What Are the Symptoms of Diabetes in Dogs

1 Overview

Symptoms of diabetes in dogs:

1. Increased water intake compared with usual: a diabetic dog’s need for water is much higher than before the illness, so pay close attention to whether the dog’s recent water demand has increased;

There is no need to worry too much about increased drinking caused by normal factors such as just finishing exercise or hot weather.

2. The dog’s number of urinations increases relatively. The more water it drinks, the more urine the dog produces. However, along with the increased volume, the frequency of urination also rises.

3. Big appetite. If the dog is often in a state of hunger, even if its food intake remains the same as usual (called polyphagia), and even if intake increases, the weight stays the same or drops-this is also a sign of diabetes.

4. Gradually becoming thin. Although a diabetic dog feels hungrier than usual, its metabolism increases, so it will not gain weight but will lose some instead.

5. Listless, showing weakness. Diabetes makes dogs feel tired, negative, or sleepy.

6. On the same diet, the dog’s coat becomes drier and sparser. Sparse coat, dry brittle hair, and abnormal shedding, especially along the back.

7. Eyes become increasingly blurry. Just as people with diabetes can develop fundus and corneal lesions, so can dogs with this disease.

8. Mental impairment. One of the late symptoms of dog diabetes is ketoacidosis; the breakdown of liver fat and protein produces metabolic acidosis, reducing the insulin response. Large amounts of ketones in the body are toxic, and this imbalance leads to low mood in the pet.

9. Vomiting. When a dog has diabetes and ketoacidosis is detected, another common clinical manifestation is vomiting, often used by veterinarians to diagnose the pet’s disease.

Sometimes owners take the pet to the hospital because of sudden blindness, which is a typical ‘three excesses and one deficiency’ problem and is easily overlooked.