What is Diabetes insipidus?
There are two forms of diabetes in dogs: diabetes insipidus ("drinking diabetes") and diabetes mellitus ("sugar diabetes").
Diabetes insipidus is a rare form and is only definitely diagnosed after extensive blood and urine tests.
My dog is drinking and urinating a lot. Is diabetes insipidus the likely cause?
There are many causes of increased thirst (polydipsia) and increased urine production (polyuria), including diabetes and kidney disease. It is essential that several diagnostic tests be performed to determine the cause of your pet’s problem.
What causes diabetes insipidus?
Part of the job of the kidneys is to continually filter water from the blood that passes through them and maintain the balance of the body’s water by reabsorbing fluid from the blood.
Efficient re-absorption requires an adequate level of a hormone known as antidiuretic hormone (ADH), which is produced by the posterior lobe of the pituitary gland in the brain. If this hormone is not produced in sufficient quantities or if the kidney fails to respond to it, diabetes insipidus can occur.
Can the condition be cured?
Like sugar diabetes, drinking diabetes can sometimes be successfully controlled by administering antidiuretic hormone either by injection or in the form of nasal drops. The diagnosis of diabetes insipidus can be challenging and require extensive and complicated tests. Fortunately it is a rare disease in dogs.
Based on material written by Ernest Ward, DVM. and modified with permission from Lifelearn Inc.
© Copyright 2005 Lifelearn Inc.
