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My dog has diabetes insipidus. Is diet important? What food is best?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 40 lbs

My dog was recently diagnosed with diabetes insipidus. I am trying to find out if it is food related and if there is any particular food she should or should not be eating. She is a whippet mix about 40 lbs. We took her off an all dry food diet and took her off all grain. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Stacey Anstaett, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on September 18th, 2018

What Dr Ana was referring to is that the disease that Bailey was recently diagnosed with--diabetes insipidus--is NOT going to be affected to any significant extent by Bailey's diet. If it was diabetes mellitus, that would be a completely different conversation. The only thing for diabetes insipidus of note regarding diet is that wet food would be better, so as to maximize the amount of water intake (wet or canned food has a high moisture content) to help prevent her from becoming dehydrated. Thank you for asking Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

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13Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Other Answers

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    Answered By Ana M, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Thank you for submitting your question regarding your dog. Diabetes insipidus is a rare disease that is most commonly a congenital problem where the brain either does not produce a hormone needed to control water metabolism or the kidneys are unable to respond to this hormone. Rare cases can result from a tumor in the brain or severe kidney damage. It is not a disease that is related to diet. It is typically managed with an eye drop to help control the frequent urination. I hope this information helps!

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    8Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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