Treatment guidelines

Your veterinarian will determine the correct dosage of insulin for your dog. If your dog has other problems too, your veterinarian will start appropriate treatment.

Starting treatment with insulin

Each diabetic dog’s insulin requirement is different.Your dog’s insulin dose will be based on its body weight and its individual needs.

The initial insulin dose is calculated based on the body weight of your dog. For the first few days of treatment your veterinarian will:

• Monitor the effect of this dose – you will probably be asked to check how much your dog drinks and urinates.
• Check your dog’s blood glucose levels
• Check your dog's urine for the presence of glucose and ketones.

This information will help your veterinarian adjust the insulin dose until the correct dose for your diabetic dog is found. For information on collecting urine and blood samples see Monitoring.

It may be necessary for your veterinarian to hospitalise your dog to investigate the effects of the insulin further. Read more in About Glucose Curves.

Once or twice daily treatment?

Some diabetic dogs can be managed on once daily insulin injections . This is not effective enough in all diabetic dogs. Many need twice daily insulin injections to properly control their diabetes.

Maintenance treatment with Insulin

Establish a routine

Your veterinarian will recommend a complete treatment programme for your diabetic dog. This will include:

• insulin treatment
• a recommended diet
• an exercise regime

You will need to stay in close contact with your veterinarian. Your veterinarian will decide on how often your diabetic dog needs to have a check-up. Your veterinarian may request that you collect urine or blood samples to help monitor your dog’s progress. More details in Monitoring.