Argh! Giving insulin to a diabetic dog.

[roller♥coaster]

Hey there.

My West Highland White Terrier has been diabetic for nearly two years now, and my family and I have had to give him insulin shots for twice a day every single day. You would think that by now we'd be good at it, but unfortunately, my dog doesn't seem to think we are. We do everything the vet told us to do, but he tenses up, snarls, tries to run away, and even sometimes snaps at us each time we try. It has gotten to the point where it's impossible to administer the shot without one person holding him down while the other uses the syringe, and it hasn't always been this way. It seems like his behavior has gotten progressively worse as time has gone on, and we can't figure out why.

We have tried muzzling him, putting him places where he is unsure of his footing, and praising him endlessly before and after, all to no avail. We also attempted to give it to him while he was distracted by food, and he nearly choked.

I love my dog dearly, but taking care of him when he's like this is exhausting! I know you guys aren't vets, but... any suggestions would be lovely.

[TheBabyEater]

I have a diabetic dog as well, she's about 6 years old now and has been since she was a puppy. Eventually, she got used to it, but she's a lab so pretty much food is her only objective in life. Therefore, the food trick has almost always worked.

Not every dog is so into food though like labs. I'd still suggest it, for my dog her regular food works. We do it literally while she is eating breakfast or dinner, so she's so distracted by the meal she doesn't barely notice. But if your dog is different, try different treats. Healthy ones of course, since it's a bit counterproductive to give a sugary treat during insulin, but there's got to be something that your dog loves, somewhere. Try some hot dog, that's what we do at work to give dogs their medicine, and they love it. Either that or cheese and peanut butter always works as well. Try mixing it up every day, or else your dog might get bored. Two people would work well, one person with the food, another with the shot.

If food doesn't work, maybe toys? My dog goes nuts over those fake ducks that quack like a real one. Usually she wiggles all over the place, but if your dog is trained and calmer than mine, you might be able to get him to sit still long enough to administer a quick shot.

To help, you NEED to get fast at this. If your dog is anything like mine, you're probably giving him about 8 or so units, which isn't much. You've got to get fast at pulling up the skin, pushing it in, and withdrawing. Don't try and go slow to ease the pain or something, that just makes it hurt worse. Obviously don't jam it in or anything, that sucks too, but you've just got to be swift.

I bet the problem is though, inconsistency. It sounds like you've been trying to find something that works, which is great, but nothing works better than routine.

[OMFG!You'reActuallySmart!]

I'm not sure how the OP is holding and approaching the dog but the dog may view it as a game. When I had to give my dog ear drops for a minor infection, he was a drama queen and would make a fuss before I even touched his ear! Turns out, when I tried to hold him down, he wanted to wrestle a bit and viewed it as a game, so your dog may be doing the same.

At first, whatever routine you use will probably be difficult for any number of reasons. I suspect a possible issue is how you're injecting the dog. However, the dog may be unaware what's happening if you keep changing routine, so stick with one and weather the initial storm because if you keep the same routine, eventually your dog will calm down. If you put him in places where he's unsure of his footing, it's going to be a hassle as the dog is unsure what's happening and is stressed. Muzzles may also stress the dog out especially when they associate the muzzle with an injection (assuming you're making the injection more painful than it has to be).