{"id":545833,"date":"2010-04-28T09:14:47","date_gmt":"2010-04-28T13:14:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/askthevet.smartpak.com\/?p=812"},"modified":"2010-04-28T09:14:47","modified_gmt":"2010-04-28T13:14:47","slug":"feeding-dogs-with-diabetes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/545833","title":{"rendered":"Feeding Dogs with Diabetes"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have a 9 year-old Australian Cattle Dog with diabetes. The food he is currently getting has a main ingredient of corn. I would like to try something with less filler and more nutrients. Is there a rule of thumb when trying to select a dog food for the diabetic? Thank you. RS, California<\/em><\/p>\n

Dear RS,<\/p>\n

Diabetes mellitus or \u201csugar diabetes\u201d is defined by the Merck Veterinary Manual as a chronic disorder of carbohydrate metabolism due to relative or absolute insulin deficiency. What this means is that your dog\u2019s pancreas doesn\u2019t make insulin (or the insulin he does make isn\u2019t used properly) so the concentration of sugar, or glucose, in his blood gets too high and leads to problems. What we see on the outside is excessive thirst, frequent urination and lethargy. Managing diabetes in a pet can be challenging, so carefully follow the program your veterinarian recommended of diet, exercise, insulin administration, home monitoring and regular checkups.<\/p>\n

When it comes to diet, most experts recommend foods low in simple carbohydrates (simple sugars) and fats, and moderate in protein and complex carbohydrates (fiber). \u201cModerate\u201d protein is 15-25% of the diet on a dry matter (DM) basis. When it comes to complex carbs, you\u2019re aiming for 50-55% of the diet (specifically fiber should be 8 \u2013 17% of the diet and made up of a mixture of soluble and insoluble fibers)<\/p>\n

Soluble fibers<\/strong> include fruit pectin, citrus pulp, guar gum, soy fiber
\nInsoluble fibers<\/strong> include beet pulp, cellulose, corn bran, pea fiber, peanut hulls, rice bran, soy hulls, sunflower hulls, wheat bran, wheat middlings<\/p>\n

The idea behind complex carbohydrates (fiber) is to stabilize blood sugar by slowing its absorption from the GI tract. This keeps your dog feeling full plus avoids peaks and swings in blood sugar. You didn\u2019t mention if your dog is the kind of diabetic that needs to lose weight or gain weight, but a high fiber diet measured and fed at the same time(s), such as in PortionPaks<\/a>, will go a long way to bringing him to his ideal weight regardless of where he is now.<\/p>\n

Check with your veterinarian to see if it\u2019s okay to provide between-meal snacks and if so, make sure these are low in simple sugars too, whether they\u2019re people food or dog food. And don\u2019t forget that your dog\u2019s exercise routine should be as regular and consistent as his food and insulin shots, to avoid fluctuations in blood sugar.<\/p>\n

I hope this information helps you select a good-quality food that your dog likes and that aids in regulating his diabetes. Good luck!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have a 9 year-old Australian Cattle Dog with diabetes. The food he is currently getting has a main ingredient of corn. I would like to try something with less filler and more nutrients. Is there a rule of thumb when trying to select a dog food for the diabetic? Thank you. RS, California Dear […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":137,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-545833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/137"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545833"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545833\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mereja.media\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}