Best Dog Food for Diabetic Dog: Reviews & Top Picks!
Dogs can suffer from diabetes just like humans. Your dog may develop hyperglycemia, or excess glucose in the body, if his body can’t process insulin correctly. If your dog is diabetic, the best food for diabetic dog companions can help regulate his diet and improve his health.
Also like humans, diabetic dogs can benefit from a change in their diets, which can significantly improve their health and body functions. Keeping your dog at a healthy weight is of the utmost importance, and this begins with his food.
It is important to use portion control, avoid sugary foods, and lower the number of treats you feed your diabetic dog each day. Additionally, it is important to be aware of the ingredients in his food. Wholesome, real ingredients should take preference over fillers and ingredients that are difficult to digest.
VCA Animal Hospital created a helpful video that answers several important questions about dog diabetes:
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Reviews of Best Dog Food for Diabetic Dogs
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Avoiding grains as much as possible in your diabetic dog’s food is important in keeping carbohydrate content low. Orijen Original Grain-Free dog food is a low glycemic food perfect for diabetic dogs.
With 85% premium animal ingredients, like deboned chicken and turkey, yellowtail flounder, and whole Atlantic mackerel, this food packs in a ton of protein content. In fact, its Guaranteed Analysis includes 38% protein, which is super important for a diabetic dog.
Additionally, your dog will have a healthy, balanced meal with fruits and veggies, like spinach, kale, carrots, and apples. Orijen also adds in freeze-dried meats to every bag, so you will never have to sacrifice flavor for a better diet for your dog.
Acana Heritage Dry Dog Food, Free-Run Poultry dog food boasts a 29% protein content per serving, perfect for diabetic dogs who need plenty of protein. Additionally, its proteins consist of high-quality animal meats, like deboned chicken, pork, and beef.
ACANA follows the WholePrey ratios of meats, organs, and cartilage for plenty of animal content to satisfy your dog’s taste buds and biological needs. And, it leaves out all of the carbs and fillers you don’t want for your diabetic dog, like potatoes, glutens, and plant proteins.
Instead, you’ll get plenty of Omega oils, supplements, vitamins, minerals, and healthy greens to promote proper digestion.
Zignature Kangaroo Limited Ingredient dog food is one of a kind: its main protein is kangaroo meat imported from Australia. Why? Kangaroo meat packs a lot of protein content and very little saturated fat. These are both necessities in a diabetic dog’s diet who needs weight control.
This formula is low glycemic, leaving out the sugars and carbs you don’t want in your dog’s food. Instead, it packs in chickpeas, flaxseed, and tons of vitamins and minerals for a balanced diet rich with nutrients.
Zignature also offers double the Vitamin B12 content that other dog foods do. Vitamin B12 can increase pancreas efficiency, an important process in any dog’s body, but especially in a diabetic dog’s body.
Nutrisca Grain-Free dog food is specifically formulated without grains, potatoes, or tapioca, because the brand knows these don’t always align with a dog’s natural diet. The brand is known for its natural ingredients, especially its real animal protein content.
Nutrisca Grain-Free keeps the carb and fat content low, while adding in super healthy, antioxidant rich ingredients, like apples, blueberries, cranberries, and salmon oil. It also includes chelated minerals for better absorption in the body.
Its protein and fiber content, 32% and 7%, respectively, are among the highest of some of the best dog foods. Additionally, Nutrisca offers one of the lowest prices of low glycemic foods for your diabetic dog, which gives it even more bonus points from me.
Royal Canin offers veterinarian-prescribed diets for a variety of ailments that dogs suffer from. One of its most popular veterinary diets is for dogs who struggle with controlling glucose in their bodies, like diabetic dogs.
Although this requires a prescription from your vet, it’s absolutely worth asking your vet about. The Glycobalance formula focuses on packing in a balance of soluble and insoluble fiber to help control glucose levels and limit spiking.
This canned food can help attract picky eaters and get them on a more frequent feeding schedule to better control glucose levels.
How Do I Know What to Feed a Diabetic Dog?
The best dog food for dogs with diabetes is one with plenty of fiber to aid in digestion and a low glycemic index. You obviously don’t want to add extra sugar to a diet for a dog who has trouble processing the sugar in his body.
The best food for diabetic dog companions should also contain high protein content from real meat rather than cheaper protein sources. The majority of the dog’s calories from his food should be from animal protein. The food should be low in carbohydrates, like potatoes and oatmeal.
However, you should be careful if you decide to make the switch to grain-free dog food to avoid excess carbohydrates. Unfortunately, many of these compensate for the lack of grains with other carbohydrates, like peas and tapioca, which can have an even higher carb content.
Final Thoughts
These 5 best foods for diabetic dogs are excellent choices in terms of ingredients and protein, fat, and fiber content. Diabetic dogs, like humans, need to have a controlled diet with healthy ingredient choices and limited calories. Avoiding excess carbohydrates that turn into sugar in the body if not absorbed quickly can significantly help your diabetic dog.
The 5 dog foods I’ve reviewed are low glycemic formulas that leave out unnecessary carbs and grains. Instead, they pack in quality animal proteins and antioxidant rich ingredients that improve overall health. They also increase fiber content, and keep your diabetic dog in the best possible shape.