Homemade Dog Food Questions

[MyNaj-a-Poo]

Re: Welcome to Naj, MyNaj-a-Poo!

Naj is doing better his infection is almost completely gone.

I received the email regarding the FDA and Vetsulin so I contacted his Vet to discuss it on Novemeber 3rd. She said she wasn't even aware of the issue. Was surprised I obtained the info so quickly.

In any case she has requested me to do a BG curve for Naj and he has to go in on Tuesday for a checkup. She's said she may have to change his insulin to another brand. I hope it's more economically priced.

Here's his number and to me based on this curve I think his insulin dose is too low.

8am - 216
9am - 340
9:10 am ---- FOOD BREAKFAST
9:30 am -- vetsulin 4 units
10am -- HIGH (the monitor read HI)
11 am - 582
12pm - 479
1 pm - 389
3 pm - 238
4 pm - 265
5 pm - 350
6 pm - 456
7 pm - 397
8 pm - 447
8:10pm ---- FOOD DINNER
8:30 pm -- vetsulin 4 units

This is what the actual curve looks like. What do you guys think. Not enough insulin????



Oh I forget to mention Naj ketones has been normal since Oct 30th no signs of trace or anything but his BG number has been around the same range above. I only test him in the morning, then 5-6 hours after and again before he eats. That way I can take the log with me to the vet. So we can get him on the correct dose.

[eyelostit]

Re: Welcome to Naj, MyNaj-a-Poo!

Hi Yolanda,

That is running high, I would try 4 1/2 units with morning meal being those highs are running after AM meal, I think its safe to try 4 1/2 with each meal, but I'd like to see some bg results with just the 4 1/2 units with the AM feeding. I'd like to see the bg get out of those 400's and 500's readings. You can see the peak action is starting around 2:00 pm

Can you tell me what food you are giving and how much given and what meter are you using, any leaking of urine? Any treats? if so what time are the treats given?

Oh you mentioned about the diabetes and being prone to infections, some dogs do, I've been fortunate with Niki we haven't had many infections all I can think of is we had a bladder infection awhile back and the antibiotics cleared that up and oh after her dx she did get an ear infection that was from yeast because of the high bg, so keep an eye on the ears for awhile until the bg goes down some, see if any wax build up in there or if anything looks brown, my vet never told me to watch out for this so when this happened I had to pay to have her ears flushed and the meds, so just checking the ears will save you down the road.
See what the vet has to say Tuesday, sorry for all the questions but need to ask.

Take care
Dolly

[k9diabetes]

Re: Welcome to Naj, MyNaj-a-Poo!

It does look like he could use a tad more insulin... he could be better regulated though if we could find a way to flatten that curve. Is it possible for you to give him a snack about 1:00 p.m.?

The snack would bring up that low point at 3:00 pm, allowing you to give a little more insulin during the day - you wouldn't want to give as much insulin at night since he wouldn't get the snack - to bring all of the daytime numbers down and flatter. I do wonder if he could be going too low at night, causing some rebound and generating that really high spike in the morning.

Given the big peaks and valleys in her curve, I personally would try him on NPH since there's the problem with FDA issue anyway. It's possible he would get a much flatter profile for the curve with NPH. In which case his regulation could be a lot better.

Natalie

[peggy0]

Re: Welcome to Naj, MyNaj-a-Poo!

Just an fyi, Forbins BG had this variance between lows and high on blue organic. I switched him to the blue weight control and added newman organic canned for the oatmeal really and it brought those two numbers much closer together. I'd fix the insulin first, but just a thought on the food.

[MyNaj-a-Poo]

Re: Welcome to Naj, MyNaj-a-Poo!

Thanks guys for all the good feedback.

Hi Yolanda,

[FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=navy][B]
Can you tell me what food you are giving and how much given and what meter are you using, any leaking of urine? Any treats? if so what time are the treats given?

[B][FONT=Comic Sans MS][COLOR=#000080]so keep an eye on the ears for awhile until the bg goes down some, see if any wax build up in there or if anything looks brown, my vet never told me to watch out for this so when this happened I had to pay to have her ears flushed and the meds, so just checking the ears will save you down the road

I was feeding Naj blue organic but he got to a point where he did not want to eat it anymore. But before Naj was diagnosed with diabetes eat would only eat bil-jac or eukanuba.. So since he stopped eating blue organic we started him on bil-jac light and he's been eating no problem. The bag states to give him a 1.5 cups for his weight but we give him 1/2 cup bil-jac and 1/2 cup boiled chicken and green beans mixed.

Sometimes we give green beans as snacks as though he likes them and it's been hard to locate healthy treats for him in the stores.

I will keep a eye on the infections.

His doctor appointment is tomorrow. I will talk to them about switching his meds and possibly increasing his AM dose.

he could be better regulated though if we could find a way to flatten that curve. Is it possible for you to give him a snack about 1:00 p.m.?

I could give him a snack around 1pm do you think it should be the green beans or a regular doggy snack?

[k9diabetes]

Re: Welcome to Naj, MyNaj-a-Poo!

The snack could be some of his normal diet - the biljack. Not the green beans - in this case you need something with some calories that will bring his blood sugar up. The goal could be to cut off that steep drop in the afternoon.

If it works, it would mean that all of his blood sugar is higher but it also would mean you could increase the insulin and bring all the now flatter numbers down.

Natalie

[MyNaj-a-Poo]

Homemade Dog Food Questions

I joined this forum in 2009 and was able to regulate my dog sugar with the help of people of people here experiencing the same thing.

It's 4 years later and our dog glucose is out of control again and the dog foods are no longer helping. All dog foods give a huge spike even after increasing insulin and if we increase to much give a huge drop. Since we have not been able to control his insulin he now has glaucoma and takes drops in both eyes in am/pm.

Lately, we've been feeding homemade dog food for about a month now and it seems to be working. He went from 9 units to 5 units NPH.

We're feeding chicken breast, green beans and brown rice.

But I wanted to know which foods will cause a slow release of insulin and keep our dog full longer. I know I need to add more fiber to his diet. I know he needs some fatty foods in his diet but not sure what kind. I wanted to add liver or whole oats. What is good for fiber??

Please provide any information you have. Thanks in advance.

[Abby's Mom]

Re: Homemade Dog Food Questions

Green Beans, provide some fiber, and the brown rice is a complex carb that will give some slower digestion for the insulin.

Just curious have you formulated the diet based upon calories, and how much of each do you give.

Are you providing a supplement, as I would not suspect that the Calcium to Phosphor ratios would be complete with 3 items in the diet, unless a supplement is been used.

Although, I am not expert, as in the beginning I provided a Raw diet, and had good numbers, but after a while realized I probably knew enough to be dangerious. My fear was that even though my Abby had great numbers, long term I wasn't sure if she was getting all the nutrients.

Since then I have went back to commercial dog food, but selected Honest Kitchen, Zeal, and I add the carbs in to regulate the insulin, as well as some other items.

I would highly recommend joining a forum for canine nutrition, as they can provide you some tips on getting a well balanced meal, or perhaps Balance_IT's website can provide some supplements or menus that can provide some homemade meals, as well. I have the book from Lew Olson, Raw and Natural Nutrition, and she provides some menus for diabetic dogs.

[MyNaj-a-Poo]

Re: Homemade Dog Food Questions

Green Beans, provide some fiber, and the brown rice is a complex carb that will give some slower digestion for the insulin.

Just curious have you formulated the diet based upon calories, and how much of each do you give.

Are you providing a supplement, as I would not suspect that the Calcium to Phosphor ratios would be complete with 3 items in the diet, unless a supplement is been used.

Although, I am not expert, as in the beginning I provided a Raw diet, and had good numbers, but after a while realized I probably knew enough to be dangerious. My fear was that even though my Abby had great numbers, long term I wasn't sure if she was getting all the nutrients.

Since then I have went back to commercial dog food, but selected Honest Kitchen, Zeal, and I add the carbs in to regulate the insulin, as well as some other items.

I would highly recommend joining a forum for canine nutrition, as they can provide you some tips on getting a well balanced meal, or perhaps Balance_IT's website can provide some supplements or menus that can provide some homemade meals, as well. I have the book from Lew Olson, Raw and Natural Nutrition, and she provides some menus for diabetic dogs.

I do give him a 1 a day senior vitamin. I give half in the am and half in the pm. As though I learned when he takes the entire vitamin at once his numbers are extremely high. But breaking it down into two the numbers are much more ideal. Anywhere from 90-199 throughout the day.

No I have not formulated base on calories. I prepare a bulk amount of food that last two weeks. I make 5 lbs of chicken, 4 lbs of green beans and half bag of brown rice. I cook the chicken until very tender, the green beans leave frozen and cook the rice until soft but not too soft. I give him 1/2 cup in the am and pm. He doesn't appear to be hungry. But dogs doesn't talk and he's not showing any signs of hunger. But I just want to make sure he is getting enough nutrients and the amount I am feeding him is filling him up. His numbers are good.

Could you recommend a good canine nutrition forum for dogs with diabetes?

[Abby's Mom]

Re: Homemade Dog Food Questions

As you are probably aware, we do alot of weighing, of individual food. I even measure the 1 oz of millet I give, even thought it comes out to a tablespoon, but sometimes it can be different when you weight it.

I use to make a 'meatloaf', as Patty called it one time.. and realized I needed to be more precise... but if you are getting good numbers, then I would not recommend changing it.

I am a member of K9 Kitchen, and Monica Segal will formulate a diet for you for a fee of course, but if you have a specific question, such as which foods have more fiber?... they will answer those types of questions. They will also provide some guidance to be sure that you are covering some of the nutrients, and she also has a book on nutrition.

In all of my research, I have never found a forum that combines both diabetes and diet, but as I mentioned earlier, the book by Lew Olson does have some recipes in it, that have some diabetic or low glycemic diets that she recommends as well.

Good luck. Let us know how you progress.

[Patty]

Re: Homemade Dog Food Questions

I recently posted on another member's thread about some good links for homemade diets. You might read through it here http://www.k9diabetes.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4088

I do think the K9 Kitchen site Barb mentioned would be helpful for helping to balance the nutrients.