Newly Diagnosed Dog - Need Help

[DerbyMom]

Good morning,

I am the owner of a newly diagnosed Shih Tzu mix (older - rescue dog).

It has been a week since he returned from the vet hospital. During this week, he has developed bad diarrhea from the Royal Canine Glycobalance dry/wet food -- evidently he was on just wet at the hospital and I added dry when he can home (I know it is the food because my other dog ate some and now he also has diarrhea). Otherwise, his test results have all been within 100 and 150.

Last night, I went back to his old food (BilJac Small Breed) and I added more chicken to try to get rid of the diarrhea - he ate less than half. His first reading this morning was 85 and I just tried to feed him and he turned his nose on any food with the dry and would eat only chicken. After retesting after the morning chicken, I got a reading of 116. I have an appointment with the vet this afternoon to have him look over Derby and to review my chart.

Questions:

1. What can I do to get him to eat?

2. Is the BilJac OK with more protein added?

1. If I need to switch from Biljac, what do you all recommend that can easily be purchased at Petsmart?

I would appreciate any guidance since I have only a week of experience.

[momtotasha]

Hello. Overall those numbers don't look too bad. I had a dx of diabetes just today in one of my Foster dogs but have had a diabetic dog in the past so thankfully knew just where to come. Tuna packed in water with additional water added to make a tuna flavored liquid has always been my choice to get them to eat. I also do not feed a diabetic based food so it can be done

[amydunn19]

Hi and welcome! Prescription food is not required. You can look at your regular food and check the fat content. Diabetics are at risk for pancreatitis so you want to stay generally lower in fat. I would look for moderate protein and you do want some carbs to work with the insulin. High protein usually comes with high fat(not always) so read your labels carefully. If you look around, just about all of us feed something different either by necessity because of another condition or for convenience. The most important element is that the dog is willing to eat it. If they don't eat, then it is trouble.

Those numbers are very good for recently diagnosed. What type and dosage of insulin is your dog on? How much does he weigh? What type of meter are you testing with? Also, any other info about health issues ?

This is a great community with experience and knowledge - we all came not knowing what to do so ask any questions you may have. It seems like even the most complicated problems have been experienced by someone here. Read through the different sections and you will find some great general info.

[Auddog]

My dog Bazzle has also been on a bit of a food strike recently after a bout of horrible gas and diarrhea . The first day after my boy's diarrhea had stopped, he didn't eat much of anything either. In fact the only thing he would willingly eat was canned chicken in water. I didn't keep him on it for long because of the high salt content, but he seems happy with the pressure cooker chicken I made for him.
I think when dogs get sick, it's pretty common for them to want to fast for a bit to give their stomachs a break. In terms of going back to his old food, I totally agree with Amy. Perscription food is not required, and eating anything is better than not eating at all. With those numbers it seems like you've got thing really under control! Oh, I've often read on here that if they don't eat or if they only eat 1/4 of what they normally do, you can still give them 1/4 the amount of insulin you normally give, or 1/2 amount of insulin if they eat 1/2 of what they normally do, to help keep their sugar under control (not sure if that helps or not).
Anyway, best of luck to you!!
Audrey & Bazzle

[Eddie]

Hello and welcome!

I don't have much to add except to say that we also kept feeding what we were feeding our dog before his diagnosis. He has another digestive problem and we didn't want to upset what worked for that.

It isn't quite what is recommended for diabetics but he has done ok on it for more than 3 years and we have just tweaked his insulin dose to get the best numbers we can with it.

It does all get a lot easier as you go along - though it sounds as if you are already blood testing at home and that is a huge help. And those numbers are really quite nice!
Antonia

[cappi29]

Hi. We too are a newly diagnosed diabetic canine owner... 6 weeks into it. Our Sam is is not regulating. Our biggest challenge is getting him to eat at specific times in order to give his insulin. Sam is 10yrs old and very stubborn.

We have tried deli meat with his dry food - worked for 2 days, mixing wet & dry food - maybe 3 days of success, all wet food - worked for 1 week. We are at our wits end. Our vet is being very patient and helpful but our entire family is frustrated. Most days I just want to cry! I have read several post of the games / tricks and they are not working. I do not want to use treats, as he thinks not eating is a way to get treats.

Our morning schedule is food for Sam between 5:30-6:30am and evenings are the same time period. His newest stunt is just lying down at his bowl.

[Cliff.evener]

This sounds IDENTICAL to how we started with our 10 year old lab.
He stopped eating so we went to wet canned food, then he stopped eating that so we had to cook chicken or ground beef.
The vet gave us prescription for pain killer, appetite pills and heartburn medicine. We constantly had to switch up what we were trying to feed him in order to get him to eat so we can give his shot.
He lost about 15lbs all together. The good news is after about 4 weeks his appetite has been getting substantially better. He will eat pretty much whatever we put in his bowl at meal time now. His blood curves were pretty high when we were giving him regular purina so we switched go the purina vet diets high fiber and it's working great! Now instead of spiking to 400 right after he eats he's pretty stable between 120-275 range.
Don't give up! Just keep switching up the food, try hand feeding, look into the medicine, it will get better!

[chrmyr]

You can always try a hard boiled or raw egg. Also, mix a bit of tuna or salmon (canned only in water, have to get this in the organic section of the grocery store). Anything to help boost his appetite. Just some suggestions.

[Magoo's Mom]

Getting Magoo to eat in the morning is just awful. I have tried everything. I cook bison for him every morning, dry it well on paper towels, and add a little bit to the top of his food. Bison is very lean and vet has ok'd this. I have also tried parmesan cheese, scrambled egg, hand feeding, etc. The only good part is Magoo always comes back about 9:30 (about 2 hours after shot) and eats the rest of his food. You might also try baby food. I have used that in the past also. Never easy but keep trying, it does get better.

[stylynjm]

If you use baby food.make sure it is all natural and DOES NOT have onion powder or onion in it!