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| cool dog (Photo credit: ּα) |
At any rate, it's something to think about.
Thursday, June 27, 2013
When to think about changing vets
At any rate, it's something to think about.
Thursday, February 28, 2013
Stop the Begging, Already!
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| Yeah, it's Doc |
Tony didn't beg at the table, but that was probably because I didn't give him table scraps very often (and never during family mealtimes) and because I rarely eat at the table myself, not wanting to deal with Doc trying to get my food. However, my father was prone to giving him the last bite of his dinner if Tony was around, which he often was, as you can imagine. Once he was diagnosed with diabetes, I was able to convince Dad of the error of his ways, and that stopped. Based on my experience with Tony, of the two solutions WebMD suggests -- controlling the dog's access to the table or teaching the dog to do something else -- I think I prefer the latter. This is probably because I had great success teaching Tony to move off the street onto grass, then sit and stay, whenever a car was approaching during our walks (there are no sidewalks in our subdivision -- you have to walk in the street. Yikes.). I think I could have gotten him to lie on his bed at our mealtimes without too much trouble, but if you think that you might have some problems there, there are training tip links with the article, too.
Good luck, and remember, to a dog, a rub on the belly is often just as welcome as a treat in the belly.
Good Treats for Good Diabetic Dogs
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| Fruits and vegetables (Photo credit: nutrilover) |
I've written before about my sometimes horrifying discoveries about treats and my diabetic dog, mainly instances where I discovered that I should have checked the ingredients (high-fructose corn syrup and other sugars turn up in a lot of commercial dog treats), but I haven't often touched on treats that are better for your pet. Recently, DogChannel.com published an article on using vegetables as treats, and I think this is a godsend. I know quite a few dog owners who routinely feed their pets whatever they themselves are having for dinner (see my next post for more on that!), which is especially bad in many cases because said dog owners are not consuming a healthful diet themselves.
With diabetes, the treat question is more complex anyway. Starches and sugars, really anything with a high glycemic index, can cause blood sugars to rise (and fall, too, for those who still are producing some insulin themselves), a bad situation when it comes to maintaining good health. So, low glycemic index vegetables can be a better choice, as long as you remember that these are TREATS, not meals, and keep the portions to an appropriate size. The article covers this issue pretty well, although it doesn't take diabetes into account. For example, DO NOT give a diabetic dog potatoes (and if you want to give sweet potatoes, keep the serving very small -- their impact on blood sugar is not terribly high like regular potatoes, but they do have an impact, after all). Starchy vegetables raise blood sugar almost as much as sugars do.
Having said that, I can recommend the article, based on what I've learned over the years (keep in mind that I am not a vet, just a well-read dog lover). I remember Tony going absolutely nuts over broccoli -- he liked it cooked but still a bit crunchy.
Let me know how it works out for you.
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