost your friend. I honestly know how you feel to go through that!

I just wanted to offer my experience to those going through doggie diabetes...

My dog was diagnosed with diabetes at about age 9. Yes, the initial diagnosis and curves were expensive, but once you find the right insulin dose it's really not a lot of money at all (Insulin and needles averaged maybe $25/month). My dog was also on Humulin, so I got it from the regular drugstore not my vet, and if you find one with a low dispensing fee it will save you a lot. (BTW, I'm in Canada, so not sure if it works differently elsewhere).

My dog was always a bit picky with food and more of a grazer throughout the day, so we thought we might have a problem getting him to eat 2 regular meals during the day. We switched to the high fibre diet (sorry, I can't remember the brand, but it was from the vet), and we would just put some kind of treat in his food to get him to eat at least enough for the insulin to work. Luckilly he loved veggies, so we would add some carrots or potato skins. On those days he really didn't want to eat we would add some yogourt or even some lunch meat. I wouldn't stress too much about putting something your dog loves into his food to get him jump-started on eating, as long as it's not really high sugar or fat, he'll be fine.

Despite having diabetes and eventually getting cataracts, my lovely boy was happy and healthy until his hips finally started to give out when he was 13 and he could hardly walk up the one stair into the house. We had to make that horrible decision to put him to sleep so he wouldn't be in pain any longer. He was a large dog and I truly believe this would have been his time regardless of the diabetes. He lived a wonderful 13 years, survived cancer and diabetes, and I just wanted to share that with everyone that thinks diabetes is some kind of death sentence. If you can find the right vet and get through those initial tests, you can have a long and happy life with your dog.

Well I guess we were unlucky then, as we didn't find the right vet with enough understanding , or any financial support either, which lead to my beloved dog being put to sleep way too early. There is not enough help here in the uk , and it's a pity animals have to be put to sleep unnecessarily .
I am paranoid about the other dog I have now , and am scared of feeding him the wrong foods, and have read some fairly gruesome things about what is put in to pet foods and how it can lead to illnesses and even death in your dogs and cats.......I want to do whatever I can to keep my little dog alive for as long as possible.

Hi everyone,
Well it's just over two weeks now since I had my beautiful dog put to sleep......I have cried so much and miss him more than anything I have ever missed. I have kept his collar and lead in a drawer where I can take a peek at it from time to time, and I keep his Photo where I can see it from my armchair.
I am sorry if people thought I was being over defensive to their replies to my first post on this thread.....I was just so upset by the whole thing and angry too. so please accept my apologies.
I don't know if my other dog or my cats are missing Brandy,my poor dog, but they seem OK.......how can you tell if they are missing them though?.....they can't tell you .
I really do think my dog was in alot of pain with his legs as he was always groaning when he was lying down, and he used to cry when I left him on the sofa at night.....I knew there was something wrong with him even before he started with the excessive drinking and urinating.....I just wish I could have done more for him, as I loved him so much.

Originally Posted by sunshine73

My dog has been on insulin shots for about 2 weeks. He was very moody yesterday after I gave him his shot he would snap at me every time I tried to pet him. It has been very stressful so far and it has only been 2 weeks. He doesn't always want to eat and sometimes pees all over the house while I am sleeping. I really don't want to put him to sleep and I am trying my best to do everything the vet said to do but it is draining.

Hi Sunshine,

My pet has been diabetic for 6 yrs now, not all vets have good knowledge on diabetic pets, I know I've been thru them and my pet had a seizure because of a vet. Here is the link


Diabetes in Dogs: The k9diabetes.com Forum - Powered by vBulletin

My pet has been diabetic for 6 yrs now, we have managed the diabetes well, we had no luck with the first vet, after a few months I felt uncomfortable with the vet, found a website dedicated to diabetic pets, this was where I learned about canine diabetes if not for the forum my pet would not be here today. Knowledge is power with this disease, you learn to balance the diet with the insulin. It takes some time to get the hang of it, but you will. Here is the link to the forum



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dolly

I'm sorry about your pet.

Here a link for diabetic pet owners


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Diabetes is treatable, my pet is a diabetic, I belong to this forum all of our dogs have diabetes.


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Dolly

Hi, I am new here, but noticed you're thread about you're diabetic dog not eating. My dog has been newly diagnosed with diabetes and has'nt eaten for 10 days now. The original vet I saw, just said to give her an insulin shot once a day and she would see her in a month. However, the following morning, when she still had'nt eaten I rang an emergency vet, who told me not to give her the shot and take her back to the vets. This time it was a different one, he was very through and done alot of tests, it showed up that my dog had Ketones, (toxins in the urine and can comatose or kill a dog) plus Cushings Desease. It has been a real struggle to get my dog back to anywhere near to the lively little thing she was, but thankfully, after 10 days, she has finally started eating, has a spring in her step and hopefully has a few more good years in her.

Has your vet talked to you about either Ketones or Cushing?. Have Urine tests been done on you're dog? Ketones can make a dog very ill, it can only be controlled by Insulin, but you cannot inject a dog who has an empty stomach, so it is a vicious circle, in the end, we had to syringe food into her mouth. Thankfully, my Molly seems to have come through the other side, I hope you'rs does to.