It's not the end of the world for your dog to be diagnosed with canine diabetes. In fact, with proper treatment and some lifestyle changes, your dog can go on to live out the rest of her life as though nothing was wrong. Like any illness management is the key to ensuring many more games of fetch and tug of war. Education can help.
Learn all that you can about blood glucose levels in your dog. In a nutshell, your dog eats food that contains fats and carbohydrates. These foods are broken down by insulin. Insulin is produced by your dog's endocrine system. It turns the fats and carbohydrates into sugars, or glucose, where it is then supposed to be used for energy. In canine diabetes, your dog isn't producing enough insulin to fully complete the process, so there are excess sugars left in the bloodstream.
Managing canine diabetes is going to require you to keep checking your dogs urine for sugar spilling (excess glucose in the bladder and urine), using test strips. Blood glucose monitors are also available, but they can be painful and traumatic for your pooch. Your dog is going to be bothered enough without you making it any worse. You want the checks to be as comfortable, non-invasive, and pain free as possible.
Changing your dogs diet and adding insulin therapy are a big part of managing canine diabetes. Your dog will need to be on a low fat, low carbohydrate, high fiber, and high protein diet and fed only twice a day. The insulin injections will need to be administered during these two times to help balance glucose spikes from eating.
Managing canine diabetes is not difficult. You love your dog and treat her as though she is family. The little extra effort to ensure she remains in your family is worth it in the long run. Who knows...maybe they'll find a cure before long.
Learn all that you can about blood glucose levels in your dog. In a nutshell, your dog eats food that contains fats and carbohydrates. These foods are broken down by insulin. Insulin is produced by your dog's endocrine system. It turns the fats and carbohydrates into sugars, or glucose, where it is then supposed to be used for energy. In canine diabetes, your dog isn't producing enough insulin to fully complete the process, so there are excess sugars left in the bloodstream.
Managing canine diabetes is going to require you to keep checking your dogs urine for sugar spilling (excess glucose in the bladder and urine), using test strips. Blood glucose monitors are also available, but they can be painful and traumatic for your pooch. Your dog is going to be bothered enough without you making it any worse. You want the checks to be as comfortable, non-invasive, and pain free as possible.
Changing your dogs diet and adding insulin therapy are a big part of managing canine diabetes. Your dog will need to be on a low fat, low carbohydrate, high fiber, and high protein diet and fed only twice a day. The insulin injections will need to be administered during these two times to help balance glucose spikes from eating.
Managing canine diabetes is not difficult. You love your dog and treat her as though she is family. The little extra effort to ensure she remains in your family is worth it in the long run. Who knows...maybe they'll find a cure before long.
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