Dogs With Diabetes?

[Deanne]

I took baxter to the vet today because he was drinking a lot of water and then peeing but not stopping completely... he would dribble some pee after he did his initial leg cocking.

The vet told me he has high blood sugar and the serum in his blood (which is normally clear) is milky (very fatty).

He wants us to take a urine sample back into him on Monday so he can do further tests to confirm his suspicions.

Has anyone else dealt with this?

I appreciate any and all advice.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Deanne.

[Dogsfevr]

Diabetes is become very common,we get alot of dogs in boarding with it.

Really you need to wait for the test results as each dog is different but it can be very easy to maintain you just have to be very diet aware etc

[Deanne]

I have never encountered a dog with diabetes until today though I knew it was possible.

What kind of things do you feed a dog with diabetes?

I will try to do some research on it later.

Edited June 18, 2006 by Deanne

[Nadia]

You might find this interesting....

http://www.petdiabetes.org/diet.htm

[Deanne]

Thanks for the replies, it is much appreciated.

Thank you for posting that link nadia.

Regards,

Deanne.

[wagsalot]

My aunty's cat who I have been looking after had diabetes. (Not a dog I know, but I thought id add it anyway.)

Unfortunately I had to send him over the bridge last week, but he lived a happy healthy life with diabetes up to the age of 14.

We had to give him an injection a day, but besides from that and just making sure there was always alot of fresh water available it was very easy to manage.

[Deanne]

Thank you for your post wagsalot. It is reassuring and I appreciate it.

Regards,

Deanne.

[Deanne]

Hello again, I am back with an update.

Baxter has been confirmed as having diabetes.

I can't tell you enough how much this diagnosis has rocked my world. I have to inject baxter with insulin twice a day and I HATE doing that. I know it needs to be done and that is often the only thing that makes me do it. I go through a lot of anxiety leading up to and while administering the injection.

My question is does anyone have a diabetic pet that has it's diabetes regulated with tablets? If so please pass on any information. I ask because my grandmother is diabetic and she manages her diabetes through tablets, not injections.

Any and all advice would be appreciated, this really is an upsetting time for all involved. I have not stopped crying the last couple of days.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Deanne.

[bloss344]

Deanne, my heart goes out to you. I know how you feel about giving injections. I had a rabbit with a bad infection once and had to give antibiotic inj and it was really hard, but I digress.

As far as I have read and the dogs I have known who have had diabetes insulin is only given by injection. I'm sure your vet will be the one to dicuss this with though. My ex hubby's dog had diabetes and she had two injections a day and a controlled diet. She lived to quite a good life and to around 16 yo even though she lost her sight towards the end.

Hopefully there will be some DOLers with diabetic dogs who can help you through this time.

[Poodle wrangler]

Sorry to hear the news. Not what you want to hear, but good for Baxter that he's being treated. I suspect a dog isn't diagnosed with diabetes until the disease has progressed further than is treatable with tablets.

I know in humans, some people need to progress to insulin injections and once they do often feel much better for it. I'm thinking of an aunt who wished she went to injections earlier as she felt so much better, afterwards (no one wants to give themselves injections, of course).

The injections you're giving, though you don't like it, will give Baxter another chance at life :D He's now got the chance to live a lot longer than he would otherwise. I'm sure he'll get used to it, especially as you get more confident. Best wishes

[Erny]

I have to inject baxter with insulin twice a day and I HATE doing that. I know it needs to be done and that is often the only thing that makes me do it. I go through a lot of anxiety leading up to and while administering the injection.

Deanne - sorry to hear of your dog's troubles. I have no helpful info to offer you, other than to tell you that you will get used to giving the injections and eventually think nothing of it. It will become routinish and you'll look back and wonder why you were so concerned about giving them. I know this, because I still recall how I felt about giving my horses injections - eventually, it was nothing. In fact, I felt quite chuffed about the fact that I could do it.

[Baxlse]

Hi Deanne,

I have a diabetic dog; he was diagnosed just over two years ago & went blind from cataracts shortly after. I also felt very overwhelmed at the prospect of injections, blood glucose curves, urine testing, calorie controlled diet & strict feeding times etc, etc.

I found that I just got used to it, I initially hated the thought of stabbing my little man with a needle twice a day but I'm so quick & good with it now & he really does not mind in the slightest, he just sits & waits for me to do it. I found thinner gauged needles at the Chemist which create less scar tissue & go in with a little less pain to him.

Unfortunately he is quite ill now from heart failure & may not be with us for much longer but Diabetes by itself is very manageable.

Best of luck, I'm sure you'll do just fine.

ETA, I was told by my vet that treating with tablets is not really an option because dogs don't respond to tablet therapy the same way humans do, almost all canine diabetes cases are treated with insulin therapy.

Edited June 22, 2006 by Baxlse

[sithspawn]

Hi Deanne,

My family border collie contracted diabetes in his later years of life. It ended up causing him to pass away, but he was 13 years old so had lived a good long life already. When he first was diagnosed with diabetes, the vet only gave him no more than 1 month and wanted us to put him down after a few days to stop him from being in pain. This was when I first actively sought out information on new diets and what causes diabetes in dogs. There are some vegies and food prodcuts that vastly increase the risk of diabetes in dogs.

Basically I started to feed him on the BARF diet, being vary wary of the vegetables that even slightly have diabete warnings on them. He managed to live for another 8 months, and went in his sleep.

This was a very severe case though. The vet said that there are ways of treating it, but because it was already too far gone, and also because he was very old, he did not want to put him on any unnecessary treatments.

Good luck with your situation Deanne. My heart is with you on this one. Its a very serious thing, but by no means does it mean you will not have a long and happy life with your fur-baby.

Regards,

Daniel

[Alpha]

My aunts dog had diabetes and required insulin injections daily, trouble is you cannot really explain to a dog why you are jabbing it with a needle every day and they come to resent it. The vet put my aunt onto the anastetic bandaids they use for kids for blood tests etc, he tested them for her found little difference from the pain blockers used for animals and cut the bandaids into appropriate sized strips ( DO NOT TRY THIS WITH OUT A VETS APPROVAL AND ASSESSMENT) They placed one on her 15 mins before her shot and and then remove it for the shot, she had her shot whilst being groomed and she did'nt even know. At the rate they were going she was getting nasty and vicious about being picked up even. She was a JRT who was going on 15 and had been a diabetic for 7 years.

[Deanne]

Thank you for taking the time to post. I truly do appreciate it.

I apologise for taking a while to respond but as you can imagine I have had a lot on my plate recently.

I have continued to give Baxter his injections and have found that I gain a little more confidence in doing so each time I do it. I also get better each time.

Baxter does not seem to mind the needle going in. I show him the needle before I inject him and get him to go to the bedroom, on the bed. He comes without me having to pick him up and take him there. He also sits still. As mentioned previously he does not mind the needle going in, he does not even flinch or appear to notice it. When I push the insulin through (after pulling back on the plunger to ensure I have not hit a vein) he has (once or twice) noticed when the insulin was going in. I think that is because it has to be stored in the fridge and is cold and therefore may be a little uncomfortable to him. He did not move at all tonight though. I reward him after I have given him his insulin with a tiny piece of microwaved chicken breast that I save from his meal.

It seems to get easier each time (granted I have only done it 7 times - he was diagnosed Monday) but I am less nervous (still have a bit of nerves to combat though) but I am getting more confident in adminstering the insulin.

Thank you to everyone on this thread for replying. I sincerely appreciate the advice, information, opinions and shared experiences.

Regards,

Deanne.

[wagsalot]

When my aunty's cat was diagnosed with diabetes they were terrified of giving him the injection.

A month later and it was just part of their daily routine.

I know when I had to inject my aunty's cat Lucky, he didnt even flinch when I did it. He'd just keep purring away.

Maybe they feel alot better after the injection, and therefore don't mind having it done.

[Deanne]

I think Baxter does appear to be a little calmer after his injection.

The good news is I have been to the vet several times this week and had his BGL checked. At first it was 24.3 (Saturday) then 16.8 (Tuesday) and finally today it was 3.8!! We (the vet and I) thought it was best to start small and work the dosage higher bit by bit to see how he reacted to it. I have to say I was really happy about the results today.

I am slowly getting used to administering the insulin.

Thanks for sharing your experiences wagsalot. At first the diagnosis is overwhelming and hard to come to terms with but as the days pass you realise everything does fall into a bit of a routine.

Once again, thank you for your posts.

Regards,

Deanne.

[Rozzie]

Do skin problems occur with diabetes in dogs like in humans? Sores that won't clear up, abcess type sores etc?

[Baxlse]

Diabetes sufferers do have problems with infections & have very slow healing times. Mick never had open sores or anything like that but he did get recurring ear infections.

If anyone is interested, I have a lot of Caninsulin (2.5 ml bottles) left over from Mick who unfortunately passed away last week. It can't be sent because it needs refrigeration but can be picked up from my place, which is about 18kms north of Melbourne CBD.

Rozzie, I sent you an email about heart meds from another site, just wondering if you got it?

[nellybly10]

My question is does anyone have a diabetic pet that has it's diabetes regulated with tablets? If so please pass on any information. I ask because my grandmother is diabetic and she manages her diabetes through tablets, not injections.

From the little that I know about pet diabetes (we had an old cat who had it - injections twice a day) dogs and cats get two different types. Dogs get the equivalent to Human Type 1 diabetes which is always insulin dependant, whereas cats get the equivalent to Type 2 diabetes (the most common human form, mostly due to being overweight, poor diet etc) and they can sometimes in the earlier stages be controlled by diet alone. Type 2 in cats is also reversible in some cases after long-term insulin therapy, whereas I think dogs have it for life.