Do you just discover that your dog is suffering from diabetes? Don’t worry too much but don’t take it easy as well. Diabetic dogs still can have long, healthy life.
You won’t need to give them too much medicines to maintain the sugar level, but you can do it by maintaining their healthy lifestyle. Check the signs that your dog is happy and healthy to make sure you make them happy!
Staying healthy and well-shaped are the keys. Make sure your dog is not overweight because it might make the insulin, the hormone that maintains the sugar levels in check, cannot be used effectively.
By enabling the insulin to work properly and effectively, the food that your dog eats will be easily turned into energy or fuel. For dog owners, beware of these delicious food that are toxic for your dog. Delicious doesn’t always mean good.
Keeping the blood sugar level as closely to normal as possible is your concern once you have a diabetic dog. One of causes of diabetes on dogs is obesity.
See other harmful effects of obesity in your pets and make sure your dog doesn’t experience any of them. Then, how can you maintain or keep the blood sugar level normal? Look at these 7 easy and practical ways of how to manage diet for your diabetic dog.
- Food with fiber
Some types of fibers are useful for canines, including dogs. Fiber in your dog’s food will facilitate be able to regulate blood sugar level and slow down your body’s breakdown of carbohydrates and sugar absorption.
Fiber also slows down the sugar from entering the bloodstream. However, fiber can take water from your dog’s body that can lead to constipation or dehydration, so make sure your dog drinks enough or plenty of water.
- Low carbohydrate diet
Carbs should be moved away from your dog’s diabetic diet. It is because carbohydrates slow down the process of blood sugar regulation in its body and by eliminating carbohydrate in your dog’s diabetic diet, it will surely be better.
The process of regulating blood sugar level will be better. If you still want to include carbohydrate in your dog’s diabetic diet, you can use lower glycemic index value carbs.
- High in protein
Due to its easy digestion process, protein is needed to help the process of satiation and as a result the rise of blood sugar in your dog’s body will be slower.
- Low fats
Fats are related to obesity. By consuming low fat food, your dog will be able to cut off extra weight on its body. Overweight dog tends to get risk of diabetes. You are suggested to feed your diabetic dog with 30% less fat, especially the saturated one.
- Raw meat
Dogs are naturally meat-eaters, so they are supposed to eat more meat. Dogs in the past never experienced diabetes as they ate meat. Providing raw meat to your diabetic dogs will serve more protein, low fat and low carbohydrates.
Combine the raw meat with some vegetables that are rich in fiber. Check is it possible to do feeding dogs by giving vegetables to make sure you give the right kinds of vegetables for your dog. In addition, raw meat does not contain any harmful additives and preservatives, so there is no worry about that.
- Treats are still okay
Treats for dogs are like sources of happiness. Reducing treats to prevent the diabetes from getting worse is not fun at all. You still can give them some healthy treats.
You can simply give treats as rewards after you inject insulin to your dog’s body. Or when your dog’s glucose level is low, you can also give it a treat. Use general purpose treats as they don’t have any sources of sugar.
Make sure you look at the ingredients on the label and watch if there is any sweet ingredients there. You can see the steps on how to phase out treats when dog training.
- Good timing is the key
The timing of your dog’s meal should be adjusted to make sure you control the blood sugar level. Generally, food should be given before insulin is given.
By doing so, the sugar from the food will be available once the insulin is active, so the insulin may work properly to lower the glucose level.
Keeping a dog as a pet means taking care of everything, including the health problems it has. However, with careful care and attention, your dog will be able to be a healthy and happy dog.