Couple of questions. How old is your dog? Is your dog incontinent already? There are body bands that can help with this. Rattyfur had diabetes but we had to put him to sleep because the vet tried all of the commercially available insulin and only one based on lamb worked for him. It was discontinued by the only company that manufactured it. Several years later the vet had another client who compounded/manufactured special medicines and could have made it. Not all animals become incontinent but Ratty did and it was impossible to keep him clean and dry.

Once the type of insulin is decided you may be able to obtain from a regular pharmacy along with the syringes. It is easiest if you test the blood and you can use a human one or one that you can now purchase from Amazon made for dogs. There is a slight math adjustment but it is slight.

It can be simply another thing added to your day but that depends on how you feel about it. Not a dog but my birthday buddy kept his cat alive for 8 years before it developed cancer. As far as going blind so can humans with diabetes but there is nothing set in stone that they will.

I had a Black Lab that lived for a good seven plus years after being diagnosed. He did go blind but still played fetch. As far as he was concerned his quality of life was great.

It is very important to give the insulin twice a day after meals. We did 5AM and 5 PM since DH went to work at that time. He was at first terrified of giving the morning shots but he learned and became a pro at it. Always be sure he is holding his food down before giving the shot. Stick as close to a twelve hour schedule as possible. if you can't for some reason like a day you may have to leave early the vet can help you do the math to adjust the dosage.

Once proper dosage is set most canines need few adjustments. You can do this.

You do not have to test the blood all the time. Only occasionally. blood glucose curves can be done at home. I did since I am comfortable with things lie that, but many just drop the dog off at the vet for them. It's far different and much easier than managing human diabetes. Walmart had the best price on insulin at the time.

Hypoglycemia is an emergency!!! Always have a bottle of corn syrup on hand. If you dog exhibits symptoms rub his gums with it. It can make the difference between life or death by the time to get him to a vet. My dog only had one episode. We think he probably vomited his meal outdoors without us knowing. He got through it OK but it is definitely something you want to avoid.

How do you know if your dog has Hypoglycemia? Our dog is a Poodle and 10 years old. Still waiting to go pick him up and I suppose the vet will give us instuctions, This is all so new and scary to us. We love him so MUCH!

How do you know if your dog has Hypoglycemia?

Confusion, stumbling, collapse, seizure. Any one or more. You would know. But it's not something to expect. Feed twice a day, give the insulin properly. It will be fine. Hypoglycemia is just something to prepare for in the remote chance it happens. Same as a human diabetic may carry hard candy with them. Just in case.

Yes, Izzi is diabetic. You will have no problem giving the shots, pull up the loose skin on the back of the neck and put the needle in and there you go. It is very sharp and goes in well. She is not blind, on special diet and is doing very well. She can eat a lot of vegetables, such as cooked pumpkin, all she wants, green beans and such too. She eats canned Royal Canin for diabetic dogs. You get into a routine. Her dog food, Vetsulin, and syringes are prescription and I get them from Chewy.com. All delivered at my door. Vetsulin comes in with packs of ice.

Sue

Don't worry about the injections. I had to learn how to give them when we found out my stepdaughter had type 1 diabetes when she was 12. We practiced on each other :-) It's a very fine needle and you barely feel it - I'm sure for dogs and cats it is similar.

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9) for dogs you just pinch up a little tent of loose skin and give the injection through one side of the tent. It goes IN the tent not through it and like you said the needle is pretty fine. My dog would eagerly run up for his injection knowing a small dog treat would follow.

We're home with our little dog. We have to give her a shot twice a day and absolutely no food except twice a day. Tomorrow morning one of us will give the first shot. We have to go to the vet once a week until they get the right dosage. Marilyn Sue I was so glad to read your dog is not blind!! Wish us luck tomorrow morning.

We had a cat that developed diabetes when he was about 10 years old. I used to give him insulin injections twice a day. He was really good about getting the injections. He never went blind.

Our lab developed diabetes in the last year of his life before succumbing to cancer at 12 YO. Our vet started him on human insulin out of the gate, an intermediate acting one. The vet directed us to WalMart because of the cost savings. The larger the dog--our lab was around 90#'s, the more significant the savings. I brought insulin back from my trips to Mexico later where insulin is even less expensive. (Care must be taken to keep it cold.)

I had no problems injecting it. But then, I have been giving my dogs most all of their vaccinations for decades. When we lived in OK, I could buy all of the vaccines OTC, including rabies vaccine. Limited now living in WI because some of the vaccines are not OTC in this state.

Twice daily injections with food. Dog did not go blind. There was a period in the beginning where we had to take him to the vet weekly to fine tune the dosage.

We has a long haired miniature dachshund with diabetes. She has been gone for a few years now. I had to give her a shot every day. She was fine with me giving them but anyone else she would nip at. Since that time insulin as skyrocketed. Back then I went to my pharmacy and just asked for a vile for my dog--no prescription. It was $30, lasted a month. Now at what I hear the price is I have been wondering what people with pets do. She did not live long enough to go blind. At some point one has to decide what their quality of life is and make a compassionate decision.

Sal 60 if you would like to send me a message, perhaps I can help you through this. If your dog is overweight and loses some, the amount of insulin will be reduced.

Sue

Thanks Sue--I think our vet will be checking this at least I hope so. I will be taking him every week I just gave the first shot and nothing to it and I was so scared!! I checked on Chewy and the needles are cheaper from our vet--54.00 and I pay 48 for Merck. We have already noticed he is not drinking as much water.. Thank you everyone for your input. I appreciate it.

Glad to see that you got that first shot done and apparently easier than you thought. I have had 2 dogs with diabetes. The second passed away about 26 years ago. She was diabetic for 7 years and did not go blind. Will you be doing urine testing? It is very helpful to keep a check on how well controlled the dogs sugar is. Getting that urine sample can be challenging. I did pretty well using a long stick (dowel) by attaching a circular loop of wire at one end. This loop of wire would hold a small bathroom type paper cup that I would use to collect the urine when I saw that the dog was in position to pee. Of course the dog should be leashed...the shorter the dog, the longer the stick needed.

I know how much the cost of insulin has gone up. A nephew has a dog in need of the same insulin that my husband uses. Of course we have insurance that pays most of the cost. At the end of every 30 days when the vial in use is to be discarded, there is enough left in the vial to treat the nephew's dog for many days. So we pass it on the him. It is always kept refrigerated.

A funny story about giving our 'Snuffy' her shots. When she was diagnosed, I was the one that gave her the shot every day for about 3 months. One morning I decided that it was time for DH to learn how to do this dirty deed. I had trained Snuffy to back up between my legs when I told her it was time for her shot. She would position herself, then I would pull up the place on the back of her neck and inject the insulin. Soon as I pulled the syringe away from her, she would turn and gently bite my fingers then walk away. When DH announced shot time to her she did as I taught her, backed up between his legs and let him do the 'dirty deed'. When he pulled away the syringe, she ran over to where I was standing giving the directions and bit me, not him.

I don't know anything about testing yet. I will ask the vet when we go in next week. If I can do it. it will save us 50.00 or more a week. So much to learn but so worth it.

Just be aware that urine testing is 'old news' in judging exactly where the dogs blood sugar is. I don't know if blood testing at home is commonly used for pets like it is for people. I do know that the urine testing kits for animals are available. Your vet will explain the differences and how to act on the results of urine testing.

My aunt has an ancient cat that has been diabetic forever (many years!). She does blood glucose testing at home... she has to prick his ear for a small blood sample and has a little meter much the same as a person would. You wouldn't think he'd like having his ear poked but it doesn't seem to bother him any. He has never gone blind either.

I've had lots of experience with cats with diabetes and have a friend whose dog is diabetic. First of all, relax. It's not a death sentence. You CAN manage this. Your dog will not necessarily go blind. There is a much higher chance of blindness if you DON'T treat the diabetes.

I learned to test my cats' bg twice a day prior to injections, but you don't necessarily have to do that. The mantra is "start low, go slow". Meaning, start with a low dose and only increase it gradually if needed. But your vet should walk you through all of that; follow his or her direction, assuming he or she is a qualified vet with enough experience with diabetics.

Is your dog on dry food or canned? If dry, I'd suggest taking him off it and feeding canned. Dry food is high in carbs, which turn to sugar. I. Am. Not. A. Vet. Just speaking from my own experience.

You can do this .... just relax, read, read, read, and listen to your vet.

I am concerned about the lack of information that your vet has given you about this unless you were handed a pamphlet and just put it aside to read later relying only on what the vet is saying like some do. You may have also heard the word blind and blanked all the other information out. While your dog may just be developing diabetes testing is important before feeding along with weekly or bi-weekly vet visits until the dosage is established. Just a suggestion but make a list of what others have stated before especially about testing and if you can have a prescription if after checking you find a pharmacy cheaper than your vet.

As an aside a caring vet knows that the cost of any medication could mean the pet not receiving what they need will be happy to give a script if it means lessor cost for the patient's family. Some vets may actually suggest certain pharmacies where the cost is lower.

Our vet didn't even talk to us--the assistant did and basically all she did is show us how to give a shot and gave material to read. Maybe we need a different vet?

My Katie, who passed away several years back, was diagnosed when she was 12. I did test her using a human one touch meter and strips. I found it was easier to get her blood sample from her elbow callouses rather than her ears.

Sal, you definitely need a different vet. This should be a partnership. ANY health condition should be a partnership.

Izzi has done very well and yes in the beginning there were a lot of trips to the vet and it is 20 miles one way. From the beginning there was a lot of Vetsulin left in the bottle and I would throw it away because it said only use for 42 days. Over time as she used less and less of it, I complained to my vet about having to throw away so much of it. She said it is still good, use it till it is gone and I do, no problems. She is checked every six months now. The vet is very pleased with her. You might ask your vet about that.

Sue

$25 vial insulin OTC at Wal-Mart
https://www.wusa9.com/article/news/verify-can-diabetics-buy-25-over-the-counter-insulin-at-walmart/65-cc98907b-e3cb-4976-bd88-6bb247cef042

I ordered insulin syringes from Amazon.