Final answer:
In a hypoglycemic dog on a low carbohydrate diet like chicken breast, urinalysis would likely show the presence of ketones, indicating the body is using fat instead of glucose as an energy source due to carbohydrate deficiency or a situation akin to diabetes mellitus.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's dog is hypoglycemic and has predominantly been consuming chicken breast, which is high in protein, but low in carbohydrates. For a dog in this condition, it's likely that the body has started metabolizing fat reserves as an alternative energy source because of the low intake of carbohydrates. Therefore, the component one would expect to find in a urinalysis evaluation is ketones.
Ketones are byproducts of fat metabolism, and their presence in the urine (ketonuria) indicates that the body is relying on fat for energy instead of glucose, a condition which can also be seen in diabetes mellitus, whether due to insufficient insulin production (Type I) or insulin resistance (Type II). In both cases, the lack of effective insulin prevents cells from utilizing glucose, causing the body to burn fat, leading to excess ketone production. If the dog is not diabetic but is on a diet severely deficient in carbohydrates, the appearance of ketones in the urine might also suggest starvation or a similar dietary issue.