Hypoglycemic diet
by Donna
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
This spring we found out that Ashley, our thirteen year old Maltese has Hypoglycemia. She had convultions and we rushed her to the vet. She stayed in the hospital for a week and had extensive testing.
She can no longer eat Eukanuba or any other dog food that my vet knows of. He wants her on a low fat diet and feels that all the dog foods are to high in fat even the ones sold by vets only.
I now make boiled chicken breast,egg whites,beans,carrots,corn,peas,elbow macaroni and whole wheat toast. At first she couldn't wait to eat her food, which I have to give her several times a day. Now I literally have to beg her to eat it!
If anybody knows of a Hypoglycemic diet I would appreciate any and all input. I am getting very frustrated. Thanks Donna & Ashley
DISCUSSION:
Donna, do you feed Ashley canned or dry food? Essentially hypoglycemia is a sugar imbalance, something that apparently many Maltese are prone to. (In humans it's a precursor to diabetes if neglected. My brother has it and does best staying away from sugar, dairy, alcohol, too many fruits, etc. - anything with a lot of sugar or carbohydrates.) I just this week switched to Solid Gold dog food that I saw recommended on the www.hua.com site which is very good for dogs with health problems/allergies but I honestly don't know what its sugar content is. Check out the site and see if it might help. Your vet may be unaware of this product. It doesn't have a lot of the garbage found in most foods. Best of luck!
siobhan
Donna, after I wrote my suggestion re Solid Gold food, I was curious enough to look on their website myself and couldn't really tell from the ingredient analysis. I suggest you e-mail them at "info@solid-gold-inc.com" and ask. I e-mailed them a question and they answered it next day. I believe the website is the same address, just drop the "info@" Let me know what you find out!
siobhan
We really need Dr.Marks input on this. I myself have hypoglycemia and so does one of my children. The diet for humans is a low carbohydrate diet, lots of protein and fat is not restricted. If I eat a doughnut for breakfast at a dog show I would be in trouble, must have eggs, low carbo fruit and low sugar cereal and dairy. Must have some grain for fiber but no potatoes, rice or pasta. Also I was always told not to feed dogs beans, corn or peas because they can't handle the 'shell' on these veggies. Carrots and green beans would be ok. High protein is usually the answer for human snacks, like peanuts etc between meals. We need more than the 3 meals a day that 'normal' people need. Hope Dr.Mark reads this. Can you get a second opinion on treatment? My dogs would love your chicken, egg and whole wheat toast!
Mary Lou
What was the cause of the hypoglycemic episode? Did they test her fasting glucose after she had recovered from the original incident? The most common cause of hypoglycemia in a geriatric pet is a functional tumor of the pancreas (producing insulin) and if this is the diagnosis it should be addressed. Can you post the lab results? I'd be interested in looking them over.
I don't understand the rationale behind the diet. Are you sure he said low fat? Low carbohydrate makes more sense. There are a few of my patients on home-cooked diets but most are for food allergies of gastrointestinal diseases.
Dr. Mark
Hi All! I don't know if this will help or not, but I just started feeding Solid Gold and therefore have a brochure for it. In their Hund-N-Floken, they add no sugar or other "junk". Fat content is 8% and Protien is 22% My dogs (including Cricket) have done wonderfully on it. One solution I have heard if your dog doesn't have a weight problem is to let the baby free feed. She warned me about all the problems with hypoglycemnia and said that was the best way to prevent problems. Good luck and hope you find something that works soon!
Carrie Anne & Cricket
I have hypoglycemia as well and I have found that the better I am taking care of myself, the less I am hungry. My body has started to respond to low blood sugar as hunger. If my blood sugar is okay, I don't want food. One of the reasons your dog isn't hungry is because you are taking care of her! :) However, she still needs to eat. Therefore, some recomendations: Check your portions- are you only giving 1/6th of her daily food 6 times a day? Don't cheat, if you feed her 1/3 because she is hungry in the morning, she won't want food later. Try giving the food as treats (for doing tricks or such). Last, I would get a second opinion on the low-fat part of her diet. I'm on a *high* fat and protein diet- low sugars and carbs. Carbs come in things like potatoes, rice, pasta, and corn. Anyway, my two cents.
Rebecca
Donna: I have several books on pet nutrition which I referred to when I read about Ashley. Unfortunately, none of them mention hypoglycemia. All I can do is refer you to a great web site filled with links to natural pet care/nutrition sites which you might want to give a try. The URL is http://home1.gte.net/msalvail/barflink.htm. The best to you and Ashley. Please let keep us posted.
JoanG
Little Ashley's hypoglycemia is not the same as that in a small puppy, as pointed out by Dr. Mark. I would not recommend buying a puppy that has had hypoglycemic episodes with the breeder. This is not normal nor a healthy pup. However sometimes when a small pup goes to a new home and gets so excited and runs and runs and doesn't get enough 'naps', it will get to a state where it just collapses from hypoglycemia. Breeders sometimes tell buyers to give them honey to pull them out of it. The answer is not honey every day - a bad idea - but a good high protein diet and feeding more often, like 3 times a day. When the pup grows and matures usually there is no more trouble from this. If it does not then I agree with Dr.Mark that there is something wrong that needs to be diagnosed. Hypolycemia is not 'normal' in Maltese - it does indicate something is wrong.
Mary Lou
Gosh, Marylou, I hope you didn't get the impression from my post that I felt hypoglycemia is "normal" for Maltese. My breeder just warned me that it's not uncommon and to be on the watch for possible symptoms. Fortunately, I've never had the problem with Angel but I also raised him with the "free feed" concept someone else mentioned here. He had dry food available to him during the day at all times in addition to his mealtimes. He's not an overeater by any means but never hypoglycemic either. Sorry if I gave you the wrong impression.
SIOBHAN
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