(Question)
While catching up on some reading today, I found the column you wrote in the March/April 2008 issue, in particular the response regarding diabetes insipidus. In your column you refer to a Labrador with a drinking problem. I have a female Lab with the same behavior you described. She drinks all the time, sneaks water out of the toilet and then piddles on the floor if she can't get outside fast enough to pee. She also pees in her sleep.

She has been tested frequently (annually) for diabetes. She has had episodes of hypoglycemic reactions where she got "drunk" after eating a heavy starch meal to control bad diarrhea. My vet recommended this solution. I wondered if you might have some additional thoughts.
--TB

(Answer)
You need to understand that there are two types of diabetes. The most common is diabetes mellitus, often referred to as "sugar" diabetes. Signs of this disease are manifest due to insufficient secretion of insulin by the pancreas. Dogs show increased thirst and urination in an attempt to rid the body of sugar (carbohydrates). Insulin is required to carry carbohydrates into the individual cells to be used by them as an energy source.

Diabetes insipidus is a disease that results in the failure of the kidney to concentrate urine. It manifests in a similar way as D. mellitus with increased water consumption and excessive urination. Diagnosis is more difficult than with D. mellitus and there are actually two forms of the disease, a kidney form and a pituitary form.

With the pituitary form there is a deficiency of antidiuretic hormone produced, and the kidney does not get the message to concentrate. In the kidney form, damage to the kidney tubules reduces the kidney's ability to concentrate the urine.

I suspect your dog was tested for D. mellitus, the most common type and you may want to proceed with further diagnostic testing.

(Question)
My three-year-old German shorthair is a great hunting dog for me and my family. When I bought her I didn't know much about the breed other than what I had observed from friends with shorthairs, and I liked what I saw.

Kip has not disappointed us. She is registered with a respectable pedigree and has more natural ability than I do as an owner and trainer. There are a few questions I have concerning her light eye color and the breed standard.

I have read that the breed standard for eye color in GSPs is dark brown, and light eyes are a fault. If that is accurate, why don't the sanctioned field and hunt agencies enforce the standard, or does it only apply to the show ring? Where did the light color originate? In your opinion should responsible breeders strive to perpetuate dark eye color or should the standard be changed or just ignored?
--MF

(Answer)
Welcome to the real world of dogs. The light color of the eyes probably came from a tendency to breed dogs that are lighter in coat color and have less pigment in the nose, around the eyes and in the skin of the body. This could be the result of outcrossing to other breeds or just not paying attention to eye color as breeders concentrated on other characteristics.