My dogs 8th vet visit tonight - wish him luck

marshallka

maxdp wrote: »

Hi Marshallka

I hope it goes OK today with the Vets visit. I am sure it will all be fine and tomorrow you will be feeling more confident about things. You seem to be getting lots of good advice on here it is reassuring when you hear other people are able to relate to things. Good Luck

Thankyou maxdp. I am still no more confident TBH but hopefully I will crack it. I have watched all the vids of dogs getting jabs etc on sites and they are all placid little things. Nothing like mine at all.

He has a fetish with hairbrushes, combs, bobbles etc... anything that goes in your hair and if you place something in front of him on the floor or on a table then he will just stare at it in a sort of trance. We have been practicing with putting a brush on the worktop and then pulling his fur at the back of his neck. In fact I have mentioned this fetish before on here (he really is weird about them) but it could be his life saver lol. He just goes into a complete trance like state.

buddys_mum

I always weigh Buddys food as it is important that he gets the same amount due to the insulin, im sure your vet will explain. Me and Buddy are thinking of you all.

I just read that Jamie Oliver and his wife have had a Baby boy, whats it called .............. Buddy Bear (thats Buddys full name LOL).

marshallka

buddys_mum wrote: »

I always weigh Buddys food as it is important that he gets the same amount due to the insulin, im sure your vet will explain. Me and Buddy are thinking of you all.

I just read that Jamie Oliver and his wife have had a Baby boy, whats it called .............. Buddy Bear (thats Buddys full name LOL).

Well listen to this one buddy bears mum lol.

I have rang the vets today to ask about food before the visit (as my understanding from the information they gave to us, the dvd they gave to us and also from all the sites on the net was to give insulin just after food!!) and they went away and talked to the vet. They then came back and told me not to feed him... I told them that he had not had anything yet and they said to feed him "Now" and then nothing else. I assume they are thinking of feeding him before they jab him as this is dangerous if not isn't it??? I am confused now as all sites say if they have not eaten DO NOT give insulin or if they have only eaten half their food then you should only give half the insulin??

pigeonpie

Just sending you a lot of positive vibes and hope that things start to go better for you. I would just say that it is essential to have a vet that you can trust and that will not just help you, but show you calmly how to do everything that you can possibly do at home. There are things that have to be done at the vets, but a caring owner can do an awful lot at home.

I did constant palliative care my 2 beloved old cats who were very ill for 14 months. I did meds, injections, sub cutaneous fluids, eye dye tests (one had a corneal ulcer that would not heal due to his underlying kidney failure) and I got invaluable support from Americans on a yahoo group. They are way ahead of us in the UK when it comes to vet treatment. My vet resisted throughout and we ended up fighting. I did do internet research and some of what I found out prolonged their lives as it was USA meds that HM the vet hadn't heard of here. Things were v stressful and a better, less childish egomaniac vet would have been a huge help. Hearing that yours called your dog so difficult made me angry (the same happened with one of my cats, who resisted some vet treatment as he was frightened). I had to stick with my vet as the others in my area are even less competent :mad:

So I would say if possible - get a vet you like and trust; buy your equipment online (needles, specialist food etc) and try to treat your dog at home as much as possible. I remember the first time I had to do a sub cut injection. I was terrified and my hands shook and the fluid went in one side of my cat's neck and out the other! I also pricked myself a couple of times (and am still here). You WILL get used to doing it and be an old hand in no time. The more relaxed you are, the more your dog will be.

I know this is such a scary time and I just send you big hugs. Your love and TLC can keep your dog happy for a long time yet.
The other thing I found invaluable was to keep a notebook of everything, write down the meds, what time, symptoms etc.

good luck

buddys_mum

marshallka wrote: »

Well listen to this one buddy bears mum lol.

I have rang the vets today to ask about food before the visit (as my understanding from the information they gave to us, the dvd they gave to us and also from all the sites on the net was to give insulin just after food!!) and they went away and talked to the vet. They then came back and told me not to feed him... I told them that he had not had anything yet and they said to feed him "Now" and then nothing else. I assume they are thinking of feeding him before they jab him as this is dangerous if not isn't it??? I am confused now as all sites say if they have not eaten DO NOT give insulin or if they have only eaten half their food then you should only give half the insulin??

Ive got to say, i really dont like your vet although i have never met him.

I always feed Buddy ½ an hour before insulin.

Buddy decided that this morning he wasnt hungry and wandered around the garden for ¼ of an hour looking for the best place to wee (like they do)! and then sat in the middle of the garden, so i did na quick glucose test on him and he was a little low but not low enough for me to be concerned. So instead of having his breakfast at 6.30am he didnt eat untill more like 6.50am so i gave him insulin ½ an hour after that. And then i have done tests every 2 hrs and he is a little on the low side, so i will give him a bit more grub tonight. Having the glucose monitor saves me a fortune on having to go to the vets! If he continues to be low tommorow then i shall take him to the vets in the evening, as they are always really good at giving me an emergancy appointment.

If you are really worried about him having a hypo, can you keep him in your bedroom tonight to keep tabs on him?

Did you weigh his food today before you gave him any?

How much did you give him?

Wishing you all the best, i really would find another vet.

marshallka

Well been tonight and feel a lot better. We saw a different man and he has really good with him. He made us feel so at ease and although a curve is not possible they are going to do another fluctosamine a week on Monday. He has started him on a low dose to begin with and given us 3 vials and a box of syringes. We are to inject twice daily and he did say to not let it rule our lives and us get anxious over it. He is a big dog (which he is for a collie I guess) and he will be fine. If he has a hypo attack we are to give a "mars bar" lol. I told him I would have to hide them though. I watched him give the shot and I feel a little more confident (cause he is a big dog) at doing it tomorrow. First one will be in the morning and we thought about 7.45 and then the same time at night also. He also told us to not get into a state if it is 14 hours (if ever we DID oversleep) as he will be fine with that. We will of course stick to our times as ridigly as possible. At the moment we also have to stick to his diet he has now and they will be looking to change it soon but he said that too much change all at once is not good when he is a hyper dog anyway. He was not muzzled until the injection time and although he did growl at the vet when he came in he was just kissing me like a mad dog and all over me so at least they saw the dog that I see at home. I asked about some weatabix but he said milk was "no no". I can however do it with water so that is good cause he loves a bit of cereal. He is now munching on a raw hide. He is 20.5 kg which is idealish for his size but i must admit he has put on a little since last year.

We have paid £120 so far for this but going to ask for the claim form from the insurance and hopefully we are insured. Our vets said that he was not diabetic last year for definate. His liver is out but they say this is normal when his levels are as they are but hopefully will not get too bad. He did say that cateracts are most definately in most dogs though. He also said that even the best regulated dogs get them so that is something we will meet when (and if!!) they do arise. All in all I feel much better after speaking to this vet.

Will post back tomorrow morning after I have done the dirty deed. Thanks to all following this thread and leaving posts. They are much appreciated.

buddys_mum

I cant believe that the vet suggested you give him a mars bar! Chocolate is a huge no no for dogs.

I bought some glucose tablets from the chemist (original) and they cost me under £1 get them and only give him 1 if he hypo's, or give him some honey. Spread the honey over the gums as that is the fastest absorbing bit for the glucose.

Im glad you are feeling a little bit more settled, and soon wippie will be too. Maybe it would be possible for Wippie to see the same vet you seen today again. Sleep well tonight and take things calmly and slowly in the morning and if things dont go right, just wait calmly till 9am and ring the vet okay.

Buddy took ages again to eat his tea, he gets bored eating the same thing but he knows i cant change his food every time the weather changes. He pushes his luck sometimes, but he knows how much he means to me, although tonight wasnt a good night to do it.

marshallka

buddys_mum wrote: »

I cant believe that the vet suggested you give him a mars bar! Chocolate is a huge no no for dogs.

I bought some glucose tablets from the chemist (original) and they cost me under £1 get them and only give him 1 if he hypo's, or give him some honey. Spread the honey over the gums as that is the fastest absorbing bit for the glucose.

Im glad you are feeling a little bit more settled, and soon wippie will be too. Maybe it would be possible for Wippie to see the same vet you seen today again. Sleep well tonight and take things calmly and slowly in the morning and if things dont go right, just wait calmly till 9am and ring the vet okay.

Buddy took ages again to eat his tea, he gets bored eating the same thing but he knows i cant change his food every time the weather changes. He pushes his luck sometimes, but he knows how much he means to me, although tonight wasnt a good night to do it.

Hi Buddys mum. Your buddy sounds lovely and comical.

I said the same about mars bars and he told me that the chocolate content of half a mars in a dog his size would certainly not do him any harm. He explained it all about chocolate and said the glucose in a mars is far better for him than the no no of the chocolate content. He said if a small dog ate a box of belgiums then that is trouble.

We can see the same vet but he is from the other practice and a lot older than the young one we have seen previous but he is only in on Thursday evenings. We have to go back a week on Monday so for that visit we will have one of the other ones.

I just keep looking at my faithful friends lovely eyes and know I am doing the right thing and although the thought is daunting we will master this jab thing. I hate the thought but the thought of him being poorly is far worse. He is a handful to us all but he is part of this family. He is fine up to yet but its like having a baby at the moment. Watching his every move. He is sleeping at my feet at the moment after having a damn good chew on his rawhide. As I said they have only given him a small dose to begin with so he did say he should not have any trouble tonight. Its still a little scary though isn't it. He sleeps outside the bedroom but tonight I shall leave the door open just in case I think. I will sleep better like that.

Take care Buddys mum xx

buddys_mum

When Buddy had a mild hypo, he had his head low and he shuddered. He looked quite groggy, as though he was coming round from an anesthetic. Hope this helps.

Have a good night, all of you. Take care

Waterfalls

there is a glucose gel called glucogel (used to be hypostop) which u can just rub on to their gums and it gets into the blood stream nice and quickly