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Looking for dog food alternatives...

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  • Looking for dog food alternatives...

    Blue heeler was just diagnosed with diabetes. She is 7 years old. She was prescribed 11 units of Novalin 2x a day. They had me buy Hills dry food and she won't eat it. She will eat the canned hills prescription multi benefit w/d but it is $3 a can.... is there something similar that's a little more affordable?
    Thanks!

  • #2
    Re: Looking for dog food alternatives...

    Yeah the problem with my dog was feeding problems too. He didnt like any of the diabetic food so i had to home cook his food. If you have time you could try using pinto beans/barley/chicken beef fish turkey for protein. The tough part about this is balancing the carbs needed for your dog specifically so you will be doing a lot of testing and researching because every dog is different. There are fast medium to slow release carbs you want to aim at the medium to slow release carbs so it can work along side your insulin during the 12 hours. For me Pinto beans is a slow release carb and barley is the medium release and as far as protein goes it doesnt affect my dogs numbers if i increase or decrease it. If you plan on going this route which could be cheaper but will cost you time i will tell you what i did. First off i had to find my dogs ideal weight and the calories he needed. Then i calculated how many grams of each carb and protein that was required and how many calories they provide balanced. So take my dog for instance he is a senior husky that needs an ideal weight of 70 and he is not that active. I need around 750-850 calories. I give him 70 grams of protein and 66 grams of carbs. From there i calculate the amount of food i need to give him to make those grams equal out into those grams of protein and carbs. Currently i tweaked my dogs portion to be a bit more because hes started to be more active after getting better but it goes like this for me. 190 Grams of turkey/beef to give him enough protein then i give him 30 grams of pinto beans and 90 grams of barley to balance him off on the carbs. He has this meal twice a day along with some yogurt non fat with no added flavors for pro biotics. As for pricing goes turkey and chicken is the cheapest but he cant eat chicken because he is allergic to it and i give him beef too as a rotation so he doesn't get bored of just one thing then ill have a problem to finding food solutions again. He is on a healthy weight of 70 now and his numbers are from 120-60 for a few months now without any changes so far. I hope this helped best of luck.

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    • #3
      Re: Looking for dog food alternatives...

      HeyJB!

      It is scary at first trying to figure everything out when it comes to your newly diagnosed pup. But you WILL figure it out in time.

      You don’t have to go with the prescription diets for diabetic dogs. Many diabetic dogs do fine with commercial dog foods not specifically designed for diabetics.

      My Pippi gets a mix of two commercial dogfoods – one dry & one wet mixed together.



      However, every diabetic dog is totally different from the other. Each one has different needs. There is no “one size fits all”. Only trial, error, then success!

      That being said, it is very important that you test your dog with a glucometer. When my Pippi was first diagnosed with diabetes, I didn’t even know what a glucometer was.

      Whatever dogfood you decide to try with your doggie, the glucose levels are probably going to be different, regardless if you feed the same amount as your current food. Proteins and carbs in dogfoods all play into glucose levels. I had no idea about this at first.

      How are your dog’s blood glucose levels on your current food? Do you have a glucometer to test blood glucose levels? If you don’t have a glucometer, do you go for frequent spot checks at the vet? Has your vet done some bg curves?

      Before I got my glucometer, my vet worked with me with the dogfoods I chose. I went in once a week for a spot check to make sure things were going o.k. But a once a week spot check really isn’t enough.

      I found this forum many months into Pippi’s diagnosis, and I’m so happy I did! I’ve learned so much from others’ posts. And how important it is to check blood glucose levels with a glucometer.

      There is a really good thread on this forum called “Your Dog’s Diet, Insulin, and Meter Used”, which you might have already seen. It really helps to see what foods other people feed their diabetic dogs and what glucometers they use. Lots of variety!

      I would not start feeding your dog another food without being able to test blood glucose levels -- either with your own glucometer or working with your vet.

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      • #4
        Re: Looking for dog food alternatives...

        That sounds like a lot of insulin for a blue heeler. Please tell us how much she weighs and what measures of her blood sugar have shown.

        Are you testing blood sugar at home?

        Diabetic dogs do not have to eat the prescription diet - kind of pointless to keep trying a food she won't eat! We used many different kibble and canned foods over the years with out diabetic dog.

        What was she eating before she was diagnosed?

        Natalie

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