Come and Get It! Feeding Your Diabetic Dog
Before diabetes all three of my dogs were free fed and I never took fat, complex carbs or fiber intake into consideration. The only things I was concerned about were toxic foods like onions, sodium intake and “junk food” ingredients. Having dogs my entire life, we fed everything from Purina Dog Chow to Nutro to Taste of the Wild and finally Wellness.
It wasn’t until Lucy got pancreatitis and was diagnosed with diabetes that I started looking at fat content. When she was diagnosed with both she was immediately switched to Hills Science Diet WD wet and dry food, but within a couple months and a lot of weight loss I started looking at other foods. WD was not the right food for Lucy, it was very high in fiber and that is not always a good thing for a lean dog.
Today I am going to go over dog food, fat, carbohydrate, fiber, protein contents, why they are important to pay attention to and why feeding on a schedule is so important. Grab a cup of your favorite caffeinated beverage (mine today is caramel latte) and let’s get to it!
First and foremost we need to feed our diabetic dogs on a twelve-hour schedule.
Why do we need to feed on a twelve-hour schedule?
Food and insulin work together, they go hand in hand. When food breaks down some of it is turned into glucose. Complex carbohydrates or starches are broken down into glucose. Once starches are broken down into glucose the liver releases glucose into the blood stream. The pancreas releases insulin to open cells to accept glucose intake. Cells will not accept glucose without the aid of insulin and since our dogs are type 1 diabetics we need to inject insulin.
Let’s break down digestion a little further.
As soon as a dog starts chewing their food digestion starts. Saliva has enzymes that start breaking down food, the stomach breaks the food down further and once this digested food enters the small intestine digestive enzymes break that food down even further for absorption.
Digestive enzymes are secreted from the pancreas and delivered by ducts into the small intestine. These digestive enzymes are:
- Amylase: breaks down starches into glucose
- Lipase: breaks down fats into free fatty acids and monoglycerides
- Protease: breaks down proteins into amino acids
Once these digestive enzymes break down these nutrients they are absorbed into the blood stream.
Since we feed and then give insulin, both food absorption and insulin absorption start around the same time. This is precisely why it is recommended to feed and then give insulin within 30 minutes. That 30-minute window is usually suggested early on in diabetes diagnosis, we want to make sure our dog does not vomit their meal before giving insulin. Once we know they hold down their meal you can give insulin within five minutes of eating if blood glucose levels are over 200 mg/dL (11.11 mmol/L).
TEST, FEED AND INJECT EVERY 12 HOURS, FOOD AND INSULIN WORK HAND IN HAND.
Why is fat content so important when feeding a diabetic dog?
Since our dog’s pancreas is compromised and up to 40% of diabetic dogs get pancreatitis, fat content needs to be low unless you are feeding a puppy. The pancreas produces the digestive enzymes, in this case lipase that breaks down fats. The higher the fat content the more work the pancreas must do.
HIGHER FAT CONTENT TAXES THE PANCREAS.
Dogs with pancreatitis/chronic pancreatitis should eat max 10% fat on a dry matter basis. 12% fat is recommended for diabetic dogs that have not had pancreatitis.
It can be hard to find a commercial dog food that is low in fat and low in starches (complex carbs) since dry food needs either fat or starches to bind the food together. Remember that if your dog suffers from pancreatitis we can work with insulin, so higher carb food is suggested.
Pro tip: You can add digestive enzymes to your diabetic dogs’ meals. These help break down food and take some strain off the pancreas.
Why do I need to look at complex carbohydrates/starches?
Complex carbohydrates or starches turn into glucose and glucose is what raises blood glucose levels. Feeding lower complex carbs is recommended (unless your dog has pancreatitis) when it comes to diabetic dogs I suggest 35% carbs on a dry matter basis or as close to that as you can get. That can make commercial dog food more expensive especially if it is also low fat. Low fat, low carbs can mean higher protein content which can increase price.
COMPLEX CARBOHYDRATES/STARCHES RAISE BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS.
Why is fiber important in a diabetic dog’s diet?
There are two types of fiber, soluble and insoluble.
Soluble fiber – turns into a gel like substance when water or moisture is added. Soluble fiber slows the absorption rate of nutrients; fat, protein and complex carbs/starches.
Insoluble fiber – helps get rid of waste and is not absorbed.
Pro tip 1: Adding soluble fiber to meals like psyllium husk powder helps slow down complex carbohydrate/starches absorption. This can help with leveling out blood glucose levels.
Pro tip 2: Insoluble fiber helps dogs feel fuller longer. Green beans are a healthy treat with a good amount of insoluble fiber.
SOLUBLE FIBER SLOWS THE ABSORPTION OF COMPLEX CARBS/STARCHES. INSOLUBLE FIBER HELPS GET RID OF WASTE AND DOGS FEEL FULLER LONGER.
Why do our dogs need animal protein?
Animal protein is a very important building block for our dogs. Protein is broken down into amino acids that dogs do not naturally produce but their bodies require. Some of the things that protein does for the body:
- Builds and repairs muscles and tissues
- Aids in hormone production (think insulin…it is a protein!)
- Maintains fluid balance
- Nerve function
- Makes red blood cells
The list goes on and on! Feeding a higher protein diet is suggested for the overall health of your diabetic dog. Of course if your dog has renal or certain liver diseases, protein intake may need to be decreased.
And the great news about animal protein? Animal protein is carbohydrate free except for eggs.
ANIMAL PROTEIN IS AN ESSENTIAL BUILDING BLOCK FOR YOUR DOG.
I know this is a lot to learn but I hope that I have broken feeding your diabetic dog down so that you can understand why we need to feed and give insulin on a schedule and why these nutrients are so important to pay attention to.
After Lucy passed I thought about free feeding Frank but decided to stick to my twelve-hour schedule and boy am I glad I did. Frank now requires medications every twelve hours and they must be given with food. Also, for the past couple years I sit with Frank every morning for loves right before he eats…I would miss out on that and giving his medication would be a bit tougher. Frank is not a lovey boy so I take it when I can get it!
Bonus: here is a handy carb and dry matter basis calculator, bookmark it in your phone for future use!
Until next week stay comfy and caffeinated!
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions, please start a conversation below.
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