i need knowledge-if you have please tell me. teddy just turned 10. 2 weeks ago all was good with teddy. now teddybear is doing the following; 1-drinking 8 cups of water a day 2-sleeping most of the time 3-eating 1/3 of what he always eats-he usually eats out of house and home 4-very inactive-- 5-7 out of 10 times--hes going in the house-peeing-- 6-its like hes telling me--daddy im sick-do something--- 7-took him yesterday for a full-no holes bared-blood testing--- 8-wont know results til Friday--1/20/17 9-vet says he thinks teddy has diabetes-- 10--do any of you know whats going on here--- 11 if so--please contact me--joe t [Joe - I have removed your phone number and email for your privacy - members can reply on this thread or Private Message you via your Inbox - Jac]
Hi Joe and welcome to the forum Teddy's symptoms certainly sound like diabetes. You were right to take him to the vet to get checked. Diabetes in dogs is managed very much the same as in humans. Sometimes needing insulin shots. Treatment of diabetes can make both animals and humans feel so much better. Where about are you based? What country? Jac
Just want to say good luck with Teddy's results today. I hope the vet can come up with a treatment plan for him that will make him & you happy again.
Good luck! If it isn't diabetes, not to scare you, but my dog had these same symptoms and it turned out to be Hemangiosarcoma. She didn't have the typical symptoms, she had symptoms like yours, minus weeing in the house. It does not appear on blood tests, her tests all came out fine. Afterwards I found out that she needed an ultrasound to detect masses inside her abdomen that are not present just to the naked eye. So just wanted to pass this along in case it isn't diabetes, and you may be able to catch it early with an operation and proper treatment, unlike I was able to do for our girl.
I hope you get good answers and that Teddy starts to feel better soon. If it's any help at all, I had a foster dog once who had diabetes. It was very easy to manage (2 sub-Q shots per day), she had lots of energy and acted like a completely healthy dog otherwise, and she ended living to about 15 which was a good long age for her size.
Or could be an issue with the kidneys. The blood panel will show. Is he on any medication? Some medication can give symptoms like these, like steroids.
TeddyBear has diabetes.he must have 2 shots per day after eating in am and pm.vet also wants me to put him on hills percrip-WD---which i know thru dog food adviser isnt really good. teddys been on blue buffalo for 10 years now. some people said there are foods, that gear to this condition and rated 4-5 stars---- Teddy now has a wallgreens card,and the discount that goes with that. a 1month supply of the insulin and needles cost me $47. i pick it up sat and will give him his 1st shot sat night 7pm.
At least you know what it is, and a treatment plan. You can move forward from this. I hope the insulin will give him speedy relief. Well done for taking him to the vets so fast.
that's great that you have a diagnosis & a plan. Did you ask your vet why he/she wants you to feed Hills Prescription? Good luck to Teddy with his new treatment x
Good luck with Teddybear. Diabetes is a pain, but it is something you can deal with. Our first Lab, Ginger, became diabetic at 12 yrs. She lived to 16 and was very active up until about 15. While many diabetic dogs develop cataracts very quickly (sometimes over night), she never did, and could always see ok. Possibly because we caught it early and kept her pretty well regulated. We did regular blood sugar tests, until we got her regulated, and then did them periodically, or any time she seemed slightly out of sorts. Dog's recommended blood sugar levels are the same as humans, around 100 (mg/l??). You can use the same blood sugar tests that human diabetics use. We used an automatic lancet on the inside of the lip. There aren't a lot of nerve endings there, and Ginger did not mind at all. Most dogs do not like being stuck in the ear, and there aren't very many other places they have bare skin. We made small adjustments to Gingers insulin dosage or food based on the blood sticks. We also always carried some honey or sugar gel and biscuits with us if she was going on a hike or swimming. Not all vets will encourage you to do blood sticks, but ours was fine with it, and it certainly worked out well. Ginger probably did not go to the vet anymore often than a normal healthy dog, once she was regulated. She had surgery for Laryngeal Paralysis when she was 14 and recovered fine. In the old days they used to check the urine for sugar, but that is really bad information. If there is sugar in the urine the blood sugar is too high, but if there is none, you don't know if it is correct or too low. We found that Blood sugar levels between 80 and 120 were a good area to shoot for. As you have probably heard very low blood sugar (from too much insulin/exercise or too little food) is very dangerous, although we occasionally saw readings that were very low we always had honey or sugar to deal with it. Dogs are easier to regulate than people because they eat mostly the same thing, and you have control over the amount. Insulin shots and food have to be given on a pretty set schedule, Typically 2x per day at about 12 hr intervals. When my son was playing football, we took Ginger to the games and I would go out at half time and give her her food and shot so we could keep her on schedule. She went with us pretty much everywhere if we were going to be gone more than a few hours. You need to be sure the dog eats when they get a shot. Most folks feed and then give the shot just to be sure. (Especially if you have a picky eater who may not eat.) We were lucky enough to find a kennel to board her that would give her shots with no extra charge. FWIW, we did not put Ginger on a special food, but always used the same thing. IIRC it was Eukanuba either Labrador or Large Breed Formula.
Good to have the information. It will feel like a steep learning curve. And pretty scary. But I'm sure you will manage it. Good luck. Don't worry.
all you guys and girls are great and know a ton more than i do-- teddybear is not eating,maybe 1/4 of usual--- isn't one of the symptoms of this is the dog eats like crazy--thats what i read- since i came back from vet ar 12 noon---he ate some carrot-cooked--1 piece of chicken breast--thats it----even his water has decreased ---im really scared---i dont know what to do- then i just found out dogs with this get cadericks of the eyes-i know i spelled that wrong and i read i should give him- Ocu-GLO RX- it mite help this--- Also-the doctor said he thinks there might be a problem with the thyroid and did a super blood test on it --ill know i guess tomorrow and he said if so teddy can take pills for that- doctor wants me to put him on hills perscrip =WD- in dog food advisor---hills rates lowest----and it was just found out that hills royal cannin-etc-prescription diets---have mo medical value at all-it was on the news last week--its a farse at a very high cost and more than likely is no good for a dog-- TeddyBear is like the son me and Joan do not have.if i could give up some of my life for him so he would be here for alot of time-i would with out question. and all this happened out of no where 2.5 weeks ago.
Just out of curiosity, how big is Teddybear, and how much insulin is he on? Usually the appetite comes back with the regulation. Did you talk to the vet about doing blood sticks? He we will need to be in to the vets quite a bit until they figure out what dose of insulin to give him. Diabetes in dogs usually seems to come on suddenly with no apparent cause.
Teddybearr is a big yellow 120 lbs- doctor wants to start him on i think its called 10 mil 2 times per day--on the needle it has as you draw in--5 then 10---he said bring it to the 10 mark-- i think im gonna get a print out of the blood work--i want to take it to teddys old vet and---- alls i know his sick and theres no medicine in him---
I can tell you are very worried about your dog, and that is completely understandable. But it sounds like your vet is on top of this, and I'm sure once you get a handle on what to do you will feel better about it all. I would stay away from "Dr. Google" if I were you, generally all that will do will expose you to all sorts of alarming information that probably isn't helpful at the moment. Of course if you feel your dog isn't improving or you are concerned about his prescribed course of treatment it's ok to get a second opinion from another vet. Hang in there! And don't be afraid to come here and ask questions. As you have seen others have managed diabetes in their dogs so I'm sure they will be a great support to you.
Hi there, What a worry for you both.You are on course now to get him sorted out,Medications might need adjusting ,further tests may be needed too.A second opinion is a good idea if instinctively you feel there is something else....there are many great vets out there but an owners own 'gut' feeling is very valuable x
With the food - you could try and small bag and see how he goes. The best food for a dog is the food they do well on not what a computer says. Our old dog had kidney problems and when she started medication they also got me to start her on the hills kidney food. Then for some reason she switched to the royal canin kidney food which she did a lot better on until they stopped making it. So she ended up on the regular old dog food I could find with the lowest protein percentage as that was the main thing to look for and she was on that for years before the kidney disease made her bones weak when she was 17 (and on xray there was also a huge mass inside that old dogs can get on their spleen). But our puppy has gone better on the Hill large breed puppy food than the royal canin large breed puppy food so its a matter of finding out what to look for in a food and seeing how you go with a small bag.
