Last week I received an email from one of our clients asking for me to explain what a normal glucose curve looks like. Ha! There are lots of factors that affect a pet's blood glucose curve. There are pets that have great curves from the start and those (who like a baby who won't sleep through the night) make pet owners want to pull out their hair.
I get some great questions from clients. They inspire me with article ideas and keep me in tune with diabetic pet owners. I enjoy interacting with our readers, and sometimes the questions are worthy of a newsletter. I bet if one person has this question and takes the time to write me, there are likely lots of folks with a similar question.
2018 marks my 25th year as a veterinarian. In that time I've seen lots of heartworm and flea products come onto the market. They all have their pros and cons. I know you likely read this newsletter because your pet has diabetes, but there is a good chance that your pet needs flea or heartworm prevention meds as well!
Sometimes it’s good to go back to basic diabetes topics. Many of our readers are very educated in diabetic pet care, but I need to remind myself that we get new readers all the time. One of the greater concerns of treating diabetes, as we aim to achieve the proper insulin dosage, is hypoglycemia. If […]
When veterinarians diagnose diabetes the tests we suggest may seem confusing to pet owners. I assure you they are not. Let's discuss some commonly recommended tests for diabetic pets and how often and when we may run them! Let’s start with discussing tests for the pancreas, the organ that makes insulin. Then, we will discuss blood glucose tests and chemistry profiles. And finally, we will discuss various urine tests.
My regular readers know that I place high value on dental care for pets, particularly diabetic pets. Any infection (including infection in a pet's mouth) can cause insulin resistance. In general, oral disease can cause systemic health issues, bad breath (which can affect your relationship with the pet) and something clients don't necessarily consider: pain.
For many years I wrote a long list of things I would do to better myself in the coming year. I was ridiculous. Then I went through a phase when I skipped 'New Years' resolutions altogether.
Oh, how I enjoy New Years! It’s a fresh beginning. We can think, “Oh thank Heaven that 2012 is over!” or “Maybe I meant to ______ last year, but it’s a brand new year. […]
My dog has a habit of hiding bones around the house and having a bone dinner whenever she feels like it. Then she is finicky over her dinner. I usually half dose her when I am suspicious of this. Do bones (milk bones specifically) work like food? If I know she's secretly eaten many hidden bones due to a "crumbs mess'" she has left behind, can I give a full dose of insulin?
Questions from the diabetic pet owner are the fuel I use to keep myself educated on all things related to pet diabetes. I’ve had some incredible questions asked of me over the years, and quite a few that have made me do some research so I could understand it and then make it easy to understand for all of the diabetic pet owners that I encounter.