Diabetes Mellitus In Dogs

Dogs can be diagnosed with either Type 1 or Type 2 diabetes mellitus. The majority of dogs diagnosed with diabetes mellitus have Type 1, and that would indicate that either no insulin is being produced, or not enough. In the majority of these cases, it is caused by damage to the cells in the pancreas, that are responsible for producing insulin. This damage may be due to genetic factors, infectious viral diseases, hyperadrenocorticism, and pancreatitis. The damage is permanent, and your dog will be unable to produce insulin on his own. A healthy diet can help a dog with diabetes, but it is not a substitute for insulin injections.

You can find ads on the Internet, asking you to buy expensive herbal cures for dogs that have diabetes. They are misleading, because if the cells responsible for producing insulin are damaged, there is no way for your dog to produce enough insulin. In the case of diabetes mellitus type 1, relying on these herbal diabetes cures solely, can be very dangerous for your dog. It seems reasonable to assume a healthy diet and exercise can make your dog less likely to get diabetes. However, once a dog has diabetes mellitus type 1, they will need insulin to keep them healthy. Tonight I wrote to a few of the webmasters selling cures for dog diabetes. I posed as a regular dog owner that was interested in their product, and asked if I could go ahead and stop giving the insulin shots to my dog. There may be a follow up post on this, we will see what they say when they email back.

Some common signs of diabetes mellitus to look out for are frequent urination, excessive hunger, tiredness, excessive thirst, and weight loss.

Note: Diabetes Mellitus Type 2 is rarely seen in dogs or cats. It is when the dog can produce insulin, but the body is unable to utilize it. This is called insulin resistance.