...miniature schnauzer?
My beloved Schnauzer was very recently diagnosed with diabetes. He was prescribed 3 units twice daily of u40 insulin and the Science Diet W/D dog food The Science diet food is very expensive from my vet and I hear bad things about that brand anyway. We love our doggy, but we have a very small budget and saving some money on dog food would help. Turbo, the schnauzer, is a recent addition to the family. He has probably been diabetic for some time. He already has cataracts and his glucose levels were throuh the roof before we started the insulin. The previous owners were gonna get rid of him, put him down, because of problems we recognized as diabetic symptoms so we rescued him. He's doing better with the prescriptions and exercise and is the most grateful and loving creature in the world.
Health For More » Diseases and Conditions » Diabetes
Is there a lower cost, quality to the science diet w/d dog food prescribed to my diabetic...?
(3 posts)-
Posted 2 years ago #
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We went to college at Purdue University where they had a veterinary medicine school. I heard that vets promote this food mainly because of all the perks and things like equipment subsidies that are given, not because it is the best. Science W/D is not for diabetes as much as weight loss. It is low sodium. You could make your own dog food for Turbo.see this website:http://www.caninediabetes.org/dogfood.html#anchor329627 The main component here is the exercise which it sounds like you are already giving him. getting him down to a fighting weight will help tremendously. The diet for him must be adheared to fairly strictly so that he will loose weight steadily. Small dogs that have even a couple extra pounds on them will feel the effects in older age. Diabetes is all about carbohydrate metabolism. Remember that as with people it's the treats and the high card foods that stress the pancreas. Any goodies would be better off made of protein or low carb vegetables such as broccoli, my dogs love the stem portion of broccoli. I just slice it "julienne" style for them and they like it raw. You could make your own dog food as you will see from the website (and there are others...) that I gave you. using chicken thighs as the base protein and some brown rice can be more economical. Buy the meat in bulk from one of the warehouse stores and freeze what you will not use. You could freeze it in serving size bags and thaw it in the microwave in quantities ready for a few days. It is wonderful that you took this special needs senior citizen into your home and hearts.But it sounds like he is giving back a lot to you already. Good luck.
Posted 2 years ago # -
wouldn't be selling it. I know it's a little more expensive, but when you consider the benefits to your dog's health, buying a cheaper brand not formulated for your little one's specific needs would be a huge mistake. My own vet makes only a small margin of profit on the food he sells, doing so simply as a convenience and courtesy to his clients. Sometimes animal rescue groups sell pet food and often at a reduced rate, usually not having to pay as much to acquire it. (Please check the expiration date) If there are any in your area, please call them and find out. If not, I hope you will consider the needs of "the most grateful and loving creature in the world" and do what you have to in order to give him the best you can. You know he's worth the sacrifice. As an aside, it's cheaper to buy a larger bag and have a lot on hand than to purchase the small bags. I hope he continues to thrive and give you more years of companionship!
Posted 2 years ago #
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