Adopting a dog is a huge responsibility. You have to assume that your dog could live for many years, and you should understand how to care for your pet during different life stages. For example, older dogs are susceptible to different types of illnesses such as canine diabetes, than younger dogs and puppies. Overweight dogs and female dogs are even more likely to develop dog diabetes as they age. If your dog develops this illness, you need to understand the treatment process in order to properly care for it.
Instructions
Contact your veterinarian immediately if you believe your older dog may have developed canine diabetes. Early signs include an increase in thirst, urination and appetite accompanied by weight loss. Your dog may also have accidents in the house. As the illness progresses, your dog may develop bad breath, vomiting, cataracts and even blindness. Diabetes can be life-threatening in older dogs, so the earlier your dog is diagnosed, the better.
Feed your dog a special diet to help treat the canine diabetes. This diet should be a high-fiber, complex carbohydrate dog food that's formulated for weight loss and that is digested more slowly by your dog. Your veterinarian can recommend a specific type of food for your dog.
Feed your dog smaller, more frequent meals. Instead of leaving food out all the time or feeding your dog one or two large meals a day, feed her several smaller meals throughout the day. This will help her digest her food more slowly and aid in weight loss, which will help treat her diabetes.
Exercise your dog. Exercise will help your dog continue to lose weight, which again, help treat her canine diabetes. Because your dog is older, be sure to increase the amount of exercise she receives slowly. You don't want to overexert her or injure your older dog by increasing her daily exercise too quickly. For example, if your dog is used to one short walk a day, increase that to two short walks a day. Once she seems to be walking at a normal pace on both walks, you can increase the lengths of the walks or add a third walk to her daily schedule.
Talk with your veterinarian about insulin treatment. Your older dog will most likely need oral diabetic medication or insulin injections to treat her canine diabetes. You will be responsible for administering her medication and taking her to the vet frequently to monitor the impact of these injections. Go over the process carefully with your veterinarian, and make sure you're completely comfortable administering the treatment before attempting it unsupervised.