Just as diabetes is usual in people, it can also happen to our cherished pets. It’s a condition where the body doesn’t process insulin, or it cannot respond to the insulin it produces. Diabetes hinders the body’s production and processing of blood sugar (glucose), the primary energy source for the muscles, brain, and tissues.
As we proceed, we’ll talk about the symptoms of diabetes in dogs so we can give immediate treatments to them when they get detected with the said illness.
How Do I Know My Dog Has Diabetes?
While diabetes is not curable, it could still be managed with appropriate care and treatment so your fur buddy can continue living healthily and happily. Early detection is crucial to increasing their survival rate even with the stated illness. Here are five signs of diabetes in pets you should keep an eye out for.
1. Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs)
Older female canines and those with diabetes experience UTIs more often than their general population. Secondary to diabetes, dogs often develop infections in their urinary tract. This normally occurs due to the increased sugar (in their urine), producing breeding grounds for bacteria to live in the dog’s bladder.
Constant bladder infections could be irritating in female dogs. Rather than using antibiotics to treat them with the stated condition, which can also threaten their kidneys, sometimes the treatment for UTIs might be surgery. Inquire to their veterinary surgeons and ask if surgery is the preferable treatment for your pet’s condition.
2. Cloudy-looking eyes and vision difficulties
Diabetic dogs develop cataracts because of long-term complications. Moreover, they’re also at a greater risk of blindness since diabetic cataracts can cause visual issues. In addition, vision loss and cataract development might happen quickly or over long periods.
Since vision loss is associated with diabetes, it is required to have your pet take a diabetes test before visiting a vet ophthalmologist for a surgical operation. Since some vision loss can still be fixed with surgeries performed by professionals specializing in cat cataract treatment, it’s required to treat your diabetic pet first for successful and safe surgery.
3. Non-healing wounds
One sign that your pet has diabetes is their non-healing injuries. Like diabetic humans, canines are at higher threat of infection caused by impaired wound healing. However, non-healing injuries might also show cancer as it is one of the visible signs. If you have been reading about the common symptoms of cancer and notice it in your dogs, it’s a good idea to have them inspected by professionals that offer veterinary oncology services at Newtown to prevent their condition from worsening.
4. Increased thirst
If you notice your pet drinking water excessively, it might signify something serious like diabetes. If you’re uninformed of this, you may think it’s because your dog urinates more often, so they drink water more frequently. However, if you observe this in your dogs and haven’t been active like normal, bring them to a vet instantly to be inspected.
5. Frequent urination
If your pet dog pushes you more frequently just to go outside to pee, they might be experiencing diabetes. Frequent urination is referred to as polyuria by veterinarians and is a typical reason for pet parents to have their furry friends assessed in animal centers. When your pet’s blood glucose spills from the bloodstream into their urine, it pulls water, causing them to urinate more than usual.