A. Brain wrote:
My little one, a ten year old "Schnoodle", has
seemingly developed a diabetes-like condition,
with frequent urination, desire for water, etc.

It happened suddenly, with a day and a half
of accidents in the house--unheard of with this
wonderful little dog.

He also had a high temp, and after a shot
of antibiotic, that returned to normal,
less than 24 hours later

His blood sugar and urine sugar show that
there is a problem, but I am hoping to
lick this with diet.

The question is what diet. My vet prescribed
a Purina "DCO" dual fiber control dry food. I think
maybe he should be on high fiber, low carb,
as that diet is now recommended for many
humans with diabetes. (Plus he does not
like the Purina, even when I add chicken
broth). The vet also suggested that the dog
needs to avoid fats--I think sugars are the enemy.

He is not overweight; if anything, he is underweight.

Any thoughts? I'd hate to have to put him
on daily insulin.


This is another disease frequently caused by kibble and cured by
returning him to the diet made for carnivores, raw meat. He does not
need to avoid fats. It's totally not relevant to the diabetes. Indeed,
good fats are needed by the dog, the best one being fish oil and don't
cut the fat off the meat.

Low carb is the answer, not fats or fiber.

"The reason for his success is quite simple. Cats and dogs are obligate
carnivores. They have no nutritional requirement for grains. Unlike
humans, they derive their energy from proteins and fats. Commercial pet
foods have a high grain content because it is used as an inexpensive
filler. Dog and cat pancreas' eventually "wear out" trying to metabolize
grains that these animals were never meant to eat in the first place.
Give them a biologically appropriate diet of the food they would eat if
in the wild and their pancreas' can go back to working at a normal
level, thereby resolving the diabetes."
http://vetmedicine.about.com/od/nutr...P_barfdiet.htm

People who have switched their dogs to a raw diet from commercial dog
foods have found the following:

* dogs who were previously un-energetic, and sluggish become
completely new dogs once the raw diet feeding begins
* allergies their dogs previously had on commercial foods,
disappear once they start with the raw diet
* arthritis has significantly reduced or disappeared in some dogs
switched to raw
* better weight control
* no more doggy odour!
* their dogs are living longer on a raw diet than what their other
dogs previously had survived on commercial dog foods
* that their bitches managed their pregnancies better
* better weight and survival figures in puppies


Why is commercial dog food not good for my dog?
There are a range of problems with commercial dog foods. I will provide
some links below, but in summary:


1. a dog's food should never be cooked. It should be fed in a raw
natural state like nature intended. Cooking a dog's food ruins most of
the nutritional value.
2. dogs should have access to raw meaty bones. These clean their
teeth, work and develop their neck and jaw muscles, and the chewing
action prepares their stomach for the incoming food mass. Chewing bones
also slows down the eating process considerably, making it far harder
for a dog to over eat.
3. dog foods have as their main ingredient cereals - the main
ingredient your dog should be eating is raw meaty bones. And it is these
very cereals that cause a range of problems such as allergies.
4. commercial dog foods are laden with preservatives, colors (dyes),
and salt. They have additives to make the food taste better so that the
dogs will overeat.
5. the vast majority of commercial dog foods have far too much
carbohydrates in them. High levels of carbohydrates are linked to
over-eating, diabetes, weight gain, and numerous other problems. Dogs
should eat a diet with only a small amount of carbs.
6. there is no substitute for a raw diet.

and most scarey of all:

7. your vet is most probably recommending a commercial diet because
of financial inducements and a lack of independent learning.
http://www.rawlearning.com/rawfaq.html