How to Treat Diabetes in Dogs

Video Transcript

"Hi, I'm Dr. Aimee Beger. I'm a veterinarian, and today, we're going to be talking about diabetes in your pet. Diabetes, we typically see in pets that were previously overweight that are now drinking copious amounts of water and and losing weight. Ways to treat your dog's diabetes, of course, are first to determine that they do indeed have it, which is typically done by a blood test at your veterinarian, and they will find that your dog has a high glucose level, or a sugar level. Then, they will recommend putting your pet on a high protein, low carbohydrate diet. There are several out there that we do recommend. And also lastly, to get your start, your dog started on a a regiment of insulin injections that would be given on a daily basis at home to regulate your dog's glucose, or sugar levels. Other things that we recommend are doing weekly glucose checks, or glucose curves throughout the day to determine that your dog is regulated on an on a daily basis, and there are pet glucometers out there that you can purchase as well to check this glucose, or sugar level at home. And here, we have the Alpha Trak glucometer, which is made specifically for pets, dogs and cats. You don't want to use a human glucometer at home because they're often not accurate in dogs and cats. There are little testing strips that come with your glucometer. And then, one of the diabetic foods that we like here is DM by Purina for cats. And then also, you want to use a veterinarian approved insulin which would be by prescription only, and make sure you're using the proper insulin syringes."