Glycosylated hemoglobin in diabetic and nondiabetic dogs.

Glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1) was measured in 40 nondiabetic hospitalized dogs, 16 clinically normal laboratory colony dogs, and 16 diabetic dogs. Mean HbA1 values (% of total Hb) for the 3 groups were 6.43, 5.62, and 9.63, respectively. The mean values for the 2 nondiabetic groups differed significantly (P less than 0.05), and the mean values for the nondiabetic dogs were significantly lower than the mean value for that of the diabetic dogs (P less than 0.001). Fifteen of 16 diabetic dogs had HbA1 concentrations greater than 7.5%. These results suggested that HbA1 measurement may be valuable for monitoring effectiveness of therapy in canine diabetes mellitus.