What if I'm short a strip for my dog's glucose curve test?

I have provided a link here that hopefully will help you. There are a lot of good owner tutorials/videos for owners of diabetic pets. The best spots to obtain a bit of blood for a glucometer are the paw pad and ear tips but a lot of owners have trouble and the values may not always be accurate. You do not need to check blood sugars daily as this is not very accurate. Checking a spot check blood sugar is more important if you think the value would be low, which is more concerning than a high sugar. A blood glucose curve is a better way to monitor and this is done 7 to 10 days after diagnosis and after any dose change. Some owners monitor urine dipsticks as well. If you feel like you need more help with this disease process then you could ask for a referral to a veterinary internist who specializes in managing chronic diseases like diabetes. I hope this helps and thank you for using PetCoach! https://www.aaha.org/guidelines/diabetes_guidelines/resources.aspx

Yes, human glucometers can be used in pets, but often the results are not a direct correlate to true blood glucose in dogs - they tend to be lower than what it really is. Normal blood glucose for dogs would be 80-120 but can vary depending on stress level, recent meals, or concurrent illness. If you would like to routinely check Miley's blood glucose, I recommend that you talk to your vet about a veterinary glucometer. If you still want to use another glucometer, your vet can draw multiple sample throughout the day to compare the numbers of the human glucometer and compare it to a veterinary glucometer.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! You can use human ketone and glucose strips to test for ketones and glucose in Ringo's urine. If you want to test his blood sugar at home I recommend investing in a Veterinary glucometer which are more accurate for animals than human ones. If you have a human glucometer you can use it and watch trends but it may not be totally accurate. I hope this helps and I wish you and Ringo the best!

Great question! Typically I have owners do curves at home starting with a check before breakfast and insulin, then every 2hours until their next insulin dose. Ideal is 80-120 for me, but below 200 is pretty good control. If you are just starting to monitor your diabetic dog, I usually wait 1 week of dosing to start a curve. Do the curve on a day when you will be home with Toby and can check every 2 hours, and when there is no stressful activities going on, like visitors/construction, etc. Once you get your curve, you should send the results to your vet so they can analyze the results and make any changes to his insulin treatment if necessary. Do not change insulin dosage without talking to your vet first. Good luck and kisses to Toby!

Consider having Mojo rechecked by your veterinarian. A bG curve should be done to confirm the insulin dose is appropriate or if it needs to be adjusted. In a diabetic dog, a bG between 5-12 mmol/L over a 24 hour period is considered "stable". Rapid or wide swings should be addressed by your veterinarian

Most "normal" dogs have a blood sugar range from 75-150. But most diabetic dogs are never that low. Our blood sugar goals for most diabetes are more like 150-250. The most important thing is to closely monitor Bindi's levels in order to help your veterinarian adjust her insulin accurately. And do not change the insulin dose without speaking with your veterinarian or based on a single reading. The most important thing is monitoring trends in her blood sugar levels. I am attaching a handout below which has a form that you can download to help record and monitor her blood sugar levels. https://veterinarypartner.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952916 Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Continue insulin therapy as previously prescribed and follow up with your veterinarian in the morning. Do not alter insulin dose based on 2 spot checks without consulting the veterinarian treating her.