With careful consideration, it is possible to work a small amount of Diabetic Dog Treats into the diet of your diabetic dog. Regular store-bought treats are often rich in sugar and therefore not suitable as diabetic dog treats.
However, you can purchase alternative treats designed for the diabetic dog. These should be high in fiber and protein.
What Can I offer Instead?
Depending on your dog’s glucose level, you can still offer them the occasional treat. However homemade diabetic dog treats are the most suitable to give to your dog. Shop bought regular treats should be avoided as you do not want them to cause your pet’s glucose levels to fluctuate to dangerous levels.
Are shop bought diabetic dog treats safe?
If you buy diabetic dog treats, it is vital that you check the label. Do not assume just because they are labelled as ‘diabetic’ that they are entirely best for your dog. Always read the ingredients and nutritional information to ensure that they do not contain the following ingredients as they can negatively affect your dog’s blood glucose levels.
- Sugar
- Fructose
- Dextrose
- Molasses
- Cane Molasses
- Corn Syrup
- Malt Syrup
- Corn
- Soy
- Propylene Glycol
What can I offer my diabetic dog?
Diabetic dogs can be given dried strips of plain skinless chicken or turkey, cubes of low sugar vegetables such as yam, pumpkin, or squash, warmed green beans, plain frozen yogurt squares, 0% fat plain cottage cheese, scrambled egg whites, and canned tuna in spring water.
You may think your dog won’t enjoy such foods, but many diabetic dogs enjoy the above foods as a small treat between their main meals. If your dog flats our refuse these foods, you could give them some homemade jerky.
Use skinless chicken or turkey, and a small helping of liver and kidney, to create a tasty dried meat treat. Having such a treat to hand is especially helpful when it comes time to give your pooch their insulin injection.
When they realize they will be rewarded after their shot with a delicious meaty morsel, they are much more likely to be obliging when having it.
Everything your dog consumes will raise their glucose levels to some extent however, the treats mentioned above shouldn’t cause much of a glucose spike.
That being said, all dogs are different, so the best way to ensure you are doing the right thing for your dog’s health is to test their blood glucose levels before and after giving them a new kind of treat.
Homemade diabetic dog treats
The following ingredients can be given individually or combined to make healthy and homemade diabetic dog treats. Complex carbohydrates found in beans, oats, and whole grain flours are great for stabilizing blood sugars.
Studies have shown that cinnamon and yeast also have a positive effect on stabilizing blood sugar levels, especially when taken after meals, so consider creating treats that incorporate these ingredients too.
- Lean, skinless white meats and fish
- Limited amounts of kidney and liver
- Egg whites
- Plain cottage cheese & plain natural yogurt
- Chicken broth
- Peanut butter
- Beans
- Pumpkins, squash, yam, carrots
- Green beans and peas
- Brown rice and brown rice flour
- Oatmeal or oat flour
- Whole grain flours – (whole wheat, barley, rye, do not use white plain flour)
- Raw seeds
Are you feeding your dog the right foods? To answer this question, please read our post about the 10 healthy human foods your dog can eat!
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