Dog Diabetes Questions and Answers

Introduction

Please find all your Diabetic Dog related questions here. If you have a question, or topic you would like us to include on this site, then please send us an email.

We promise to answer as many questions as we can, but please be patient!

All answers provided are subject to our usual terms. We offer information only, not medical advice.

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Having a hard time getting my 3 years old toy poodle regulated on her insulin...
I have a Cockerpoo, can you tell me what her sugar count should be?
What is the correct amount of food intake for dogs with diabetes?
10 year old Scottie with diabetes, having some trouble seeing lately...
Poodle weighs about 18 pounds, he did weigh 15 pounds at one time...
8 year old dog went from 21 lbs to 13 lbs, blood sugar was over 500...
Does it take time for the medication to work?
Zorro the German Shepard/Husky, 111 lbs, has been drinking his own urine...
When a diabetic dog won't eat, are they hypo or hyper glycemic?
Do all dogs who are diabetic and are on insulin get cataracts?
My Westie snaps as he has his shots...
My Westie gets upset at the Vet, can I test him?
I'm out at work all day, how can I best look after my dog?
Problems getting blood samples. Please advise on how to do this?
14 year old Lab who has had diabetes for 2 years..
10 year old lab who was diagnoised with diabetes two months ago
Crystal is always hungry!...

From Helen
Q

I am having a hard time getting my 3 years old toy poodle regulated on her insulin. Her count was over 500 when I took her to the vet. He started her out on 2 --4 units a day. Had to go to 2 --1 units now she is on 1--1 unit. Seems that she is staying too low regardless of how much we give her. Her insulin is Novolin---NPH Human. Any suggestions would be helpful Thank you.

Hello Helen,
You are doing the right thing by checking Penny's glucose levels and going back to your vet.
You don't say how heavy Penny is, we're assuming betweem 5 to 9 lbs, or how much exercise you are giving her. Given her light weight, she will need small amounts of insulin, it is possible to get insulin pens that deliver in 0.5 units.

Humans have to balance food intake, how much exercise they are doing and their general insulin requirement (largely based on their weight). You need to do this for Penny. Try having tightly controlled exercise, ie set times and durations, also, if possible, set amounts of food. Keep as much as you can stable, so you can get her insulin right, then when you are happy, you will be able to exercise more and reduce the insulin, or feed more and adjust her insulin to keep her levels right.

It can take time for humans to get their glucose right, there is no easy way around it unfortunately.

Finally, oral medication is not normally used in dogs (it is more common in cats) but you could ask your vet about that, perhaps Penny is a Type 2 diabetic.
Good luck and best wishes, let us know how it goes!
The DiabetesRevealed.com Team

Hello,

I have a Cockerpoo who is 22lbs and 9 years old, she has the same symptoms of diabetes as my wife, increase drinking, eating and peeing. Can you tell me what her sugar count should be.

Thank you Tom

Hello Tom,
If you can get a drop of blood (usually from your Cockerpoo's ear) and test it with a glucose meter, the normal range is around 60-120mg/dl (3.3-6.7mmol/L), below 40 (2.2) or above 300 (16.7) indicates poor glucose regulation and you should check with your Vet to either start or adjust insulin treatment.
As always, seek prefessional advice if you have any doubts. Early diagnosis and treatment will be beneficial to your dog.
Best wishes
The DiabetesRevealed Team

What is the correct amount of food intake for dogs with diabetes. How often should they be fed their special diabetic food and when? Is canned dog food more appropriate for their diets? My dog is a 9.5 yr old Beagle just recently diagnosed with diabetes. She is taking 8mml daily, morning and evening.

Hello Melissa,
I'm afraid there is no easy answer to your question. Just as with Humans with diabetes, you have to balance diet, exercise, severity of diabetes, weight and insulin dose.

Generally more active dogs will need less insulin, for instance. When you are starting out trying to regulate your dogs glucose levels, keep as much as you can the same, ie the same food at the same time and the same exercise at the same time. Adjust the insulin (after speaking to your Vet) until you get a good, stable glucose level.

If you haven't got one already, you should get a blood glucose meter

You should be aiming for readings between 60 and 120mg/dl. As for food types, we don't recommend any particular brands or types, but avoid sugary snacks (unless your dog has symptoms of low blood sugar levels).

Best wishes
The DiabetesRevealed Team

I have a 10 year old scottie that has diabetes. She is on 2 shots a day at 8ml each. I have been noticing that she is having some trouble seeing lately. Can this be attributed to the diabetes? She has been on the shots for about 3 months. Will it get any worse and can my vet do something about her sight?
Thank you.

Hello Terry,

Eyesight problems can be attributed to poor diabetes control over a long period of time. It may be she has had diabetes for quite some time. If her problems are due to diabetes, then yes, they will get worse unless treated. All you can do is get her glucose control as good as possible.
You will need a blood glucose meter, a lancet and some test strips - all easily available. As stated in other answers, You should be aiming for readings between 60 and 120mg/dl. We recommend you test daily at the same time of day, until you have your shots adjusted to get her into the ideal range.

If you can get her glucose controlled well, you should prevent any further major problems due to her diabetes.
Good luck with it all.
The DiabetesRevealed Team

I am writing because of my brother's poodle, he weighs about 18 pounds, he did weigh 15 pounds at one time, maybe it was my fault because i fed him some chicken, but now he is back on his regular dog food. he doesn't drink a lot, but he does urinate a lot, and has gain the weight that i am surprised about, is this normal? he is 4 years old. thanks

Hello Susan,
First of all, don't worry about the chicken, that could not of caused diabetes.
Diabetes symptoms include weight LOSS, so it seems unlikely your brother's poodle may have diabetes.
The best way to confirm diabetes or not is a simple urine test or blood test. Your Vet or pet supplies shop should be able to provide you with a test kit. If you find high levels of glucose in the urine, or the blood glucose test is above about 300, then you should take your brother's poodle to the vet to start out on insulin (or whatever your Vet recommends).
Best wishes
The DiabetesRevealed Team

Our little 8 year old dog has been ill since the first part of Sept. He was constantly hungry. From Sept until Nov, we spent over $1500.00 on him. Several weeks ago, blood tests and urine tests were taken again, as he kept losing weight. He went from 21 lbs to 13 lbs. This time his blood sugar was over 500 which it had never been. For whatever reason, the blood tests were always normal.

The vet said we had 2 choices, either to keep him there to be stablized ($600-$800) more, plus two shots a day and special food for the rest of his life, or keep him on the special food. Because we have spent so much on him since Sept, and the vet would not guarantee that he would be OK even after keeping him and giving him the shots, we elected not to do treatment on him. It was a hard decision, but our vet said that he understood what it costs, and we were being practical. He told us to feed him the w/d food and he could last weeks or months and just give him tender love and care.

He has quit drinking and going to the bathroom so much, but he has accidents, and he acts like he is starved. He sleeps good at night and off and on through the day. He isn't himself, as he doesn't want to play anymore, and he is sort of slow walking. If he doesn't pass away naturally, how will we know when it is time to put him to sleep. It has been a difficult decision for us, but we feel we have done the right thing. We don't want him to suffer, and I don't know what symptoms to look for to know that it is getting to the time of doing what we dread. We love the little fellow and will miss him terribly. Thank you. Carol

Hello Carol,

What an dreadful decision for you to have to make. Many dogs do live full lives with diabetes, treatment works well for many dogs, but we understand your predicament. Have you considered asking another Vet's opinion?

When a dog runs very high blood sugar, diabetic complications will eventually set in. In dogs, like humans, this takes the form of symptoms like eyesight loss, loss of energy, loss of nerve/pain sensation in limbs and eventually coma and death. This will be traumatic for you all. If you are unable to treat your dog, perhaps its time to say goodbye sooner rather than later, while he is not too ill, as things will only get steadily worse for him.

In the mean time, try and get him to exercise as much as possible, no sweet foods/treats at all, plenty of fresh water and remember all the good times you have had with him.

Best wishes
The DiabetesRevealed Team

My parents dog has been diagnosed with diabetes, and has just starting insulin medication, but she is still very lethargic and uninterested in anything around her, does it take time for the medication to work? or could it mean that she has something else wrong with her.

Hello Jan,
It really depends on what you mean "just started out". If you mean a matter of a day or two, then do give it a little longer. If your parents dog is still no better after say a week, we would suggest that perhaps the amount of insulin to give, may need to be adjusted.

Trying to guage the insulin dose is quite hard for a Vet, it depends on the age, activity level and weight of the dog. Your parent's Vet may well of started the dog out on an 'average' level and it is very common to go back to have further blood tests and to adjust the insulin dose.

Hi!
My dog, Zorro was diagnosed with diabetes about 3 months ago. He was a over weight german shepard/husky, weighing in at 111, at his heaviest. He had dropped to 102 at the time of his diagnosis. Since then he has lost about another 15lbs. (he goes for a weigh in next week)

My question is: He has been drinking his own urine- he never urinated inside until now and when he does and I don't know about it, he will try to drink it. WHY is he doing this ??

thank you for your help.

Kathy

Hello Kathy,

Classic symptoms of diabetes and poor blood glucose control are increased thirst and urination. Does Zorro have plenty of water available to drink instead of his urine? The cause of this problem though, is probably that his blood glucose is still not in a good range.

Good readings are between 60 and 120mg/dl outside that range, over a number of days and you should check back with your Vet to alter the medication.

Being overweight doesn't help diabetic control, so please read through the advice on our pet exercise and weightloss page and don't forget our pet diet page too! If you can get Zorro's blood glucose levels back to as near perfect as possible, he should be back to his normal self again.

Best wishes
The DiabetesRevealed Team

Hello
When a diabetic dog won't eat, are they hypo or hyper glycemic?
Thanks you in advance

Penny

Hypo = low sugar levels and could be caused by either not eating enough, too much insulin or too much exercise.
For the symptoms, check this page out, strictly speaking for humans, but Dogs have similar symptoms.

Hyper = high sugars, typically due to not knowing about the diabetic
condition. Symptoms of that are on the main Dogs page.

If a diabetic dog is not eating, you should consult your Vet and maybe scale back insulin shots (giving insulin when no food is being eaten can be dangerous). The best course of action is to get blood glucose levels checked (a five minute task with a blood glucose meter).

Best wishes
The DiabetesRevealed Team

Hello
My vet advised me that all dogs who are diabetic and are on insulin will get cataracts and lose their vision. Is that true and how long will it take if it will happen?
Thank you
Lucia

It is not true that all dogs who are diabetic and are on insulin get cataracts. It is possible your vet meant, if the diabetes was untreated, then cataracts could develop.

With proper treatment and care there is no reason your dog won't have a happy, healthy life. You need to take him back to the vet as you first start out on insulin so your vet can adjust the insulin shots. After that, a good diet and regular exercise will have him back to his old self.

If you wanted you could also try one of the natural treatments on the market, like this one

Best wishes
The DiabetesRevealed Team

Hello
My Westie has been diagnosed with diabetes. This is the 3rd week of insulin shots and he has started snapping when the shot is being administered. What do we do about that. He is almost 13 years old, given the projected lifespan of Westies, is it fair to put him through this ?

Thank you
Virginia

Hi Virginia,

Yes, some dogs (like humans!) really don't like the shots. Does he have a good quality of life apart from when he is getting the shots? Some owners give their dog a suitable treat after a shot, to try and get the dog to think about the reward rather the the shot! Take a look at the "treats" section on our pet diet page for advice.

There are also alternatives on the market which might be worth trying. For instance a natural treatment like this one

Best wishes
The DiabetesRevealed Team

Dear Sir,

I have a 8 year old Westie who has had diabetes for 6 weeks and now the vet has found the right amount of insulin for her and she is happy and normal.

I have taken her to the vets twice for the glucose curve, she stays there 12 hours in a cage while they do it. When I picked her up on both occasions, she has had the runs all day and bleeding from behind and they say its a bug and have to give her antibiotics. I know my dog and she is very very nervous and has never been in a cage before and its making her ill. Is there an alternative as I don't want her to go back there, is there a way I could do it?

Please help as it upsets me so much.

Thank you

Jackie

Dear Jackie,

It sounds like you have a slightly insensitive Vet! You can certainly monitor her blood glucose levels yourself (just like human diabetics have to every day). Most high street chemists sell blood glucose meters. Usually when you get a meter it comes with a lancet (a pen like device that has a needle you use to draw a little blood) and some test strips, you use one test strip per test. Take a little blood (a tiny drop) from an ear.

Blood glucose meters in the UK will give a reading in "mmol/L". The "normal" range is about 3.3 to 6.7mmol/L. Lower than about 3.3 means blood glucose is too low. This could be because of too much insulin, she has not eaten recently or she has over exercised. You will need to judge which it is and adjust the insulin if necessary. Higher than about 6.7 means too little insulin, perhaps she has just eaten (even a snack can raise levels), or she has eaten and been unusally inactive. Again you will need to judge what to do.

A good starting point for testing is first thing in the morning before food. If she is running high then, the chances are you need to increase the medication slightly and of course the opposite applies.

Change medication slowly and only in consultation with your Vet. Give her regular and consistent meals and exercise to help make glucose control easier.

Hope that helps
Best wishes

The DiabetesRevealed.com Team

From Fatima, NY
Q

I have a diabetic dog and I’m not sure what to do about his feeding schedule. I work, so my goal is to give his insulin and then food before I leave, just like my vet instructed me to do. But what if he doesn't eat after I gave him his shot and I have to go to work? Do you have any suggestions/back up plan?

He is not the best eater (when he is well he eats slow) so it's hard to give him food to begin with. I've been so far successful in giving him some hamburger or piece of left over steak with his food.

My dilemma is that if I give him food before his insulin, then I'm afraid the won't eat because he knows what's coming next. By giving him his insulin first, he looks forward to his hamburger/steak. But again... what if I give his insulin and he doesn't eat for me? My vet suggested that I keep the food available and that natural instincts will tell him to eat. The problem is that I have another dog. What if he eats both of their food? Then my diabetic dog wouldn't have any...

Help!

Thank you so much.

Fatima

Hello Fatima,

As you are clearly aware, if you give insulin and no food is eaten, a diabetic dog can have dangerously low blood glucose levels (a "hypo"), in very severe cases this can cause coma and death.

Carbohydrate is responsible for raising glucose levels, so one possibility would be to give less insulin in the morning and provide food that is JUST protein and fat, meat basically. That way your dog is not getting any carbohydrate that will raise his glucose levels during the day when you are out. When you return from work, you could give food with some carbohydrate in, along with further insulin. Check the food labels carefully, or prepare food yourself to be sure you know what is in it.

If you do reduce the amount of carb in his diet, you should work with your vet to adjust the insulin correctly. It may be worth getting yourself a blood glucose meter and taking some readings first thing and when you return from work, to see how the control is.

You MUST go back to your Vet to confirm any changes in insulin and diet.

Hope that helps and thanks for the question.

Best wishes

The DiabetesRevealed.com Team

From Jacqui, England
Q

I have recently discovered my 10 year old Tibetan Terrier is diabetic. She is on Insuvet insulin once a day and seems to be coping well.

However, on the advice of my vet I have bought a blood glucose monitor but seem to be have problems getting blood samples. Could you please give me some advice on how to do this?

Also, she went to the dog groomers today and the lady said she didn't want to cut her nails or cut around her paws as she was diabetic. Do you know why this would be?

Thank you for your assistance!

Regards,

Jacqui

Hello Jacqui,

The general advice for getting blood samples from dogs and cats is to use the Lancet device on the ear. This causes the least pain for your dog. You only need a tiny amount for most glucose meters. So you would use the lancet on the ear, hopefully a droplet of blood appears, then with the test strip already in the meter, bring the test strip to the blood and watch as it is drawn up the test strip.

Most meters start testing automatically as they detect the presence of the blood sample. Be careful not to touch the blood against anything before the meter has finished, as this may affect the reading. You should not take a reading straight after food, your Vet should advise you on the best time to test.

We have never heard of people refusing to trim nails because of diabetes, this seems very strange! Diabetes can lead to nerve damage which affects the ability to feel things like sharp objects and heat, but this is never usually a problem in dogs and is probably not related to this issue. Please ask the groomer and let us know!

Best wishes

The DiabetesRevealed.com Team

From Jan, US
Q

I have a 14 year old Lab who has had diabetes for 2 years and counting! He had a Vestibular Disease diagnosis last week and has had 2 episodes so far. He has been weak, stumbling, panting and today his blood glucose level is over 500! Would this cause the stumbling and falling and can I give him more insulin?

He gets 35 units, twice a day (weights 86 lbs). Since his episodes, I have decreased his insulin. He usually runs in the low 300, high 200 range. If I gave him his insulin at 5am, and his level is at 500+ at 8am, can I give him another shot of insulin (lower dosage) to bring the count back up?

Regards,

Jan

Hello Jan,

Is he exercising less now? His blood glucose level will rise if he is either eating more, or exercising less, or both.

High blood glucose levels could cause dizziness and long term will lead to complications such as blindness. He may also show signs if increased thirst and urination as his body tries to get rid of the excess glucose.

Its really important to get the levels back down to normal quickly. Increasing the amount of insulin should reduce his blood glucose count. You should of course confirm any changes to insulin shots with your vet. We would expect him or her to advice increasing insulin shots step by step and monitoring his levels to see how they react. Keep increasing the insulin levels until his glucose count has returned to normal.

If increasing insulin has no effect on his blood glucose, then something else is effecting it and you will need further advice.

Best wishes

The DiabetesRevealed.com Team

From Denny, US
Q

Hi,

I have a 10 year old lab who was diagnoised with diabetes two months ago. We thought we had finally gotten her after they had stayed under 170 for two weeks then yesterday and today they are back over 350 again.

Could you tell me what might cause this?

What medicines, etc cause spikes?

Regards,

Denny

Hello Denny,

I'm afraid getting completely stable blood glucose levels is not easy. Does her diet vary much? Is she ever given any treats? Does she exercise more some days than others?

You need to really watch what she eats, not all food has the same carbohydrate content. Any sugary treats will also give her a spike in her glucose levels. Take a look at the "treats" section on our pet diet page for advice.

So try and make sure as much as possible is regulated, give her the same type of food and the same amount, so you know she is getting a controlled amount of carbs. You should only really give her a sweet treat if she shows signs of her glucose levels going too low perhaps after a lot of exercise), otherwise treats can easily spike sugar levels up.

You are only two months in, so don't be too worried. You will come to be able to judge if she has eaten more, less, exercised more or less and so these temporary changes to her glucose levels won't surprise you.

Best wishes

The DiabetesRevealed.com Team

From Victoria, US
Q

Crystal is always hungry!

She is on insulin, 10cc twice a day, and is fed twice a day. We will be asking our vet on her checkup on Monday if feeding her 3 times a day will hinder or hurt her. She would eat twice as much as we feed her if we pit it in front of her! She lost alot of weight before she was diaganosed, so we want to get most of it back on her.

What do we do to curb this HUGE hunger?

Regards,

Victoria

Hello Victoria,

And hello Crystal. You don't mention how her glucose levels are? Are you managing to control that ok? That should be your primary concern. If she has a normal level, her hunger level should be normal. Abnormal hunger levels would indicate possible abnormal glucose levels.

Too high level of glucose is normally associated with increased thirst, maybe Crystal is also drinking excessively?

Make sure her glucose levels are good and go from there.

Best wishes

The DiabetesRevealed.com Team

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