Managing Your Pet's Diabetes

Image of a dog licking its lips at a cheeseburger.

"Heart conditions can be inherited in dogs as they are in people. Dogs can also be victims of cancer, tick-borne diseases, autoimmune conditions, arthritis, liver, or kidney disease, thyroid disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and even diabetes," indicates Norma Bennett Woolf, editor of Dog Owner's Guide: Canine Diabetes.

Your pet could be at risk for diabetes and in need of medical attention by your veterinarian. This disease has identifiable risk factors that can help reduce your pet's risk.

Does your pet get regular and consistent adequate exercise and playtime to keep it fit and well? Is your pet's nutrition inexpensive "fast food" purchased in a hurry or quality ingredients recommended by your veterinarian to promote optimum health and wellness? A sedentary lifestyle, genetic history, and obesity can point to increased susceptibility for diabetes.

Activity every day is important for your pet. It's also important that activity levels be consistent from day to day. Exercising or engaging in good play around the same time each day will help both you and your pet make activity a lifelong habit.

Increasing your pet's activity slowly and with your veterinarian's guidance will help their body adjust to any physical changes. When your pet's activity level drastically changes from day to day blood glucose levels can increase to dangerous levels.

Veterinarian Peter A. Graham's Diabetes Mellitus defines the principal clinical signs of an animal with diabetes mellitus as frequent urination and excessive thirst. Animals "lose weight because they breakdown stores of fat and protein (muscle) to make glucose and ketones (an alternative fuel) in the liver." Other clinical signs are cataracts, increased appetite, recurrent infections, and an inability to tolerate exercise.

Excessive production of ketones by the liver causes ketoacidosis. This condition makes the animal very unwell. "There are a number of different ways to stabilize a diabetic animal," Graham says.

Pets that have been diagnosed with diabetes often receive an insulin injection every day. Insulin is available in doses that last throughout several different time frames. The effectiveness of a short acting dose lasts one to four hours. Medium range can remain effective four to 24 hours and long lasting doses can be effective from eight to 28 hours. Your veterinarian will provide you with the insulin best suited to your pet's needs.

"Cats metabolize insulin much more rapidly than dogs," Graham says. "The insulin treatment of cats is similar to that of dogs but requires at least twice daily injections." Dogs also express an increased sensitivity to insulin when they have chronic kidney failure or infections.

The number of injections and dosages will be determined by your family's veterinarian after examining your pet and discussing pertinent health history with you. When animals must receive an injection of insulin, someone must be able to give it to them as required. Several members of your family will need to know how to keep your pet's blood sugar in the appropriate ranges and the steps to take to make that happen consistently.

It will be important for you to have your veterinarian guide you step-by-step through the process of giving an injection comfortably and successfully. You'll need to know how to administer a dose, when to administer a dose, and how to properly store the insulin between each dose.

"Insulin is fragile and will become less effective or even inactive, if it gets too hot or cold, or is shaken vigorously," advises the College of Veterinary Medicine at Washington State University. Remember to follow your veterinarian's recommendations for handling and care, sterile practices, and safe disposal of all used needles and supplies.

Sources:

Canis Major Publications (2011). Dog owner's guide: Canine diabetes.

Defeat Diabetes Foundation.

Graham, Peter A., BVMS, PhD, CertVR, MRCVS. Diabetes mellitus.

Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Diabetes mellitus.

Location

Find us on the map

Office Hours

Our Regular Schedule

Monday:

7:30 am-5:30 pm

Tuesday:

7:30 am-5:30 pm

Wednesday:

7:30 am-5:30 pm

Thursday:

7:30 am-5:30 pm

Friday:

7:30 am-5:30 pm

Saturday:

Open 1st & 3rd Saturdays of each month. Closed 2nd & 4th Saturdays of each month.

8:00 am-2:00 pm

Sunday:

Closed

Testimonials

Read What Our Clients Say

  • "We have a new 8 week Boston Terrier that we took to Springfield Vet yesterday for the first time. Absolutely pleased with the service, attitudes and genuine care shown to our little boy. The whole team was so professional, but took time to talk to you and explain everything. Dr Cynthia Wiseman is so wonderful, she sat in the floor did Logan's exam and played with him. What bedside manners. I will continue to use them, I highly recommend them to anyone looking for a caring and professional vet."
    Roi W.
  • "We absolutely love this vet clinic and the staff! The facilities are modern and always clean. Everyone is always so friendly and genuinely care for you and your animal- they make you feel as if you are apart of their family.

    Our boy, Samson, is a Rottie (and quite the problem child). We are usually in the clinic almost every other month for something and they are always so helpful and show great care and love for our pup! We are very picky/protective puppy parents, so we were very grateful to have found both Dr. Cynthia and Dr. Heath shortly after getting Samson.

    We have definitely found our "home" in the vet world, and would highly recommend to anyone who is currently looking!"
    Machaelie H.
  • "I have taken my dog here since he was a puppy. The staff are so friendly and caring, a very clean place and they always get us in quickly. When we come in no one passes us without greeting my dog and I and they're never in a rush to get us out of there."
    ShealynR.
  • "We decided to start taking our new kitty here this past fall and we love it! He was not on his best behavior (to say the least) for his first appointment, and the staff was so patient and was still able to safely run his bloodwork and give him his vaccinations. Every service has been reasonably priced, and they did everything they possibly could to make sure that our little guy was off to a healthy start after we adopted him. What I love is that they really seem to focus on the small details, too, like trimming our cat's nails after remembering that I had expressed interest in doing so at a previous appointment, or supplementing his flea treatment with something to safely speed up the process. We will definitely keep coming here as long as we live in Springfield!"
    Megan J.
  • "I have been taking my dog to SVC since 2012 and when I adopted my cat in 2015. I have never had a bad experience. We have seen Drs. Heath & Cynthia Wiseman and I love them both. Always professional, always take their time when looking my pets over, asking questions, and answering mine."
    Katherine P.
  • "We’ve been taking our Moose there for a few years now. After swallowing a toy when he was a puppy, getting fixed, having surgery on his eyelids a couple times, and most recently having a breed specific illness; I can I say I would recommend everyone to go here. They’ve taken the best care of our boy time and time again and went above and beyond."
    Ashley J.
  • "We’ve been taking our Moose there for a few years now. After swallowing a toy when he was a puppy, getting fixed, having surgery on his eyelids a couple times, and most recently having a breed specific illness; I can I say I would recommend everyone to go here. They’ve taken the best care of our boy time and time again and went above and beyond."
    Ashley J.
  • "Pleasant staff.,very informative. Great environment for your pets, including own room for cats to play so as they aren't stressed out."
    Cheryl K.
  • "Dr. Cynthia Wiseman has helped my little Shiba dog with chronic hip problems tremendously with consistent acupuncture therapy! So thankful for this practice and the high quality of care they offer my pets!"
    Lacey M.