Best Food for a Diabetic Dog Buying Guide

We know that humans get diabetes and develop a lot of health problems. The same is the case with your dog, and you may end up feeding him the best food for a diabetic dog. When dogs get diabetes, their pancreas may stop working properly.

You own the dog and you are responsible for his health and diet. So, you must take care of him when your dog develops diabetes. We know that diabetes has a lot to do with the diet that you are feeding. So, it is very important to feed your dog the best diet when he has diabetes.

Lowering the amount of diet is not a good idea because he still needs a proper diet value. Most dogs develop other health issues because of the lack of a good diet. You must control some ingredients of his diet while ensuring that he gets others in a good amount. Here, the best food for a diabetic dog will help you and maintain a balanced diet.

Can we Manage Diabetes with a Diet?

Some people are not sure about the impact diet has on diabetes. So, they question if diet plays a role in diabetes or if the diet helps control diabetes. We will discuss some key tips to help you manage the diabetes of your dog with diet.

• When your dog is dealing with diabetes, you must give him food at a uniform time. If you are feeding him two times i.e. in the morning and evening today, keep the same routine for the next few weeks. Food in uniform time allows your dog’s body to control the level of insulin.
• Never five surprise meals to your dogs when he has diabetes. His body develops routines to digest glucose and maintain a balance. So, surprise meals may disturb this cycle. Keep his meals in a disciplined way.
• Control the number of carbs and fibers that you are feeding your dog.
• Don’t stop the fat intake of your dog unless he has other health issues. Instead, it is better to give him a controlled amount.
• Increase protein in his diet. Don’t overfeed him, but it is always better to feed your dog more protein when he is fighting diabetes.

Types of Food for Diabetic Dog

We saw some tips to monitor the diabetes of your dog and control it with diet. We already learned that diet has a great impact on controlling diabetes in your dog. However, the main question comes to mind is which type of diet should I proceed with? So, we will discuss common types of the best food for diabetic dogs.

Dry Food

We always suggest you feed dry food to your dog because it is available fresh in most cases. However, when your dog has diabetes, we will never advise you to carry dry food. This food has high proportions of low-quality carbs in it.

Dry food will bring a lot of health problems for your diabetic dog. Moreover, it will also increase the thirst of your dog. It lacks moisture and your dog might find it difficult to digest it. So, it is better to avoid this type of food.

Canned Food

Most people rush towards their local stores and look for some sort of diabetic food. Canned food usually comes with better proportions of different items. You have better control to manage the type of ingredient that you want to avoid for your dog. So, people think that canned food will be best to tackle diabetes.

However, we ignore one major point here. Canned foods use some chemicals to preserve the food for longer use. These chemicals might prove bad for your dog’s health when he is already suffering from diabetes. Canned food may also contain lower quality protein. While better from dry food, you should check health effects before trying canned food.

Raw Food

We always think that why dogs in past times never felt all those issues that today’s dogs are suffering. The reason is, they were getting pure food with no extras or chemicals. That food was safe for the body as all the ingredients were of the best quality.

Raw food is always the best food for your dogfighting against diabetes. There are no chemicals, you can control fats and carbs, and protein is of the best quality in raw food. Make sure you get it pure and fresh, and your dog will love this food.

Prescription Food

The last stage for your diabetic dog will be to use prescription food. We are not sure if this food will be good or not. Because they too contain some carbs that can become sugars. However, when your dog has diabetes at an extreme stage, you will need it.

You will visit a local vet with your dog. He will do a proper checkup of your dog. Then he will prescribe the best food that is ideal for your dog. Make sure to check that it has as few carbs as possible.

Important Points to Consider Before Buying the Best Food for Diabetic Dog

Diet is the main thing that impacts diabetes. It is the diet, in most cases, that causes diabetes and it is a diet that can increase it further. So, if you want to control your dog’s diabetes, you must keep a check on the diet you feed him. The best diet, along with relevant medicine, will make sure that your dog recovers soon. So, let us discuss what makes the best food for a diabetic dog.

Portion Control

If your dog is suffering from type 2 diabetes, then portion control will sort a lot of your headache. In this type, your dog’s body has insulin present in it but is not working properly to remove all the glucose that your dog is feeding. So, all you need is to create a balance between insulin and glucose.

The insulin may be working but at a slower rate than what your dog needs. Whenever you feed your dog, you are adding more glucose to his body. So, in portion control, you control the amount of portion you feed your dog. Thus, you help the body’s insulin to perform its job in removing glucose.

High Fiber

You must know first that fibers come in two major types that are soluble fibers and insoluble ones. So, you must know which one you should feed your dog. Soluble fibers are ones that attract water and as a result, form a mushy gel. This gel slows down the digestion process in the body. On the contrary, insoluble fiber will form a bulk in the stool. Thus, it will help remove waste more efficiently.

When your dog has diabetes, you need food that has insoluble fibers in it. This will slow down the digestion process of your dog and also let carbs break down slowly. Glucose absorption will also slow down and will give more time to your body to absorb it. Soluble fibers include oat bran, barley, seeds, beans, peas, and a group of veg and fruits.

Insoluble fibers are also not that bad. They expand the guts, will feel your dog that his tummy is full, and will control hunger. Gut nerves will not send a signal of hunger to the brain, and your dog will eat in fewer intervals. Thus, it will also keep low glucose levels. Foods like wheat bran, vegs, and whole grains are a major source.

Low Fats

Fats are very important for your dog. It has many benefits along with making sure that your dog has a smooth coat. So, we should never stop the fat intake of the dog unless he has other issues. However, if your dog is obese, then you may need to control his fat intake to some extent. Avoid too many fats and just feed him what he needs. When you reduce the fat amount in the diet, you will see positive impacts on the dog’s health.

Fewer Carbs

Carbs work as the instant energy provider. The body digests them quickly and provides so much energy right away. However, when someone consumes a lot of carbs, it will also elevate other factors related to glucose level. As soon as you consume a lot of carbs, it will start digesting, and will also trigger glucose with it. So much glucose at a time will increase the body sugar levels to the extreme.

So, it is crucial to reduce the carbs intake in your dog’s body. If at all you need carbs, buy those with a lower glycemic index. These carbs process low and also digest slowly. Thus, they will never elevate the body sugar levels. So, after glucose, carbs are the most crucial type of ingredient that you must control.

High Proteins

Proteins are very difficult to digest and a lot more difficult to absorb. Your dog’s digestive system will take a lot of time to digest proteins. As a result, your dog will feel full for a longer time and won’t ask for more food.

Since the food is digesting slowly, glucose will also digest slower. Thus, glucose levels will not elevate faster. So, protein is a must to add an ingredient in your best food for diabetic dogs. The more proteins, the better for your dog and vice versa.

Types of Food

There are different types of the best food for a diabetic dog. We already discussed them in detail in our above section. However, the type of food plays a vital role. As a rule, you must try to rely more on raw food and next on canned food. Avoid dry foods.

Country of Manufacturing

The country in which specific food is made also has a great impact on its diet value. Generally, foods in the US are greatly regulated as per Federal Laws. So, if some company claims that they produce their food in the US, and have some sort of regulatory proof, it means that you can trust it better.

FAQs

What Is Diabetic Food for Dogs?

As the name suggests, the best food for a diabetic dog is one that has suitable ingredients for your dog with diabetes. These foods have more proteins, soluble fibers, and fewer fats and carbs. Thus, they are ideal to control the glucose level of your diabetic dog.

How Many Times a Day Should I Feed My Dog With Diabetic Food?

You must only feed your diabetic dog two times a day. However, what is more, crucial is that feed your dog at fixed intervals. If you fed him in the morning, feed him at the same time in the morning daily. Thus, his body will develop a cycle to absorb glucose. Avoid surprise meals as they will disturb your dog’s glucose cycle.

Is Diabetic Dog Food Different From Regular Food?

Diabetic food is very different from regular food. Normal foods have carbs in the highest amount. This ensures that your dog gets instant energy to carry his hobbies. However, a diabetic dog needs food that is slow to digest. Thus, their body glucose level will never elevate. Diabetic food has fewer carbs and fats, and more proteins.

Is Dry Food Bad for a Diabetic Dog?

There are fewer regulations on dry food. As a result, it has low-quality carbs which are bad for your dog’s health. In the past, dogs had fewer health issues because they were eating raw food. However, today’s dogs have a lot of issues because of dry foods. Companies use a lower quality of carbs because of lower costs and higher profits. However, they are bad for the health of your dog.

Conclusion

We know that diet is not the only way to treat diabetes in your dog. However, diet plays a vital role in controlling glucose levels in your dog. Indeed, the best food for diabetic dogs will make sure your dog remains healthy and gets less glucose at a time. So, they are important along with medicines.

In this article, we saw all about the best food for a diabetic dog. We started by exploring the need of using diabetic food for your dog. We saw types of diabetic food and also explore what to look for in the best food for a diabetic dog.