Has Your Diabetic Pup Changed Your Habits, Too?
A few days ago, I came across a great advertisement for dog food from European company Jardiland. Most dog food commercials feature happy puppies sliding around on hardwood floors or an old greying dog imparting words of wisdom and life lessons.
Thankfully, Jardiland broke the dog food commercial mold with their new campaign. The genius in their ad comes from its ability to play off of human-focused commercials from big brands like Subway. Remember when Jared held up his pants after losing all that weight on Subway? Of course! It's an iconic image that was a big reason why the sandwich shop had so much success over the past 10 years. Well, Jardiland introduced us to the dog version of Jared!
I'm writing about this ad not only because it did a great job of catching my eye (like a good ad should), but it also got me thinking: when Ellas was diagnosed with diabetes, I had to drastically change her diet. But, I also changed my diet too.
Prior to developing diabetes, Ella was accustomed to eating a nibble of whatever I was eating. Yes, she had two regular meals a day, but in between those were plenty of dog and human snacks, many of which she didn't need.
The first few weeks were tough after I got the news about Ella. I loved spoiling her with food and seeing her happy. As she begged during my afternoon snacks, I felt guilty that I was able to indulge while she was forced to have the same food at the same times every day. So, instead of feeling guilty, I began to change my habits too!
One of the most important parts of treating diabetic dogs is giving them the (roughly) same kind of food every day at the same times. This helps their body, in conjunction with the insulin shots, know what to expect when digestion is triggered. If your dog is diabetic and you aren't seeing a lot of progress with insulin shots, it may be because you haven't kept to a schedule and aren't being more regular about the kinds of food they are eating.
As I got Ella onto a new routine, I realized that I was starting to follow the routine for my own eating! I began cutting out snacks when meals were close, and stopped eating some of Ella's favorite human foods so I wouldn't be tempted to give her some. I also began exercising more and became more disciplined about making sure Ella got a good workout. Of course, this helped me lose some weight as well!
Do you have any tips about changing your routine along with your diabetic dog's? Let us know in the comments!
- Rob & Ella
