Help with a dog with Diabetes?

[kat31]

I know there are alot of dog people on this thread might I say experts/vets/breeders etc. and I need your advise. I have had dogs( I have a lovely female shepard now) all my life with all different aliments/conditions but today my mom called me to tell me one of my dad's minature schanauzer(sp?) was diagnosed with diabetes and is currently at the the vet's getting tested to determine his proper insulin dosage. Buddy and Zeke are my dad's BOYS and can do no wrong he LOVES these guys to death and I just feel for him. My question is in a few weeks I am babysitting the boys( I love these guys) while my parents go to Mexico, how hard is it to take care of a pet with diabetes? I am so worried that I need to be by his side all the time to make sure he is ok. My dad is retired so the boys are with him all the time even when he takes the boat out fishing. I am a sahm so I can be with Buddy all the time or is it not neccesary. I am so nervous, if something happened to him while my dad was gone i would never forgive myself. Any advise?

 

[kathryn]

Not a dog, but I had a cat with diabetes.

How hard it is really depends on what the vet decides to do.

Some have people test the blood (as they would for themselves) to determine dosage. And dosage timing can vary as well.

My vet didn't have me test (some vets will), but we figured out a dosage (which sometimes changed) that I would give twice a day. He got very used to it, and didn't even feel it after the first few times (and I'm sure I got to be a better shot giver).

It IS very important to be consistant with timing the dosages. When I knew I had to change a dosage time for some reason (ie: change from daylight savings time to regular time), I did it gradually by setting the dosage forward or back by 15 minutes (for two days) over the course of several days.

My vet also said that cat's often have a harder time with diabetes than dogs.

 

[MissL]

Hi Kat31, Not an expert/vet/breeder here, but I have had some experience with a diabetic dog. I had a yellow lab, Duke , that developed diabetes as a result of Cushing's Disease. For the last two years of his life, I gave him an insulin shot every 12 hours. It was not necessary to stay by his side every minute, but I must admit that when he was first diagnosed with diabetes I worried about him constantly. After a few weeks of giving him the shots and seeing that he was really okay, I got a little more comfortable with the situation. I monitored his urine several times a week, though, just to be safe. He was required to get a blood test every two or three months b/c of the medication he was taking for the Cushing's Disease, so they checked his blood sugar level then, too. I don't recall that there was ever a problem with him getting out of balance.

I think as long as they have the dosage correct and you are careful about the timing of the shots, you shouldn't worry. (But you probably will, anyway, b/c that's what we do when it comes to our pets.) Good luck to you.

MissL

 

[kat31]

Thank you for your suggestions and thoughts. My dad called me earlier and told me they are keeping Buddy an extra night at the vet to make sure he is doing ok with the dosage they are giving him. I will be going to the vet tomorrow with my dad and getting the same directions my dad gets so there is no second hand instructions handed down and something that is forgotten.