Diabetic Dog - Support Please?

diane_and_jack

My Jack Russell mix was diagnosed last week with diabetes and gets injections morning and night, he is a fussy eater used to get tinned food with his dog nuts and now is on a prescription feed and is very hard to get him to eat in morning when i need to inject him also he usually would only eat his dinner last thing at night when we went to bed. Can anyone advise me on following:
If he doesnt eat at time of injection do i still inject him as normal (he will eat the feed throughtout the day when we go to work)
Can we add any tuna or chicken to the nuts to encourage him.
My husband and I work shifts and cannot guarantee same time in evening for his injection, if it is given 2-3hrs late or early maybe once or twice a week will it be really bad for him. We are in a quandry over the exact times due to work. There is no one else to help us with him.
Finally are there any little treats to give him at times eg he used to get a chew when we left went out to work.
Please any advice is greatlllllllly appreciated.:(

Waterfalls

thats a difficult one. i really think you need to discuss all the above with the case vet. this can sometimes be a very difficult condition to stablilse. so things like feeding same food, at the same time, walks same length at the same times really help.
so def recommed giving your vet a call asap and trying to calculate a routine that work for all involved

UKTigerlily

Totally echo the above, we're not vet qualified & even if we were we haven't seen the dog, it's so important that you speak to the vet dealing with this. I'm so sorry your dogs been diagnosed tho & hope you can get in under control x

simontheiceman

SnowyOwl wrote: »

Isn't chocolate toxic to dogs??

The toxic dose of chocolate is 90-150mg theophylline / kg of dog, altough doses over 20mg/kg can cause signs.

The actual amount of theophylline in chocolate varies with the type of chocolate. In milk chocolate this is about 2.2mg/gramme chocolate. Therefore a 100gramme milk chocolate bar will contain 220mg theophylline and would be toxic to a 2.44kg dog but would cause symptoms in an 11kg dog. You can do the math for your own dog but they would actually need to eat quite a lot to cause a problem. Couple this with the fact that a mars bar contains a lot more sugar based caramel than actual choc, they make ideal sugar shots to carry for diabetics.

This does change for dark and milk chocolate and note that milk choc does contain theophylline.

Note also that the most likely problem you would encounter is dietary upset from the trans fats that are prominent in chocolate sold in the UK.

Truth is you are far more likely to see diorrhoea as a result of chocolate ingestion than you are neurological/cardioresp symptoms as a result of the theophylline toxicity.

foreign_correspondent

youve gotta talk to your vet about this it is complex and can be hard to get stabilised at first. But, yes, you can generally add bits like chicken to his meals but do talk to the vet. We were advsed to keep my old dog on the same diet as before, but each case will be different. However, getting the insulin / food balance wrong could make your dog very ill or worse.

Savvy_Sue

diane and jack, you posted the same on two threads so I've merged to avoid confusion.

foreign_correspondent

My old dog became diabetic aged about 15. As soon as she got the hang of what was hppening she used to come and wait for her insulin because she knew it was swiftly followed by dinner!!

She also used to get herself into the right position for it, and it never semed to bother her at all. She did have a couple of problems when we were getting the dosage stabilised (found two doses a day was better than one) including once when she collapsed and my dad revivied her by drizzling honey betwen her teeth! She did well for almost a year, and died in her sleep aged 16 after being active and happy right up till the end.

Watch out for water infections - diabetic animals are more prone to these - they made my dog pee inside a few times, which upset her as she was such a clean dog in the house - please be sure not to scold your dog if this happens they really cannot help it, and as anyone who has had a water infection will know it is a very uncomfortable problem!

janeys

Hi my cairn terrier was diagnosed diabetic in april and we are just getting him stabilised. We do everything the vet has asked, no treats, regular routine regular food and jabs. But we have been told he is a 'cranky diabetic'. They are rare but they are the exception. We started on 2 jags a day 2.5 each and are now on 9.5 each. He has never had a hypo, but we carry squeezable hunny in a bag specially for him. He takes his injections with no bother sits and waits for it even when his food is in front of him. He eats chappie tinned food, much cheaper than the prescription dog food and recommended by vet. He has chappie dry food as 'treats' which come out of his daily food quota.

Initially it was hard getting into a routine and not giving him chews and dog biscuits was very hard. Training my husband not to feed him was hardest.:rotfl: :rotfl: but we got there. We have had all manner of tests done to find out why he would not stabilise, cushings was one. This is expensive but necessary to eliminate possible causes. The vets will help you and talk to them about your concerns they want to get the dog sorted as much as you.

At first we were at the vets 2 times a week to test his blood sugar now we only go if we notice a problem with him. We have found that the best way to monitor his condition is to measure how much water he drinks, if it goes over 500militres he is getting high blood glucose. We have a diary just for truff where we write everything down i.e if he is out walking and he gets a biscuit or something of the ground his water levels and his mood. This has been invaluable in trying to work out why he wouldnt stabilise.

There are a number of sites that do cheaper syringes ketodiastix etc and it is worth looking at these. I would advise getting your insullin from the vet as it is delicate and needs special handling.

We have had trouble with our dog but most people dont, you do get used to it and it becomes 'normal' you think of your dog and there needs naturally. There are kennels who take diabetic dogs at no extra charge. I wish you and your family good luck and if you just want to talk to someone that has been there, I dont mind. Sometimes just talking about it helps. There was a very nice lady on here that helped me.

diane_and_jack

janeys, many thanks for your reply, we are attending the vet with him and i have asked many questions but it is just nice to have someone else to discuss it with. Thankyou Diane

diane_and_jack

thankyou, i am so sorry she is no longer with you, this is first i heard of the water infection good to know, thks