Leonardo

[Leonardo]

hi everyone I am new here and just reading what everyone is writing. I never had any good results with W/D been feeding cooked food for for about 6 months and he is doing very well.

[Shellie]

Re: diet help for penny

hi everyone I am new here and just reading what everyone is writing. I never had any good results with W/D been feeding cooked food for for about 6 months and he is doing very well.

And welcome to you, too, Leonardo!

[Leonardo]

Re: diet help for penny

Welcome! You've found a great place to get help!

It sounds like your pup is cooperative with eating and believe me, that's great! Mine is super picky so it comes down to what he will eat vs. not eating at all.

And it's exactly as Natalie said...you can feed a different food...you just have to adjust a bit here and there to maintain the bg levels.

Are you testing at home yet? That would be great if you can! It helps immensely in working thru different foods and levels.

Welcome again!

Thank you
Yes I do test at home. My readings are differant from day to day but range 21 in morning goes down to 5 or so by afternoon gradually and then back to 21 or so by night. It's like a smile on the chart. lol

[Leonardo]

Re: diet help for penny

Oh I forgot to mention my boy will eat anything you put in front of him!!! lol

[Patty]

Re: Leonardo

Hi and Welcome to you!

We'd love to hear more about your boy
What type of dog do you have?
What type of insulin is he on?
I'm guessing you're not in the states since you use mmol/l measurements. That's great that you're able to home test. Makes tweaking the diet much easier.

Again, welcome to you,
Patty

[MaryLea]

Re: Leonardo

Welcome to the forum! It's a great place to connect and get support and information.

Glad to have you with us.

Mary

[Cebe]

Re: Leonardo

Welcome!!

[Leonardo]

Re: Leonardo

Didn't know this thread was mine just found it!
I have a question about taking the blood. I take his BG from the little pad under his paw not sure what it's called. My question is the reading differant if I sqeeze the blood verses just letting it come out itself after being poked.

[SandyL]

Re: Leonardo

Welcome to the forum!!!

I know for a fact if you squeeze the skin on the base of the tail area you will get a compromised reading due to the oil glands that are in their skin. I really doubt that those glands are on their pads though. If when squeezing, you don't feel any kind of wetness in the area, I think you'd be fine

Sandy

[Shellie]

Re: Leonardo

It is better to allow the blood to flow vs squeezing due to the fact that the squeezing will release 'tissue juices' for lack of a better term into the blood and that dilutes it. Warming the area...the carpal pad, I think it's called... will help the blood flow better so you don't have to squeeze too much. Squeezing a little isn't so bad tho...just try to limit if possible.

You should check out Carol's terrific site, www.coherentdog.com as well as this site for lots of great information on doing the bgs. Tips and tricks and believe me, you will need them! lol

And yay! You DO have your very own thread! Is easiest for us all to communicate to you this way although we constantly talk back and forth in each other's threads as well.

I think it's great you are home testing! It will definitely make the difference! Hugs!

[CarolW]

Re: Leonardo

Hi Leonardo,

I've been noticing your posts in other threads - now VERY glad you have your own thread, and that you've found it, too! That makes it much easier to track your dog speciically!

So, I too noticed you use the mmol/L measurements; I'm familiar with those, as I'm in Canada. Typically, I translate my readings and post them in the U.S. measurement, md/dL, as well. To make the conversion from mmol/L to mg/dL, multiply mmol/L by 18.02. I use my computer's calculator to do that.

You can just post the mmol/L, though.

The area on BG testing on my web site that Sandy (Tiggy's grandma) is referring to is here:

http://www.coherentdog.org/vek/bgtest.php

It describes ONLY the Lip-Stick, though some of the series of pages would also apply to other locations on the body for pricking for blood samples.

I agree with those who are saying it's better not to squeeze, for the reasons they gave. What is the gauge of the lancets you're using? Often, if you go to a thicker lancet-needle (smaller number for the gauge), that helps.

In rare situations (possibly when there's a lot of scarring from years of testing repeatedly in similar locations, you may need a THINNER lancet needle, to get between the scars, so to speak. Eileen uses 31-gauge lancets! Her Mildred has been tested twice-daily at least, often more, for seven years, so I suspect there's a bit of scarring there!

I'll look forward to your answers to Patty's questions! Your answers will help us help you.

I'm so glad your dog will eat. That makes life SO much easier! My Kumbi also ate - always the same food, every meal. Never failed! We are the lucky ones!

Here's our Big, Fat Welcome, from Camellia and me on Earth, and Kwali and Kumbi at the Bridge, to this Fabulous Forum!
Wed, 19 Oct 2011 20:30:00 (PDT)

[MaryLea]

Re: Leonardo

The tip about using larger lancets was part of the answer for us. Also, as you explore different sites on your dog, you will find "sweet spots" that work very well for you as well as "ticklish spots" which for one reason or another, do not work well for you. It's different with each dog, it seems, so you need to make notes as you go along. Most of us keep a journal with BG results, feeding and testing times, how much food was consumed, and any med given, how much and when. Sounds like alot, but when things go crazy it helps to look back to see if there is a pattern of any kind. My vet thought I was organized, but it was really self-preservation! He liked to review my journal when he saw Ruffles.

You are fortunate that your dog will eat consistently (as was CarolW). Some on here nearly fight battles to get their dogs to eat!

Mary

[Leonardo]

Re: Leonardo

Thank you for all your very useful information.

[Leonardo]

Re: Leonardo

I was just told by a freind that Cinnamon helps to support sugar and fat metabolisn. She said it lowers blood sugar. Would this work on a dog? I found some interesting things happening on this web site http://www.terrificpets.com/forum/52641.asp
If anyone can find anything else on this would help alot. Thanks
http://www.sarahsdogs.com/qa/can_dog..._cinnamon.html
This site is interesting!

[eileen]

Re: Leonardo

I was just told by a freind that Cinnamon helps to support sugar and fat metabolisn. She said it lowers blood sugar. Would this work on a dog? I found some interesting things happening on this web site http://www.terrificpets.com/forum/52641.asp
If anyone can find anything else on this would help alot. Thanks
http://www.sarahsdogs.com/qa/can_dog..._cinnamon.html
This site is interesting!

These types of supplements can sometimes help with type 2 diabetics, our dogs are most often type 1.

Adding in these ingredients to their diets can sometimes cause more erratic glucose levels as they can be inconsistent in their systems.