What Do I Feed My Diabetic Dog?

The all-important question...  "What to feed your diabetic dog" ? When my Max was diagnosed, the vet put him on a “prescription” diet that was very high in fiber. Suffice it to say that it didn’t go well for us. Max continued to lose weight and his stool was voluminous (I’m being as polite as I can be here)! Not only that, he couldn’t put weight back on even after his BG (blood glucose) numbers came down. I asked on my Facebook group (Canine Diabetes Support and Information), what was going on?! I’ll see if I can boil down for you what it took hundreds of hours of research to learn.

The most important thing about meal times is that your pup EATS! They must eat a full meal to get a full dose of insulin. Dogs with Diabetes are prone to pancreatitis so knowing the fat content is essential. You want to feed the highest quality food that you can within your budget. We try to keep the fat content at or below 12% DMB (Dry Matter Basis) for pups that are not prone to pancreatitis and for those that are prone to pancreatitis; we try to keep them below 10% fat DMB. This means not the fat content that is listed on the bag or can, the fat content minus the moisture in the formula. There is a very handy Dry Matter Basis Calculator on line where you enter the fat (or other ingredient that you need the true value for) and the moisture to determine the true % of fat. There is also a very comprehensive explanation of Dry Matter and why it’s important. Here’s the link: https://www.pawdiet.com/articles/dry-matter-basis-calculator-for-pet-food/

I recommend saving the link on your phone and when you go to the store to buy a diabetes appropriate food, you can just enter the numbers and see if the food is good for your dog. There are some very good quality commercial foods on the market that fit the criteria in all price ranges.

In our  last blog entry, we discussed the toppers that you can use to entice your pup to clean their bowl every time. If you have other tips or tricks, please share them with the rest of us in the comments below. We can all use your insights as to what works for your pup!

When your pup is first diagnosed, likely you noticed that he or she is ravenous! The reason for that is that their bodies can’t absorb nutrients until their BG (Blood Glucose) numbers come down. That typically results in weight loss because they can’t absorb the food. If you’re feeding a food that is high in fiber, even after numbers come down into an acceptable range, your pup may still not be able to put the weight back on. Those foods are designed for weight loss, so it’s difficult to put weight on a dog that is eating that food. I had to switch, but many do just fine on it.

I chose to weigh my pup’s kibble to the gram and feed the correct calories for his ideal weight. There are many food calculators online that will ask for ideal weight and activity level and once you enter those, it tells you how many calories your pup should get each day. Since we feed twice a day, you’ll divide that number by 2 and if you feed snacks, you’ll want to factor that in to the total calories per day also. My dogs were Westies and they don’t do well when their tummies are too empty, so I chose to serve a midday snack and one before bed. The midday snack consisted of a pure protein and a veggie so it didn’t affect BG. I gave chicken breast and pureed green bean baby food and a dollop of fat free organic plain yogurt as a probiotic. Before bed, it was the same thing, pure protein and a veggie.

Here are a few suggestions for some “diabetic friendly” foods. This is not an extensive list, and there are many, many more foods that are appropriate for our pups, I just wanted to give you a place to start. I also want you to see the difference in fat content between DMB and what’s on the bag or can.

I know that it feels like there are a lot of “rules” and lots to learn, but you’ll get there and all of it will become routine. We will discuss the relationship between food and insulin in a later post. Remember that there are thousands of us out here that are dealing with or have dealt with this disease. Once we have covered the basics, we will get into the daily nuances of how to effectively manage Canine Diabetes! Hang in there, you are not alone and most importantly… you CAN do this!!!

As always, please share your thoughts, comments and questions in the comment section below. We look forward to getting to know you and your pup!