Canine diabetesCanine Diabetes Dogs get many diseases or conditions that are the same or similar to diseases caught or developed by their owners. Some of these maladies are genetic; others are acquired through infections or parasites or as a result of other abnormalities, diseases, injuries, or old age. One of those diseases is Canine Diabetes.
There are two Diabetes canine diseases: Diabetes Mellitus, similar to the human disease, and Diabetes Insipidus. Both are endocrine diseases - that is, they result from defects in the body system that produces hormones. Diabetes Mellitus is characterized by a deficiency of insulin, the hormone that plays a critical role in sugar metabolism and is the most common of the two types. Diabetes Insipidus is caused by a lack of vasopressin, the antidiuretic hormone that controls water resorption by the kidneys. Canine Diabetes Mellitus can be further divided into two categories: a congenital type that is similar to juvenile-onset (Type I) diabetes in humans; and an acquired type that is similar to adult-onset (Type II) diabetes in humans. Most canine Diabetes Mellitus is insulin-dependent. Keep
in mind that any animal that is being treated with insulin for Diabetes Mellitus
should have a restricted lifestyle. That means the patients should get about
the same amount of exercise every day, eat about the same amount of feed and
at about the same time each day, and then the insulin dose can be regulated
consistently every day. If you change any one of the three variables (exercise,
caloric intake, or insulin dose) it has an effect on the other two variables.
Consistency in the patient's lifestyle will greatly assist proper dosing of
insulin and result in a happier, healthier dog. Insulin
is the key
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