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Originally Posted by subro  I am getting ready to change his food and any suggestions welcome. Now he eats kibble (Wellness Small Breed) and some delipet which has a small amount of white rice, so has to go. I have gotten rid of all of his treats (to his Maltese brother's delite) and giving him small bites of boiled chicken instead. I haven't really found a good site for nutrition for diabetic pups, so going by the guidelines for people. He thinks he's a person anyway. LOL!
I do have Karo and hoping I don't have to use it! Max weights 7.5 lbs, so hopefully his size will help and his levels will stabilize. Right now, he's getting 3 units of vetsulin am and pm. The vet just upped this b/c the 1.5-2 was not bringing his glucose down enough (only got to 199 from 607 am reading). Do you check Callie and the Bichons (sounds like a band - ha) with the pet strips? I was thinking about doing that. |
Their food is always a challenge!
I didn't realize (because I didn't ask!! - duh!) that Max was on Vetsulin. That may be one reason he dislikes his shots. The needle used for that insulin in larger than then needles used for NPH (Novolin or Humulin) insulin! All my guys are on Relion Novolin N insulin that I buy at WalMart. I pay 23.00 a bottle. I use the bottle for 2 months, or until I see their numbers begin to get funny for no reason. I buy the NPH syringes at WalMart too and get a box of 100 for about 13.00. The syringes for the NPH and the Vetsulin are different sizes and measurements and can not be interchanged. I understand that the Vetsulin is more expensive. I have a friend at work who had her dog started on vetsulin, but switched him over to the NPH. I feel that the NPH is a more stable insulin. Vetsulin was taken off the market for a while, and only recently came back. You might want to do some research on the differences. I will look at my research at home and see what I have to give you! I do remember that the NPH has one love point during the 12 period and that vestulin has two lows.
Which insulin you decide on will have bearing on what you feed Max. If you stay with vetsulin, I would want to keep him on something with grain in it, but if you decide on the NPH, I would go with a grain free. The grain will keep those two lows from making him too low!
You just have to experiment to see what works best! Right now I am feeding Callie (per each AM and PM) Back to Basics kibble (it is grain free) Turkey and Merrick Grammy's Chicken Pot Pie Small Breed Canned, 1/3 cup each. In addition she gets 1/3 cup canned plain pumpkin and 1/3 low fat cup cottage cheese. My Bichons (liked your band comment!) get the same in varying amounts, except for the Merrick Canned. Callie came to me eating that and she LOVES it! So, I special order it for her! Spoiled??
! I could probably get away with subing the canned with the same amount of kibble, but just give her what she likes!
I blood test them before each meal/shot (AM and PM) with a human meter (yes, they do make animal only meters!). I use a Relion Prime meter from, you guessed it, WalMart! I started testing 8 years ago when Leo was first DX. I might be just a bit anal about it
, but just have to know what their numbers are! I did find that Callie's amount of insulin did need to be lowered from what she was getting before she came to me.
As for treats, my guys get veggies! They love peppers, especially red and yellow ones. They also like celery and lettuce! Callie learned very quickly to eat these as treats as that is what the Bichons eat!
Oh my, I have written a book! Sorry!
Hope this helps! Please ask any questions you like!