Munchie–11 yr. old MiniSchnauzer - Earned his wings

[Patty]

I have to agree with Barb again on the comparison. I like being able to add my own carb as well when trying to balance insulin.

[k9diabetes]

Keep in mind that there are carbohydrates in the food - they just don't come from grain. Carbohydrates generally aren't listed on nutrition labels.

Here are the ingredients in Zeal:

Dehydrated white fish (line-caught Haddock, wild Whiting), sweet potatoes, eggs, organic coconut, organic alfalfa, apples, pumpkin, parsley, cabbage, bananas, wild Salmon, cranberries, garlic, rosemary, tricalcium phosphate, choline chloride, zinc amino acid chelate, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, potassium iodide, potassium chloride, iron amino acid chelate, copper amino acid chelate.

There are various discussions of carbs in vegetables online.

http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/wha.../a/whatveg.htm

[Patty]

Natalie's right. I get to talking about adding carbs and usually mean the grain/pasta type but sweet potatoes, pumpkin, bananas, etc also include carbs. I found adding lentils to Ali's food help the balance the way millet has for Barb. Each dog responds different.

[LuvMyMunchie]

Originally Posted by Abby's Mom

Louise,
You would think I work for Honest Kitchen, but I truly love this stuff.
Barb

You talked me into it, Barb. I ordered one of the small packages and will do a trial run. I have a couple other choices to try also so I'll be out buying dog food today. Got to go slow with this as I don't want to do Munch's gut in but if something is going to disagree with him it will happen right away. I hope something dietwise works as things are not going well with his diabetes.

His curve on Monday was horrible. After follwing his doctor's instructions to do twice a day feedings with that bucket of rice diet it is as though we are back at square one. Altlhough not great his bg was actually better on 6 units of insulin and 3 meals than the 7 units and 2 meals. His insulin was increased to 8 units last night and his fasting was in the 600's this morning. Guessing that maybe it will take a couple of days to see any improvement from the insulin increase if I actually see one at all. I am afraid to give him more food when his numbers are that high but the poor guy has got to eat. I am so worried about him.

I've got a question.......In the world of human diabetes consistent daily exercise is part of keeping decent bg numbers along with diet. I see from reading the posts that the dogs here get exercise as part of their bg control. When Munchie was diagnosed and I had my "training" from tech I specifically asked if I should be taking him out for walks and she told me no. He is so high I think a little walk might be of some help....what do you all think???

Louise

[CraigM]

Originally Posted by LuvMyMunchie

When Munchie was diagnosed and I had my "training" from tech I specifically asked if I should be taking him out for walks and she told me no. He is so high I think a little walk might be of some help....what do you all think???

I think exercise is great for dogs and people (says the 300 pound man). Really, even just a slow stroll is benefical to both physical and mental health, I think. But remember, "every dog, and human, are different"!

[LuvMyMunchie]

Craig-

Thanks for your response. Think I'll get away from the computer and take Munch for a little stroll. It will do us both good.

Louise

[CraigM]

Originally Posted by LuvMyMunchie

Craig-

Thanks for your response. Think I'll get away from the computer and take Munch for a little stroll. It will do us both good.

Louise

Might be a good test to take a reading before and after your walk. Some pups can have a big drop, while others not so much. I really haven't seen any noticeable drop in Annie after a brisk 1/2 mile walk, punctuated by 4-6 stops to squat (Annie, not me).

[farrwf]

Originally Posted by CraigM

Might be a good test to take a reading before and after your walk. Some pups can have a big drop, while others not so much. I really haven't seen any noticeable drop in Annie after a brisk 1/2 mile walk, punctuated by 4-6 stops to squat (Annie, not me).

You just look for a tree or a fire hydrant and hike a leg, eh???

[buddy]

Good to hear you are checking out a new food. That white rice diet is just ridiculous.

Regarding exercise: Unless Munchie has some sever disorder I don't know about, I find your tech advising against exercise preposterous. Exercise is of extreme importance to dogs and humans. We know Munchie has some significant health issues to consider so he can't walk alot right off the bat. However, he can start slowly and take a nice leisurely stroll and work up. Like Craig said, you want to test the BG before and after.

With my schnauzer Buddy, he may drop 50 to 100 points after a 45 minute walk.

I've had 3 schnauzers and all were voracious walkers. The two previous schnauzers lived 17 and 16 years respectively.

As I remember, dogs evolved from wolves 7000 years ago. Wolves will travel easily 40 miles per day. I read a storyabout a young female wolf that was tagged with a collar and traveled about 1200 miles in a month over some of the roughest mountain passes imagineable.

[Judi]

hope Munchie enjoyed his walk. I'm rotten at taking my dogs for regular walks. Have gotten lazy and just let them out to run around and bark in a fenced in doggy area.

When Jenny was diagnosed I told my vet I could start walking her but honestly didn't know if I would keep it up in the winter so hated to get her all adjusted WITH the walk and then quit doing it. So my vet told me just to keep her in the routine that is her normal life and we would adjust her based on that.

I wonder if that is what your vet tech was thinking when she said not to walk Munchie?

Judi