Diabetes – Can This Illness Affect Your Dog?
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Did you know that your dog is susceptible to getting diabetes? Its true. Older dogs are found to be at increased risk, as well as certain breeds, such as Poodles, Old English Sheepdogs, Golden Retrievers, Daschunds, Miniature Pinscher, Schnauzer and Beagles.
Diabetes is defined as the non production of insulin with increased glucose levels in the blood. In order to remedy this situation, insulin must be given. Luckily, there is specific insulin produced for canine use.
Two forms of Diabetes:
Diabetes Insipidus: Is the lack of the anti-diuretic hormone called Vasopressin. Vasopressin controls how the kidneys absorb water.
Diabetes Mellitus (DM): Is insulin insufficiency. It is the most common and the most dangerous for dogs.
Diabetes is comprised of two types:
Type 1 – Is insulin dependent diabetes. The pancreas is not making insulin at all. Type 1 is seen mostly in younger dogs.
Type 2 – Is non insulin dependent diabetes. The pancreas is making insulin but the body is resistant to it. This type is mostly seen in older dogs.
Diabetes can be genetic, meaning it can be passed from parent to puppy. Furthermore, bigger dogs run a much higher risk of attaining the disease than smaller dogs.
Symptoms:
You may notice that your dog is:
Eating more Drinking more Weighing less Diagnostic Testing:
If your dog is showing symptoms of this disease, a visit to the vet is in order. The vet will conduct blood tests to check your pet’s glucose level. He will also do a urinalysis to check for kidney function and urinary tract infection. If your pet is positive for diabetes, changes in diet and getting more exercise will aid in reducing the symptoms and prevent complications.
Treatment:
The most common form of treatment is to place your pet in a high fiber and protein diet. Fats and carbohydrates will no longer be allowed. This may require you to feed your dog prepared meals. If you feed your dog at the same time every day, this will help keep your dog’s glucose levels in normal range. If insulin is required, it is given after meals. It is very important to note that you must allow your dog to have all the water they want.
Exercise:
Regular daily exercise at the same time each day helps to keep blood glucose down, thus preventing a detrimental effect of up and down glucose levels. Glucose needs to be consistently within normal levels.
An additional risk factor for diabetes is hormonal changes in female dogs. This can be prevented by having your dog spayed to remove this risk.
Barb Hicks is a licensed registered nurse and featured health writer on Clivir.com where you can find her class about Diabetes and Diet and other lessons including Diabetes Causes.
January 25th, 2011 at 3:36 pm
Having dogs my entire life, now especially as an adult, I can honestly say that the unconditional love of our dogs is one of the greatest joys of our lives every single day. Their love, expression, kisses and emotion is beautiful on a scale you have to experience to understand. People can learn a lot from dogs. They’re a treasure.
March 16th, 2011 at 7:52 am
Hi ,
Yeah, you nailed some good points here. If I may add, contrary to some beliefs, breed predilection indeed has been reported in dogs just what you have said in the beginning. Also if I may add, female dogs are more likely to get affected than males while the opposite occurs in cats. Fortunately, it is now possible to monitor the blood glucose level of our pets at the comfort of our homes at our convenient time. Some noted and trusted veterinary glucometers for this purpose are the alphatrak
glucose meterand iPet.
Cheers, Dr. Dhodz @ PetSupplyConsultant.Com
PSRx@Alphatrak glucose meter´s last [type] ..Welactin Canine Soft Gel- For Activity- Attitude and Appetite Improvement!