Last Friday Bender woke up barfing all over the place. He ate his morning food but about an hour later barfed it back up. He continued to barf through out the day. I fed him a little at night, he kept that down but barfed a few hours later. This raises the question of what to do when your diabetic dog is sick. What to feed? What about their shots?
I can’t give Bender his full shot if he throws up his food. But he needs some thing…
In Bender’s case of being sick he was still active, energetic, but you could tell he wasn’t feeling the best. He was barfing but his behavior hadn’t changed so I didn’t take him to the vet. If I saw a major change in behavior I would have taken him to the vet. That is a sure sign there are problems. I guessed Bender had an upset tummy, he probably ate some thing in the yard while I wasn’t looking.
For his food I wanted some thing bland and easy to digest. I fed him small amounts of just his rice, chicken and eggs. A few veggies slipped in there but not many. All part of his regular meal. You could also try unseasoned, cooked ground beef, fat drained, washed with water, green beans, and rice. All of this in small portions. Remember you dog has an upset stomach.
If Bender kept his food down. I would feed him some more in a hour or so.
The next thing is to check blood sugar levels. Bender was around 150. Excellent but he just ate. Not a lot though. So I waited a hour. He kept his food down so I gave him a bit more food, he has had about half of what he normally eats now. I also gave him an insulin shot of 10 units. A few hours later, check his blood sugar levels, gave food, shot, etc.
By noon Bender had his all his food for his usual morning meal and two shots at 10-11 units. He had kept all his food down and was doing good. When dinner came around I did the same thing. Small amounts of food, check sugar levels, give shot if necessary.
Bender was doing good and hadn’t barfed all day. Maybe his upset stomach has passed?
If your dog is sick before giving a shot, check their sugar levels and check them often. Even if they are not throwing up. If they are throwing up, feed bland, easy to digest food in small amounts.
And as always consult your vet.
A touch of Pancreatitis maybe?
Reading about the symptoms of Pancreatitis, http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1580&aid=335, the only thing Bender had was vomiting.
Like any living animal they can get sick from time to time. Since he didn’t continue to throw up. I’m guessing his stomach was slightly upset.
My dog has been feeling unwell too, I have her the insulin and just been wanting to rest.. Trying to feed her but she doesn’t want to eat do I wait till the morning see if she’s better?
My dog was sick lunch time about two hours after feeding I gave him his 10 insulin with that he was sick about two hours later was a bit quiet then perked up a bit gave him his food and 10 about 6 30 he was sick again at eight what to do now
Jeanette,
If your dog is sick, it is best to call your Vet. They will be able to help you.
-Jeff
My dog won’t eat and vomited about three times the morning and just vomited again. It’s not constant drinking and vomiting like he dealt with earlier this year, had to stay overnight and all day at the vet to hydrate. They were sure it was pancreatitis. I’m 1200 miles away from home and don’t the $$ it cost me on March to hospitalize him. I’m hoping it’ll pass by morning but worry about his insulin – 7ml for full dose and 4 for half the vet told me.
Our dog vomited her dinner, and has thrown up (foamy mucus) several times since then. We contacted the Vet, who told us to offer water, no food until morning, but to give her her regular dose of insulin tonight. Does that sound right? Give her insulin without food?
I have never heard of giving them their insulin if they do not eat. My 7lb song went to groomers today and got sick after having a tiny “greenie” but now doubt he will want food so Im worried about what to do with his insulin also. Ugh….he just got out of the vet 2 weeks ago after $1000 surgery for a tumor on his spleen so I can’t afford the vet right now.
Nancy,
I’m not a Vet so I can’t recommend that you give or not give an insulin shot. If Bender doesn’t eat, I check his glucose levels throughout the day and if he needs insulin, I give him some. But if he doesn’t eat, then he really isn’t producing glucose from his food.
-Jeff
My 9 1/2 yo pug was diagnosed with diabetes a month ago. She’s been good with eating, so just needed to get insulin dosage correct. Finally, this past Monday her BC was down to 197 (lowest it’s been since diagnoses). She has never refused a meal, so giving her the shots was never a problem….until today. She woke up and vomited dark yellow about 3-4 times, would not eat a thing. Brought her to the vet. Her BGL was 575, but no keytons in her urine. He believed she would eat and he would give her the shot. She didn’t eat, so he gave her an anti-nausea shot and said go home, she should be better in an hour, to give her 1/2 dose at home (6 units) and 6 units in a couple of hours after she ate. I gave her the 6 units. She never ate. It’s now 5 pm, still has not eaten, so can’t give her any amount of unsulin. It’s Friday night, vet not open until Monday morning. So frustrating. Thinking about going to a different vet’s office in the morning. Can’t wait till Monday, and my vet should have given me a Plan B in case she didn’t eat. I guess I just hope for the best until tomorrow.
We discovered with our dog that we still have to give her the normal dose of insulin, even if she doesnt eat. About every 2 weeks we go through a cycle where she vomits, die is a ton of water, vomits, drinks…it will go on and on. We have to take the water away or she’ll just keep doing it. We offer her food and little bits of water throughout the day. But if give he free access to water she just continues the drink, vomi cycle. The vet said to give her the regular dose of insulin until her stomach calms down.
Hi All,
I am not a vet and cannot offer professional advise, however I have been caring for 2 diabetic dogs for 2 years and have gone through everything everyone has spoken off, sick, not eating, throwing up, you name it we have done it. The first thing to understand is that missing a dose of insulin will not put your animal in a life threatening situation, giving a regular does of insulin with no food could cause your dogs levels to drop too low resulting in hypoglycaemia which is life threatening. The main thing here is to stop worrying about the diabetes for a moment and find out what is causing the throwing up or diarrhoea as it does not take long for a dog or any animal to quickly become dehydrated and left untreated will start a cascade of problems. Obviously the sooner you can get to a vet the better.
If you have given a dose and the dog has thrown up their food, monitor their levels every half hour, if they drop too low rub some honey into their gums and take them to an emergency vet.
Anyone dealing with a diabetic dog, please join this fb group! There are vets in the group. It’s a great source of information for our diabetic babies!
I have a diabetic mini pin he has not wanted to est much lately I have had to n.v really work with him then tonight he ate we gave his 5 units of I silin a little after 6 and by 8;30 tonight he threw up 3 times. He is asleep now but I do not have any way to check his sugar levels the vet didnt give me a monitor to check his levels and I dont understand why they haven’t giving me a monitor. How do I get one?
Hi my name is Roz my dog Bella has been a diabetic a year she’s got ketos been to the vet she been on a drip for a week they discharge her with ketos having to force feed her any advice would be helpful