Glucose monitoring
Log spot readings or build a full glucose curve across the day. The app draws the curve, marks the lowest point, shows feed and injection times, and lets you add a note — so an unusual reading makes sense later.
Completely free
Diabetic Dog Companion
A free Windows app for owners caring for a dog with diabetes — glucose curves, diet planning, insulin dose guidance, vet reports, and plain-English guides to the whole subject. Built on veterinary and manufacturer sources.
Free to download
Free to keep — always
No account needed
Works offline
Your data stays on your PC
Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit) · about 25 MB · no licence key, no trial period
What’s inside
Everything in one place
Insulin & doses
Keeps the dose your vet set safe on screen, helps with the everyday arithmetic when your dog only eats part of a meal, and puts the safety basics close at hand. It never invents or changes a dose — that is always your vet’s decision.
Diet & weight
Works out the right daily calories for your dog’s ideal weight, turns that into grams of food, and shows a food’s true fat content once the water is taken out. Includes a food list of over 160 foods. Save the plan to share with your vet.
Vet reports & backup
One button makes a tidy PDF for the vet: your dog’s details, weight, a glucose curve and the diet plan, all in one place. A separate backup button saves everything to a file you can keep safe.
Learn
Plain-English guides covering glucose meters and sensors, what the numbers mean, exercise, diet, the eyes, urine testing and more — each with its sources listed so you can always see where the information comes from.
Support
Links to the UK Diabetic Dogs community, Blue Cross and other trusted helplines, an honest quality-of-life check, and gentle guidance for the hardest times.
The story behind it
Why this app exists
When Bryce, my 14-year-old Border Collie, was diagnosed with diabetes while we were living in Spain, the local vets had far more theoretical knowledge of the condition than practical experience. In Spain, most dogs diagnosed with diabetes are put down. I researched the subject heavily — Bryce has been doing well for the last 18 months — but it was only recently, entirely by chance, that I found the UK Diabetic Dogs community. I wished I had found them much sooner.
That experience led directly to this app: something that works offline, that puts the research I had gathered in one place, that keeps reliable records for the vet, and that might spare other owners some of the struggle I had.
About the author
After what some might call an unusual life, I found Bryce at a rescue centre on completing my circumnavigation in a 10-metre yacht. Soon bored with retirement, I became a chocolatier — and that led, unexpectedly, to learning how to build software using AI for the coding, including the production-management program on this website, which was first built for my daughter’s organic skincare business earthbound.co.uk. I’ve also written my circumnavigation account (Chasing the Sunset) and a memoir (Slightly off Script). Now in my 81st year, I still have a number of projects to complete.
Installing the app
What to expect on first install
This is free, independent software and is not yet code-signed, so Windows and some antivirus tools don’t recognise it yet. It is safe to install — here’s what you may see and what to do.
1. The blue “Windows protected your PC” message
When you run the installer you may see a blue box saying “Windows protected your PC” (this is called SmartScreen).
Click More info, then Run anyway. It appears only because the program is new and not yet code-signed — this is normal for small independent software.
2. If antivirus flags it
Occasionally antivirus tools wrongly flag brand-new programs (a “false positive”). If that happens, choose Allow, Keep or Restore from the antivirus notification.
If you’d rather check it first, you can scan the installer at virustotal.com before running it.
Built to be trusted
Sources, not guesswork
Because real owners use it to make real decisions, everything in the app is sourced — from veterinary journals, manufacturer datasheets and professional guidelines. The sources are gathered together on a dedicated page inside the app so you can check them any time. The app records and explains; it never invents insulin doses or tells you to change what your vet has set.