My German Shepherd x has diabetes

Ailishcrehan

Hi, just looking to see if anyone out there has a dog suffering the same condition as my dog! I volunteer with an animal rescue group and received a call about a puppy in a bad way. We found this puppy, who had been lying in a ditch, last December, barely alive, skin and bone and having seizures. After alot of food, tlc and love she began to thrive, but was diagnosed with a rare form of diabetes...diabetes insipidus, a condition almost never seen in puppies and some vets I spoke to hadn't seen or heard of the condition in almost 20years! It is thought that she was hit by a car and damage was done to the pituitary gland, resulting in this condition.

We have researched it and she is on medication for life with it (despopressin eye drops), but am just wondering does anyone else have a dog with this condition. Lila is just over a year old now and she is brilliant, super dog who loves life, but lately she just doesn't like getting her eyedrops, I suppose we wouldn't like it either every day.

Not a lot is know about Diabetes Insipidus because it is rare and testing for the condition is dangerous...we refused to allow her to go for testing in UCD because we were terrified she'd be seen as a guinea pig, AND the test involves depriving her of water which has contra indications for her kidneys, so instead, we jumped straight to a trial with the meds and its all under control. At her worst, she was drinking 30 litres of water a day when she was just 5 months old. Thankfully now, her water intake is nowhere near that and she is happy out!

So has anyone else any experience with this condition and if so, are there complications with it in later life? Just trying to get more personal opinions on it rather than vet opinions because as said before, not a lot is known about it!

boomerang

Hey there,

My aunt's dog had diabetes, but this was diet related. Type 2? She had daily shots of insulin. She had recurrent pancreatitis too so needed a low-fat diet.

Your pup couldn't be in better hands, lucky pup! GSD crosses are the best

There is a Yahoo! group for owners of dogs with diabetes insipidus, definitely worth a look:

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/diabetes_insipidus_dogs/



Does your pup need a prescription food?

Ailishcrehan

thanks for the info, have joined that group! Lila doesn't need prescription food as its not diet related but she is on a diet as she is a little overweight which is the last thing we need with her already having Diabetes Insipidus!!