Our diabetic journey begins…

Those two sentences hit hard. We were concerned about Parker, our 11 1/2-year old Border Terrier who was recovering from a knee operation and recently lost interest in his food, treats and toys and was drinking large amounts of water. Here was our 10kg/23lb dog lapping up over a litre of water a day. 

Earlier that day we had brought him to our vet who ran tests right away as they were closing for the weekend. They called us later that Friday evening. 

There was more bad news.

He had elevated ketones in his urine, which could indicate that he had something called diabetic ketoacidosis. We had never heard of ketones or ketoacidosis, so we were trying to understand this new terminology while also absorbing the news of diabetes. It was an overwhelming amount of information to take in. 

We brought Parker to an after-hours emergency clinic; he needed urgent care. They gave him an IV drip to ensure he had lots of fluids and treated him with insulin and electrolytes for several days. He didn’t have diabetic ketoacidosis, but mild ketoacidosis, which is still concerning.

While Parker was at the clinic, we started researching canine diabetes. There was a lot of info online, but so much of it was super technical or medical, explaining what diabetes is and how it’s treated. You needed a science degree to understand some of it. 

There simply wasn’t a lot of everyday advice on living with a diabetic dog.

The testing. The shots. The food. The treats. The restrictions. The costs. Oh, the costs. So we weren’t well prepared for what came next.

The night we picked up Parker from the clinic, we could tell that he had lost a bit of weight and was not his usual self. In the small examination room, the vet tech encouraged us to sit on the floor with her while she showed us how to do a blood glucose test on Parker’s ear. We both fumbled through it, hating the idea of pricking his little ear with a lancet. It was something neither of us had ever done and by the end of the abbreviated lesson we didn’t feel any more confident about it. We could tell he wasn’t liking the experience either.

She also showed us how to give insulin injections using a practice saline solution. There were a lot of details and so many important steps to remember. Don’t shake the bottle. Don’t forget to clean the top with an antiseptic wipe. Measure the dose then put the needle in the bottle. Check for air bubbles. Pinch the skin to form a tent. Don’t inject in the scruff. Don’t inject more insulin if you miss. Don’t veer from the schedule.

It was at that moment I realized how profoundly our lives would change. Our little guy required testing, feeding and injecting on a 12-hour regimen. Sure, we could move things an hour forward or back, but our relatively free-spirited lives had suddenly become more complex and more rigid. 

My partner and I drove back home with Parker on that cold January night in silence, processing what we had learned. The next morning would be the first test of our newfound learning. We found resources that made testing his blood glucose much easier and wondered why they didn’t show us these more modern tools at the clinic, particularly as they sold some of them.

Over the next few weeks, we struggled to get Parker to eat.

Parker was always a finicky eater, but the early days after the ketoacidosis were next level. Our vets suggested we try anything to get him to eat, but it had to be within the one-hour window, 12 hours after his last shot. We tried several different types of dry food; several wet foods; canned tripe with such a powerful smell that opening the can will test your gag reflexes; freshly cooked beef, turkey, tilapia, chicken, rice, and barley; and toppers like pumpkin and squash. 

Parker would have none of it. He would eat certain treats, but he wasn’t getting the nutrition he needed. After a fruitless hour of effort our kitchen would look like we had catered a dinner for 50 people with different dietary needs. This happened every day for a couple of weeks.

Then he got pancreatitis. Twice.

He had horrific diarrhea and ended up back at the urgent care clinic. He dropped about 20% body weight and our vet wasn’t sure if he would make it. You could feel every bone when you pet him. Poor guy; we felt so bad for him and had tried so many different options. 

We did a lot more research. We discovered that his dog food was too high in carbs, so we set out to find a kibble that was low fat, low carb and not chicken as he never digested it well. It wasn’t easy as almost all pet foods don’t provide the carbs and list minimum fat on their nutritional information. We needed a max of 10% fat. We found a new option and, with the combination of appetite-inducing meds, he started eating properly again. It was a revelation. 

Several weeks later we brought him back to our vet who was ecstatic about his weight gain. We realized we were on the right track. After a rocky start on our diabetic pet journey, we finally had something to celebrate. 

It gets better.

There have been other ups and downs since the initial diagnosis back in January 2023, though nothing as tough as those first two months. Parker is at a healthy weight and just celebrated his 14th birthday. 

We’ve experienced, grown and learned so much since then that we were inspired to share our journey and resources with other diabetic dog families. We want to be that non-medical support that we wish we had.

Having a diabetic dog can be challenging. And costly. But our little ones are worth it.