Summer Heat and Your Diabetic Dog
I don’t know how it is where you are, but summer has arrived in Tennessee with a vengeance. We went from very chilly weather to a heat index in the 90s. It’s crazy! Just yesterday I watched a man walking his dog on the blacktop. That poor little pup’s feet had to be on fire! He kept pulling on the leash to try to get into the shade. That has prompted me to write this blog post.
We have chatted about this before, but for those new to this blog, it bears repeating. Not only do we have the challenge of keeping our pups safe in the heat, we have the added challenge of keeping them safe because they’re diabetic. Diabetes changes things a bit. Keeping any dog hydrated in extreme heat is important, but keeping a diabetic dog well hydrated is imperative. The kidneys regulate hydration and because our pups are diabetic, we need to help their kidneys all that we can.
Dr. Joi Sutton explains it this way, “The kidney threshold for glucose is somewhere between 180 and 300 mg/dL for dogs and cats. It varies from one pet to another, with cats usually having a higher threshold than dogs. When the blood glucose goes higher than the kidney glucose threshold, it makes it extremely difficult for the kidneys to pull fluid back. Kidneys are very active organs. They excrete then reabsorb fluid. What fluid is left after kidneys filter the blood is called urine. When the blood glucose exceeds the kidney threshold for sugar, a diabetic will continue to pee out dilute urine even if the patient is dehydrated.”
For the entire blog post on dehydration in your diabetic dog, click here: https://shoppettest.com/blog/dehydration-and-my-diabetic-dog/
The other important point here is that your pup’s paws need to be protected from hot pavement. If you can’t walk comfortably on the pavement in your bare feet, your dog shouldn’t be walking on it either. So this means that we need to walk our pups on grass or walk them early before the pavement or sidewalk heats up or walk them after the sun has set and the pavement or sidewalk has had time to cool down.
Be sure to take water with you on your walk and offer it often to prevent dehydration. Please read the blog post highlighted above to keep your pup safe in this summertime heat.
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