dog wont eat

Question
I have a RottiXGreat Dane and her diet has always been Nutro for large breeds. About 4-5 weeks ago, she quit eating and began drinking a ton. Took her to the vet and since then has been diagnosed with diabetes. Still could not get her to eat, tried every type of wet and dry food that the vet suggested. 4 days ago, thought we would try making homemade dog food with hamburger, brown rice and peas. Went okay until 2 days ago. She started to spit out the peas so we deleted those. Yesterday she wouldn't eat the rice either. So basically all she will eat right now is the hamburger, will eat if there is an egg in the meat too. Tried mixing the egg and hamburger with her dog food, she won't even look at it. She has to eat as there needs to be food in her stomach for the insullin to work. What do I do??

Answer
In general, a diabetic dog needs close nutritional monitoring if a home made diet is to be attempted. Even if your girl were to accept the rice, beef and peas diet, it is still extremely lacking in essential nutrients. I suggest a professional consultation for tihs dog as I am uncomfortable advising casually for such a serious condition as diabetes. Ideally, she needs more fiber, regular meals and a fullrange of supplementation including fatty acids, vitamins and minerals.

One suggestion I can make outside of a consultation; you mentioned she won't eat the foods sugegsted by your vet. Many vets recommend Hill's, or Eukanuba, and that's about it. If yours didn't suggest premium foods such as Canidae, Wellness, Innova, Merrick's and Natural Balance, I would investigate some of these. Canidae All Life Stgaes and Merrick's (canned and dry) are highly palatable foods of a much higher quality than Science Diet. Your vet may well be aiming for a specific nutrient composition, or may simply be hoping to encourage her to eat. I would try some premium foods- make sure to try canned as well as dry -  and, if the inappetance continues, get her back in to be checked. Longterm inappetance may signal that something else is going on, and will certainly complicate her condition and lead to nutritional deficiencies.

If you decide to keep trying home made without the guidance of a nutritionist, at least try using other foods such as fish (sardines and salmon in particular) turkey (light and dark meat) eggs, lamb, liver and heart. Novelty meats such as venison and rabbit are often readily accepted, too. You might also try using well cpooked sweet potato as a starch in place of the brown rice, many dogs enjoy sweet potato and it will baalnce the diet somewhat so it is not all meat. Another option is to puree the cooked meat and rice(or sweet potato, or a mixture of both) altogether, so if the dog wants the meat she has to also ingest the carb. Again, this is neither balanced nor optimal for any dog, much less a diabetic.

Many dogs love tripe, you could also attempt adding a Tbsp or so of canned tripe to the food. But again, in the case of a condition such as this, whereby nutrition is of utmost importance, I would encourage you to either work with a professional or continue your search for a high quality commercial food she will enjoy.

Catherine