My mother in laws 12 year old dog has just been diagnosed with diabetes (after vet initially thinking poisoning) and having 2 days intensive care.

I went to collect her this morning and was shown how to administer insulin but the vet said not to worry about her diet or anything as they would adjust the insulin to suit her needs. I found this very strange as I would rather she had some control by diet - as humans would.

I know royal canin make a diabetes food but can't seem to find anything about suitability of other brands or their sugar/carb contents. Ideally we would like to be able to wean her off the insulin eventually (inconvenience of having to give it to her at very specific times as much as the cost really) but even if this isn't an option I feel her diet could factor into her health.

Maybe I'm just being overly fussy and cutting back on the sugary/high carb treats at this stage in her life is pointless and would take away one of the few pleasures she has left?

Any advice welcome.

Usually a dog will need insulin for the rest of it's life but yes diet should also be considered. Hills, Iams and Waltham all do complete diets for dogs with diabetes. A diet high in complex carbs and fibre is usually best if your dog will eat it.

Try Chappie - I had a girl with old age diabetes (she was 12) and the vet advised me to put her on to Chappie, a lot of other people said the same afterwards too, she was fine on it.