[Michelle J]

We have a 9 year old Siberian Husky who is diabetic and has been for about 2 years. We started out feeding her Hill’s W/D as recommended by the vet we were using at the time. However it was difficult to purchase because you had to have a prescription for it and where we lived we could only buy it at the vet’s so it was not easily accessible. Also we were uncomfortable with the main ingredient being corn. That being said we started searching for a better alternative and started feeding her Hill’s Science Diet Adult Light. She was eating it like it was going out of style. This past weekend we purchased the same kind but she is not eating it. This makes it impossible to be able to give her the correct amount of insulin 2 times a day. I was wondering if it could be spoiled or if there was a recall on it? Is there a use by date on it that I can’t find? Also since there are a lot of you out there that will hopefully read this, can you suggest a better food for diabetic dogs? I would appreciate any help you can give! Thanks!

[USA]

Hi Michelle

There could be something wrong with that particular bag of food or your dog might not be feeling well.

When you use NPH or N type intermediate acting insulins they last about 12 to 16 hours per dose and they have a peak which is when you are supposed to feed your dog.

There are long acting insulins like levemir and lantus which have no peak (or very little peak) and are taken once a day. They are for the sugar (glucose) that your body (or your dog’s) makes. Then there are fast acting insulins like Novolog and Humalog which last around 5 hours and are taken before (or right after) meals. They are for covering the glucose (carbs) from meals.

The graph in the link shows the different types of insulin and their onsets and durations.

http://community.diabetes.org/t5/image/serverpage/image-id/1281i92D09A0934C03334/image-size/original?v=mpbl-1&px=-1

In a two insulin regimen you would give your dog a long acting insulin once a day for the sugar (glucose) that your body (or your dog’s) makes. And you would give a rapid acting insulin before meals. You could also give the rapid acting insulin right after a meal. This way you could base the dose on the actual amount of food your dog did or did not eat.

This is the gold standard of insulin regimens (in humans) and this is the one I personally use (I have diabetes) and recommend for people AND dogs. It is a more intense regimen and requires more effort on your part. It also requires you find a vet that will support you in this kind of insulin regimen.

The food you are feeding is 47% carbs and I have a problem with treating a person or dog with diabetes a diet this high in carbs. I think the reason it is used for dogs is that bottom line, carbs are cheaper than meat. So they use a lot of fiber (9.7%) to slow down the absorption of carbs into your dog’s bloodstream!

I would look for a canned food that is below 10% carbs. If your dog does NOT have a problem with high fat diets then low carb canned food is a much more appropriate diet for a dog with diabetes. It would require a lowering of your dogs insulin dose and you need to have a vet support you in a change like this!

I wish you and your husky the beat!!!

[InkedMarie]

I admit that I’ve never had a diabetic fog but I’ve read that diabetic dogs need a low glycemic food. If you go to Chewy.com, type in low glycemic fog foods in their search. They have a list.

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