Diabetic Dog Food - What's Best For Your Pet

With the growing incidence of canine diabetes, it is essential to know which diabetic dog food to feed your pet. Diabetes Type 2 is a lifestyle disease among dogs, just as it is among humans. So treating it without incorporating an appropriate diet is counterproductive and could well result in your dog's demise. Processed foods, which have minimal nutritional value and high levels of sodium and simple carbohydrates, are largely what lead to diabetes. Throw in inactivity and the recipe is complete. The lifestyle solution for canine diabetes, therefore, is to make sure your dog has enough regular exercise and eats a diet as natural and as balanced as possible. Just because a product is labeled 'diabetic dog food' does not mean it is really the best food for diabetic dogs. Remember, commercial dog food companies have products to sell and they have to convince you to buy them.

How then, can we know what diabetic dog food we should be feeding our pet? After all, even common wisdom on the best diabetic dog food for canine sufferers has changed recently from a recommended high carbohydrate diet to a recommended low carbohydrate diet.

Here are three tips to help you choose the right diabetic dog food for your pet:

1. NATURAL IS BEST. The natural diet for dogs historically was raw meat and some rotting vegetable matter and even eggs (including shells). This is why dogs in the past (before modern manufacturing introduced intensive processing) actually did very well on scraps as long as they included some raw meat. Including sardines in the mix can add essential fatty acids which provide additional protection against the onset of diabetes as well as giving a beautiful shine to the coat and providing much needed nutrition.

2. AVOID MOST DRY DOG FOODS. Most dry dog food brands are made up mainly of simple carbohydrates and lack the essential moisture for good kidney health. There are some dry diabetic dog foods that are safe and healthy, however these tend to also be organic products and need to be sourced carefully. Dry diabetic dog food should never be the sole form of nutrition but can be included in the diet if they are low in simple carbohydrates and high in protein and vegetables.

3. CANNED DOG FOODS MUST BE LOW CARBOHYDRATE AND LOW SODIUM. If you must use canned diabetic dog food, it must be high in protein, low in carbohydrate and low in sodium. It should also be organic and free of dangerous toxins. When a dog has diabetes, his liver function is also usually affected and his immune system is unable to deal with the usual additives found in commercial diabetic dog food.

The modern western lifestyle has produced an epidemic of diabetes among humans and the same manufacturing and fast food mentality (just open a can or pour biscuits in a bowl) is producing the same diseases in man's best friend. The only answer is to kick the culprits out of the diet.