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Pet Diabetes Month - What You Need to Know About Dog Diabetes
So you can keep your dog healthy & happy!
It's National Pet Diabetes Month - Learn How to diagnose, manage and stay calm if your dog is diabetic!
Quick Contents:
Homemade Diabetic Dog Food Recipe
Hey dog moms & dads,
November is National Pet Diabetes Month 2019. 1 in 300 dogs has diabetes. That's about 300,000 dogs in the US.
That's a lot!
If your dog has diabetes we'll talk about some things you can do to keep him/her healthy.
If you aren't sure if your dog is diabetic or don't know how to tell we'll give you some awesome resources to learn more.
Diabetes can be managed if discovered but can be a killer if it's not. So if you love your best buddy (and of course you do!) keep reading so you can keep your dog healthy (whether she has diabetes or not!)
Let's get to it!
What Is The Dog Diabetes?
Dog (or cat) diabetes is just like human diabetes.
Diabetes in dogs is the same as it is in humans. Since 29.1 million people in the U.S. have diabetes you likely know someone with it.
If you don't ...it's a disorder where your dog (or human) either doesn't make enough insulin, makes too much or it isn't used in their body like it should be.
If this balance of insulin is off in any direction it can lead to a lot of health problems.
Diabetes Symptoms in Dogs:
If your dog has any of the following happening to him/her, it's time to get a vet check up for diabetes. We also have a quiz (link below) that you can take.
THIRSTY - If your dog is SUPER thirsty all the time and the water bowl is empty faster than it normally has been than it seems like it should be this is a sign of possible diabetes in your dog.
More peeing than normal - Is your dog peeing more than normal? How about any "accidents" even though she's perfectly potty trained? If either of these are happening it's because the body is trying to get rid of the excess sugar any way it knows how...and peeing is the easiest way.
Weight Loss - Has your dog recently started losing weight but isn't on a diet? This could be due to diabetes and the fact that your dog can't get the proper energy and nutrients out of the food she's eating.
Increased Hunger - If your dog isn't on a diet but is extra hungry this could also signal diabetes.
Do you see the pattern?
If your dog has any or all of these issues it could be because of diabetes and you will want to get a diagnosis from your vet.
The food your dog is eating isn't nourishing her body enough so she wants more. Her body is trying to get rid of the extra sugar from the extra food so she's peeing more and having accidents.
Diabetes affects the whole system!
Is Your Dog At Risk For Diabetes?
There are a few things that can put your dog at a higher risk for diabetes than normal. If your dog has any of these conditions she could be at risk for developing diabetes and you'll want to see a vet ASAP.
How old is he/she? - Diabetes in dogs can happen at any time, but usually it comes to light in middle age to senior dogs. So if you have an older dog you'll want to keep an extra eye out for symptoms.
Gender / Unspayed - Lady dogs that are unspayed are 2 times more likely to develop diabetes!
Chronic / Repeated Pancreatitis - If your dog has had multiple bouts of pancreatitis this can trigger diabetes. If this has happened to you your vet would likely already have warned about possible diabetes.
Obesity - Just like in humans, obesity in dogs can lead to diabetes so make sure you are feeding your dog the proper amount of food. Use our handy calculator to determine how much your dog should be eating.
Steroid Use - Is your dog on steroids? Long term use can lead to diabetes.
Breed: Any breed can develop diabetes, but some breeds are a higher risk than others.
Breeds that have a higher risk are:
- Miniature poodles
- Bichons Frises
- Pugs
- Dachshunds
- Mini Schnauzers
- Puli
- Samoyeds
- Keeshonds
- Australian Terriers
- Fox Terriers
- Cairn Terriers
- Beagles
K9 Diabetes Management
If this "worlds worst trainer" can do it, you DEFINITELY can!
How to Manage Diabetes in Dogs
If you have a diabetic dog there's you should know it is very manageable and your dog can live a long, healthy and happy life with the disease!
But some things at your home may need to change with the help of your vet.
Daily Insulin - Your dog may need a daily dose of insulin to maintain her diabetes and regulate it. If it scares you to poke your best buddy with a needle, don't worry...she'll thank you for the better health.
Diet - Your dog may need to go on a diet prescribed by your vet. Generally humans and dogs do very good on high protein, low carb diets.
This diet solves some of those issues we talked about earlier too. The high protein will give her more energy (so she won't be as hungry) and will cut down on the sugars too.
More information is coming out every day that humans can also benefit a TON from eating high protein / low carb diets too, so this might be a good time to make a change for the whole family :)
Regular Vet Visits - If you have diabetes or some other health issue you probably visit your doctor regularly. Your dog is no different. Keep her healthy by having regular vet checkups to monitor diabetes and any other issues that may come with it.
Diagnosis / Detection - Is Your Dog At Risk?
If you think your dog is at risk for diabetes, or if you aren't sure and you want more infomation -- here's a great quiz you can take to learn more.
Click the button below to take the dog diabetes risk quiz!
Helpful Dog Diabetes Resources
Here are some awesome dog diabetes resources!
The great people at PetDiabetesMonth.Com have found and categorized some great diabetes resources for pet parents like you.
To see the huge list of useful resources, quizzes, tools and just about anything else you'd need if your dog has diabetes click the button below.
Easy Homemade Diabetic Dog Food Recipe
Homemade Diabetic Dog Food Recipe (Easy)
Our family has been making our dog's food for a few years now. It's easy to do, saves a ton of money on store bought food and our dogs LOVE IT!
But after researching more about dog diabetes lately, I found this recipe and will be switching our current recipe to this one ASAP.
It uses healthy ingredients that are easy to find and will not cost you an arm and a leg.
But most important, this homemade dog food is low on the glycemic index -- which just means it will keep your dog's blood sugar in balance.
If you want to learn the story behind this homemade diabetic dog food recipe click here to read more about it.
If you just want the recipe, it's below. You should be able to find all of these ingredients in any store. If you can't find he first ingredient, "chana dal" you can use split chickpeas which should be in any store.
Ruby Stewbie - Diabetic Dog Food
from - https://myuntangledlife.com/homemade-dog-food-for-diabetic-dogs/
Servings: 18 quarts
Author: Joanne Becotte
INGREDIENTS
28 cups water
1 bag (4 pounds) chana dal (you can substitute split chickpeas) rinsed
2 bags (1 pound each) brown lentils rinsed
2 bags (1 pound each) black-eyed peas rinsed
2 bags (1 pound each) green split peas rinsed
1 pound pearl barley rinsed
5 pounds boneless chicken breasts cut into ½-inch cubes
1 pound ground turkey
1 can (29 ounces) Libby’s 100% Pure Pumpkin
2 bags (16 ounces each) frozen broccoli cuts
2 bags (16 ounces each) frozen crinkle cut carrots
2 bags (16 ounces each) frozen green beans
2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped spinach
INSTRUCTIONS
Pour water into a 20-quart pot. Bring to a boil over high heat.
Add chana dal, brown lentils, black-eyed peas, green split peas and barley. Reduce heat to medium, stir occasionally.
Cut and add chicken breast.
Add ground turkey.
Stir in pumpkin.
Add in the frozen vegetables. (My pot will not accommodate all of the vegetables so I add in as much as I can and thaw the rest to be added in before storage).
Reduce heat to medium-low, stirring occasionally until most of the water is absorbed. Let stand and cool before storing.
RECIPE NOTES
For more information on the glycemic index of each ingredient, see glycemicindex.com.
Storage for Homemade Diabetic Dog Food
The following is how recipe author Joanne dishes up her batches. She adds that she supplements with 1 cup of dry food daily.
This is what we do for our 2 dachshunds. We give them a bit of dry crunchy food and add the homemade food on the top and they love it.
"I lay out six large storage containers on the counter. I scoop 12 cups of Ruby Stewbie, including the vegetables, into each container.
One container goes straight into the refrigerator and the others go into the freezer. As one container gets about half eaten, I move another from the freezer to thaw in the refrigerator. Ruby eats 4 cups of this recipe daily. Each container lasts three days and each batch lasts 18 days."
Resources & Information
