Weight Loss

[LunaC]

Long story short, after a bunch of trial and error with insanely expensive prescription diabetic dog foods that did absolutely nothing to alleviate symptoms, I ended up cooking Luna's food. The frequent urination/incontinence, and excessive thirst, went away pretty much the moment I started making her food at home. Her energy levels are fantastic.

It is a very fine balance, though. If I go over the usual coffee mug helping (twice a day) even slightly--I'm talking even just adding an extra 1/4 of that coffee cup--the symptoms start to come back.

The only lingering symptom I can't seem to get under control is the weight loss. She is so skinny. But, as I said, giving her even slightly more than the normal amount brings back all the other symptoms, which obviously means that's heading in the wrong direction.

Can anyone offer any advice recipe-wise that specifically addresses the skinniness issue? And please, I don't make much money. I work as an assistant with special needs kids, and walk dogs on the side. I really can't afford some of these great, but unmaintainable, recipes that can be found online.

The diet I have her on right now is very simple, and as I said has been very effective in keeping this thing under control. Pasta shells, peas or carrots, corn oil, and chicken. She is also on 7ccs of insulin, every 12 hours.

Thank you so much for any advice!

[Raysaint]

Re: Weight Loss

My own thoughts. White pasta, even for humans, is high glycemic, so it'll spike sugar and doesn't provide a lot of lasting nutrition. The sugar spikes could cause extra peeing. And it won't help gain weight because too much of it leaves the body. There might be better carb choices if possible.
Everything else is Ok, but weight gain comes from calories, so it might have to include a little more fat and protein, something like a bit of potato or red meat.

[k9diabetes]

Re: Weight Loss

Can you test her blood sugar at home?

You can use a human meter, which costs less than the pet ones. OneTouch Ultras are very good with canine blood in providing accurate results and you can sometimes get the meter for free or little cost after a rebate.

For her to gain weight, she needs more calories. And with more calories, she will likely need slightly more insulin. It's not one to one. A 20% increase in calories could require a very small increase in the insulin, like half a unit.

So the value of testing at home is determining how well her sugar is controlled on her current diet and amount - whether the "curve" of her blood sugar is relatively flat (best for good control of diabetes) or has some sharp drops and/or spikes that are made worse by giving more food.

If there are sharp drops and/or rises, there are things you can do unrelated to the insulin to flatten the curve and help with adjusting to more calories.

Take a look at the main website (www.k9diabetes.com) for information on controlling blood sugar, diet, food, etc.

I've found, after 16 years involved with diabetic dogs, that every dog is different in their response to the insulin (how fast it starts working, how long it lasts, how strong the drop in blood sugar is) and to food. Some dogs get a nice flat curve when adding oatmeal, for example, while other dogs' blood sugar goes sky high when given oatmeal.

It's very much a matter of experimenting to see what works best for Luna. And to do that, you need to be able to check her blood sugar at home, not with urine strips but with a blood sugar meter.

There are videos on the main website showing where and how to collect a blood sample.

Our dog was tested at least three times a day (he had a lot of issues and got insulin four times a day) and it was no big deal. We used his lip - video on the main website - and there are few nerve endings there so it is not painful.

Natalie