K-9 DIABETES
K-9 Diabetes is one of the oldest conditions that have affected our K-9 buddies for many years without many of us comprehending it clearly. It is only until recently that most pet owners have given their pets much attention to realize that they could be suffering from the condition. Diabetes in dogs is similarly caused by fats or overweight condition, just like in humans. You will seldom find any meat eating animal or human who is neither a meat eater nor over-weight but suffers from diabetes. Once this disease sets in, it can only be put under control but not cured. The disease comes forth as a result of malfunctioning of the pancreas in the secretion of insulin hormone. Insulin is responsible for controlling blood sugar level in the bodies of humans and animals. Malfunction of the pancreases can cause an increase or reduction of blood sugar level. Any of the extremes can result in Diabetic Shock to the body. When this happens, it can be very severe to the point that a person or a dog gets into a coma that NEVER ends and finally causes death!
However, with early diagnosis, treatment and eating a proper diet, there can be significant improvements in a patient. Body weight of such a patient can be significantly reduced thus aiding ineffectiveness of the administered medication. When human’s pancreas becomes problematic, pain is felt, and appropriate medication sought. Unfortunately, for dogs, they can’t tell if they experience the same pain. For that reason, we need to avoid feeding our canine buddies with animal fats completely. Animal fats are among the two major causes of diabetes. The other cause would be allowing your dog to become overweight.
K-9 Diabetes is a serious disease in dogs. Be watchful of your dog’s health by ensuring everything they feed on is free from animal fats. Monitor their weight also to ensure that they are not prone to K-9 Diabetes.
Malfunctioning Pancreas
It is important that any dog owner can spot the signs or symptoms of a problematic pancreas in their pets. Here are a couple of such signs and symptoms:
- Early symptoms
- Very frequent urination.
- Heavy drinking of water.
- Excessive appetite.
- Abnormal weight loss.
- Advanced symptoms
- Lethargy (lack of energy and motivation).
- Appetite loss.
- Vomiting
- Dehydration
- General tiredness.
- Coma
Diabetes Mellitus (Sugar Diabetes)
This is also a very common diabetic disease in dogs. Some of the breeds that are more prone to this disease include German Shepherds, Golden Retrievers, Miniature Schnauzers, Poodles, and Keeshonds. However, it can affect any other breed of dog. Female dogs suffering from this disease compared to males are in a 3:1 ratio. Diabetes mellitus is because of insufficient insulin levels by the islet cells of the pancreas. Its average onset age is 6-9 years. Some dogs are genetically predisposed to the disease. If the pancreatitis disease affects the dog, the islet cells of the pancreas are destroyed. When these cells are destroyed, insulin levels are reduced significantly.
When an insulin deficiency occurs, hyperglycemia (high blood sugar), as well as glycosuria (high urine sugar), become the result. When there is a large amount of glucose in the urine, the dog experiences frequent urination leading to faster dehydration. The animal develops an urge to drink water frequently. Initially, when a dog’s body cannot metabolize sufficient sugar amounts, they have an increased appetite. But later, as they become malnourished, their appetite also drops.
Diabetes Ketoacidosis
This is a condition that comes because of severe hyperglycemia where the buildup of ketones (acids) in the blood occur. Ketones are the by-products released from fat metabolism. Metabolism of fat occurs in ketoacidosis because there is no sufficient glucose in the blood.
Symptoms of ketoacidosis include:
- Vomiting
- Weakness
- Quick breathing.
- Breath with acetone odor (smells like nail polish remover).
Diabetic Ketoacidosis is a dangerous condition and life threatening. If you suspect your dog is suffering from this condition, book an appointment with your vet doctor at once!
Bad Fats
Foods rich in lots of fats and sugars are not good for you or your pet. Foods rich in sugars increase fat level in the body in that the body converts the excess sugars to fats for storage. And for fatty foods, they just add up to the pile of fats already created by the sugar.
With keen observation, you’ll notice that over 90 percent of those people or animals who have diabetes are overweight. Also, before they realized their diabetic condition, such people are the ones who consumed lots of meat fats and other fat-rich foods (fast foods, ice cream, donuts, fries, chicken fat/skin, etc.).
Good Fats
When it comes to your animal and yourself, certain foods are much better. These include oils such as olive oil. The olive oils are referred to as “monounsaturated fat.” Other oils that are equally good include canola oil (almost good as olive oil), corn oil and sunflower oil. One way of telling if any of the fat you use is extremely harmful to your dog is allowing it to stand at room temperature for hours. If it can afford to remain in its liquefied state, it’s a good oil (monounsaturated fat). If it coagulates, then this is what you and your pet need to keep away, far away as much as possible.
Note that there are ESSENTIAL FATS which need to be part of your pet’s diet. These fats are essential in that they help the body absorb other nutrients. Therefore, when choosing the types of foods to feed your dog, consider if it’s needed for your pet’s health before using it. Remember, diabetes isn’t something you’d want to suffer from, so why should you expose your beloved friend to it?
Before buying any food for your whole family, ALWAYS read the labels to know for sure what type of fats are contained.