Many pet owners wonder, “How come a dog becomes diabetic?” This dog disease is actually fairly common among canines. Just like humans, some dogs are genetically predisposed to it. However, it is not because they have inherited the trait of diabetes from their forefathers.
Canines are “spayed” or neutered. When a female dog is pregnant, she will not produce any puppies. As her puppies grow up, she stops having puppies and starts to produce less milk, because of the effects of pregnancy on her body. A dog’s body will then require more insulin to deal with the increased amount of glucose in its blood. As more insulin is required, more cells are affected.
Canine diabetes is also called canine insulin-dependent diabetes. It is the result of the same genetic tendency to become diabetic as humans do. A dog may start to show signs of diabetes before he/she is even born, although that is not always the case. It is possible for dogs to develop diabetes when they are older. There is a distinct difference between adult and younger dogs that can explain why so many older dogs suffer from this dog disease.
Young dogs that are bred in ways that produce little or no estrogen can be at a higher risk for developing diabetes. In dogs that are not neutered or spayed, their testes will produce more than enough testosterone to cause the same imbalance as does a human. Therefore, the answer to the question “Why do dogs become diabetic?” has to deal with the fact that diabetes in dogs has to do with a dog’s insulin problems.
The pancreas in dogs does not work quite as efficiently as it does in people, so the production of insulin becomes out of sync. In dogs, there is enough sugar (glucose) produced to satisfy the need for energy, but the insulin needs to break this glucose down in order to be transported to the cells. The problem begins when the insulin starts to act like a sponge and allows some of the glucose to bypass the cells. This excess glucose in the blood becomes fat, and the result is diabetes in dogs. When the dogs get to an advanced stage of diabetes, the symptoms of diabetic ketoacidosis, or worse, diabetic coma, can occur
The first step to being able to answer the question “Why do dogs get diabetic?” is to learn more about diabetes in dogs. There are two major types of diabetes in dogs, the first being the juvenile onset diabetes, or glycogenile diabetes. Juvenile diabetes in dogs is usually genetic, meaning that it is something that the dog passed down from its parents.
Juvenile diabetes is often characterized by severe weight loss, prolonged thirst and urination, and decreased appetite. Blood sugar levels are low, the dog’s vision is cloudy and it begins to lose hair. Since it cannot use its insulin effectively, the dog’s body becomes dependent on its own cells to provide it with the energy it requires to survive. If those cells are unable to produce any insulin at all, the dog will begin to starve to death.
The other type of diabetes in dogs is called adult onset diabetes. Adult onset diabetes is usually caused by infection, drugs, high blood pressure, or some other health condition. In dogs, the symptoms are moderate weight loss, dehydration, and dull coat color. The kidneys begin to function poorly, and because the dog’s blood glucose levels are too high, ketones are produced to help pull the blood sugar levels back down. Chronic diabetic dogs suffer organ failure, and their bones thicken as they lose muscle mass.