Off balance and wobbly

[Riliey and Mo]

Re: Diabetic ketoacidosis

his natural balance is a good quality dog food.

heres a link, good read, to calculate food for homecooking.


https://www.dognutrition.com/dog-food-calculator/

hows Oliver doing?

[jesse girl]

Re: Diabetic ketoacidosis

Jesse's homemade diet that worked for her was canned mackerel , hard boiled egg , chicken breast ,( did use grounded beef heart before chicken ) . The rest is vegetables grind up in a food processor served raw but latter in life I cooked them to ease digestion . I covered a large variety of veggies from kale, broccoli, cauliflower,carrots ,beets , bok choy, collard greens and others that sounded fun as they were all mixed up together and did not matter on the combination of the different varieties and amount on bloodsugar for her . She also had cooked vegetables like pinto beans and sweet potato yams . I sprinkled yeast flakes on top for flavor and a splash of lemon juice . The only supplement I added was calcium with I grind up egg shells in a coffee grinder but I may have not needed with the canned mackerel .

I gave a quarter cup of vegetable matter . A quarter cup of chicken , 1 hardboiled egg ,1 bite size mackerel , bite size of yam and quarter cup of pinto beans . I cooked the pinto beans and chicken in a pressure cooker . I made enough for maybe 5 days . It was easy for my 26 pound Jesse and there was just a handful of days she did not dive in and eat . We did not need exact measurements or weight to attain good steady blood sugar . Maybe the one meal helped with that.

Now like I said she only ate one full meal a day . Her routine was quite unique but it worked very well for her . This is something i developed up on my own .

The key for me with food is a dog wants to eat it day in day out , enjoy to consume , easy on digestion ( good stools ) and adequate blood sugar which depends on each dogs unique situation.

[Kittymjohn]

Off balance and wobbly

Oliver a 7yr old 29lb terrier mix takes 12 units Noviln N twice a day, has become off balance on our walks. This started a week ago has happened four times , his blood sugar was 476 after this happened , I rushed him to the vet.
I assumed it was heat or arthritis related, it only happens on a walk. Within 6 months of being diagnosed he has gone blind in one eye. Oliver is currently at the vet having a curve test. The vet is thinking possible kidney failure. 😭🥲😘🐶 Any guidance would be helpful. Please give me advice on your experiences.
Thank you I love this community for all your knowledge and emotional support.

[jesse girl]

Re: Off balance and wobbly

You might need a bit more information to completely rule out low blood sugar or dropping bloodsugar which can cause a dog to get wobbly on a walk . Test right before the walk if you haven't . My Jesse's could drop a 100 points or more just chewing on a bone . She also could spike up very quickly off a low point

If low blood sugar is completely eliminated from the equation then I guess it can be many things and outside of diabeties . Now you can't eliminate the possibility that high sugar could be the problem . Maybe taking a walk with lower sugar (maybe in the 200s) and see what happens

Always carry a pack of some kind of liquid sugar just in case

Taking a video could help with a diagnosis and provide to the vet. My Jesse had epilepsy which she had seizures to make her unsteady and it had happened on walks

If it's only with walking then that's something to work with in diagnosing your pup . You have to be a detective . Is your dog lethargic before going ? My Jesse was early in her diagnosis . Things may get better with better regulation . Do recommend doing curves at home and can give results to the vet . Better to test in the normal environment.

So many possibilities like maybe a heart problem . How has regulation been and how long being diabetic?

[Kittymjohn]

Re: Off balance and wobbly

Oliver blood sugar was 476 after that walk, a exam and curve was done that day. The dr said his blood test was all over the board very high and very low. Oliver’s blood sugar during his curve was between 585-345. Our vet believes Oliver had had several panic attacks while at the vets office, causing the crazy numbers. Oliver’s dr ruled out kidney failure. He believes it’s the beginning of neuropathy. Even though this is happening in both front and back legs. Also within the 6 months of being diagnosed with diabetes he is 65-70% blind. With no sight in his left eye. Idk, I’m not 100% comfortable with my vet now. It’s just a mommy dog feeling. Oliver’s insulin had not increased and continues to take 12 units twice a day. My main focus in life has become making his home clear of obstacles and giving him the best of life. Yes it’s been 6 months, should we have started regulating his blood sugar?

[Riliey and Mo]

Re: Off balance and wobbly

yes doggy feelings are accurate

I started doing curves at home as it was easier, faster, and more accurate because he also got very upset at the vet.

all you need are straps, Lance's, and a good glucose meter

[k9diabetes]

Re: Off balance and wobbly

Our dog's blood sugar tended to drop sharply on walks. So if Oliver's blood sugar was already relatively low, he could easily be going hypoglycemic while walking and then his body releasing a sugar dump in response to the low.

Wobbly would be consistent with low blood sugar.

Testing his blood sugar yourself is definitely the way to go.

Certainly, have a blood panel done and see if something else is going on.

Still, it might not have been stress causing his blood sugar to bounce from low to high at the vet. He could be doing that every day and his walk catching him when it's low.

Are you up for testing blood sugar at home? It's more accurate doing it in his home environment and routine and you can look at patterns over a few days of curves and then we can help you adjust his regimen if needed to flatten his blood sugar curve.

If he really has neuropathy, his blood sugar would be high for long periods of time and an increase in the dose would be needed. But you can't do that until you determine where his blood sugar is going on a daily basis.

I have seen quite a few terriers who needed relatively large insulin doses for their size. 20, 20 units for 23 pound dogs. Not sure why but we have had numerous terriers need that much for good control.

So the thing is... you need to KNOW what his blood sugar is doing at home.

You can see videos of places to test at k9diabetes.com/bgtestvideso.html and information about testing in general and doing curves at the main website, www.k9diabetes.com.

Natalie

[Kittymjohn]

Homemade dog food, NOT chicken

Oliver, 7yr old border terrier mix 28 lbs, new diabetic as of 9 months. He is allergic to chicken, it causes inflammation, ear infections, excessive paw licking and chewing, and dry , patchy hair loss. Our new vet changed his food to prescription since his triglycerides were over 4000! That’s correct! Which our vet believes was causing insulin resistance. Unregulated blood sugar from 600 to 31, that caused his blindness. We switched to Purina pro plan veterinarians ED gastrointestinal, yes it’s a chicken based food. Our vet feels the nutritional benefit out weighs the side affects of his allergy. Within a week his symptoms of imflammation started. Our vet didn’t see signs of ear infection, which he shakes and scratches his ears a lot. I’m treating the dry flaky patches and red irritated paw pads. He’s currently on apoquel for seasonal allergy’s.
I’m exploring homemade food , any info or recipes would be helpful.
Thank you!

[bgdavis]

Re: Homemade dog food, NOT chicken

Hi

I would suggest very lean ground beef and rice.

Here's a link to some recipes.

https://topdogtips.com/meal-for-diabetic-dogs-recipe/

Bonnie and Angel Crissy Ann

[jesse girl]

Re: Homemade dog food, NOT chicken

My Jesse was on a homemade diet for her 11 years being diabetic . She had a third of cup of grind up vegetables from the food processor , third of a cup of pinto beans ,third of a cup of beef heart , one hard boiled egg , a slice of canned mackerel and a slice of yam . I grind up eggshells in a coffee grinder for calcium . I drizzled some lemon juice and sprinkled yeast flakes on top . There was maybe a couple days in those 11 years she did not eat . She enjoyed her food

Blood sugar was stable and good . Never lost her sight and was healthy . She even went into remission for epeplesy . I did have to let her go when her canine dog dysfunction ( dog dementia) took away her brain function at 16.5 years

Now I only fed her once a day so what I described was one meal for a 26 pound dog . Me and Jesse came up with this diet . She had Pooh problems and the pinto beans took care of that . Many will say you can't do homemade as it won't be balanced . Well that was not true . At least for my Jesse . You can add or remove ingredients to get what your looking for with blood sugar and health .

[MomtoMax]

Re: Off balance and wobbly

Just throwing it out there - you could also use The Honest Kitchen base mix and while it is hit or miss these days, Chewy.com has it currently (you add your own source of protein). I've used chicken (I know you cannot), pork, fish and beef.

Donna