Canine Diabetes Diagnosis
How is a diagnosis of canine diabetes made? If your dog exhibits any of the symptoms of signs of diabetes mellitus, your vet will need to not only examine your dog but also run lab tests.
The signs and symptoms of diabetes are often also seen in other diseases. It is for that reason your dog needs to be examined thoroughly by your vet. It is known that diabetes is not the only cause of polyuria and polydipsia or weight loss in dog. Cushing’s disease and renal failure can also have the same symptoms as diabetes mellitus.
A preliminary diagnosis of diabetes can be made on clinical signs but that diagnosis must be confirmed by lab tests consisting of blood and urine examinations.
During a clinical exam by your vet, he or she may ask about the symptoms and signs which you have noticed as well as your dog’s overall health. The vet will note whether the dog has had frequent urinary tract infections and will also check the dog’s eyes for cataracts which are common in dogs with diabetes which has gone undiagnosed.
The urine sample will measure the glucose in the urine and also a serious metabolic emergency called diabetic ketoacidosis which occurs when the dog has had a long standing undiagnosed diabetes disease. Due to the lack of insulin, the cells in the body begin to break down fat for energy. This causes high levels of ketones to be in the dog’s urine. The vet will also need to measure the amount of glucose in the urine.
In order to confirm the diagnosis of diabetes, your vet will take a blood sample to measure the glucose level in the blood. If the blood glucose level is higher than normal, it could indicate that your dog’s pancreas is not secreting enough insulin. Or the blood may show that your dog’s pancreas is producing the insulin but the cells in the body are not able to use the insulin. In either case, your dog has diabetes mellitus.
Just remember, it is important for your vet to do a physical exam as well as blood and urine lab tests to diagnose your dog with canine diabetes.
