Diabetic dog with no appetite- HELP!

[justinemmartin]

Hi All! I need your help. My 6 yr old Dakota has had diabetes for almost two years. She is also on Synthroid. For the past 3 days she has not wanted to eat anything. I have tried everything kind of meat possible. Wet food, dry food. Treats I know she likes even though they are bad for her and she still turns up her nose. She has been better about eating in the evening but has no interest in the morning. She is at the vet today running blood work. They are thinking she might just have a bug or is having acid reflux (they said it is common in diabetic dogs). She has still been acting fine, running, barking, playing and her BG was at 212 this morning. She did seem alittle tired this morning but isn't everyone at 5 in the morning?? Does anyone have any clue what could be going on? I always go worst case scenario so wanted to get y'all's opinion. I am thinking maybe her thyroid could be off because it does not sound like ketoacidosis to me but maybe early signs?

[jesse girl]

Re: Diabetic dog with no appetite- HELP!

Hi and welcome

2 years is a long time for a diabetic who is struggling to eat and i am sure you have tried all the tricks

My jesse only eats one meal a day in the evening ,gets her dose of insulin . In the morning she gets a milk bone snack and a reduced dose of insulin and has worked well for 8 years

So you can modify the breakfast meal to make it smaller or just give a snack like i give jesse . As long as your consistent in what you do things should be ok

If your not testing blood sugar at home i would especially with modified a program and having such a young dog that can live a normal life span if the disease is managed correctly

[justinemmartin]

Re: Diabetic dog with no appetite- HELP!

Sorry- It has been 3 days that she has not been wanting to eat. For the past 2 years she has had normal eating habits and regulated BG. I do monitor her BG from home as well.

[jesse girl]

Re: Diabetic dog with no appetite- HELP!

As a dog gets older their eating habits may change

Now there are complications that can occur from diabetes and pancreatitis is one of them . Lack of appetite can point to a symptom and early stages There is a simple test that can be done at the vet to diagnose

An abrupt change in appetite may say your dog has some digestive upset . Beagles from what i see like to eat and more is usually better

So if its just temporary you can still modify the diet and feed less in the morning . For me i dont like forcing a dog to eat that doesnt want to as something is not feeling good in the belly . If you are seeing maybe an onset to pancreatitis catching it early is beneficial and restricting food intake can be important

If you testing sugar at home you would be able to see if higher or lower sugar may contribute to the problem but since your dog has been regulated that probably isnt a factor

[Raysaint]

Re: Diabetic dog with no appetite- HELP!

My dog went thru a phase like that, wouldn't eat much breakfast, but ate a normal supper. There was no underlying issues. The fact that your dog wants to eat supper, pancreatitis might not be the problem.

I allowed my dog to eat less in the morning, and gave him less insulin in the morning. However, the dose at morning and supper was too different, and his body couldn't adjust, and his numbers weren't good. It's better it seems if both insulin doses are about the same.

So I cut back his supper food volume and increased breakfast volume to have both meals closer in volume, so that I cold keep both insulin doses the same. But to get him to eat all his breakfast, I had to get creative, and the only thing that worked was bribery with dog videos. I put the Ipad on my lap and he figured out that he only sees dog videos if he eats all his food.

It's difficult when they don't want to eat, but if it's just the morning meal, it's probably a phase and may pass. Cutting back supper and evening insulin, may make him hungrier by morning.

[amydunn19]

Re: Diabetic dog with no appetite- HELP!

I found with Maggie that her stomach acid would go a little bonkers if she didn’t eat four times a day. She would throw up the foamy stuff if she didn’t eat often enough, especially in the mornings. She had pancreatitis so for her, we figured splitting her food into four meals worked best for her. You could try just a small snack before bed - nothing too heavy or carby and see if that doesn’t help. My vet said sometimes their stomach may produce digestive enzymes even when there is no food in their stomach so it kind of sours if it goes too long. Just an idea.