Managing Diabetes in Pets

There are about 1 million diabetic dogs and cats in the US alone. Diabetes is a chronic disease that requires intense, life long, monitoring and treatment. Many owners cannot afford the emotional, financial and time commitment. As a result, many dogs and cats with diabetes are euthanized even though the disease is treatable. Chen Gilor DVM, PhD discusses how UF veterinary researchers have led a dramatic paradigm shift in how dogs are treated and monitored for diabetes by focusing on on early detection and prevention of the disease and by simplifying insulin therapy.

He shares what tools and concepts are being adopted from human medicine and that owners are no longer bound by the old paradigm of “insulin has to be administered at exactly the same time every day and only after the dog has eaten a full meal”. Instead, with new insulin formulations, and with judicious use of continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), they can give insulin any time and regardless if their dog eats.