Diabetes mellitus in dogs causes significant welfare impact through the disease itself and through the demands of management, but excellent quality of life is achievable with consistent home monitoring and appropriate insulin therapy.
Uncontrolled diabetes causes genuine suffering — chronic thirst and urination, muscle wasting, recurrent infections, and the progressive visual impairment of cataracts. Dogs that develop diabetic ketoacidosis experience severe nausea, vomiting, and metabolic crisis. The welfare impact of diabetes is closely tied to the quality and consistency of management. Dogs with owners committed to twice-daily injections, consistent feeding, and regular veterinary monitoring live well. Dogs whose diabetes is poorly managed experience cycles of hypoglycaemia and hyperglycaemia that cause weakness, seizures, and chronic malaise. The increasing availability of continuous glucose monitoring reduces owner anxiety and improves regulation, benefiting both dog welfare and owner quality of life.