Diabetic yorkshire terrier

Hi My female yorkie has just been diagnosed with diabetes. We have got her glucose levels settled by a strict diet and insulin injections twice daily. My issue is I have been given different advice by two different vets at the PDSA, She is 9 years old and a rescue dog. She doesn't have any idea how to play even though I have tried over the last couple of years to encourage her. The only thing she is really interested in is the hide bones which she spends a lot of time chewing which is good to pass the time when we not out and also good for her teeth. I have been advised by one vet to stop the hide bones and another says its ok to keep giving them I would like the advice of an owner of a diabetic dog as to what they would do as this is all new to me. I feel rotten because I have always had bones around the house for her to chew and now shes looking for them and looks so fed up. Thanks in advance

Which bones do you mean? Are they rawhide ones? If so, there is an article about the pros and cons of them here. You don't say if these vets gave their reasoning behind the proffered advice. It could be dietary management of the diabetes, danger of the dog choking, particularly when it gets to the end of the product, intestinal blockage, splintering of teeth or perhaps bacterial infection. Either way, you need to ask the vets why they are giving this contradictory advice and to make your mind up which advice you prefer to follow. It has to be your choice. There is a lot of information about it on the Internet so read up about it and then you can decide.

If it is rawhide that you are giving and the dog gets through it to the end, you need to be very careful and not leave the dog alone with it. Some years ago I had to retrieve the end of one of these chews from a dog's throat when it was choking. Luckily I managed to get it out. I have never used them, or pigs ears and the like since then. There are other chew toys that might be helpful e.g Nylabone, Kong. Some may recommend giving bones but most vets don't support this and in any case, dogs should never be left alone with them. A lot of these hide chews are made in China and chemicals used in the processing. Check out the information on the Internet about this and it may help you decide.

Thanks CCIT. It was for the dietary management of the diabetes. I have purchased a mixture of the flavored nylabone and she wont touch her kong

Thank you for getting back on this. I hadn't considered the calorific content of rawhide but as it is an animal part then I suppose the vet has a point, particularly as your little dog does a log of chewing. Rawhide gets soggy enough to swallow quite quickly.

Regarding the Kong, I feed cold pressed food and soften it with a little warm water. I then put it inside a puppy size Kong and freeze it. It takes a while for them to empty it and they tend to go back to the Kong later just to have another chew to make sure there is nothing left inside. Don't know what you feed, but if it is kibble I am wondering if that would work for you? Of course you would need to take it out of his daily allowance. Hope he likes the Nylabone -it might help to keep teeth clean too.

Hi the diabetic dog I'm looking after is allowed the bones that come from Tesco's that have 'naturally' written on the packet.

Hi the diabetic dog I'm looking after is allowed the bones that come from Tesco's that have 'naturally' written on the packet.

I look after 2 dogs who both have this make and are perfectly fine and have the same condition as yours does , they have been diabetic for a number of years now and still doing well , the only thing that has changed is the times for injections

Thanks, will try her with them. Have tried a kong with frozen food and nylabones but shes not interested.

You can look after chew bones for diabetic dogs. It is very important to avoid feeding your dog treats that are high in glucose. Your veterinarian doesn't recommend you a diet low in fat and high in fiber for your dog?