Ketone Testing My Diabetic Dog

Interestingly, not many vets recommend ketone testing in our diabetic dogs. It’s sad really, especially in the beginning when BG (Blood Glucose) is running high, that such an easy inexpensive test isn’t encouraged (strips cost as little as $6.99 and as much as $15.00 for 50-100 strips). What is ketone testing, and how do you do it? If you’ll look back to the  posts about supplies, you’ll see that Ketone strips are on the list. 

To test for ketones, you collect a urine sample, dip the strip and match the color of the strip to the colors on the side of the strip vial. Easy as that! I bought an inexpensive ladle and kept it with my testing supplies. For obvious reasons, this particular ladle didn’t socialize with the other kitchen utensils. LOL! My Max had his favorite spots in the yard to lift his leg, so I would rush to get to the first one before he did so that when he moseyed over, I was there with my trusty ladle. The first couple of tests, Max looked up at me as if to say, “Really Mama? Is nothing sacred?” After that, it was just “business as usual”. If his numbers were in a good range, I didn’t test ketones every day.

Why should you test for ketones? In the simplest of terms, when numbers are running high, the body is literally breaking down muscle and fat. One of the byproducts of this process is ketones. Ketones are acids in the blood. If you see that the color of your strip is registering as negative… Yay! If you are seeing trace ketones, you need to encourage water consumption and try to flush those ketones out of the system. I used a sprinkle of Kraft Parmesan cheese in a small bowl of water to encourage Max to drink. If you are seeing “small” ketones, you want to take your pup in for subcutaneous fluids to help flush those ketones out. If your pup is registering large ketones, this is heading toward DKA (Diabetic Ketoacidosis) if it isn’t there already. This an emergency! Your dog needs immediate attention right now! If you are seeing any ketones register on the test strip, you need to encourage water and test every pee until the strip registers negative. Ketones can build VERY quickly and can be deadly if they get too high without intervention. Note: You need to read the strip at exactly the number of seconds that the packaging says. Why? Because if there are any ketones in the urine, the strip will continue to darken and you’ll think that are in a worse situation than you actually are.

If your budget is tight, your pup has high numbers and ketones are rising, ask your vet to sell you a “field kit” which is a subcutaneous fluids set up. Have them show you how to administer the fluids so that you can give the fluids at home and your pup doesn’t have to be hospitalized. If your pup is in DKA, hospitalization is required to get BG (Blood Glucose) down and flush the system with IV fluids. Your vet will likely use fast acting insulin to get numbers down quickly. I do not advise that you try to treat DKA at home unless you are very experienced with all the components of the treatment. If you can give an insulin injection, you can administer sub-q fluids and can treat the lower levels of ketones at home. The “field kit” should cost around $25.00.

So, do you see why it puzzles me why checking for ketones isn’t recommended at the very onset of diagnosis? Once again, a very inexpensive home test can not only save you a ton of money, but can actually save your dog’s life.

If you have any thoughts or ideas for topics that you’d like to see covered here, please feel free to comment below or send me an email at NancyForPetTest@pharmasupply.com. As always, please “like” this blog post or any of the others that have helped you or just refreshed your memory. Look for new posts every Monday, Wednesday and Friday!

Until next time…