Being a dog owner is much like being a parent. You are fully responsible for your dog's health and well-being, and you likely spend a fair amount of time thinking and worrying about that fact. When it comes to taking care of your dog's health, you do everything you can to keep them from falling ill or getting an injury. However, you cannot necessarily prevent every illness. Diabetes, for example, is a disease that can affect dogs of all ages and breeds, no matter how well you manage and monitor their health. Get to know some of the signs and symptoms of diabetes in dogs. Then, you can get your dog to the veterinarian or animal hospital as soon as you notice anything amiss with your dog.
Excessive Thirst
You know your dog better than anyone because you spend a great deal of time with them and know their general habits. As such, you should know how much water they drink on an average day.
One of the easiest signs of diabetes in dogs to detect is excessive thirst. If your dog is suddenly draining their water bowl in just a few minutes or they seem to be getting drinks a lot more often, there may be something wrong.
Excessive thirst with no other apparent cause like increased exercise or more time outside in the heat is a telltale sign of underlying health problems. The most common cause of this symptom is diabetes, though there are other potential issues like kidney disease. Getting your dog to the animal hospital for testing right away can help to diagnose and treat this underlying condition as quickly as possible.
Sweet Smelling Breath or Urine
Another sign of diabetes that you may notice in your dog is that they suddenly smell very sweet. The breath or the urine can take on an odor of maple syrup or a similarly sweet smell. This occurs as a result of your dog being unable to digest and process sugars in the body. The excess sugar remains in the saliva or is expelled in the urine because there is no other way for the body to deal with it.
This sweet smell can be quite intense, which makes it fairly easy to detect. If you notice such an odor emanating from your dog, you should take them to the veterinarian as soon as possible. The longer your dog goes without being able to process sugars, the more overall health damage they will suffer.
Now that you know a few signs and symptoms of diabetes in dogs, you can get your dog to the veterinarian or animal hospital, like Norwin Veterinary Hospital, at the first sign of trouble.
Do you remember the last time you really stopped to think about how healthy your animals were? Although it might seem like a simple task, keeping your animals happy, healthy, and well-adjusted can be difficult for just about anyone. However, with the help of a trained veterinarian, things become much more straightforward. I began working hard on helping my animals a few months back, and it was neat to explore how much better they were behaving. This website centers around identifying and resolving veterinary challenges one day at a time. Check out this website for great tips that could help you every day.