Feeding BARF to a Diabetic Dog - is it safe? What is recommended?

Mon, 17 Oct 2011

Barf or raw food is a great alternative............especially for a diabetic dog.....the dry food is the very culprit as to why the blood sugars are spiking and the need for insulin injections. Insulin acts as the balancer for blood sugar spiking helping to bring it back to a normal level.

Another inclusion in the diet for a diabetic dog that could be recommended is Magnesium.  If a dog has been on a "dry' diet most of its life, it is possible that it would have exceptionally low levels of this mineral.

Why? Cereals have very poor levels of Magnesium. Cereals are grown in the ground, and our over-farmed, polluted soil, now has very minimal Magnesium levels. The other reason why dogs wouldn't be receiving adequate levels is cereals also have 'phytates," these combine or attach themselves to the good vitamins and minerals being fed to the dog, and results in these nutrients being unavailable for absorption.

One important property of Magnesium is that it can assist in stopping the 'spiking" of blood sugar levels, and keeps it balanced.

It can take up to 6 months for Magnesium to replenish in the body, because when the body has been abused by not receiving Magnesium, it loses the ability to absorb.

The best way for absorbing Magnesium is through the skin.  Just spray it onto the coat or, in the armpit region of the dog is even better!  This will be absorbed. The other safe-guard is to spray a couple of squirts directly onto the food - not too much, as it is very bitter! The active compound is "Magnesium Chloride," this is by far the most absorbable form of Magnesium...find out more at http://www.bigdogpetfoods.com/product-view/liquid-magnesium-spray-40

Allow at least 30 days for the body to show some form of absorption. A simple way of knowing that the dog is now reached a saturation point in Magnesium is the stools can become looser, so if this occurs, you simply reduce the amount being supplemented.  

Magnesium can be lost through - injury, fear, anxiety, exercise, high sugar content foods to name a few...another reason why horses on "sweet-feeds" should also be supplemented with Magnesium (very high sugar content because of the molasses added). When levels are corrected, these practises mentioned above can subside or even be removed; an example may be dogs that are very excitable, can now show less anxiety and nervousness etc.

Magnesium is also a pre-cursor to over 350 reactions in the body, a lot involved around the "digestive' functioning - pretty important for what a diabetic dog is experiencing.

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