ASK-THE-VET: DOG DIAGNOSED WITH DIABETES

Question: Our 8 yrs old English Setter was recently diagnosed with diabetes while vacationing in United States. He was started on Vetsulin over a week ago. His blood sugars are dangerously high (400-489 in US measurement). I am gradually increasing his dose by 1 unit twice daily, as per the vet’s advice here. There has been no change in Mac’s blood sugars and I am worried. Can you help? Thank you

Answer: Thanks for writing in. I would like to give you some basic guidelines for newly diagnosed diabetic dogs.

• It can take several weeks to get a dog regulated on insulin. Expecting perfect regulation during the first one to two weeks is unrealistic.

• Insulin dosages should not be changed daily. In fact, they shouldn’t be changed more than once each week. It takes a dogs body several days to equilibrate to a new insulin dosage and begin to respond…increasing the insulin dosage too frequently can lead to an eventual cumulative insulin over dosage.

• Frequently diabetic dogs require adjustments in diet and feeding practices to achieve the best regulation. Increasing the fiber content of the food has been shown to help keep sugar levels best regulated. Feeding the same amount at the same time every day is important. Obesity must be addressed for best diabetic regulation.

• Many times newly diagnosed diabetic dogs have other things going on, such as urinary tract infections, hormonal problems or high blood pressure. If these issues are not addressed, regulation will be challenging.

• Ask your veterinarian about monitoring your dog’s urine or blood sugar at home to achieve the best regulation possible.

Good luck with Mac and if he doesn’t level out soon, ask your veterinarian about referring you to an Internal Medicine specialist in your area to help.

Dr. Donna Spector

Answers provided to pet owners by Dr. Donna Spector should be considered information and not specific advice. Answers are to be used for general information purposes only and not as a substitute for in-person evaluation or specific professional advice from your veterinarian. Communications on this site are very limited and should never be used in possible cases of emergency. Halo, Purely for Pets will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by your reliance on any information or content contained in a blog or article post.