Diabetes Dog Symptions - Get Your Dog Tested If You See These

Diabetes in dogs and humans is increasing at an alarming rate.  If you see the following symptoms, your dog may have diabetes and you should have them tested right away:

• Drinking more water - your dog's body may be craving more water to try to wash out the extra sugar.
• Urinating more frequently - your dog may not be able to "hold it" and start urinating in the house.
• Losing weight - you should be especially concerned if your dog is still eating the same amount but they are still losing weight.
• Increased Appetite - If your dog is wanting more food but is still losing weight, this is a definite sign of diabetes and you need to get the blood test.

These diabetes dog symptoms are basically the same as what you would see in people. In fact, dog diabetes is very similar to human diabetes.

Dog Diabetes Is On the Rise

Dog diabetes is very similar to diabetes found in people. We are seeing as rapid a rise in dog diabetes as we are seeing in humans.

Mostly, the rise in diabetes in both dogs and humans is attributable to the same health factors:

• Way too much sugar in diet. Dog food companies add sugar to dog food and dog snacks to mask the bad taste of the low quality ingredients they use.
• High carb low protein diet. It is more profitable for dog food companies to produce food that is higher in carb and lower in protein. Over the last few decades, dog food has been manufactured with less and less protein and an increasing amount of carbs. Andrew Lewis gives homemade dog food recipes for dogs that have diabetes in his report which are very easy to prepare. You can make up a batch and freeze portions for several days. The vast majority of commercial brands of dog food will only make it worse (in fact, that is what probably caused it in the first place) but Andrew has found a few exceptions and discusses this in his report.
• Eating a diet of mostly highly processed lower quality food. Commercial dog foods are very highly processed to the point where proteins and other nutrients are often denatured. Dry dog food is more highly processed than canned dog food.
• Not enough exercise.  It is well documented in humans that exercise lowers blood sugar so it stands to reason that increasing your dog's activity level could help prevent and reverse diabetes in dogs.

Is Your Pet Dog a Service Dog?

I've noticed that "service dogs" are becoming much more common. It seems like I see them everywhere. I struck up a conversation the other day with a fellow who has a service dog. He told me that the doctor had written him an order "prescribing" the dog for his mental well-being. He can now have his dog in his apartment. Otherwise, there is a no pets rule.

This got me thinking about our dogs and how much emotional support and comfort they give us. I think they make us happier overall and keep us grounded when things aren't going well. I believe what they say about living longer if you have a pet. I think in this sense that all pet dogs are "service dogs." They provide a service to us and we provide a service to them... or do we just call that puppy love :-)

Dog Food Ingredients - Are We Feeding Our Dogs Other Dogs?

I want to share with you one of the most horrifying discoveries I have made while researching the ingredients found in dog food.

Many animal shelters can not afford to cremate all the dogs and cats they euthanize. While some of them bury the animals in massive community graves, this is not always feasible in terms of time, money, and space. So, how do these animal shelters dispose of the dead animal bodies? Rendering factories pick them up and take them to be processed into dog food and other animal feed. They are basically dumped into a big vat, chopped up, and melted down at very high temperatures - fur, heads, feet, bones, diseased tissue, chains, ID tags, green plastic disposal bags, and all.

Yes, it is true. When you buy a bag of dog food kibble and or cans of dog food, it may very well contain dogs. It may say "Tender Beef Cuts" on the can or it may say "Savory Beef Kibble" on the bag but the fact is it has all kinds of mysterious ingredients, the most disgusting of which may be that it contains pet dogs. It depends on the batch of food as to how much. Almost every dog food company does this because almost all of them buy the base ingredients from rendering plants. If you want to find out the few exceptions to this rule, check out this report with the most up to date undercover research.

I shudder to think that a beloved family pet could meet such a fate. I also shudder to think what I was actually feeding my dogs before I really understood what ingredients are in dog food. I vow never to feed my dogs dog again now that I am armed with this information on the secret dog food ingredients.

Why I Started This Dog Food Ingredients Blog

Dogs have a very special place in my heart. I grew up with a very loyal and playful dog who guarded me when I stayed home alone which was often because my Mom was a single parent. I adopted a puppy from a shelter while in college but she only lived to be 11 years old (turns out that's near average today) but she was so dear to me I think of her almost every day. I loved my dogs like I love my family. In fact, I think of them as family members. That's why I was horrified when I first learned the shocking truth about the dog food ingredients found in most dog food brands displayed on the shelves at the grocery store. This horrifying revelation haunted me for a very long time (well, it still does) and I went through several phases before I decided to post this blog.

My first phase was a denial phase. I just couldn't believe it could be true. It must be another one of those urban legends, right? Wrong! I would discover after some more research that it was indeed true. But I kept asking, how could the ingredients in dog food be soooooo bad and no one tell me about it? Why is it not common knowledge? Why isn't it front page news? Why aren't there articles in every magazine? Well, the bottomline is that it comes down to lobbyists and profit grubbing unethical greediness but I'll write about that later.

My next phase was a research phase... and when i get interested in something I really go to town. I did a MASSIVE amount of research. I bought and read every book I could find and read every report. I even wrote to several dog food companies and talked to several holistic vets (and my traditional vet for my dog and cat who I have since fired!!). The best reference I found was an ebook (well, actually it comes with multiple ebooks) called "Dog Food Secrets" by Andrew Lewis. This ebook seems to have every bit of information I've found elsewhere plus a whole lot more information I didn't find elsewhere. Plus, I get free updates which significant amounts of new information. I've turned several friends onto this ebook. I highly recommend it to anyone who has a dog they love and want to see their dog live an extra long and happy life. It will totally change your thinking and give you all the information you need to change your dog's diet so that he or she lives much longer and stays healthier.

The next phase wasn't very pleasant and I guess I'm still going through it somewhat. It was/is a guilt phase. It hit me hard right in the gut to think about what I had fed to both of my dogs. My guilty conscience made me wonder how many years I could have added to my precious Amber's life if I had just known the truth. I loved her so much. I never bought her the cheap generic brands of dog food. I always bought what I thought were the "best commercial brands" like Purina and Hill's Science Diet which I bought through the vet. If I had just known what I know now...

Next, I got angry and I decided to do something about it. I've decided that if more people knew about what was really in dog food, the secret ingredients that the dog food industry has paid literally millions to keep quiet and cover up with false advertising, things might change and more dog owners might know what they need to do. Every dog owner I know loves their dog so much they'd do almost anything to ensure they live longer and stay healthy. The good news is that it is actually quite easy to extend the life of your dog if you know what to feed them and what not to feed them. So, I've started this blog and I promise to add to it as often as I can. I hope everyone who lands here finds it helpful.