Caring for the diabetic hunting dog
By Ben J. CharacterDiabetes is a lifelong disease, but it doesn't necessarily mean that a dog cannot still hunt. With proper diagnosis, treatment, and monitoring most diabetic hunting dogs can continue to perform.
Diabetes
Diabetes occurs when blood sugar regulation fails. This causes abnormally high levels of sugar in the bloodstream. Symptoms of diabetes involve a wide range of possibilities because it can affect almost every one of a dog's body systems. When blood sugar levels get high enough, glucose spills over into the urine causing glucosuria, literally "sugar in the urine". The most common symptom of diabetes is an increase in urination and/or an increase in the amount of water being consumed. Another common presentation is weight loss.
Diabetes can result from a variety of causes with genetics and disease processes of the pancreas being the biggies. Obesity can also predispose a dog to diabetes development, but doesn't seem to play as significant a role as it does in humans. The presence of abnormally high levels of other hormones — such as progesterone, which is present during diestrus and pregnancy — can cause insulin resistance resulting in clinical symptoms. Because of this, it is recommended that intact female dogs diagnosed with diabetes be spayed so that their hormones do not influence regulation efforts.
Treatment
Treatment of diabetes in dogs almost always involves the use of insulin injections. For the working dog, using twice-daily insulin dosing seems to work the best. This method tends to keep insulin levels more consistent, resulting in better control under stressful situations, which is the big concern while hunting.
Not only does heavy hunting require lots of glucose for energy production, it is a very stressful physiological event. This stress results in the release of hormones such as cortisol and adrenalin, which can impair regulation via insulin resistance. The concern with a once per day insulin regime given in the afternoon is that it might lead to hypoglycemia while hunting the following day.
To avoid diabetic treatment crises, feeding times should coincide with insulin injections. While this works very well for non-hunting situations, when hunting feeding small meals in between the normal feedings will help avoid blood sugar dropping too low. Also avoid feeding soft moist foods because they cause severe post-meal increases in blood glucose.
Weight management
| About Ben Character | |
|
Dr. Character is a freelance writer and private veterinary practitioner
concentrating on sporting dog issues. He has practiced large and small animal medicine and surgery since graduating from Auburn University. Recently, he went on to complete post-doctoral studies at Mississippi State University. Dr. Character is a certified PennHIP member and writes for magazines such as Retriever Journal and Pointing Dog Journal. He is an avid outdoorsman who resides in Union, Alabama, south of Tuscaloosa, with his wife and two children. |
If your diabetic dog is already on the heavy side, gradual weight loss will improve insulin sensitivity. But it is wise to perform weight lose slowly. Increasing fiber in the diet will help your dog "feel" full while not supplying too many calories, and it may also improve glycemic control.
Under-conditioning can also be problematic for diabetic dogs. Promote gradual weight by slowly increasing caloric intake through feeding of highly palatable diets. When choosing a diet, keep fat levels low to minimize ketone production. By using a higher carbohydrate diet to supply energy instead, you should be able to help them gain back to acceptable body condition with minimal side effects.
Follow up
The diabetic dog will require frequent monitoring of his condition. Owners should watch for: resumption in increased urination or drinking, and appetite changes. If these remain normal then regulation is usually adequate, but you should still follow your veterinarian's recommended schedule for rechecks.
Check-ups called "glucose curves" are the best way to track blood sugar response to insulin dosing thus giving indication as to how well the patient is regulated, but sometimes it is not possible to do this. In these cases, urine glucose levels can be monitors using simple strips that use color changes to indicate current levels of glucose and watch for ketones production.
