Cushing's Syndrome and Other Causes of Insulin Resistance in Dogs.

The most common causes of insulin resistance in diabetic dogs are Cushing syndrome, diestrus, and obesity. Cushing-associated effects include insulin resistance, excessive postprandial hyperglycemia, perceived short duration of insulin action, and/or substantial within-day and/or day-to-day glycemic variability. Successful strategies to manage excessive glycemic variability include basal insulin monotherapy and combined basal-bolus insulin treatment. Ovariohysterectomy and insulin treatment can achieve diabetic remission in about 10% of cases of diestrus diabetes. Different causes of insulin resistance have an additive effect on insulin requirements and the risk of progression to clinical diabetes in dogs.